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minijenn · 3 years ago

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KH Comm #4

Another Keys related writing comm for @rosie-drawss, who wanted another “what if” scenario for what would happen if the glamor spell had faded following the ball and Cinderella’s Castle. Angst and hurt/comfort ensues as Sora has to fess up to all his many lies early! Enjoy!

***

Kairi is still in a haze of half-slumber when she gets up as quietly as she can so as not to wake Sora or Riku. She tip-toes to fetch a drink of water from the pitcher on the far side of the room before heading back to bed in a similar silent manner, eager to return to the pleasant dreams she’d been having of the enchanted evening they’d just had together. That happiness still hangs over her as she climbs back into her spot under the covers right beside Sora. She smiles drowsily as she takes in the sight of him sleeping peacefully, the ghost of a contented grin on his face, his white hair draped loosely, lazily over his closed eyes-

Wait… white hair?

Her sharp gasp breaks the quiet of the room, a startled cry soon joining it as she rolls backward out of bed, ultimately landing hard on the floor. Riku bolts upright first, calling for Kairi as he glances around the darkened room amidst trying to regather his bearings. But when Sora sits up only seconds later, he’s the first to find Kairi, still sitting on the floor, staring up at him with a look of nothing less than absolute shock.

“Kairi?” he presses, concerned as he leans over the side of the bed. “Are you ok? What’s wrong?”

When Kairi finds herself far too bewildered to offer him an answer, Sora turns to Riku next, hoping to get his help. Only to catch the same exact sort of stunned stare from him too. “What?” Sora frowns, glancing between the pair in apt confusion. “Why aren’t you guys saying anything? What’s going on?”

“...I think we ought to be the ones asking you that question…” Riku finally says, his tone and expression both tense.

“Huh?”

“Sora,” Kairi’s on her feet now, retrieving a hand mirror from the nearby dresser. “W-what… what is this?”

She hands the mirror over to him, and the very second Sora so much as sees his own reflection within it, it slips out of his hand and shatters on the floor. Tears swiftly form in his now-golden eyes, a shadow-streaked hand slipping over his mouth as he tries to make sense of how this might have happened. Of how the awful secret he’s been hiding for them for so long could somehow reveal itself entirely on its own accord.

Kairi carefully steps past the broken glass on the floor to sit back on the bed alongside Sora, placing a gentle hand on his arm as he chokes out a small, frightened sob. “You… know what this is… don’t you?” she asks, gauging his mournful reaction for exactly what it is.

Sora refuses to offer an answer, all but shutting down as he wraps his arms around himself, shutting his eyes so he doesn’t have to meet their piercing, questioning gazes. Kairi softens when she sees how scared he seems to be, but Riku knows he can’t do the same. Not when this is something that certainly can’t be anything good.

“Tell us,” he places a hand on Sora’s shoulder, his voice coming out quiet and calm. Or at least as calm as it can be right now. “Please, Sora, if something’s wrong then you need to let us know what-”

“I-I’m the Organization’s thirteenth vessel!” Sora suddenly shouts, distraught and distressed. He’d been half-tempted to lie to them, but he knows it won’t do him any good now; not when they can both so clearly see the truth for themselves. “W-what you guys did to save me during the exam didn’t work and now I… I’m being… Xehanort is-”

“H-he’s taking over your heart…” Riku finishes in a whisper. A grave silence falls over the room as this horrific realization sinks in, a realization that none of them want to face. Kairi clings onto Sora’s arms, joining him in his sorrowful, ceaseless tears. But those tears aren’t something Riku shares. Instead, he continues staring solely at Sora, at the white in his hair, the gold in his eyes. He stares in solemn, saddened silence as he thinks about just how much he’s managed to fail Sora, how he failed to save him, how he failed to notice that something was even this wrong until he could see it laid so plainly before him. He stares and says nothing, shedding not a single tear as he realizes the only thing he can really do right now is to somehow be strong for them both. Even if he doesn’t really want to be.

“Sora-” he starts, only to nearly lose his composure completely when Sora practically falls into his arms, Kairi following not long after.

“I’m sorry!” Sora cries, completely despondent by this point. “I’m so sorry for lying and hiding this and trying to fix this on my own even though I knew I can’t! I don’t know how to stop this, and I’m so, so scared that there isn’t any way to stop it-”

“We will stop it,” Kairi speaks up, her tone tight and anxious as she holds Sora even tighter. “W-we’ll find a way, we have to and we will. Won’t we, Riku?”

Riku takes in a long, deep breath, if only to steady himself for the journey on the road ahead of them now. A road that is bound to be long and painful, but one that needs to be taken. Especially if what’s waiting at the end of it is what somehow sets Sora’s already captive heart free.

“Go wake up the others,” he instructs the pair as he gets out of bed. “Tell them to pack their things. We’re leaving in an hour. We… have a lot to talk about.”

***

Word spreads between the other guardians of light like wildfire. Before they even leave Cinderella’s castle, each and every one of them hears about what’s happening, and very few of them are truly caught off guard when they see Sora’s startling change in appearance. The only three among them that had been in on his lie are surprised, however, to find out that the truth had slipped out so suddenly. Ventus breathes a sigh of relief, glad to know Sora won’t be able to drag this dangerous charade out any longer than he already has. Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy are both baffled by the mysterious failure of the glamour spell, something that the magician chalks up as a side effect of his magic mingling with Fairy Godmother’s. And since Fairy Godmother’s spell had worn off when the clock struck midnight, so too had the spell that had helped Sora hide his secret for so very long.

The trip back to the tower is a long, quiet one. No one’s really sure what to say or where to start, so they decide to discuss it all in a proper meeting instead. Said meeting kicks off almost as soon as they arrive, and it starts with Sora having no choice but to explain the situation to the other lights in full. He soberly shows them everything: his hair, his eyes, his hands, his scar, his Keyblade, even his powers in steady succession. Telling the full, unbridled truth is strange, in a sense; because even as much as he feared the thought of doing exactly this before, he can’t deny that actually unveiling it all is something of a bizarre relief. Like every secret he’s shedding is a weight finally lifting off his shoulders, weight he should have let someone else share a long time ago.

One he’s revealed everything he can, Yen Sid asks Sora to sit the rest of the meeting out. While the reasoning for such a request isn’t initially clear, he does so gracefully, waiting just outside the door for the others to emerge. And as he waits, his fretful thoughts wander to just how quickly things have gone wrong over the course of one night alone. Just how fast a night of dreams had turned into his worst nightmare.

After what feels like ages, Riku and Kairi finally leave the meeting behind. The others hang back, likely to give them a bit of privacy to allow the pair to relay to Sora the verdict they’ve all just reached.

“Ok, here’s the plan,” Riku begins, wearing the steadfast composure of the leader he was chosen to be. “The others are all heading out tomorrow to look for the rest of the Keys. Kairi and I are-”

“We’re staying here, with you,” Kairi interrupts, taking Sora’s hands and holding them tight. “At least for now. And while we’re here, we’re going to look into every way we can find to free you from… f-from this.”

“B-but… what if we can’t-”

“If we can’t find answers here, then we’ll look somewhere else,” Riku continues, resolved. “But we won’t stop until we find a way to help you, Sora. That’s a promise.”

“But it’s not a promise we can keep unless you promise to meet us halfway with this too,” Kairi insists earnestly. “Which means… no more lying, and no more secrets. You’ve always been able to trust both of us with anything before. That doesn’t have to change now, not even with something like this.”

Sora looks between the pair, caught off guard by the brazen plan he’s hearing. One that he desperately wants to believe will work, just as much as he wants to believe they actually mean what they say. But his anxious, guilt-ridden heart still finds room to foolishly doubt them all the same. “Y-you… you really want to help me?” he asks, his voice small and edged with shame for something he doesn’t feel he truly deserves.

“You know we do,” Riku vows as he gently pulls both Sora and Kairi close.

“More than anything else,” Kairi adds just as warmly, just as lovingly.

And… despite everything else, despite all of the fear and despair and remorse he’s still carrying… Sora decides to let that love--their love for him--lighten that load at least a little bit. “Then ok,” he finally smiles for the first time since the glamour faded. For the first time since he opened the door to let his two best friends back into his heart. “I promise.”

Commissions are CLOSED

#jen writes #keys to the kingdom #kingdom hearts #commissions #writing commissions #sora #riku #kairi #destiny trio #disney #square enix #drabble prompts #sorikai

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yzafre · 3 years ago

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when you find me free-falling (out of the sky) Ch 2

AO3

< Previous

That night, Sora was disturbed from a nap by the rumble of thunder shivering through his bones. Heart pounding in his throat, he peered out his window with wide eyes. The sky was deep and dark, and the storm seemed determined to destroy everything in its path.

“Oh, no!” he realized, “The raft!”

He scrambled out of bed and out of his room, jumping the stairs with a pulse of his ghost-wings and jamming his feet into his shoes. He skipped the umbrella as he slipped out the door – if he hurried, he could get to the island and back before dinner.

A great, dark ball turned at the center of the storm. Sora eyed it nervously as he fought against the wind and the waves. He stood, rather than sat, as he carefully rowed the boat and found himself using his ghost-wings the whole way to stay steady.

When he reached the shore, Riku and Kairi’s boats were already waiting for him – great minds think alike, and all. He made it a handful of stumbling steps up the beach before slamming to a halt. A dark creature from his dreams – his nightmares – oozed up from the wet sands.

For a moment he gazed into its empty, glowing eyes. Time seemed to stretch until, with a snap, the walking shadow sprang towards him. Sora yelped as he fell backwards. His fingers dug into the sand, propelling him back upright as his feet scrabbled to find purchase. Once stable he dug in and ran for higher ground as more and more shadows began to take form around him.

When he reached the bridge to the upper ledge, he was relieved to see Riku out by the twisted tree. Riku was strong and capable, he’d know what to do. He always knew what to do. Sora stumbled to a stop a few feet away from his oldest friend, head craning for a sight of their third.

“Where’s Kairi? I thought she was with you!”

“The door has opened,” Riku intoned. He turned sluggishly, and Sora nearly stumbled back at the look on his face. As it was, the feverish light in his eyes knocked the breath out of Sora’s lungs as he continued, stronger, “The door has opened, Sora, now we can go to the outside world!”

“What are you talking about,” Sora cried, “we’ve gotta find Kairi!”

“Kairi’s coming with us. Once we step through, we might not be able to come back.”

Riku tilted his head back, wind whipping at his hair as a strange, dark smile spread across his face. The pit in Sora’s chest, once ignored in the waning afternoon light, cracked open wider than ever.

“We might never be able to see our parents again, there’s no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can’t let fear stop us. I’m not afraid of the darkness!”

Riku extended his hand to Sora, slowly, and darkness exploded beneath them. His eyes bore into Sora’s, the energy previously trapped behind them raging in all it’s awful glory.

Sora reached, desperately, trying to grab onto his friend even as the darkness around them slowly consumed him. For a moment, he thought he’d make it. The tips of their fingers slipped against each other. A fizzle of friction exploded from the touch and rocketed up his arm till it burned, blazing bright in his chest.

The last thing he saw as the tide of darkness swallowed them both was unfamiliar eyes glowing from a familiar face. His vision was covered by the dark liquid, vicious and sticky until it was nothing but air, or the lack of air, and despite the heaving of his lungs found himself choking and fading.

And then the burning turned into a supernova in his chest.

Sora blinked his eyes open and heaved a breath. The darkness that consumed him was gone, faded back into the storm. Riku was gone.

The keyblade, the wind whispered into his ear. He looked down to find a weight in his hand, and, yes, it looked a like a key, and even a bit like a blade if you squinted. He turned and found his gaze drawn to the cave, the secret place.

The wave of darkness had drawn back, but Sora was a child of the islands and he knew the trick of receding tides. Riku mentioned a door, though, and there was only one door weird enough to match what was happening around him. Steeling himself, he prepared to press through the wind and the monsters once more.

The cave entrance was covered by a silver door, pristine and glowing bright in the dark of the storm. Despite how out-of-place it was, Sora didn’t hesitate to burst through. It swung open lightly at a touch, and he tumbled into the cool, damp cave, breath heaving. The monsters didn’t follow him in.

Sora turned his new weapon in his hand, marveling over how easily it had cut through the strange shadows. After a moment it vanished in a shower of sparks, just as his ghost-wings always did. Blinking, he straightened and flexed his hand. Nothing changed, so he shrugged and turned to head down the passage to the cave proper.

Inside the cave he found Kari, swaying softly in place. She turned when Sora called out to her, just as strange and sluggish as Riku had been. Their eyes met, a single heartbeat passed, then the old, sealed wooden door burst open with a gust of dark wind.

Kairi stumbled, then was swept up in the wind and blown towards him. He reached out to catch her, but his arms closed around nothing but air. Shortly after, he was blown away himself.

He landed face down in the coarse sand, the wind roaring around him. He looked up to find the world gone, a chunk of beach floating in the encroaching darkness all that was left. Above him, the swirling mass of darkness had grown to become all encompassing. He could see now that it wasn’t just at the center of the storm – it was the storm, the winds a result of the way it sucked in everything around it.

The monster from his nightmares returned, its dark, cavernous eyes eying bearing down on him. As the winds raged, he struggled against it until the pulling of the sphere became too much for either of them. He tried to hold on as the monster was pulled away, but all that was left to cling to was sand.

Still, Sora held on as hard as he could as the darkness clawed at him with greedy hands, and thought – no, this can’t be the end! But the world was crumbling, and there was nothing left to hold onto, no place to land, and soon he found himself falling fast.

Please! He cried, eyes squeezed shut, Someone, anyone, I need help!

Deep inside something stirred, a whisper Sora couldn’t hear – not yet.

Okay.

A force pushed between his lungs, pressing up through his spine, out through shoulder blades. The pressure choked him, something too big squeezing out from a space too small, an intrusion of other tearing through.

He arched back with a soundless yell and saw light growing around him even as his vision went dark.

Next >

#kh #kingdom hearts #sora #riku #kairi #fanfiction #wingfic #wrap your wings AU #Yza writes a thing

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loekas · 5 years ago

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struts onto the stage and grabs a microphone

Let’s imagine a Kingdom Hearts universe where Sora is never born. Kairi takes his place as the Keyblade wielder instead. How would that change things?

Disclaimer; I haven't played KH3 yet and don't know the meta in that one. But I've played most of the other games and know the story/meta of the ones I haven’t played.

So, we start at the beginning, with Ven, Aqua and Terra. Kairi, as a newborn heart, is the one who helps Ven heal after Ventus’ heart gets split into two. This makes much more sense tbh, because Kairi is a Princess of Heart, and thus has special heart powers. Like help stabilise the light side of a heart torn into two.

Flash forward to when Ven and Vanitas have their epic heart battle, ending with the heart recombining and the Ven side being dominant, but also being on the verge of death. Again, Kairi is the one who offers Ventus refuge in her own heart. Then Malificent attacks Radiant Garden, and Kairi ends up on Destiny Islands with no memories left of her past. Kairi and Riku meet and become best friends. Terra still met with Riku on his journey as well, and still made him heir to his keyblade.

Flash forward to the start of KH1. The relationship between Kairi and Riku is a little different than in canon, because they're both friends and rivals (instead of just friends like in canon, where the rival part is occupied by Sora) Kairi is the one Riku races on the beach, she’s the one who battles him with wooden swords.

Unlike Sora, Kairi is a-okay with Riku being better than her. Sure, she likes to win, but it isn’t necessary for her to have fun. Which is good, because it means there’s no friction between her and Riku. Riku’s competitive streak is satisfied by being more skilled than Kairi, and Kairi has fun with the games they play.

Like in canon, the two of them are making a raft to go see different worlds. But lets add in one very important difference with canon.

Before leaving on their adventure, Riku and Kairi share a paopu fruit. Why? Because if you've shared one, then no matter where you go, you'll hearts will always be connect. You’ll always be able to find each other. (And this is true. Paopu fruits are genuinely magical. Share one and your destinies/hearts become intertwined)

(Except this paopu fruit isn't shared by two hearts. It's shared by three. Ven is still within Kairi...)

Ansem still tricks Riku into opening The Door of their world. The heartless still appear.

Kairi is the one who finds Riku on the beach. Kairi is the one who begs him to leave (because this is wrong, she knows that with every fiber of her being. The knowledge isn’t conscious but she knows their world is being consumed by darkness. She knows because she’s a Princess of Heart) (She knows because she saw the same thing happen to Radiant Garden)

Kairi and Riku are consumed by darkness, and they lose hold of each other. Riku is brought to Hollow Bastion and Kairi is lost to darkness.

The darkness is broken by the Kingdom Key. By the Keyblade linked to the Realm of Light.

Who better to wield it than a Princess of Heart?

Kairi now has a weapon against the darkness. She has a weapon against the heartless swarming her.

She fights the heartless with skill she shouldn't have. She fights them with magic and acrobatic feats, she fights them as though she’s been doing so her entire life.

She fights them with the skill of Ven and Vanitas. Ventus’s heart is always there, but when Kairi holds a Keyblade, his heart surges to the foreground (but neither Kairi nor Ventus are aware of this. Kairi just knows her body moves on its own, and Ventus isn't consciously making her move like that. Ventus is still slumbering. He responds to Kairi’s surroundings and feelings, but all of it is done unconsciously)

(Like Sora, Kairi doesn’t know that she holds Ventus’ heart. She was a newborn when they first met, there are no memories there. And when she offered Ventus’ heart refuge the second time, she did it on instinct. Princess of Heart powers are handy like that)

But while she’s ignorant of the heart within her, during that fight against the heartless on Destiny Islands, Kairi remembers her past. She remembers Radiant Garden being destroyed.

Like in canon, she ends up in Traverse Town after the destruction of her world. And the meeting with Leon and co is much more emotional because THEY KNOW EACH OTHER!!!! They come from the same home.

Kairi realises she isn’t alone after all. She hasn’t lost everyone. Yuffie and the others are still alive.

So is Riku. Kairi knows that through knowledge born from the paopu fruit. She knows that Riku is alive in the same way she knows how to breathe.

She has to find him.

Kairi meets Donald and Goofy, and goes on a quest to find Riku.

Meanwhile, Riku still ends up with Maleficent, and still ends up manipulated by her. Things proceed mostly like in canon. Maleficent feeds the darkness in Riku’s heart and makes him jealous of Donald and Goofy.

Unlike canon, Riku only sees Kairi from a distance. He only sees her through scrying spells, through images shown by Maleficent (Maleficent claims she can only scry for Kairi, she can't determine her exact location. This is a lie) (Unlike canon, having Riku meet with his best friend would be counterproductive to Maleficent’s plans. She can’t turn Riku against Kairi in the ways she could turn him against Sora in canon. She has no leverage in the form of a third best friend. So she takes a different route to getting Riku in the shape she needs him to be)

Kairi and Riku only meet after Riku has already become skilled at wielding darkness magic (and thus, has left his heart vulnerable to that darkness. That’s the only way to wield it after all). They only meet after Maleficent is confident it won’t ruin her plans.

By now, Maleficent has fed onto Riku’s OVERWHELMING guilt at opening the door his world, at letting the heartless in. One of the reasons she can shape Riku to her liking so completely is because Riku is struggling SO HARD with guilt and denial and horror because he DESTROYED his world! He killed everyone he ever knew and loved.

Everyone but Kairi. Like Kairi, Riku knows that she’s alive in an instinctive manner. He clings to that knowledge even more than he would have if they’d just been seperated. He clings to the idea that if they just get back together, everything will be alright again.

But he's still drowning in guilt. Worse, he’s in complete isolation. Maleficent is the only one he has significant contact with. The deck is stacked against him here. Even if he avoided being manipulated in one way, he couldn’t avoid all the other ways.

The most insidious manipulation is this. Maleficent, who lied about Hollow Bastion, who claimed this to be a remant of her world, tells him; if we open Kingdom Hearts, all the worlds destroyed by the heartless will be restored. Your world will be restored...

So when Kairi and Riku finally reunite, there are, first, a lot of hugs and tears (they've missed each other so much). But then the cracks in Riku start showing. He struggles with his jealousy towards Donald and Goofy (and Kairi doesn't understand that jealousy because she loves Donald and Goofy in a different way than Riku. And Riku is way more important to her than they are, he’s her best friend. So why be jealous?) but the real breaking point comes when he shares his plan to find Kingdom Hearts with Kairi. Riku tells her, and her immediate reaction is this.

The Kingdom of Hearts must never be opened.

She says it without thought, she says it on pure instinct. But every part of her knows it's true. The Kingdom of Hearts must never be opened. (she knows this because she's a Princess of Heart. She's a remnant of the key that once opened the Kingdom of Hearts) (She knows what will happen to the universe if the Kingdom of Hearts is ever opened again)

And Riku breaks because how can she say that? Doesn't she want their world back? Doesn’t she want their parents back, their friends?

And Kairi doesn't know how to explain because yes she wants her home back, she wants her adopted parents and friends back, she wants it so much but the Kingdom of Hearts CANNOT be opened! Even if it means the loss of her home and family, even if it would mean losing Riku, the Kindom of Hearts cannot be opened.

Eventually, they fight. Unlike canon, Riku doesn’t manage to call the Keyblade away from Kairi (because no matter how much better he was at things than her, Kairi has never felt inferior to him. Because she’s a Princess of Heart, and the Kingdom Key belongs to the Light as it belongs to no one else)

Kairi beats Riku. Riku might be incredibly talented, but he’s fifteen years old. He hasn’t been training with magic for years.

He doesn’t have the experience Ventus does. And Kairi is fighting with the skill of Ven and Vanitas both.

Riku can't handle the loss. He was ALWAYS better than Kairi at stuff like this. Except he no longer is. She's leaving him behind, she's pulling away from him and she no longer needs him.

He can't handle that. Not after destroying his world, not after fixating so hard on the idea that everything would be alright again if he just found Kairi again, if he just found his best friend. But everything isn’t alright, she’s fighting him and she’s trying to stop him from restoring their world! He can’t deal with that.

And finally, Riku is in the state that Maleficent wanted him to be. He’s on the verge of being consumed by darkness, on the verge of becoming a heartless. But he isn’t one just yet.

That is exactly the state that Ansem needs Riku to be in.

When Ansem approaches him after the fight, Riku agrees to open himself to darkness. And Ansem possesses him.

This is where the real fun begins. See, I have elaborate headcanon on the Ansem we see in KH1. In later games, we learn that this Ansem is actually the heartless of Xehanort. But this Ansem came into existence after Xehanort had already taken over Terra's body.

So, I headcanon that this heartless is actually a combination of Xehanort and Terra. His goals are still that of Xehanort (find Kingdom Hearts) but Terra's wants are there as well. Except they've been twisted because he's a heartless. The part of Ansem that used to be Terra still wants to find his friends, Aqua and Ven. But what he feels for them is no longer true love. It's possession, it's obsession. They're his and no one else's.

And this desire is why Ansem is very interested in Kairi. While observing her on her journey, he recognised her fighting style. He recognised Ven’s and Vanitas’s moves.

And now that Ansem FINALLY has a body back, now that he can finally use a Keyblade again (headcanon that the reason he needed a body is because he couldn't use a keyblade otherwise), he can act on his need to get Ven back.

(But because he used to be Xehanort as well, he first makes that special Keyblade that contains the hearts of the six Princesses he and Maleficent have already captured. Only after does he go after Kairi)

Ansem has deduced that Kairi holds Ven's heart, and he wants Ven back. So he fights with her, he taunts her. He uses Terra’s Keyblade against her (I know he didn’t use it in the game, but this is an exercise in having canon make sense. And seeing as Riku was the heir to Terra’s Keyblade, it makes sense for Ansem to be able to use that Keyblade after taking over his body) (Riku being Terra’s heir is the whole reason Ansem went after Riku in the first place...)

Ansem keeps taunting Kairi. Or rather, he taunts Ven. He calls him out, uses the names Ven and Vanitas (and Kairi hesitates because she knows those names. Somehow she knows them, somehow she knows what they mean) (She hesitates because Ventus does)

The hesitation is quickly shaken off and replaced by rage. Because this isn’t Riku, this is someone who took over his body. He’s controlling Riku and he will give Riku back! (He’ll give Terra back. Because Ventus recognises that fighting style in the same way Ansem recognised his. Ventus isn’t conscious, not truly, but he rages because he knows that keyblade, knows that magic, he knows the monster that stole his friend!) (The monster will give his friend back)

Kairi and Ventus are in synch as never before.

It isn’t enough. Terra and Xehanort have always been stronger than Ven and Vanitus.

Kairi and Ventus can’t beat him.

After awhile, Ansem goes; well, this was fun, but it's time for you to come home, Ven. And he uses Terra's Keyblade to unlock Ven's heart.

Except he fails. Because Kairi stops him. She does it on instinct, she does it in a way that shouldn’t be possible. Keyblades can't be stopped like this.

Not without the power of a Princess of Heart.

And Ansem realies. Kairi is the final Princess. The one they lost all those years ago, the one they've been searching for ever since. He gets it now, the reason Kairi was hidden from all scrying spells is because of Vanitas. Ventus' heart slumbers within her own, and Vanitas' darkness hid that Kairi possesses no darkness of her own.

Ansem laughs. What a fortunate twist of fate. The final piece to his plan was right in front of his nose all this time.

He attacks Kairi again. He uses his keyblade against her heart again. Except this time he uses the Keyblade created by the Princesses of Heart.

This time, he aims at Kairi's heart instead of Ven's.

Kairi’s heart is consumed.

And Riku is back control of his body. Because Kairi's power is no longer being contained by her body, because he has a direct link to that power by holding the Keyblade that holds her heart. Because they shared a paopu fruit and that created a magical bond. (And Ansem screams because Ven is lost! There was only a brief window in time to capture his heart as Kairi's was unleashed, and because of the switch in control, that window is gone! Ven is gone. Ansem rages) (Ansem is powerless as long as Riku keeps hold of that Keyblade)

And Riku, who was screaming inside Ansem the entire time he was fighting Kairi, goes no, no, no, this can't be happening. I can’t have killed Kair, can’t have killed my best friend.

I need to save her.

In this world, Riku is the one who breaks the Keyblade and returns the Princesses their hearts.

And Ansem is back in control.

Things go mostly according to canon again, with Kairi going after Ansem (because he will give Riku back!) (because the Kingdom of Hearts must never be opened)

It ends with Riku and King Mickey closing The Door on one side, Kairi, Donald and Goofy closing The Door on the other side. But before closing it, Kairi makes Riku promise that he'll come back to her. He promises that he will (which is a good thing, because Riku is pretty suicidal right now and things would not end well without this promise)

Kairi and Mickey close Kingdom Hearts. And Kairi returns to Radiant Garden (because that's her original world. That's where she was born). Donald and Goofy go to that world instead of their own as well, because Kairi instinctively uses Princess powers to keep their hearts with her. The final image is Kairi, flanked by Donald and Goofy, looking up at all the stars that are back.

End act 1. Now, we get to the good stuff. Now, the butterfly effects really come into play.

Kairi is a Princess of Heart. They are incapable of creating Nobody's. So when her heart was released from her body? Nothing happened.

In this world, Naminé doesn't exist.

Roxas does.

Except he's not Kairi's Nobody. He's Ventus. He's a heart that exists without a body, something possible only because of the connection he has with a Princess of Heart.

But without being inside Kairi’s heart, that connection isn't enough to protect him. Slowly, Ventus is turning into a heartless.

The part of him that is Vanitas is TERRIFIED. That part of him remembers how hollow he always felt, how it always felt like something was missing. How that feeling only went away after merging with Ven. He doesn't want to go back to that. This desire is unconscious though, because Ventus/Roxas has lost his memory.

Roxas is still found by Xehanort, Ansem's Nobody. Roxas still becomes the thirteenth member of Organisation XIII.

But Kairi never goes to Castle of Oblivion. She never has her memories manipulated by Naminé. There’s no failed coup within the Organisation. So when Kairi finally does meet the Organisation?

Things look very different indeed...

And that’s all I have on this. Thank you for coming to my TED talk! If anyone wants to speculate on what happens next, be my guest!

#kingdom hearts #meta #kairi #riku #wayfinder trio #destiny trio #except it's a destiny duo #unless you count in ven #which i do #then it's the destiny trio again #ven can belong to more trio's than one #as a treat

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unlockthelore · 4 years ago

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Chivalry

For so long, Kairi had been the one who was protected, but now she had to protect the ones who tried their hardest for her.

Part of the Beyond the Horizon series on Ao3. For more updates, follow the beyond the horizon tag on this blog.

Returning to the island where they played as children was difficult on Riku. As much as he tried to hide his inner struggles, they were there, plain as day in Kairi’s eyes. She could tell how he tried not to approach the Secret Place or the furthermost treehouse with its open terrace where the palm trees shaded enough for a nice nap. Walks along a sandy shore with the surf’s chilled foamy waters rolling over their feet were harder when they looked back and found only two sets of footprints instead of three. She didn’t pretend not to notice when Riku squeezed her hand or lingered on the bent paopu tree long past sunset.

A space always left between them for the one who couldn’t be there with them.

For now, she reminded herself. Just for now.

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

“Need another pin.”

Riku’s voice roused her from her thoughts just as the waves crashed against the pier’s wooden posts. A spray of water misting against the soles of her feet as they swung back and forth over the damp wooden boards. Kairi tipped her head to one side then glanced toward the calloused palm hovering in her periphery. The scrapes and bruises unable to be healed by healing magic blended into peach tanned skin, but afternoons spent tracing them with her nails reminded her of where they were. She shuffled slightly, a throbbing ache in her lower back from sitting in one position for so long. Her fingers dipped into the small cup of bobby pins left beside an assortment of colorful hair clips beneath the pom of her moogle backpack. Two plucked out and set in Riku’s palm. Sunlight catching on the glossy black surface until his fingers curled around them and a light kiss was pressed to the top of her head.

“Thank you.”

Kairi smiled to herself, one of her knees pulled to her chest as she leant back against him. His fingers working into her hair with the start of another braid somewhere at the right side of her head. “So you’re going on another world tour after this?” She asked, resting her hand against his thigh, the checkered pattern of his board shorts plucked between her fingertips.

It took a moment longer for him to reply. Always so serious with his work, a distracted hum was his only response for a moment. “Yeah…” He murmured, and she felt him tie off the braid after snapping on a rubber band. “Part of being a Keyblade Master is making sure no one has so much as a hurt toe, I guess.”

“Riku,” she scolded gently.

Although, she could understand his discontent with the task. Masters were charged with the world’s affairs, but in Kairi’s opinion, it seemed too big of a job for one person. Or two, in Aqua and Riku’s case. More than that, she knew what he wanted to do with the access he was given to traversing the worlds but someone had to be there to help. Perhaps they were following Sora’s example by trying to do more for others instead of putting themselves first.

She frowned and curled her fingers around Riku’s knee, squeezing gently. “It has been awhile though, and it would be nice to see everyone again.”

The likelihood of new information cropping up was minuscule but they could take comfort in knowing their friends hadn’t given up. Just as they hadn’t. Riku’s thigh tensed beneath her elbow and his hands stilled in her hair. She could tell he was considering her words or at least the implication set behind them. A light ruffle to the back of her head before he started to gather her hair up in a ponytail.

“Just so long as you don’t disappear into the castle for hours,” he said with a playful scolding tone. “I swear, Ienzo will talk to you forever about science if you let him.”

Kairi smiled, keeping her head stilled as he continued combing his fingers through her hair. “He’s just really passionate about what he does!” She clapped her hands together, fingertips pressing and palms barely touching. “Besides, it’s nice to hear it.”

To be included, if she were honest. So often were things done without her involvement or knowledge. Left out. Left behind. She was sick and tired of being the odd one out who wasn’t expected to do anything. If everyone she loved was going to fight then so was she. Even if it did mean going through lectures and notes Ienzo meticulously prepared, far too eager to share his knowledge with someone else.

After a few moments of idle humming and his hands working through her hair, Kairi bounced and pressed her empty hand to her thigh. “Are we done?” She tried to keep the impatience out of her voice but she desperately wanted to see his work. Growing out their hair again had been a mutual decision for the time being.

The unspoken condition not having to be said when they thought back to their journey before the last. Sora lamenting that he was the only one who hadn’t grown between the three of them. When in her eyes, he was one of the two that had changed the most.

Her bangs were swept to one side in answer, Riku’s lilting hum coming with the soft click of a hair clip. Rough palms gently cupped her cheeks and tipped her head back to where his lips were waiting to brush a kiss against her forehead. It was featherlight and fleeting, ending before she could really enjoy it, but a pleasant touch all the same. Her eyes crinkled at the corners as her lips pulled back in a smile, fingers curled over his own to squeeze.

“Are we done?”

“Mmm…” Sharp shadows cast by the fading afternoon sun darkened Riku’s blue-green eyes, half-lidded as his gaze flicked about her face lingering somewhere above her eyes. “Yep.”

Kairi grinned and brushed his hands away, twisting to kneel between his thighs, her arms thrown around his neck in a tight hug. “Thanks Riku.”

“Welcome,” he murmured. His breath ghosted across her bare shoulder, sending shivers down her spine that had little to do with the water dribbling along her toes. Gentle pressure from his hand flattened against her back in the barest show of affection.

Kairi sighed. Her mouth tucked against the curve of his jaw as she held him close and listened to the waves. One day, she wished, one day Riku would be able to accept the love they had to give him. As a friend and hopefully something else. She pulled back enough to hold him by the shoulders, ignoring a faint flutter in her chest when he looked up at her from beneath silver-white eyelashes.

“How about we go tomorrow?”

Surprise flickered across Riku’s features, and Kairi could understand why. Abrupt departures were something they tried to avoid when finding a new normal. But normal was far off for either of them. “Fine by me,” he said after a brief pause, a small smile quirked at the corners of his lips. “Little late today anyway. Your grandpa will kick my ass if you disappear without telling him.”

Kairi stifled a giggle behind a closed fist drawn to her mouth while her other hand thumped against Riku’s shoulder scoldingly. While she could recall the mayor’s stricken face when she returned to the main land, it was his weeping in private that’d made her reluctant to leave so soon.

“He’s been letting up just a little with letting me go more, but I still should tell him.”

The hand against her lower back hovered somewhere near her hip with the other joining it to keep her steady. Riku shifted backward to make room for her to clamor up onto the pier, the items spilled out of their shared backpack stored away.

“Lucky you,�� she heard Riku say as he tried to free the moogle’s pom from the pack’s zipper. Her reflection in her gummiphone’s camera smiling and observing the three braids, clip and high ponytail he’d done with interest.

Once their pack was closed and hiked up on Riku’s shoulder, he held his hand out to her and Kairi took it with a light squeeze. She hooked her fingers in the opening of her sneakers and carried them at her side as they walked down the pier. Riku strolling down the steps one by one while Kairi hopped two by two. Their uneven pace dragged him forward a bit and only after he nudged her shoulder did she decide to slow down. Moisture along the soles of her feet made the sand cling between her toes, a soft krrch as she rubbed them together, enjoying the grit and slight sink of her heels in the sun warmed shores.

It only made sense for her to walk in the surf, she pointed out to Riku as she tugged him over. Glistening waters washed over her feet and barely touched the soles of his sandals although he made sure to gripe about it every time it came close. Their talks ranged from his mother’s experiments with the Keyblade out of sheer engineering delight, and their respective guardians’ reactions to learning there were other worlds outside of their own. While her grandfather seemed to accept it well enough, Riku’s mother was infinitely curious.

Like mother, like son.

“My mom’s been worried every time I talk about a new world. Chip and Dale gave her a gummiphone to ease her worry, and they’ve been talking non-stop about prototypes and who knows what else.”

Kairi giggled. “Little victories, Riku.”

He shot her a look of mock annoyance. “Always looking on the bright side, aren’t you? Let me sulk a bit, will ya?”

As they crossed beneath the bridge connecting the island to the smaller one a bit further from its shores, Kairi pretended to think it over. Shade provided by the wood was filtered with glimmers of light between the cracks and openings. It’d been awhile since Sora’s dad came to patch the bridge up. She could hardly imagine what it would be like a few years from now. Rolling her eyes up to the small streaks of sunlight, she hummed then shook her head.

“Nope!” She swung their hands back and forth, smiling despite his withering stare. “Not allowed.”

Riku sighed heavily, exaggeratedly rolling his eyes. “Whatever you say, princess.”

Princess.

Kairi swallowed. She hardly thought of the title much in the recent year or two. Not like when she’d been pulled from their island the first time. Her heart vied after because it was that of a princesses’. Seeing all of those empty faces, vacant eyes, Sora’s pain to strive and get her back but all he saw was a shell. She wasn’t truly inside. She was part of him. The princess who needed saving was right by his side all along but unable to do a thing.

“You’re never gonna let that go, are you?” She asked, trying to keep the mood jovial but the bitter thought soured her tone.

Riku’s half-jesting smile fell, a single brow raised as they slowed to a stop half-way beneath the bridge. “Why would I?”

“Because I’m not really a princess,” she said. Not at all. Even from the world she truly came from, there was nothing about her that was princess-like. Only a little girl who enjoyed flowers and her grandmother’s stories.

“What? You mean like the ones in fairy tales?”

Something in her snapped at the mention of fairy tales. Her grandmother’s face, weathered with age but sincere with greyed eyes and a chipper smile. “Yes,” she huffed. Riku snorted and shook his head. Kairi frowned. Just what was he not understanding? “I’m not a princess.”

She squeezed his hand and the last of the humor drained out of him as he stared down at her, his eyes seeming to glow in the weak light.

“Okay, and what is a princess to you?”

Her mouth fell open and for a moment, she wasn’t sure what to say. Her grandmother described princesses in one way or another with all of the stories of young women scattered across time in different worlds.

“Someone that’s meant to be royalty,” Kairi started, ticking off the traits on her fingers. “Calming, kind, gentle, loving, caring.”

With it laid out before her, she had to attest that she wasn’t any of those things. Hardly calming with the amount of trouble that stirred with her mere presence. Kind was an overstatement. She was nice when she wanted to be and otherwise, if someone really deserved it then she’d let them have it. Gentle, absolutely not. Loving, her gaze flicked to Riku and his thoughtful expression then the image of Sora in her mind.

Caring? If she cared, then neither of them would be like —

“Wanna know what a princess is like to me?” Riku interjected, cutting off the poisonous thoughts and dragging her back to reality. His eyes were glowing in the darkness and seemed to only render her silent as all she could do was muster a nod. “Someone like you.”

With how resolutely he spoke the words, she couldn’t think of anything to say in response. Transfixed on his face and the stern set of his jaw as he held her hand a bit tighter.

“So what if you weren’t meant to be royalty. Half the people who are don’t deserve it anyway,” he seemed to consider something then shrugged half-heartedly. “Sans the king and queen that is.”

Kairi tried not to laugh as Riku mumbled and fumbled with his words. It was sincere and she felt the biting souring thoughts begin to drift backward. Not out of mind but further from the centre of it.

“People have to want to follow you and listen to you. You think Donald and Goofy would’ve chased after Mickey for so long if they didn’t at least like him?”

She had to give him a point on that one. King Mickey, despite all of his faults, was fairly likable if not a little cute. Donald was a bit of a livewire while Goofy could be a bit lazy now and again. For both of them to run around the worlds with Sora in search of their lost king, he had to be something.

Still, that changed little in what she thought. Her fingers pressed against his own, their palms warm and a bit clammy. “Who would want to listen to me?”

Her voice rarely reached. When Sora needed encouragement, when he was at his lowest and felt abandoned by all those around him, she could barely summon a word to help him out. But she could hear him calling to her all the time from where she slept. Assuring her that he would come and rescue her, that he missed her, that they would all be together again. Riku did the same but his words were harsher. He assured he would protect her, that he wouldn’t let anything else harm her, that they’d go elsewhere — all three of them — just like they said.

They were all blinded and unable to hear.

And all she wanted was for them to listen to what she had to say.

Riku tugged her close by the hand, her toes catching in the sand as she fell into the solid warmth of his chest. His hand pressed to her back as he held her close.

“Me. Right now.… Hear me out?”

Kairi curled her fingers in the back of his tank top and pressed her forehead to his chest, nodding slowly. Riku felt sturdy and firm, solid with enough softness that she could be sure he wasn’t made out of stone. His fingers brushed against the swell of her ponytail and she hugged him tighter around his middle.

“You’re kind, you’re caring…” He snorted and flicked the ends of her hair, sending them sweeping against her shoulders with a light tickle that made a giggle bubble up in her throat. “And very stubborn.”

Kairi huffed, patting his back lightly. “So are you.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t mind being a princess,” Riku said in a snobbish tone. Kairi biting back laughter by burying her face against his chest. His own chuckles felt as vibrations beneath her cheek. “Let me finish.”

She nodded slowly and brought her other hand around his middle, her sneakers knocking together as she hooked her hands by her pinkies. Riku’s hand settled against the top of her head and smoothed down her hair. The distant crash of waves, trickling frorm the makeshift waterfall near the little cove they called their Secret Place. Even the gentle creaking of the wood as it groaned beneath a salty breeze rolled in from the ocean. It all reminded her so much of home.

“You’re kind but you don’t let people walk over you. You know your worth, what you put your time into you’re passionate about. And you do your best to help. That’s why people listen to you. You’re always trying, we can rely on you. Remember when we found Chocolina as kids? You calmed her down because you’re you. That’s your power, Kairi.”

She buried her face against his chest. It was difficult to stop herself from doing it. With all of what he said, she couldn’t help but try to find some alternative. When they needed her most — her voice couldn’t reach them, but she was trying now. That meant something, didn’t it? Sora’s infectious cheer, all of his positive-thinking, it might have been rubbing off on them for awhile now. As much as she wanted to be upset with herself, she wanted to take this chance even more.

Riku’s hand settled against her shoulder, strong and unyielding, but gentle as he pulled back from her. His blue-green eyes softened, fingers curling beneath her chin to tilt her head up. Concern stole his smile and his thumb swiped under her eye, smearing a tear against her skin. She sniffed and offered him a smile as her hand came up to cup the back of his own.

“So what if you’re not one of the ones in the story. I never was really into the damsel in distress type anyway.”

Kairi covered her mouth hurriedly, a snort that was definitely unprincess-like left them both sputtering in laughter. Riku leant down and his forehead pressed to hers as they laughed and smiled. If a few tears slipped past then neither of them mentioned it. Only wiping it away with the crooks of fingers and a reassuring glance. Her hand slipped into Riku’s again and he gave it a gentle squeeze.

“But if it bothers you, I’ll stop calling you that,” he promised, and she knew that he meant it.

The walk from beneath the bridge was slower and as they approached the other side of the sands, Kairi glanced up at him.

“Riku?”

He gave a soft hum, his head turned the other way, eyes focused on the ramshackle doorway which led to the other part of the island. She wondered what he was thinking. Would it have been the race he had with Sora? Or when they were finally putting the last touches on their raft.

“… Be my prince?”

His hold on her hand tightened considerably and absently, Kairi had to wonder if he was holding back his real strength all the time. His head whipped around and in the scarlet sunrays, she could see the faint touch of pink in his cheeks. “What?”

She tipped her head to one side, feigning innocence with a small smile. “Too much?”

“W- I mean…” Riku sputtered, and Kairi tried her best not to laugh. It wasn’t often that she saw him at a loss for words or this shy. He lifted a hand, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m not really the prince type, Kairi.”

“Of course you are,” she insisted, feeling just a bit of payback was in order along with honesty. “You’re kind and patient, and you always come to the rescue when you’re needed. Besides, I feel safe around you.”

With each trait listed off, Riku seemed to grow more and more shy. She wanted to pull him into another hug and assure him that it was true. All of the words she was speaking, the meaning behind them, they were absolutely true. Riku always thought the worst of himself and although she knew he was changing to begin with — this wasn’t what she wanted.

He didn’t deserve to suffer for his mistakes forever.

“If you’re really set on having a prince, save that spot for Sora.”

Kairi’s eyes widened as the name fell from Riku’s lips. He didn’t shy away from speaking about Sora in matters of finding him or the deeds he committed for the sake of the worlds. But on their own, in times when it was only them, he seemed to dance around speaking his name as if he was unworthy of saying it. His hand fell from the back of his neck, hanging loosely at his side as he gazed northward past the broken fence partly submerged where it hung off from the shores and dipped into the ocean.

Kairi followed his line of sight and for a second, she could imagine Sora hopping along the posts while they urged him to be careful. His sunny grin wet when he accidentally slipped and fell into the water, splashing about in surprise. Riku ran after him without hesitation and Kairi returned to the treehouses to grab a few of the sheets to help them dry off after. She squeezed his fingers again as the memory faded along with Sora’s laughter.

“Then what are you?” She asked, turning her gaze back to Riku. He surprised her, constantly. Always deflecting positive affirmations to someone else. She knew that he didn’t mean to. That he was trying to stay within the lines that he’d set and not stray from them. Time would help them both but she wasn’t sure what all was needed. How far did they have to go before they could be together without feeling guilty again.

Riku shrugged, sheepish but receptive as he glanced toward her. A pride in his eyes that reminded her of the boy who proclaimed they’d leave their home world with a simple call of ‘Let’s go’.

“The knight who keeps you both safe.”

Kairi shook her head, tugging lightly on their hands. “We keep each other safe, Riku,” she chided gently, tipping her head skyward. “And we’ll save our prince and then…”

“Happily ever after.”

Kairi looked to him in surprise, the vague amusement showing in his eyes as he laced their fingers together then turned his gaze skyward.

“Yeah,” she echoed back as she stared at him numbly, then turned her gaze upward once more. “Happily ever after…”

#kingdom hearts #sorikai #rikai #riku #kairi #fanfiction #my fanfiction #sora

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iamoncewas · 5 years ago

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The Symphony of Sorcery

The dark musical score possessing Mickey can be seen as being controlled by fear or doubt, and Spellican is the source of it. In order to face him, the source of the fear, the darkness first has to be dispelled. To do that, Sora needs a Sound Idea, and its a power that can dispel any darkness. Mickey tells Riku that force won't stop the darkness, but a Sound Idea will.

An "Idea" is a thought or concept, actually or potentially present to consciousness. When something is "Sound", it is free from flaw or fallacy, based on knowledge and experience, is logically valid, and has true premise.

When Sora tries his Sound Idea, they find one isn't enough. Sora is unconcerned, and knows Riku will come through, which he does. They needed 2 Sound Ideas because this "power that dispels any darkness" is love, and that takes a connection between 2 hearts.

Sora and Riku both had a Sound Idea. They traversed beautiful worlds to retrieve them. These worlds however, were fraught with monsters (fear, doubt, and lies), though not as powerful as the "big one". They each considered something that was logical and had true premise. Something that can dispel any darkness. These Sound Ideas then came together and created a "powerful harmony".

The "Sound Idea" that both Sora and Riku had, was that they just might really, truly, be in love with each other. And yes, those two separate ideas they had are in fact so sound, that they literally created music together. Dearly Beloved.

When Riku retrieves his sound idea, he places his hand on his heart and gasps. He then falls into darkness, landing in front of YMX.

This is mentioned here because, Riku originally had his Sound Idea in KH1, which was when he became jealous of Kairi, which led to his fall to darkness.

Sora's boss is Spellican, who can be seen as his confusion over his feelings for Kairi, what is obscuring his truth. That's why Riku instead fights Chernobog, representing his own darkness.

Sora continually refers to Mickey as "Your Majesty", forgetting this is a past time where they haven't yet met. Riku doesn't have this issue, having been calling Mickey by his name for a while because of their closeness, which is pointed out by Mickey's continual remarks on their familiarity, and his hopes to one day be part of the team. Riku and Mickey have a strong bond, as strong as Sora's is to Donald and Goofy. And this past, dream version of Mickey can still feel their experiences in his heart.

The present Mickey knows how deeply Riku and Sora are connected, how much they truly care for each other, and Mickey knew exactly who they were talking about in the RoD in 2.9. And this past Mickey knows too, even though he just met them.

He hears the way Riku talks about Sora, and then tells him blatantly that it's because Riku loves Sora so much that Sora was able to enjoy the music at all. Without Riku the music wouldn't exist. To say their "hearts are always in tune" and that they are each "holding onto a little part of the other" [this part is quite literal as well I think] is to say that they inherently understand each other, they match each other. He's basically telling Riku that they're soul mates. They are counterpoint to each other.

[Counterpoint's Japanese name is Fantasy Notes, but I still believe this is relevant or its English name would be more similar. Perhaps this was a clue specifically aimed at the Western audience but idk.]

Counterpoint - the combination of two or more independent melodies into a single harmonic texture in which each retains its linear character.

Dearly Beloved is a counterpoint. It contains two distinct melodies composed out of identical chord structures, allowing them to be layered on top of each other.

The KH1 version of Dearly Beloved contained only the primary melody. Every game after has contained the secondary melody as well. Riku can be seen as the primary melody. That's why the KH1 version only contained the primary melody, because only Riku had faced his romantic feelings for Sora. Sora was suppressing his. They resurfaced in him when he closed the Door to Darkness in Riku's face at the end of KH1. Sora is the secondary melody.

Sora's score is pink. Riku's is blue. The colours of dawn. The beginning of the KH3 intro is the dawn sky.

"I cant go back to being the liar I used to be. Our rings shall be the colour of the sunrise. Lay your heartbeat on top of mine and let's dance. Let's celebrate the fact that we live in this moment."

"Kiss me once, kiss me twice, give me you. Let's listen to the sound of the sunrise, side by side. Let's vow to live our lives together."

"Its so damn annoying that I want to fall asleep clinging to you every day."

"Under the beautiful blue sky, we would keep sleeping..."

Nomura said Passion is specifically about "Sora and Riku's reunion". He told Utada Hikaru that he wanted it to be like a "Hikari 2". Therefore, Hikari is also about Riku and Sora. All of the theme songs are, including Dearly Beloved, the theme of the series.

The Combined Keyblade has only appeared in The World That Never Was in DDD (the dream), and in the Dark World in KH3. Sora and Riku appear to only be able use it in sleep/darkness. If they could use it in the Realm of Light, I imagine they would be using it all the time. This is intentional, because it's in the darkness that Sora and Riku's connection is the strongest. Because that's where they face their fears, shining light on the darkness. Riku knew he had to face Ansem, his darkness, or he would keep coming back. He had to shine light on him, and what he represented. It's not about changing the darkness into light. The darkness is still darkness, it just doesn't control you. When Riku says "consume the darkness, return it to light", he means, see it for what it is, and don't fight it. Accept it as a part of you. This is how he "trapped darkness in his heart", making him immune to it's influence. It happened when he turned into Ansem, which was when he looked directly at his darkness, and it changed him. He returned to his true form after protecting the others in KH2, after staring directly into the light. Once he realized all he cared about was Sora.

The combined keyblade only manifests in darkness because it represents the truth within the darkness, that Sora and Riku are each other's light. Accepting the "dark power in their hearts", their secret deep feelings they were once ashamed of, which led to a sometimes painful journey. A heart is pain, but pain is being human. This is darkness born from love. Why the combined keyblade has both a light side, and a dark side.

Darkness IS the heart's true nature. It's what we love, what we care about, what we connect with, that gives the heart it's light.

Dearly Beloved basically means, something very treasured or important. It's also something said by the officiate at the start of a wedding. A wedding of sorts is clearly what the original lyrics to Chikai convey.

"Today is the perfect day for an unprecedented vow, our vow. We don't need beautiful flowers or witnesses. Let's wear rings of the same colour."

When something is gotten "dearly", it has been achieved through great hardship.

This is why I think the combined keyblade's name is Dearly Beloved. It's the music their hearts make together manifested as a keyblade, and it cuts through any darkness. Their heart and soul's union.

#soriku endgame actually #soriku #dream drop distance #otp #keyblade boyfriends #hearts in tune #symphony of sorcery #kh theories #dearly beloved #the road to dawn

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aliceslantern · 5 years ago

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Beyond this Existence: Atonement chapter 17

Ansem always had a penchant for strays, so it's not at all surprising when he takes in the orphaned child Ienzo. The boy's presence changes everything, far more than Even is willing to admit. Ienzo's brilliance seems promising, but the arrival of a young Xehanort pushes the apprentices onto a dark, cruel, inhumane path which will affect the future of the World. And even once it's all over with--once Xehanort is dead--they still must pick up the pieces, forgive one another, find a way to atone for their atrocities, and struggle to accept the humanity which has been thrust upon them.

Or: Even's journey from BBS through post-KH3

Chapter summary: Even and Ansem repair their old friendship, growing closer in an unexpected way. Even's newest research project breaks his stagnation.

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

---

It takes time.

Time of conversations, of walks, arguments. Time digging through the muck of their pasts. It is still hard to trust one another; it might always be. But they seem to be getting somewhere, and Even will take somewhere after nowhere.

He tells Ansem about those long twelve years under Xemnas's thumb; about the replicas, Roxas, all they did to make worlds fall. About vain attempts at Kingdom Hearts, about the dissolution of his rapports with Zexion, Lexeaus, and especially Xaldin; the horrors of Castle Oblivion; his own death. He recounts it with a sort of distance, and then rolls up one of his sleeves to show Ansem part of the scars.

"How's that for karmic payback?" he asks dryly.

Ansem examines his arm with a stricken expression. Then, deliberately or not at all, he runs his fingertip along it. "Does it still ail you?"

The touch is unsettling; though why? Even is feeling something unfamiliar. Discomfort? Uncertainty?

Something else entirely? He was never good at feelings.

"Not so much," he says. "Though most of the flesh is numb. You may get some pleasure from the fact that I was first to die."

Ansem doesn't comment on this. "And this devastation is… total?"

"All but my face, hands, throat, and feet. I suppose I should be grateful for that--hard to do delicate work if one cannot feel one's fingers." He can feel the blood in his face. "My body does not matter, so long as it does not collapse on me."

"At our age vanity is just that," he agrees. "I am… sorry."

He barks an awkward laugh. "What for?"

"None deserve to die so violently."

"Blame Axel's flair for the dramatic. A simple slice to the jugular would have been sufficient."

There are a few beats of silence. Ansem taps the tips of his fingers together, restlessly. “And the others?”

“How did we die?”

“Is that too… voyeuristic to ask?”

“I don’t believe so.” Even sighs. “Xaldin and Demyx were both felled by Sora, Lexeaus by Riku, Zexion by… Axel’s machinations. I’m afraid it’s all rather violent. But it was necessary, to be whole. Seems to go against the grain.”

“It does,” he agrees.

“Things seem to make less and less sense to me the longer I live.”

Ansem chuckles. “That’s how it seems. Wisdom is merely… negative learning.”

Months, and months, and months--

He and Ansem seem to be developing a warmer rapport. It is easier to be with one another, to be frank. Something like their old friendship peers through the cracks. It gives Even hope, for the first time in a long, long while. Hope that they might yet be saved. Things warm between the rest of them, as well. The talk is not so dreadfully existential. This is helped considerably by the two boys; Ienzo’s dry humor and Demyx’s easygoing nature are encouraging. The idea of all having dinner together is no longer so awkward, but rather something to look forward to.

When possible, Even helps Ienzo with his memorial project for their victims, in its final draft. One spring day, the boy presents it to them, explains at length what it means; the symbolism of flowers, the presentation of their records, the histories of those impacted by what they did. It’s the culmination of an entire year.

Hearing it all, Even is filled with something like pride for the boy, the way he so gracefully has taken responsibility. It is something he himself must learn to do.

Radiant Garden elects a city council, a group of seven individuals to take the brunt of the work from the committee. There’s some worry as to whether they may face legal consequences for what they did, but eventually, and along with the committee’s vouch, they’re allowed to remain as they were, so long as they provide their assistance. As this is what they all want anyway, it’s no issue. Ansem acts as advisor; with this to fill his days, he improves.

They’re allowed to build the garden. Almost everyone spends as much time here as possible, doing what they can. It’s good to work with the body.

Once it’s all done…

For a while he and Ansem stand in front of the wall of names. He places incense in the altar, lights it; many other burnt sticks are already crowding the stone.

I’m sorry.

He doesn’t say it, not out loud. They’re resting in a place beyond words, no thanks to him. His heart is racing, and he can feel the wetness in his eyes. As much progress as they’ve made, the guilt will be there, probably forever. And rightfully so.

Ansem rests a hand on his shoulder. “Peace, Even,” he says gently. “It’s alright.”

Perhaps it’s this implication of forgiveness, but he breaks. It seems all the pain is at the surface now; the loss of his family, the brunt of what he’s done. It hurts to be forgiven. He does not nearly deserve it.

Ansem gently embraces him. To be touched is something of a shock, and for a moment it only intensifies this crying fit. More pathetic yet, he’s clinging to him like a lifeline in this storm.

But once it’s through, once he so slowly collects the pieces of himself, dries his eyes, there’s something like catharsis, an undoing rather than a sealing away.

(And, he notes, Ansem still smells the same.)

“I… must apologize,” he says thickly. “This is most unbecoming.”

“I daresay you could use a cup of tea,” Ansem says, letting go of him.

“Perhaps something stronger.”

---

Even knows time is passing, as much as it may not feel like it. He shouldn’t be surprised when gossip is laid at his feet, brought by Dilan, who heard it from Ansem, who heard it from the city council, who heard it from the committee, who heard it from Demyx. It’s a complicated game of telephone, but as soon as Even hears it, he knows it’s not mere rumor:

Ienzo and Demyx are engaged.

He’s gotten used to the boy by now, but yet he feels something like the anger he had when he first found out they were together. Because god Ienzo is just so young . Much too young to make a decision like this. Almost getting himself killed is one thing, but… getting married? At twenty-one?

“That so,” he says to Dilan.

He smirks. “What can I say. My sources are reliable.”

“You should’ve been a journalist, not an engineer.” He leans against his palm. “Has anyone talked to him about it?”

“Not quite.” He shrugs. “Would it be the worst thing?”

“At this point in their neurological development, they are literally incapable of making consequential decisions. I don’t want them to do something they’ll regret.” His heart is beating hard with dread.

A shrug. “I’d take a divorced Ienzo over a dead or depressed one. Besides. Wasn’t your marriage rather spur-of-the-moment?”

He has a point. Still, Even feels blood rush into his face. “I’ll talk to him.”

He doesn’t have to wait long; the boy comes to him with a thick manuscript, a more portable version of the stories he’s gathered from their victims, and the survivors. It feels… odd, to hold it in his hands. Odd and uncomfortable. He knows the truth of it. Yet to hear their words is… well. Power to the boy for being able to handle it. “I never pictured you as a soft scientist,” Even says instead.

Ienzo exhales. He needs glasses now, the first concrete sign of his humanity catching up to him. “You’re going to be frightfully disappointed in me, but I no longer derive any pleasure or fulfillment from so-called “harder” subjects.”

Even frowns. “Why on earth would I be disappointed?” As though pursuing his passions were a bad thing?

“I do recall a period in my life when you found my perusal of fiction a waste of time, when I could be studying.”

He sets the book down. “We all know what a fool I was, back then. No.” He smiles. “The only way I’d be disappointed in you was if you were to waste your life faffing about. But you were never lazy.”

He scratches his cheek. “I understand the… trepidation, you might feel,” he says slowly. “And… it is quite harrowing.”

Even drops his eyes. “I can only imagine what the experience has been like, for you.”

“...Gathering these stories?” He hesitates. “Not everyone is… willing to share such dark content of their hearts. I’ve had more than one door slammed in my face.” He wrings his hands. “I’d hoped that my suspicion regarding everyone’s opinion of us was mere paranoia, but some folks do feel a certain… ire. Not that I can blame them.” He clears his throat. “It’s… worth it, to hear their voices. We… need to understand the human impact. I don’t mean the numbers.” He is shy, sheepish. “I have… written something of an abridged memoir, myself.”

Ienzo always loved stories. It must be one of the many ways he’s trying to take care of himself. “It would only make sense. You are one of the victims.” Used, manipulated, stunted, deprived of a normal life.

He flinches. “Victim and perpetrator in one. Seems I am fated to live in dichotomy.” He inhales sharply. “I have already spoken to the others. It might be valuable to give your own version of events. Not necessarily for publication.”

Funny boy. “For the good of my recovery?”

The earnestness almost makes Even laugh. “Well, yes. You had said you were trying to write and reflect, to delineate a new identity. How is this any different? Your perspective could offer some insight to future generations, when they inevitably look back at all this.”

“Record keeping,” Even mutters. “Very well. I… will consider it. Are you alright?”

He flinches, again, and presses a hand to his brow. “I had hoped these new glasses would lessen my headaches, but that appears not to be the case.”

Concern blooms in him. “You’re still getting them? After all this time?” Surely it isn’t healthy.

He smiles, but it looks fake. “Not frequently. You needn’t worry. Take as much time as you’d like with it. I have other copies.”

“I shall, but…” Even looks him over. He is improved compared to those early days--a healthy weight and color--but that doesn’t mean he isn’t still feeling the ramifications of all he did. “ Do let that fiance of yours take a look at you. Apparently he’s quite competent.” He waves his hand dismissively.

Ienzo, hearing the word, flushes; caught.

“Did you actually think you could keep it under wraps?” Even asks. “What with Dilan’s inane gossiping?”

“Not… secret. I don’t see why my personal life should be of interest to anyone.”

“Of course it will be, when we live on top of one another.” He debates biting this bullet. “You are so… very young. So young.”

He scowls. “As nobody will let me forget.”

“I don’t want you to get into something so permanent. You’re barely stable yourself.” When Ienzo says nothing, he adds-- “Even if you were not only twenty-one, you’ve only been with him a year. I realize you are not used to the idea of permanence, but this will be--”

“It was I who asked him.”

He blinks. Not at all what he thought. “I’d’ve--figured--”

He’s rather snappish when he says, “Demyx is very respectful of my boundaries. He would not force me into anything I did not explicitly ask for. Should it end, we will deal with it maturely. But I don’t see that happening.”

Again, his mind’s made up. Concern wells in Even. But he supposes Dilan must be right. The boy should be allowed to make his own choices. His life has already been so tempestuous; this might offer him a shred of stability, artificial or no. “Do you truly want this?” Even asks. “Would it make you happy?”

“Yes,” he says. “And I am already happy. Insofar as I can be, anyway.”

Then that’s that. “I suppose I will always see you as a… child.”

He sighs. “Par for the course when you raise someone.You were always… more my guardian than Ansem. But you must trust I am able to make my own decisions. After all, you--” He blushes.

“I what?”

“It was not me you came back to Radiant Garden for.”

“You know why I had to leave. Ienzo, I did not want to, but who else would’ve--”

“...I know.” He bites his lip. “Still. A note would’ve been appreciated. You needn’t protect me anymore. Especially from Demyx.”

Even sighs. “Old habits die hard. Or so the cliche goes.”

“...Right. Well. I shall leave you to it, then.” He leaves, allowing Even to consider the manuscript in front of him. It takes a few minutes of culling his nerve to open it.

One could not call Ienzo a “concise” writer. His language is flowery, emotional; he plays with the voices of the survivors, curating it carefully. Even wonders if, had the boy been raised differently, he might’ve been a writer after all.

It is harrowing. The heartbreak and torment these people went through--the snippets of it--

Even once she was back, she was never the same.

He just vanished. We thought it might’ve been the wolves, beyond the city limits. But then we heard those stories about the castle and I… I just knew, in the pit of my stomach. I felt so betrayed by the king. Why did he let this happen?

I kissed their cheek, tied the ribbon in their hair. They were so excited to go; their whole class was rooting for them. They never came home.

Even feels nauseous. Still, he continues. He knows he needs to do this, to listen to them. To again feel that human weight.

Perhaps the most upsetting part of it is Ienzo’s, shoehorned at the very back.

I know people must think we’re monsters. It is only right, it is only true . Yet we were also subjected to the darkness we bore, its ache, the way it destroys all that is good. My unraveling was a slow one, one I am still trying to fix. But is anything we do ever enough?

Is it?

---

So Even writes again, abridging his manic, borderline unintelligible journals from the months prior into something halfway readable. It’s hard to find the balance, between feeling and fact, what will make a cohesive narrative. He was never a writer, nor, he thinks, does he want to be. He gives Ienzo some suggested edits and leaves it all at the child’s favorite desk in the library.

Again there’s that stiff sense of catharsis, of a sort of release. His mind is so much more tangled than he ever thought. More complex.

(More human.)

He wonders, with something like a flash, if in fact darkness harnesses the mind like addiction. It truly is a euphoric pull. If only, if only he had working MRI equipment to study the mind. All he has is blood, is feelings. That doesn’t account for much. Not watertight science.

He finds himself rambling about this to Ansem, of all people.

This seems to shake him; for several moments Ansem just stares into the middle distance, something stricken on his face. Then, “Even, you’re a genius.”

“Don’t be absurd--it’s been in my face all along, yet I’ve ignored the signs--”

“We all have. We thought this was about morality--and it is, of course we’re still accountable for our actions. But all this… difficulty becoming human, the way we were undone so quickly… it makes a sort of sense. Why we couldn’t stop even though we knew what we were doing.”

“Which is why I’m positively aching to study our minds,” he says, pacing. “I’ve no functioning machinery. A blood test won’t tell me much of anything anymore, except chemistry, and it’s so variable considering we’re all basically guaranteed to have multiple mental illnesses outside of this supposed “addiction”. There’s simply no way--”

“Oh, I can think of one,” Ansem says.

Even snorts. “Really? Name it.”

“We do know a few people who work with the body. In a way that is not quite literal.” A smile. “Not everything has to be so black and white.”

He blinks. “That is… absolutely correct.”

---

When Even asks Demyx about it, he also gives him that same odd look.

“Well fuck,” he says. “I mean I’m happy to help, but like, I’ve only been doing this for a few months now. Not sure I can… collect data, or whatever.” He spins idly on one of Even’s stools.

“You said you work with people’s energies. What does that tell you?”

He blows a raspberry. “Mostly it’s a… well. It depends. Like a color, or a note. Your personality, basically. But actually feeling inside the brain…” He looks at his hands. “You know… I’ve been desperately trying to repress it, but I’ve been inside someone’s head. I felt their…” He flinches. “Anyway. I wouldn’t know what to look for.”

“That I can help you with. And I can be guinea pig--if necessary.”

He bites his lip. “This will help people?”

“I’m positive.”

“Okay. Sure. I’m in.” He ruffles the hair at the back of his neck. His knee is jiggling. He doesn’t quite want to meet Even’s eyes. “I’ve gotta… do some reading. Some asking around.”

“I’m sure.”

“So guess I’ll go?”

“Of course. Thanks, Demyx. This means a lot to me.” To think there'd be a day when he willingly sought Demyx's help, his expertise.

He flashes a peace sign and stands.

“Wait.”

He tenses. He knows they’ve both been anticipating this. “Yeah?” he asks cautiously.

“You and Ienzo…” Even trails off. “Is this what you want as well?”

He looks up. He’s blushing. “It really is. I…” He bites his lip. “Love is weird and terrifying, but we kind of… helped each other become human. Kind of literally for me. Not sure if that’s why things between us are so intense. I can’t imagine it changing.”

“...I see.” He can tell there’s some realization to be gleaned from this; he can also tell that he desperately does not want to know it. “Very well.”

“Guess you can’t get rid of me after all,” he says. He smiles a little. “See ya.”

---

Love.

Why is Even thinking about this?

Feelings are complicated enough without adding romance to it. Familial, platonic love is one thing; anything else is too much.

He was married, once.

He still can’t be sure he truly loved that person the way they all blathered on about. A love, not the love. Is this something he would want? Is he worthy of anyone? It’s surely not necessary. But for the first time Even desires a personal life… whatever that may mean. His work/life balance has never been ideal, in his brief time as a spouse, a parent. This vein of thought alone is indulgent. He should shunt it away, bury it. Besides, to want this type of love would mean there has to be an object of such affection… and there isn’t one.

He decides to ask Ansem about it.

“I’m afraid I can’t be much use,” he says, barely looking up from the papers spread all across his desk. It’s a familiar sight, yet also one Even hasn’t seen in years. He chuckles wryly. “But Even, you are a human being. You have a right to these things, should you so want them.”

“What, and force someone else to put up with me? Perhaps my synapses are misfiring.”

Ansem circles something on the paper in front of him. “These people write law like they were raised in a barn.” Then, “I suppose they were. Anyway, perhaps you should view it as a sign of growth. You always held others at arm’s length--even before you became a Nobody. Now, you’re allowing people into your life, your heart.” He twirls a pen vaguely.

“It certainly does not feel like growth.” He scoffs. He shifts a little in his seat. “Is that something you ever saw for yourself? You’ve never mentioned a spouse, a lover.” This almost seems as if it is getting too personal. “Does it simply not interest you?”

“I… wouldn’t say that.”

Oh?

“I am improving, true. I think it will be some time before I can confidently… pursue such matters.”

“...It sounds almost as if you have a certain individual in mind.” Ansem is fond of writing letters; perhaps some pen pal?

There is just the slightest hesitation, almost unnoticeable. “I do believe Dilan’s gossip mongering is getting to you.”

“...Perhaps.”

---

What does it mean?

Moreover, why does he care?

Every time Even tries to push the question out of his mind, it comes back with a vengeance. He keeps coming back to that interaction. And every time, it gives him a jolt of something like fear. He refuses to think critically about it. More important work at hand.

He’s again spending more time with Demyx; moreso, actually, than with Ienzo. If they’re to work together, it’s par for the course. But Demyx isn’t a scientist. Some things are simply beyond his realm of understanding. The boy is trying to study the texts that Even leaves him, but it all seems to worry him.

“Not sure I’m cut out for this,” he says. “You should really just ask Aerith.”

Even frowns. “Why not?”

“I…” He looks down at his hands, which are trembling. “I’m a total newbie. Who knows if what I find is even right?”

“I thought you’ve done this before?”

He flinches. “Once. And… not under ideal circumstances. I had to… stop someone from having a stroke.” He’s flushing.

“This is not nearly so invasive.”

“I know that, but…” He traces a finger along the page.

Even frowns. “What’s wrong? I don’t believe you’ll hurt anyone. I just want to look for injury, response, that’s all. Which is something you do every day.”

Demyx shakes his head. “It’s not that. I guess I should be honest. Family, and all.”

Even feels a thick wave of anxiety. “...What?”

He drops his eyes. “The person was Ienzo.”

His heart falls to his feet. Even feels his hand at his breastbone. “But the boy’s fine,” Even says.

“Yeah. Now. These… headaches. It was more than just the manifestation of his will, or whatever. It was an accumulation of years of stress. Like the glasses. All the fucked up shit that happened to his body caught up to him. I was just lucky enough to be there when it happened.” His eyes are watering, and he blinks hard. “I just feel really icky when I think about it.”

Even squeezes his shoulder gently, in an attempt to comfort. “I don’t… blame you.” Ienzo is the youngest of all of them. If he has--or had--such problems, what could be wrong with the rest of them? “You’ve gotten yourself looked at, I hope?”

“I… yeah. There would’ve been some trouble with my heart. But Aerith knew what to look for, so she fixed it.” He lays a palm on his chest.

It’s becoming clear. “You’re scared of what you might find in the rest of us?”

“Maybe. It’s weird. I’m not used to my patients… being us.”

Even is also unsettled. Of course he knows that he’s treated his body poorly in the past--too much work, not enough food or sleep--but it’s another thing to embody that knowledge.

“At least it can be fixed,” he says slowly. “I don’t want to fuck up. Any time--but especially if it’s you guys. I… sort of care.” He laughs wryly.

“Well I’m afraid you’ve gotten yourself into a situation where you must be involved with us.”

“It’s easier now than it was back then. Don’t you think?”

“It gets easier every day.”

---

The pit keeps getting deeper. Every time he thinks he understands just how much darkness has destroyed them, it grows yet more cataclysmic. The stress--while they did not necessarily feel it as Nobodies--is having infinite consequences. After some prodding, he is able to convince them all to give him a sample of their DNA, to further study their epigenomes. It’s engrossing work--work that might help future generations avoid their perilous mistakes. The sample size is still incredibly small, and incredibly skewed. No women, for example, and most of them are middle-aged (or, begrudgingly, older). He wonders if the townsfolk would be willing to participate, but as soon as the thought forms he’s aware of the paranoia.

“I can bring it up to the city council,” Ansem says one evening, in his quarters. “And put out some feelers. They claim to be so interested in the people’s emotional state. And we are desperate for some kind of mental health treatment. This might help beget that.”

Even feels exhausted. He still has so much to do. He has to admit it’s nice to be driven again, to have a goal to work towards. It certainly has lifted him out of that dark, dangerous place. “Oh, I certainly hope so.”

Ansem puts down his pen, stretches his wrist. “I must say modesty becomes you.”

Even scoffs. “Funny.”

“I mean it. You’ve changed more than you think. I’ve so rarely seen you approach things with grace and tenderness.”

“Flowery words.” He picks at the ends of his hair, suddenly unable to look him in the eye. “I spent so long working so selfishly. I said it was for the greater good, but really it was for the greater good of… Even.” He winces. “To know I can actually help, or at the very least leave behind a study that might help future generations… is a comfort.” He leans his elbows onto the table. “I’m exhausted.”

“You look it. You should try to get some rest.”

“...Perhaps. I’ll get up when I can find the ambition.”

He picks the pen back up. “No reason you can’t sit with a friend.”

“...You would consider me one?”

Ansem raises an eyebrow. “As if I would let you sit here blathering on otherwise?”

Even rolls his eyes.

“I do enjoy your company. Rather more than I used to. I am starting to… let go of the bitterness. It does nothing except make me harder and less tolerable. You are all trying so hard to better yourselves… I’d best follow suit.”

There’s a few moments of silence, but it’s comfortable. Even finds himself, again, thinking of their previous conversation. He’s almost tempted to ask. Should he? And why is such a thought putting a tightness in his throat? “...So what do you think of this wedding?” he asks instead.

Ansem fully sets aside his work, and leans back in the chair. “I did not think it would happen so soon. But they work well together, as a pair. Why wait, as it were. Demyx is an earnest young man, and he’s also changed so much. He really would do anything for Ienzo. And I think after so much neglect, Ienzo deserves as much love as he can find.”

“...It’s so… funny, I suppose. For the longest time all of us rotting in that castle could not tolerate each other, and here we are… quite literally family.”

“Better than being alone.”

“...It is. It took me a long while to realize I could not live that way. Too long. People need… people.” His lip curls.

Ansem laughs. “Quite.” He takes Even’s hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Besides, some deserve a fresh start.”

Even blinks. He should move his hand, but finds himself almost immovable. He recalls that night many years before, when he was bedridden with that flu. The way the touch seemed like it was always there. It sounds almost as if you have a certain individual in mind.

Even. You dunce.

Too slowly, he withdraws. “I should… get some sleep. We’ve both had long days.”

Ansem looks vaguely startled. “Yes. Well. Good night.”

“Good night.”

He limps back to his quarters, feeling vaguely nauseous, like he’s been punched. His heart rate is erratic. This is something very like panic, but at the same time, not quite. His mind races. It aches.

Isn't this what you've desired?

With Ansem?

He feels like he can't breathe.

Are these feelings real, or his?

What does he want ?

That simple touch--a squeeze of the hand--is almost enough to unravel him. Much less--

He can not mentally compute it.

Even has to come out with it. To verbalize the thought in whole. To love Ansem?

And yet. Who else could it possibly be?

Is he in love?

He certainly isn't alone.

But isn't love instantly knowable?

Either way, Ansem likely has feelings for him. What does this mean? Is this what he wants?

After so long without anything, love and lust are incalculable. Unobtainable.

What does Even want?

Is he worthy?

He can't breathe.

---

"Even?"

He's pretending to sleep when he hears the voice. "Is something the matter?"

"...I would like a word." Ansem's voice is gruff, scratchy.

"Now?"

"Are you really asleep?"

A fair point. He puts on his robe. Finds Ansem in the doorway. (His heart stutters--a warning sign.) "What do you need?"

"...I'd like to talk."

He gets dressed. Follows Ansem down the hall in this silky blue night. His heart races, flooding him with cortisol.

(And something like hope.)

They walk for a few minutes. "So what exactly couldn’t wait until morning?" Even asks.

Ansem hesitates. "My words fail me. I… can… feel something."

"Congratulations."

He touches Even's shoulder. "I thought you may feel something as well."

His heart about shatters. "Ansem. You deserve more than me. A person who is whole, untainted, better than some wretch--"

Ansem touches his cheek, and his world about stops. "You are so much more than that."

In this dark hallway, Ansem leans up and, so gently, kisses him on the mouth.

It’s bizarre; how the body remembers what to do. It has to be close to fifteen years since he’s kissed someone, but yet something about this is so familiar. His smell, the subtle scratch of his beard. Like it’s all happened before. Something like panic replaces the hard-won pleasure, and he breaks away. He finds himself tensing, breaking away all too soon.

“Are you alright?” Ansem asks.

“I’m not so sure. I just… why?”

“Haven’t we spent long enough being miserable and alone?”

“I… suppose.” He’s infinitely grateful for the semidarkness. He can feel himself unravelling.

“Do you want this?”

“What I want doesn’t matter.”

“But it does.” Ansem takes Even’s hands.

“We took this sort of thing from people. Do we really deserve it?”

“And what is the alternative?” Ansem asks softly. “Locking yourself away? Grinding down your own emotions? None of that will meaningfully help you atone.”

He can hear himself breathing tremulously. “Alright.”

“Alright, what?”

Even can feel his words failing as well. “I will… try. But it’s been… I feel so--” A stuttering wreck.

“We’re not young. We’ve no need to rush headfirst into things.”

“I need to… process all this.” He pulls away his hands. “I can find you later.”

“Of course.” Ansem chances kissing him once more. It’s quick, chaste, and yet is all too much. All of this touch is. Even can feel himself getting choked up. “Good night, Even.”

He listens to his footsteps retreating into the darkness. Despite the warmth of the early fall evening, he’s shivering. It’s not normal, to react this way; he knows this much. Below the anxiety, he feels something very like relief. Closure. He’s known Ansem longer than he’s known anyone. It’s only suitable they find one another now.

He sinks wearily into bed, and sleeps.

#beyond this existence: atonement #even (kingdom hearts)#ansem the wise #demyx #ienzo #beyond this existence

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phoenix-downer · 6 years ago

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The Keyblade Graveyard Part 2: Japanese and English Comparison

This is the sixth in a series of translation and analysis posts I’ve done about KH3. I’ll go into detail on camera angles and camera shots, draw connections to past KH games, and, of course, talk about translation and the social aspects of language.

I’ve broken up this analysis into multiple parts because it was getting so long. The first part covered Aqua and Ven’s interactions with Terranort, and this part is about when he attacks Kairi and Lea. There will be seven parts total.

Here’s a general key for the kind of analysis I like to do:

JP: Official Japanese Dialogue

EN: Official English Dialogue

TR: My Translation (usually more literal and thus more stilted than the official English version. I’m not using natural-sounding English in order to stick as close to the Japanese versions of the lines as possible for the purpose of analysis)

Notes: things I found interesting, grammatical points, extra thoughts, etc.

One last note: media doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Every work of art must be viewed through the cultural lens of the people who made it. Kingdom Hearts, for all its ties to Disney, is still very much a Japanese game, so it should be analyzed in light of that.

With that in mind, let’s continue.

We left off with Aqua screaming Ven’s name in a panic:

The next shot is at a tilted angle again to show how “off” everything is about what’s happening, and Sora is the one who attacks. Goes to show how protective Sora is of Ven, which is a nice character touch:

JP おまえ！

EN That’s it!

TR Why you!

Notes: Sora uses the derogatory second person pronoun omae here to refer to Terranort. His tone is forecful, too, to indicate he is not happy about what Terranort has done.

He summons his Keyblade and charges:

And the camera changes to Terranort’s perspective. This has the added effect of making it seem as if Sora is charging at us, the audience:

Only for Terranort to stop him with the power of darkness:

He grunts and struggles as he tries to free his Keyblade. Note his clenched teeth, too:

We get this bird’s eye view shot as Sora continues to struggle and Terranort holds him in place almost effortlessly. Note how he only needs to use one hand to do it, whereas Sora is using both hands to try to free his Keyblade:

The camera pans over Terranort, and the Xehanort look is on full display in this shot before he blasts Sora backwards. Note again how the camera is at a tilted angle to add to the unease of the scene:

Much like when Ven was sent flying, the camera cuts to a rear perspective as Sora flies backwards. Note again the tilted angle and how the camera seems to be on the ground. Sora cries out both when Terra first blasts him with darkness…

…and again when he lands on his back on the ground. His Keyblade falls with a loud clank as well:

Note how his knee is bent here:

This will form a nice sense of continuity later on in the scene.

Terranort, content that Sora is out of the picture, turns around and sets his sights on Kairi, the camera panning with him:

The camera cuts to a shot from Kairi’s perspective of Terranort charging at her, and by extension, the audience. Note the tilted angle again:

Then we get a medium shot of Kairi bracing herself for the attack. Note her defensive stance as she gasps…

…only for Lea to jump in front of her in the nick of time:

This is especially touching considering how he kidnapped her in KH2; it goes to show how much their relationship has changed since then. He was her kidnapper before, and now he is protecting her with his life. His redemption has come full circle.

The angle is tilted again, and the characters are viewed from behind in a wide shot to better show the action. Lea has his Keyblade out..

…but it’s not enough. Terranort is simply too strong. He throws Lea back like he weighs nothing, causing Lea to cry out…

…and the camera tracks Lea’s movement pretty steadily:

Lea hits a boulder (ouch!)…

…before hitting another boulder, and the camera bounces and shakes as he does to give an idea of how hard he was knocked into those boulders, so much so that it affected the environment:

The camera cuts to a medium shot of Kairi, and much like how Ven’s loss was framed in terms of Aqua’s reaction earlier, the scene frames Lea’s loss in terms of Kairi’s concern, Kairi’s fear and sorrow and worry. She calls out his name, sounding very distressed:

JP アクセル！

EN Axel!

TR Axel!

Notes: She uses the name Axel instead of Lea, just like he told her to. Another detail showing how close they’ve become.

Her concern is for his safety and wellbeing…

…until something, well, someone else demands her attention:

And her mouth drops open and she raises her in surprise:

We cut to a shot of Terranort with his Keyblade raised high over his head, and Kairi gasps as the camera tilts upward. Note the low angle that makes him look as if he is towering over her. The rapidity of the cut also suggests how quickly he moves:

Something else I noticed is that he is attacking her differently than he attacked both Ven and Lea before. Those attacks were sideswipes that caught them in the chest and sent them flying. This attack is meant to land on her skull and make her crumple to the ground. Terranort is certainly strong enough that such a blow could kill her on the spot.

And while I’ve seen people wonder why she didn’t use her Keyblade, in her defense, she just saw how useless both Sora and Lea’s Keyblades were against Terranort! She is a much less experienced fighter than they are; she knows that if they don’t stand a chance against him, she doesn’t, either. Plus, she’s still in shock from seeing Lea, her friend, her confidant, her fellow student, just get flung to the side like he was nothing. Her freezing up like this is understandable, especially considering how quickly Terranort moves.

Thankfully, Sora has recovered enough to sit up. Note how his left knee is still bent like it was when he was knocked down:

He sees what is happening…

…and moves to do something about it without hesitation:

Notice how the camera focuses on his entire body in a full shot to better underscore him springing into action.

His pose in the following screenshot is not unlike that of a runner getting ready to start a race. He’s preparing to push off the ground with both his hand and his right foot to give him as much momentum as possible:

He knows he has a limited window to reach Kairi, and timing is everything. He’s preparing to run as fast as he can as he pushes off:

The camera briefly goes into slow motion here as we see him running towards Terranort and Kairi with his arm outstretched:

The framing in this shot is really interesting, too; we get a full body shot of Sora running towards the camera, with Terranort on the left side and Kairi on the right side looking up at him to really highlight the size/strength differences between the two of them:

Note the camera angle is still tilted slightly to give that sense of unease:

Then the camera changes to a full shot of Mickey and Riku reacting. For once the camera is not tilted, perhaps to indicate how Mickey is trying to break through the chaos here:

JP ダメだ　ソラ！

EN No! Sora!

TR It’s no use, Sora! OR Don’t do it, Sora!

Notes: In the Japanese version, Mickey uses the word dame, which can mean a variety of things, depending on context. Here it most likely means Mickey is trying to express a prohibition against Sora doing something, or he is warning of the futility of the act.

In the English version, Mickey tells Sora no, showing his concern for Sora’s safety, but the unfortunate side effect is that he sounds like he doesn’t care about Kairi. Perhaps it was intended to be an “oh no Sora, not you too!” kind of a thing, but unfortunately it does not come across that way.

I’ve thought about this at length, and I think adding Kairi’s name would’ve fixed the issue, because it would’ve made it clear Mickey was expressing concern for both her safety as well as Sora’s. Instead it kind of seems like he only cares about Sora here, even if that wasn’t the intent.

Just my two cents. Anyway, back to proper analysis.

Donald and Goofy, bless them, spring into action and race to get there in time in a blur of motion…

…as Mickey and Riku reach towards Sora:

The camera then cuts to Kairi. We’re shown a shot from Terranort’s POV, and the high angle emphasizes her vulnerability. Note the fear on her face as well. She’s exhibiting signs of shock here, much like Aqua and Ven did earlier:

Till suddenly, out of left field (literally), Sora intervenes:

He’s just a blur of motion compared to Kairi’s relatively stable form:

Notice how she staggers backwards a little under the impact of his weight as he throws his arms around her:

Then he buries his face in her shoulder and clings to her. He knows he might die, he knows at the very least he’ll get seriously injured. After all, he’s about to take the blow that Terranort means for her. But he doesn’t care, so long as he gets to die holding her:

I’ve seen him get criticized for not using his Keyblade here, but the thing is… he tried. Lea tried. It didn’t work. And magic for Keyblade wielders at least seems to be tied to wielding the Keyblade or some sort of weapon, so that probably wasn’t an option, either. All he had left, all he could do to keep Kairi safe, was shield her with his body. Which he does:

This is a Sora so terrified of losing her that he regresses to a scared child clinging to her for dear life. That’s all he can do, hold her as he awaits the inevitable. He’s acting on instinct here more than anything, and his instinct is to latch onto the closest source of comfort in his final moments.

You can see how wide her eyes are here, indicating her shock and surprise that he’s really here. Note how her arms are sort of hanging in the air because she’s not entirely sure what to do with them yet:

This hug is very similar to similar hugs they’ve shared in the past, so let’s talk about the parallels.

In KH1, Kairi was the one who hugged Sora to protect him from the Heartless. Note how she closes her eyes as she does:

And note how similarly her body is positioned to Sora’s in KH3. They both wrap their arms around the other person’s neck/shoulders and lean over the hug-ee’s shoulder because of height differences:

Then, of course, Sora hugged her back and thanked her once he was human again:

For the KH1 hug, we only got to see Kairi’s reaction…

…until KHUx released a medal that showed Sora’s face during the hug:

In the KH3 hug, we likewise don’t see Sora’s face up close in the game itself. The next post will talk more about some of the shots we do see of his reactions during this part, but they’re from a further distance to show the rest of the action going on in the meantime.

Now, on to their reunion hug in KH2. The element of surprise comes to the forefront here. Sora, filled with guilt at not keeping his promise to return to Kairi, begins to apologize when she suddenly hugs him:

Note how similar his reaction is to Kairi’s at getting suddenly hugged in KH3:

The visual parallels immediately come to the forefront - both of them have their eyes wide in shock, right hand held out because Sora doesn’t know what to do with his yet in KH2 and Kairi doesn’t know what to do with hers yet in KH3. This parallel serves as a callback to KH2, to remind the audience of what happened then, only this time the roles are switched. This time Sora is the one hugging her.

Then, after Kairi says to herself, “This is real…”

…and closes her eyes like she did for their KH1 hug…

…Sora gives her a look of compassion…

…and likewise closes his eyes as hugs her back:

The KH3 hug, in just a few moments, manages to remind the audience of their previous hugs and in doing so adds greater emotional weight to the scene:

Sora is acting like he’s doomed here, much like Kairi thought she was in trouble when she protected him in KH1. But is he really? Find out in the next post about Donald and Goofy’s epic counterattack!

To be continued…

#kingdom hearts #sora #kairi #sokai #kh3 #kingdom hearts 3 #kh3 spoilers #kingdom hearts 3 spoilers #kh translation #kh analysis #kh meta #phoenix plays kh3 #phoenix translates #long post #redhead duo #ginger duo

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mythicalartistx · 1 year ago

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Sea Salt Trio is the best Trio and here's why

The three trios are compared constantly and Sea Salt Trio is the one that work the best as the whole, but before we get into why it's why the others don't work as well.

As stated in my previous post, Destiny Island trio failed since the three never rarely interact much as a whole and are often in duos and Kairi and Riku barely interact as it is. Kairi and Sora seem awkward, while Riku and Sora seem to have the strongest relationship of the trio. And they also don't hate each other, none of the people in the trios really hate each other and all seem to be good friends.

Now Wayfinder Trio is much better however what makes it not work as well is the miscommunication. In Birth By Sleep they constantly mistrust one another and it's what lead to their ultimate demise.

However, I will say they all seemingly care for each other. All their actions come from a place of worry and care. In Kingdom Hearts 3, when they finally reunited they cried tears of joy and we're glad to have each other again. It's such a good scene. And unlike the Destiny Trio they still talk to each other and care.

And finally the Sea Salt Trio. The reason why this one works is that they all have a strong friendship. They start off as zombie like beings and form an unlikely friendship with Axel. The trio discuss silly things like being friends and identities while eating Sea Salt Ice Cream. They all also want the best for each other.

Xion wants to be with her friends. She likes being with them. And then she goes to run off for the sake of Roxas. She doesn't want him to get destroyed/ lose his powers. When Xion is weak Axel comes up with a plan so Saïx doesn't find out. Xion dies so she won't steal more of Roxas and hopes Kingdom Hearts is also destroyed.

The three of plan to go to the beach one day together. And their trio is from the simple moments of them talking every day after their missions until they realize bad things, but that's not initially their own fault. Axel want things to stay the same and cherish those moments, Roxas wants answers but cherish his friends, Xion is similar to Roxas.

Then after in 2, Axel keeps clinging onto those moments — the friendship between them (even Xion but he doesn't quite remember it was her, this is shown through the novel).

He liked how they made him be able to feel again.

Then he ends up sacrificing himself for Sora since he in some sense is part of Roxas and he knows he'll do a good thing. In KH3 while training with Kairi, he remembers Xion again. His eyes cry because of what his heart remembers. Kairi reminds himself of Xion, when he gets Ice Cream on the day before the battle he gets three which Saïx teases him for.

He remembers both of them and he wants them back. They are important and are his friends. And his whole reunion and even the battle before is bittersweet. Just like the Wayfinder Trio their reunion is really great.

And I just want to point out that none of these characters hate each other. Literally they don't. I've made posts in the past about some misconceptions are that Riku and Kairi hate each other/ don't like the other and that Axel and Xion apparently do? But they don't. There is literally in game and novel content that disproves this.

But this is why Sea Salt Trio works the best, but that doesn't mean the others are bad. Like I enjoy Riku and Sora moments and I strongly wish for Kairi to do more and make other friends. And I love the Wayfinders. This is why I think it works the best and it's not necessary my favorite.

And I have to say I've seen some amazing fanon comics or things of the trios that made them even better like Destiny Trio for example.

My favorite Trio actually isn't a canon trio and it's all from fanon— that's right shout out to the Lost Trio where some of them don't even interact in game.

(I need more lost trio content actually though, they're just so silly and funny to me)

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khtrashplatinumstars · 5 years ago

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Ch. 11* ☆*~~~*☆

Location: Keyblade Graveyard

“Pain is being human Xemnas.”

“Really? It must take...incredible strength.”

To even hear this conversation over the rushing in her ears and the sound of her heartbeat was surprising. Lio was so focused on making certain that everyone landed safely, despite dropping everyone a good foot or two. She had gather the others by their links alone when by passing their battlefields along the way, landing where she had felt pieces of Xehanort disappearing. being parts of a Keyblade Weilder she could feel the small flickers of light within them disappearing, same as the rest of the Organization. If she was correct the younger time traveling one and the other, Ansem, were already dealt with, meaning that Xemnas disappearing was the final in the front lines for Xehanort’s army and judging by the fading feeling of his heart he too wasn’t long. All that was left was the old Master pawns in this fight.

A quick glance around the field, everyone was there and it didn’t seem that the sudden teleport nor drop seemed to throw them off too much. Wait, there were two missing, but she only felt one link snap.

“Wa, wait” She found it so hard to breathe her body felt like it was being ripped apart as she stumbled forward,nearly collapsing on top of Ventus, if Aqua and Terra hadn’t immediately reached out and helped her back to her feet.

“Are you all right?” Terra asked as she regained her footing.

Lio nodded, was no else feeling this suffocating magic?

“Luminary,” Xemnas called as those familiar pink eyes turned to him as his body begun to fade. “Olix wanted me to alert you that she is safe.”

Before Lio could respond the man was gone. Her gaze, along with everyone else on the battlefield turned to Xehanort high above them, twelve keys circling around him. The man’s voice was being drowned out by the rushing in her ears time and time again, only catching parts of his monologue, when she saw it. Something made her blood run cold.

Kairi’s body.

“No…”

She watched in horror as the girl was stuck down. Through silence she watched the others attack Xehanort,being fended off easily, by the Master. The only sound that pierced through the silence was a scream of pain and anger, it was only when she found herself above Xehanort’s shield her leg raised in a high arch, angry tears in her eyes did she realized the scream was from herself as she swung her heel down, shattering the shield. Quickly pivoting as she pulled back her right arm, swinging forward without her gauntlet protection, punching through the second barrier put up to protect himself, which seemed to catch the man off guard as Lio grabbed the collar of his shirt pulling him forward.

“You’ve gone too far!” Lio hissed as she pulled him from his shield tossing him up.The Luminary flying after him refusing to give up her assault on the man.

The quick flow of strikes seemed to catch Xehanort off guard, use to go against a fighter who used a Keyblade and not Lio’s assault of punches and kicks. Even if he got to far away, she’d summon that annoying staff,transforming it to fulfill whatever need to get him back in range for her close combat.

“Enough!” Xehanort barked, as he swung pushing the woman away from himself, who jumped back her guard, refusing to drop as she glared at the man. “This is futile, Young Luminary. Even you are aware, that a Luminary can’t not use their weapon against a Keyblade Wielder.”

Lio huffed, he was right, Luminary’s were meant to protect their Keyblade Wielders, no matter the path one would take, “That may be true, but you’re not one of mine and you lost that title when you started this!”

This time Xehanort was prepared for the Luminary to rush him, as he fainted with his blade, only to create a barrier. Lio hardly having enough time to stop herself landing against the barrier in a crouch, which triggered off an explosion sending the Luminary flying. This giving the old Master the time he needed.

“Kingdom Heart! I call upon your true form. Open now and show me the World to come!” He called as the X-Blade summoned darkness within the sky, illuminated only by the glowing heart that had taken the sun’s place.

“Stop!” Lio screamed her hand going to the X-Blade’s hilt. A surge of magic exploding around the two who refused to release the weapon.

“Foolish girl, you’re too late to stop it. Look at yourself.” Xehanort chuckled watching the woman struggle to keep herself together, cracks appearing in her skin, spread completely up her visible arm, and now creeping up her face, giving the same glow as Kingdom Hearts in the sky above them. “Eris was too foolish to have never told you that a Luminary is connected to Kingdom Hearts, you’re being torn apart from the inside out from the strength. She was always so busy trying to protect you from the outside world, from me. Going so far as to even put you in hiding and for what? To watch you fail, again.”

The brought Lio out of her rage,“What?” That split moment had the woman engulfed in light as she let out a gasp.

“Eraqus filled your head with such silly ideas, you alone should know that this is the only way.”

Lio swallowed a scream as wave after wave of magic flashed through her body further tearing it apart. “Don’t...don’t you dare speak ill of them!”

“A foolish teacher and a foolish student.”

Another wave of magic flashed through the woman, as she struggled to hold onto the X-Blade before her. She didn’t want to believe Xehonart, but still she never figured how she ended up back in Stella Umbra.

“I suggest,” Xehanort chuckled, noting his opening, drawing back the X-Blade, before swinging down, “You take a seat.”

“Lio!” A cry came from the field below as Lio hurled to the ground.

Aqua quickly casted a spell of ice, sending Ventus up toward the Luminary’s unconscious body hurling towards the ground, as Terra racing underneath the two. Ventus managed to grabbed a hold of Lio, the spell slowing their fall enough for Terra to leap grabbing the both of them before they could hit the ground.

“Lio.” Terra called, setting Ventus down as the other rushed over to them. “Lio, please wake up.”

The Luminary’s skin cracked like a broken vase, the light of Kingdom Hearts spelling through the cracks, as hollowed pink eyes stared at Kingdom Hearts withing the sky. Her body gave a twitch as she gave a labored inhale, rapidly blinking her eyes as she panted heavily her body coming out of shock. Moving to stand as she collapsed surging with magic again and again, as she tried to get up and ignore the sensation of herself being torn apart but also keep herself together at the same time as she pulsed again and again.

“We have to go.” Lio whispered, her body flashing a bright light as more cracks appeared on her arms as she flinched at the magic running through her. “We have to go after him.”

“You’re not in any shape to do anything.” Axel stated watching Lio cling to Terra as she tried to get her feet underneath her.

Lio flinched closing her eyes tightly as she felt another surge of magic go through her, only relaxing and opening her eyes when she felt Terra squeeze her close to his chest, his heart racing against her open palm on his chest, a placid look to his face trying to hide his fear at her current condition. She knew the situation was bad, already having lost Kairi and Olix. Her eyes scanning the group trying to come up with some kind of plan to either get them out of there.

No! This was the final fight there was no backing down now. They had to make a stand here and now, Xehanort would not win.

That’s when she realized that the light surging through her was the same magic that her Keyblade Wielders used. Digging her heels into the ground, she stepped back from Terra, giving him a reassuring smile as she swayed a little. Placing a hand to her heart as she gathered the tether around her, ignoring the jolts of magic rushing through her.

“Just because I’m down doesn’t mean you are.” She called, flashing a brighter light. Watching as everyone around her began to glow, her eyes locking with Sora’s, “He won’t win.”

Lio watched as everyone lined up before her, raising their Keyblades toward the heart within the sky. Watching as their combined powers pierced through Xehanort,as he was pressed through the sky. The battle field quickly becoming engulfed in darkness, as she quickly summoned her staff, collecting everyone as the field suddenly filled with light.

“Everyone all right!” Lio called, the ground was no longer underneath their feet, and she found herself in the middle of two tiers of their group. Their new battlefield was a sea of stars and despite the fact that she knew it was silent all around her she still heard the rush of what she could only believe to be Kingdom Hearts in the back of her mind. A quick check of tethers and she found all accounted for but one was flickering and bouncing around within the others. That’s when she noticed the missing brunette.

The woman shocked everyone as she suddenly released a massive halo around their group, only to find 13 figures surrounding them.

“Guards up everyone.” Aqua called, “These must be Xehanort’s XIII.”

“Lio, do you know where Sora is?” Riku called parrying one of the first attacks from their enemy's new form.

“His tether’s still intake.” Lio called without looking towards the silver haired youth as she shot a blast towards Roxas, who was parrying one of the XIII away from Xion, at the same time summoning a shield appearing behind Axel,who was covering Ventus. “I can’t pinpoint him at the moment, there’s a bit of interference but he’ll be safe wherever he is.”

“Are you sure?” Mickey inquired, noticing the Luminary’s skin was getting worse along with her pant.

“What about you?” Xion asked, watching the Luminary’s back, noticing the cracks along the shaft of Lio’s staff, the weapon no longer held in hand but being more of a beacon to keep the others drawn towards her.

“I’ll be fine,” Lio replied, a glance to her staff above her head, she figured that this form had held on long enough. It honestly should have shattered years ago, but the influx of power suddenly pumped into the owner was the tipping point. The woman hoped it won’t shatter just yet, sending another wave of magic forcing the XIII back, yet at the same time placed sparks of light within the others.

The Luminary watched as her Keyblade Wielders around her attacked and defended one another. The power of Kingdom Hearts filtering through her out into seven around her, mindful of being sure not to push to much on anyone at any time, yet also casting spells to fend off those of the XIII that might have gotten to for comfort, all while still attempting to pinpoint Sora and guide him back to where they currently were while he searched for whatever piece he needed. Not to mention the pain of trying to keep herself together. She absolutely refused to lose anyone else in this fight.

A flash of memory of her dragging Sora and Kairi back crossed her mind. She had hardly been able to reach out to them that time, only managing to snag their tethers before yanking them back to herself. A counter to the Spell of Awakening that Yen Sid had so carelessly supplied Sora with, and the youth had used it and ended in the afterworld! She in herself was almost stuck there when reaching out to them, wondering just how exactly it was that she survived, by all accounts it should have cut her life in half if not more.

“There you are!” Lio called suddenly, pulling up a shield around Sora and Riku as Sora reappeared, “Did you find it?”

Sora held the final piece up towards Lio, “That makes six.”

Lio gave a small cheer, only to watch as they were suddenly circled by the XIII. Casting a spell as she dragged everyone back towards her, creating a barrier around the barrier Aqua and the others had created, as the dark creatures stuck again and again.

“Uh, Ms. Luminary, we’ve got a problem.”Axel called, as the XIII made it through the first barrier and was now working on the second. Turning only to find Lio hunched over flashing a bright light again and again almost like a heartbeat that was getting faster.

“Lio,” Aqua gasped over her shoulder, not wishing to turn her eyes away from the enemy before her.

“Are you all right?” Terra called refusing to drop his guard if the creatures got through the barrier he was on the first lines to try and push them back.

Lio gasped time and time again,it was getting too hard to breath, each flash of light was temporarily blinding her again and again. Through unfocused eyes she watched as parts of the barrier surrounding them begun to shatter, she tried to keep them sealed in time, but with the XIII moving fast enough and working together, she herself trying to repair along with trying not to overload anyone with magic she found herself worried. She could hopefully get off another blast, it would maybe give the others enough time to escape, maybe she could teleport them away? No, with the amount of power going through her as well as her previous attempts at teleporting she was worried that someone would end up hurt or elsewhere, where she could put innocent lives in danger.

She would just have to leave this up to everyone else, they did wonderfully without her so far. She would trust them to end this fight. Crossing her arms at the wrist before her, she dragged in as much power as possible, ignoring the sounds of her body shattering, spilling further light as she hissed, “Be still!”

The XIII attacking the barrier froze as Lio rose her arms, the cracks along the arms seeming to travel up her entire body at this point, bursting forth with light. A second spell surrounded the Keyblade Wielders around her individuality as she shined brightly. A circle of bright light surrounded everyone before exploding outwards sending the XIII flying managing to destroy most of them. The deafening silence suddenly filled with a resounding explosion.

The move being the tipping point as Lio immediately dropped into a comatose state. Unconsciously aware of all her Wielders but two being sent away, before she lost all their tethers.

‘Are you going to stay asleep?’

Lio huffed at the voice, it sounded so familiar, yet at the same time the inflection wasn’t one that she was used to hearing the voice in. Almost as if it was whispering to her.

‘They still need you.’

Lio managed to open her eyes at this, the overwhelming pressure of the magic of Kingdom Hearts was no longer effecting her and the cracks within her skin had disappeared along with the suffocating magic. She went looking for the voice but instead found herself surrounded by eight keyholes. Looking through each one, finding one of her Wielders in each one. She tried reaching out to them, but found a barrier within the way, no matter how many times she tried to grab them.

Yet the voice calling to her didn’t belong to any of them. She found herself floating before a Keyhole of a familiar setting of the Keyblade Graveyard, finding two of her Wielders there instead of one.

‘You’ve had them wait long enough.’

Lio turned as she heard the voice again, only to gasp as she felt a strong hand suddenly push into her back, forcing her through. She tried to turn at the last moment, yet only caught sight of a hooded figure, a soft smile was her farewell before the doorway closed to her.

Lio gave a grunt as she landed rather harshly, watching as the two she had seen turned towards her, “Looks like you found her, Starshine.”

“Lio!” Sora and Kairi called rushing towards her, moving to hug her only to find that Kairi had passed through her.

“What, what’s happening?” Kairi gasped looking toward Sora and then Lio tears in her eyes.

“No, no don’t worry.” Lio smiled wanting to stop the panic, “You’re both fine, right now we’re still piecing everything together. We’ve got one more fight to go through, it will be a big one, but I’m sure that you’re aware of that.” She replied, holding out a hand towards Sora. “The others are on their way, but as of right now this last fight is yours Sora, will you be all right going in there alone?”

Sora smiled brightly, “As long as I got my friends I’m never alone.” He replied as Kairi took his hand.

Lio gave a laugh, “That’s right, be safe. We’ll join you as soon as we can. You two look after each other.”

Sora nodded as he held Kairi’s hand tighter.

Lio rested a hand to his head, as the boy glew bright, she watched as the other Wielder's appeared behind the duo before her, “Let’s end this.” She called as Sora and Kairi disappeared.

“Lio!”

The Luminary looked up from where Sora and Kairi disappeared before her, finding the others racing towards her, clearly confused as to how they ended up back in the Graveyard of all places.

“Are you all right?” Terra asked, still not able to relax even when she assured him that she was.

“Are you feeling better?” Aqua inquired, noting that even though Kingdom Hearts was full, Lio no longer seemed affected by its power at least the cracks in her skin has disappeared and she appeared while again.

“Yeah.”

Axel blinked as he looked around, “What? Where are Sora and Kairi? They were just here.”

Riku turned to the others as Lio motioned them towards herself as she moved towards the edge of the plateau they were standing on, “They were here right?”

Lio nodded, seeming to reassure Riku.

“As long as they’re together they’ll be all right.” Riku replied, as Lio gave a smile looking up towards Kingdom Hearts.

“But Kairi.” Xion muttered, only to look up and find Lio’s hand on her shoulder, something that Olix would do,they both did have a lot of the same quirks, that had brought back reassurance almost immediately.

“Are you okay?” Ventus asked.

Everyone turned at the strange question, only to find Lio tears in her eyes, yet a bright smile on her face.

“Yes, we should follow Sora’s heart, the battle’s over.” She explained as her feet left the ground.

#Here we have chap 11 #We are so close to being done #and as always I'm both happy and sad #We have a side story or two #Plus an epilogue #Kingdom Hearts Luminary #kingdom hearts fanfiction #aqua kingdom hearts #terra kingdom hearts #terra x oc #ventus kingdom hearts #Lio kingdom Hearts

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angel-with-a-pipette · 6 years ago

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I’m sorry I am replying late, but... I genuinely have problems answering this appropriately.

You see, I look at Sora and I am happy. Just seeing his face makes me happy and I could gush about something he did and said or just the way he looks all day, but your ask made me think. Yeah, why do I love him so much? Can I even explain it? Is there an actual reason?

(Warning: Long post is long. Tons of screenshots. You have been warned)

It’s everything about him. It’s the fact that I got to see him grow in the last 12 years, from a 14 year old awkward and goofy but cute boy to a 15/16 year old handsome young man who had to mature far past his age with everything he has been through. But his personality is just so delightful, too.

He is a funny person:

He has sass:

He radiates confidence:

But despite being thrown into these crazy adventures and being forced to make very adult decisions and having to fight the fight of adults, he still retains his childlike wonder:

Actually, he really keeps the child inside of him alive and it’s precious how playful he is. It’s also telling how we get to see more of this playful side after he’s been nearly norted :/

It’s like he is trying to live life to the fullest now - and he is so genuine and uninhibited about this. Not to mention downright precious:

He’s the type of person people like to surround themselves with, he shines as bright as the sun with only a smile:

But most of all?

It’s his love.

Sora has practically become a symbol of love and hope in this franchise.

He is always ready to help people despite not even knowing them:

He is even ready to help somebody who attacked him prior. He can immediately tell Elsa was just scared and doesn’t hesitate to protect her:

And he doesn’t leave Riku behind even though he turned into a villain right before his eyes:

Heck, he’s even friends with a bunch of stuffed animals!

And gladly so, he is even super upset when he suddenly vanishes from the Winnie the Pooh book cover, indicating that his connection to them might have been harmed:

And if that wasn’t sweet enough - can you picture a 15 year old boy starring in a musical just to cheer up his mermaid bestie? Because that’s what Sora absolutely does:

And don’t even get me started on how sweet he is to little creatures and kids!! He even tends to crouch down to their level to make them comfortable:

Just look how sweet he is to Hiro who clearly looks up to Sora:

Upon witnessing Will’s death, Sora freaks out and goes to punch Davy Jones because he is done witnessing unfair deaths:

But not only Will - Sora has such a big heart that seeing Flynn die shortly after meeting him devastates him as well:

And when he is revived, Sora is more than relieved, so relieved in fact that he has to hug Donald and Goofy:

It’s so rare to see a male protagonist be so openly affectionate with his friends in general and it’s such a fresh breath of air:

He also doesn’t hesitate to show tears of relief and happiness:

(okay, he was a little flustered about that xD)

And he is so incredibly selfless, too, willing to give his life for Kairi:

He even expresses the wish to help Strelitzia Nameless star despite barely clinging onto life himself, if that isn’t selfless, I don’t know what is:

Sora insists that his friends are his power and he values them most:

And he pretends he is alright just for their sake, not allowing his sad feelings to surface if he can help it:

He even goes as far as to doubt his own self-worth without them:

And it’s the connection to them that shows Sora ultimately that everything can have a heart and he acknowledges it:

And of course, one thing that gets overlooked a lot: His love for Kairi. How he started out crushing on her, but still feeling so protective over her that he just had to share a paopu with her, no matter how, as long as he did it before Riku could:

He promised to return back to the Island with Riku in tow, but he can’t hold his promise. Sora feels guilty about it and doesn’t even have it in him to rejoice until she hugs him first:

And in KH3, they finally confess their feelings for real, by sharing a paopu fruit:

She is his light.

Their love is so sweet and wholesome and innocent and it just melts my heart when I look at them. Sora is so clearly in love and it suits him so well:

Needless to mention that Haley Joel Osment’s performance for him just adds to the richness that is Sora’s character. Without him and the emotions he is able to emote, I doubt Sora would have such an effect on me. In fact, I didn’t originally play the English version of Kingdom Hearts and while I always had a fondness for Sora, I only really fell in love with him in the last years, when I played KH1 and 2 FM for the first time, when I got to play CoM and BBS for the first time and especially now in KH3, his arguably best performance since KH2. With every scene, my love for Sora just grew.

Also, how can you not squeal at these images?

He’s the good this world needs. The unconditional love, the happiness, the helpfulness. If more people were like Sora, I truly believe this world would be a better place.

I’m sorry, I don’t feel like I did a good job at explaining at all ._. I also don’t feel that I remotely did Sora justice :/ There are so many other people who’d be more eloquent than I am, sorry ><

#KH3 spoilers #Sora #KH #anonymous #answered #long post

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talinexa · 6 years ago

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Little One - One Shot

So... there are quite a few memes about KH3 Riku looking like Noctis... and I don’t entirely disagree so I really couldn’t help myself.

Riku left Insomnia for Destiny Islands when he was still young. He didn’t remember Insomnia well. Some days he couldn’t remember it at all. Regis and the queen knew, after finding out that their eldest, Noctis, was the Crystal’s Chosen King, that they had to protect their youngest from the dangers that would surround Eos. Noctis being the Chosen meant the Starscourge was coming to its peak.

It was the only secret Riku never told his friends when he was little. The one secret his biological parents made him promise to keep. Sora and Kairi knew Riku wasn’t born on the islands, but unlike Kairi, Riku had been there long enough that Sora couldn’t remember when Riku first arrived.

Riku hated Destiny Islands. He knew he’d been sent away from Eos to keep him safe, but he felt trapped. He desperately wanted to escape.

Not necessarily return to Insomnia---just get off the islands. Be free. Travel and explore. See more than the same ocean and the same group of people.

He loved his adoptive parents, but the isolation of the island was getting on his nerves.

It took Riku many adventures to want to go back to the islands. To seek something familiar.

He was eighteen, with a Keyblade in his hand, the first time he thought about both Destiny Islands and Insomnia as home. He hadn’t been to Insomnia since he was almost too small to remember, and knew he likely would never consider it a real home, but he wanted to see it again.

More as a... learning opportunity. Just to see it again. To get familiar. To see where he came from and understand why it was so important for him to leave.

He sighed and sat on the ground. His Keyblade dissolved into light.

“What’s wrong, Riku?” Mickey asked.

“I haven’t seen my birthplace in... fifteen years? Fourteen? A long time,” he said. “I barely remember it. I have an older brother I barely remember. Noct... he and I were... total opposites.” Riku chuckled. “My adoptive parents on the islands told me he was more like Sora---a bit of a slacker. I’m... more... driven. I guess.” He folded his legs and leaned his elbows on his knees. “I want to go back. To see the place. To meet my brother again.” He closed his eyes. “I used to write, you know. I would send letters to my brother and my biological parents. I used to get letters back. Then... one day when I was still pretty young... they stopped.”

“Riku... I don’t see why you couldn’t go back. For a little while. We all need to follow our hearts,” Mickey remarked.

“You’re right, Your Majesty. As usual.” Riku smiled sadly and shoved his fingers through his silver-white hair. “We just... never seem to slow down long enough for me to have time.”

“You could try now. We have some time.”

Riku looked to the horizon, where the moon was setting. It distorted slightly, appearing larger, as it neared the edge of the world. “Yeah. Yeah I think I will. Thanks Mickey.”

The king nodded.

Riku hit the ground hard with an, “Oof!” as the robot struck him down.

He heard a cry and then saw a streak of blue light. There was a loud Clang! and the shrieking of metal-on-metal and the robot crumpled. Riku coughed to get his breath back and sat up gingerly.

“Y’alright, kid?” a voice asked.

A young man, not much older than Riku himself, was holding a hand out to offer Riku help in standing. Riku took the young man’s offer and let him help him to his feet. The newcomer wasn’t particularly tall---but then again neither was Riku---and had spiky black hair. There was a genuine grin on his face. Riku’s mouth fell open.

“N... Noct?” he asked.

The young man took a step back, his own jaw dropping. “R... Riku?”

In moments, smiles broke out on both of their faces and they were pulling each other in for a hug. Riku felt tears brimming in his eyes, and felt something fall to the shoulder of his shirt. “I can’t believe it’s you,” he whispered, clinging to Noctis tightly. He remembered Noct better than the rest.

As far as he could recall, they’d been close.

“It’s me, Little One. It’s me,” Noctis replied. “I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Me too.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to... to see Insomnia again. Eos. I don’t... remember it nearly as well as I should,” Riku said.

Noctis sighed and let Riku go. “Come with me,” he said.

They started to hike across the field. Riku watched his older brother carefully. “You inherited Dad’s bad knee,” he observed.

Noctis started laughing. He slowed his pace and turned. “Oh, Little One, you probably will too. A bad knee is hereditary on the Lucis Caelum side.”

Lucis Caelum. It had been a long time since Riku heard that name.

“I hope not,” he said. “And stop calling me Little One! I’m taller than you!”

“By like four centimeters,” Noctis retorted with a smile.

Riku smirked. “Still taller.”

Noctis snorted---then went quiet. “Mom and Dad used to call you Little One,” he said. His voice was soft and sad.

“Noct... what happened?”

“C’mon. Let’s get back to the others and we’ll explain. Ignis... he’ll tell it better than I can.”

Riku blinked. “I vaguely remember Ignis,” he said.

“You’ll remember more when he starts talking,” Noctis joked somberly. Riku couldn’t help but smile to himself.

“Who are the others? The ones other than Ignis.”

“Prompto and Gladiolus. You never met Prompto. And Gladio... no you never met him either.” Noctis shook his head. “C’mon. Just over this hill.” They started a shallow climb. “And, for the record, my limp isn’t that bad yet.”

“No,” Riku agreed. “It’s barely noticeable. But I knew to look.”

At the crest of the hill, Riku caught sight of a tent up ahead. Three young men were bustling around it. Two taller ones and one shorter.

Noctis jogged down the hill. Riku followed.

“Guys! Look who’s back!” Noctis shouted.

Ignis dropped the pot he was holding. Thankfully it was empty. “Your... Your Highness?”

Riku couldn’t remember ever being addressed that way and it took him aback. “Huh?” he asked eloquently.

Ignis gave him a bow. “Welcome back, Prince Riku.”

“Please don’t.” Riku shook his head, uncomfortable with the formality.

“WAIT! This is your brother, Noct?!” the shortest of the four demanded---he had slightly-spiky yellow-blond hair and lots of freckles.

Noctis chuckled. “Yup. Prompto, this is Riku. Riku, this is my best school friend, Prompto Argentum.”

Riku found his hand being shook aggressively by Prompto. “Such a pleasure to finally meet you. Noct talks about you a lot! You two didn’t have enough time together.” Prompto kept rambling, shaking Riku’s hand for a lot longer than necessary. Riku glanced at Noctis, silently pleading to be saved.

Noctis smirked. “That’s enough, Prompto. You’re overwhelming him.”

Prompto immediately let go. “Whoops. Sorry.”

Riku shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s just... this is a lot to take in.”

“I know---Noct having friends? What gives?” the tallest of the four---who was absolutely towering with bulky muscles---joked.

“Shut up, Gladio,” Noctis retorted.

Riku laughed. Then sombered up. “So... what’s with the camping?”

Ignis sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. When they were younger, four years older seemed like a huge gap. Ignis had always seemed so grown-up and mature. But now that they were older, the gap between 18 and 22 seemed a lot smaller---and Ignis looked too young to be as worn-down with heavy burdens as he was. “That... is a long story. Have a seat, Your Highness. We’ll explain to the best of our abilities over some dinner,” he said.

Riku squirmed. “Don’t... call me that. Please.” He brushed some loose bangs back into place. “Riku is fine.”

Ignis shrugged and put the pot he’d picked up again onto the camping stove. “Very well,” he said.

Noctis guided Riku to a set of camp chairs and pulled him to sit down. “Before we get to the sob story and the doom-and-gloom, tell me about what’s been happening to you.”

Riku snorted. “A sob story with some doom-and-gloom,” he said. “My best friend is the Chosen One destined to open the door to light to dispel the darkness and put an end to the Heartless and I’m...” He shook his head. “I have too much darkness in my heart. The ‘bad guys’ target me and try to make me one of them but I can’t just... abandon Sora like that. I tried and it... went very badly. For me. I got possessed by an extremely powerful Heartless and nearly killed my best friend and that was just the beginning.”

“I do believe the darkness in your heart is a function of who you are,” Ignis remarked from the stove.

“Huh?”

“You’re a Lucis Caelum,” Noctis put in.

“Right...”

“The power of the Lucis Caelum family has long been considered ‘black magic,’” Ignis said. “Apart from their ongoing attempts to rid the lands of the Starscourge and protect the Crystal, many of your ancestors could be considered... as you said... ‘bad guys.’” He paused in thought. “Though, I’d rather not consider Niflheim ‘good guys.’ Conquering the countries around them and attempting to take control of the world is hardly a move made out of kindness. But rather, greed.”

“So you’re saying I have so much darkness in my heart because I’m a Caelum?” Riku asked.

“It’s very possible,” Ignis said. “Difficult to know for certain when we’re not sure how darkness functions in the lands you grew up in, but possible.”

Riku sighed and set a hand over his heart. “I see,” he muttered. “So I’ll never conquer it?”

“That’s unclear,” Ignis said. “I’m unfamiliar with how darkness works for you. I could very well be incorrect on multiple accounts. And given my unfamiliarity, I assume I am incorrect. Perhaps the darkness I know and the darkness you know are different forces, Prince Riku. I see the ‘black magic’ of the Lucis Caelum line as being considered ‘darkness.’ However that brand of magic doesn’t exclude the notion that its wielder is incredibly kind and caring. Merely a label attached to a certain set of powers. The Nox Fleuret family magic is considered ‘white magic’ due to its incredible restorative properties. Healing. Whereas the Lucis Caelum power is more... destructive. Take everything I say with a grain of salt. The darkness you know could likely be quite simple for you to conquer, however neither you nor I are aware of how.”

Riku fiddled with one of the buckles on one of the belts around his leg. “Thanks Ignis,” he mumbled.

Ignis pushed his glasses up his nose. “Of course.”

“Wow. Insomnia fell... just like that?” Riku asked.

“Make no mistake, we weren’t there,” Ignis said. “I’m certain there was more to it than what we’ve told you.”

“It definitely had to have been more complicated than that,” Prompto agreed.

“So... there’s no chance of me seeing Dad again,” Riku said. “Or Mom.”

“Mom died when we were still really young. Not long after you left,” Noctis said. “I was about... seven or eight. Meaning you would have been five or six.”

“Explains why the letters stopped,” Riku remarked.

Noctis rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry, Riku. I never meant to stop writing. It was just... when Mom died... Dad got more distant and I...”

“Hey man, I get it. I’m just glad to know the reason why the letters stopped,” Riku said. “Hey Ignis, can I help you clean up dinner?”

“I would appreciate the assistance, yes,” Ignis said.

Riku helped Ignis gather up everyone’s plates and silverware and took it over to the cooking station. While they started washing dishes, Riku sighed. “Ignis?” he asked quietly. Prompto and Noctis were shouting about a game Riku didn’t know anything about, drowning out him and Ignis to the other three.

“Yes, Your High---Riku?”

“How’s everything really been while I’ve been gone?” He rubbed the back of his head. “How’s... how’s Noct been?”

“He’s been handling it as best he can,” Ignis said. “It’s not his fault his father and his home were taken from him. Your arrival could not have been more opportune. Nor could it have been any more ill-timed.”

“Meaning?”

“You’ve lifted his spirits but it’s dangerous here.”

“Ignis, I’ve been fighting darkness and monsters since I was fifteen now. I can handle myself.”

“I never said you couldn’t,” Ignis said in his peculiar accent. “I just mean your parents sent you away to keep you safe from the dangers of Eos until your brother completed his destiny. That hasn’t happened yet and the dangers are coming to a head. If your parents knew you’d returned now, they would be extremely cross. I suggest you return later in order to ensure your safety. After Noct has completed the Crystal’s mission and fulfilled his destiny.”

“Fulfilled his destiny...” Riku muttered. He shook his head. “My big brother. Then my best friend. Looks like I’m always the one that destiny skips over in favor of someone else.”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing, don’t you agree? You are free to make whatever life you want.”

“I don’t think I should be trusted to make decisions like that. When I made the life I thought I wanted I ended up giving in to the darkness in my heart and getting possessed by an evil Heartless.”

Ignis sighed. “No one makes good decisions in their teen years.”

“Even you?” Riku teased. “You seem... really responsible and mature.”

Ignis laughed. “Even me,” he said. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. Even Noct doesn’t know about my rebellious activities.”

Riku laughed. “You’ll have to tell me about those sometime.”

“I will.”

“Hey Riku! You gotta take a ride with us in the Regalia in the morning! You’ll love it!” Noctis shouted.

“Sure thing!” Riku smiled over his shoulder. He vaguely remembered the Regalia—just like everything else about his earliest memories in Eos, all he really had for certain was a glimmer of an idea. A sleek black vehicle that was graceful and should never ever be driven by Riku.

He’d been so busy learning how to use a keyblade and fighting darkness and Organization XIII that he’d never learned how to drive. Even Sora knew how to fly a Gummiship but Riku never really had the chance.

And for a while he hadn’t had the need. When he’d given in to the darkness for the second time in order to defeat and subdue Roxas, taking on Ansem’s appearance again, he could open dark Corridors and use them to travel. But since then... he still hadn’t found the chance.

But he was looking forward to riding in the Regalia as a passenger.

He glanced at Ignis. “I’ll head home after taking a ride,” he said quietly.

Ignis nodded. “Of course, Your Hi---Riku.”

“You’ll get it eventually,” Riku remarked. “I’m glad I got to meet you guys again.”

“As am I,” Ignis agreed. “Perhaps at some point the four of us could come meet this best friend of yours.”

Riku thought of how strange his life might seem to any on the outside. He couldn’t remember talking, magic ducks in Eos. He knew Eos was beyond the reach of the Heartless. They had their own problems.

But he also knew they would all love Sora. How could they not? Sora was just one of those lovable people.

He smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah maybe.”

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nadziejastar · 5 years ago

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Naminé: Some people think pain is something you can just wipe away–and sometimes, maybe, you can. But not all pain can be erased. The only way to deal with it is to accept it head-on. And if the hurt is too great for you to bear it alone–well, then you turn to a friend close to your heart.

Well, the whole point of the power of waking was supposed to be that it’s the most powerful form of healing that there is. It allows someone to spiritually heal from all the abuse they’ve suffered. That’s the only way to wake someone up from sleep. If they’ve gone through too much torment, they enter the Realm of Sleep and exist outside of time without any conscious awareness. They can’t cope with that much pain on their own.

It wasn’t supposed to be about time travel or instantly bringing someone back from the dead. It was supposed to be about intimately connecting with a person’s heart and helping them overcome the intense pain that caused their psyche to fracture. It’s essentially a miraculous power that is akin to a near death experience. You see the light, feel the intense love that the person has for you, and are never quite the same afterwards. It transforms you from the inside out. That’s why Sora needed to acquire this ability and why it was so important to the story (originally).

Riku: You okay? Feeling all right?

Sora: Yeah, I’ve never been better. I was watching what was going on in my dream. And I could hear your voice the whole time. Thanks, Riku. Thanks, everybody!

Terra has been through similar abuse to Isa. When he was saved, he said the same thing Sora did after Riku used the power of waking on him. He heard Ven’s voice in his dream. Presumably, Terra also felt better than ever after he woke up. The problem was that KH3 eliminated the power of waking. We didn’t see Terra get healed. Ventus was supposed to dive into his heart, defeat the nightmares that were imprisoning him and guide him back into the light using the power of their hearts’ connection.

All of Terra’s inner darkness—all of his shame, hatred, and despair would be confronted head-on, like Aqua’s was when her shadow was fought. KH3 was supposed to show that love has the power to heal the deepest wounds. And Ventus loved Terra like a brother. This would make it so that Terra wasn’t a broken person after he woke up. He’d always carry his past, but he’d essentially be the same guy as before and be able to live a normal and happy life.

"Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it."

The same would have been true for Isa. Saïx has two weapons that are shaped like a Reiki pose and a Reiki angel. Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means “God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power” and Ki which is “life force energy”. So Reiki is actually “spiritually guided life force energy.” A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and well-being. Many have reported miraculous results.

Axel: Hey, Roxas. Bet you don't know why the sun sets red. You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest.

Reiki involves activating all of the chakras. There are 7 chakras with each one colored after the 7 colors of the rainbow. There are 7 Guardians of Light. That’s why the red sunset was so significant. Red light can penetrate the deepest darkness. Saïx’s weapon shaped like Reiki is named “Light Year”. And it’s part of Hazard Gear, which is the same as “The Sun” in Luxord’s deck. The other weapon “Luminary” is the same gear as “The Moon”. The Moon card represents fear, anxiety, and the subconscious.

The Sun card represents warmth, success, abundance, and radiance. Because of your own personal fulfillment, you provide others with inspiration and joy as well. You radiate love and affection towards those you care about the most. Both The Sun and The Moon are shaped like The 4 of Coins. This card can indicate that you are clinging to people, possessions, situations or past issues. You are trying to hold onto what you have and not let go. This interpretation can apply to not just physical things, but also emotional things like relationships. The whole idea was that Lea was supposed to heal Isa. And the strength of their bond was so great, it could even heal someone as messed up as him.

Sora: It'll bring us closer together; the hurt will only make us stronger.

“The Devil” is Rage Gear in Luxord’s deck and has a Recusant’s Sigil on it. Saïx’s weapon in this category is called “King of the Night”. It’s a reference to the Red King of alchemy. Queen of the Night is a white flower that blooms under a full moon. The Red King and White Queen are alchemical allegories, and their union represents the process of uniting opposites to create a greater, fully unified product of that union.

The Devil card represents your shadow side and the negative forces that constrain you and hold you back from being the best version of yourself. Feelings of entrapment, emptiness and lack of fulfillment in your life. The Ten of Coins deals with permanence and satisfaction. The card shows that everything you have put your efforts into for a long time will pay off in the future. Everything will work out well in the end, for you have always kept the long term picture in view, choosing to take no shortcuts. The path to get there has been filled with setbacks and challenges, making this point of the journey even sweeter. It’s the ultimate happy ending card.

“But I’ve heard him say fighting wasn’t his thing.” Roxas briefly pondered that and went on quietly, “I guess everyone in the Organization is good at different things.” That had to be true, Xion realized. They were all Nobodies, and yet, none of them were alike, not in appearance or personality.

“Right,” said Axel. “Everyone’s unique.”

“But how?” Xion wondered. “We’re Nobodies. Don’t you need a heart to be unique?”

“Oh, we have other things that set us apart. Like memories from before.”

I do think Isa was a gentle and kind person. I think his gentle personality is probably what got him turned into a vessel. It caused him to mentally break after being abused so badly. If he were to be revived, he’d have to confront all of the abuse he suffered. I think that would have played out while Lea used the power of waking on him. If Isa was restored post-KH3, I think he’d have the same overall personality as he did before his abuse, like Terra, Aqua, and Ven do. But all of that trauma would have to be dealt with.

Saïx didn’t understand that. Despite the lack of a heart, he could imagine what it was like to have emotional responses based on what he remembered from his human life. And he must be able to remember how much trouble it was.

And clearly there was a lot of trauma. There would be rage, despair, and probably jealousy due to the fact that Axel didn’t know that Isa was possessed and alienated Saïx in favor is Roxas and Xion. His heart would feel abandoned and hurt. I don’t think Saïx is a reflection of who Isa was at all and I feel bad that his character got treated with such little empathy or compassion by the story and most of the fandom. It always astounded me how so many fans treated Isa like he was simply a bad friend that Axel had a falling out with, instead of recognizing that he was possessed.

“You made it back in one piece, didn’t you?”

Were you worried I wouldn’t? Axel almost said, but he didn’t want to deal with putting him in an even fouler mood. Disgust and rage seemed to linger closest to the surface of Saïx’s memories.

It was laughable that KH3 just tried to write him as a normal guy who was a maybe a wee bit on the callous side. And since he helped Roxas and Xion come back, everything was totally fine. Um, no. He was not normal in any way, shape, or form. You can’t make some Nobodies act like Luxord, Axel or Demyx, and then have Saïx act the way he does without giving an explanation. Especially since Isa was a normal kid. None of the other Organization members (besides Xemnas) acted psychotic or demonic like Saïx did. His Japanese title was “Demoniac Dancing in the Moon”. Isa was a rabbit and Saïx is a Werewolf. After he got Norted, Isa’s heart was devoured by Xehanort’s heart. And probably the Lich.

Each Nobody gets their personality—their abilities—from their memories of their time as humans. What are abilities, anyway? I wonder why they occur. When I think about it, the existence of memory is what comes to mind. We are bound according to those memories, and so, we get our abilities according to memories.

He didn’t need to atone. He needed to be saved and healed. It was never disclosed what Axel’s past was like, what his most precious memories were, or what was actually done to Isa to create so many awful memories. So I guess Square/Disney thought people would be too dumb to notice that Isa was a victim. He was one of the most tortured and abused characters in the series. It’s why Axel was always so patient and understanding towards him, despite his awful attitude. Axel knew that Isa’s memories were so bad, he became “twisted”.

He’d never deluded himself that tracking down Riku would be easy, and neither had Saïx. It was just that if he went back and reported that he couldn’t find anything, he would have to deal with those attempts at “personality”—the sneers, the snide remarks, the only trappings of human emotion that Saïx ever showed. Not that Saïx was even capable of annoyance or disappointment, of course, what with the lack of a heart and all.

Heading up the slope to the station, Axel bit into the ice cream bar. “This stuff is so salty,” he murmured to himself, as he often did.

I think it’s really sad that Lea will also never heal from his pain, since the root cause of it all was what happened to Isa. It seems like the fandom thought all of his pain was due to losing Roxas, which was simply not true. I think both Lea and Isa would always be affected by the abuse they’ve suffered, just like TAV. It’s likely that Lea would always be unwilling to talk about his past with anyone except Isa. And it’s probably the same with Isa. It would always stay with them. But I think they would have helped each other heal and live happy lives. Unfortunately, neither of them got to heal, and the story is just going to pretend their pain never existed in the first place.

#kh meta #kh isa #kh saix #kingdom hearts

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