#also roxas think how this is going to make sora feel

[catboygirljoker]

in a recent ask game i got a question about something xigbar has done that i cant get over. well. this is my answer.

[Video ID: A cutscene from 358/2 Days for DS, with high-resolution models. Roxas unsummons his keyblade and says, "Mission accomplished. Xigbar looks up and says, "Or is it?" Roxas says "Huh? Oh, come on, quit playing ar—" Xigbar shoves Roxas away, then jumps out of frame to avoid an attack by an off-screen Heartless. Roxas says, "Whoa!" end ID.]

this one moment is so important to how i think about Xigbar's characterization, in this game, in every game, that i feel the need to. write an entire essay about it lmao

The context here is that Roxas is sent to rendezvous with Xigbar in Halloweentown to destroy a giant Heartless. Just before a fight with a distinctly medium-sized Heartless, Roxas says, "Looks giant enough to me!" and Xigbar laughs and says, "Right. Just keep your head on straight." This cutscene immediately follows that.

After the actual boss fight, Roxas is mad that Xigbar let him think the other Heartless was their target, and Xigbar's like "well you learned a valuable lesson, and I did tell you to keep your head on straight." So there's the moral of the story. Roxas nearly got hurt because he jumped to conclusions and let his guard down.

But if that was the point...why did Xigbar shove Roxas out of the way of the attack, evidently narrowly avoiding getting hit himself? If the story of the mission was Roxas learning this lesson, wouldn't it be scarier and more dramatic if he'd gotten hurt? If Xigbar wanted to show Roxas some tough love, wouldnt he have let Roxas get hurt? What is the game trying to communicate about Xigbar in this scene?

It's not that it'd be tonally inappropriate; the game is absolutely willing to have other characters directly hurt Roxas in order to teach him things. In Lexaeus's mission, when he teaches Roxas about Limit Breaks, he seriously hurts Roxas to get his health low enough to use a Limit Break. At the end of that mission, Lexaeus tells Roxas that the only person he can trust is himself—I think implying that this was another thing he was trying to teach Roxas when he hurt him. Not to mention the several characters who arguably treat Roxas worse. The game doesn't pull its punches when it comes to characters being cruel to him.

It's not like it'd be out of character for Xigbar to stand by and watch, either! Obviously in the broad scope of his character throughout the series, and also in this game specifically. Earlier in the story, he absolutely knows that Axel is going to survive his mission at Castle Oblivion—both from how he talks about it and from his secret reports. When Roxas assumes Axel is dead, Xigbar reminds him once or twice not to jump to conclusions, but after that, not only does he let Roxas believe that Axel is dead, he makes fun of Roxas for it—he tells him it doesn't matter if people died, says things are quieter with fewer people around. He's certainly willing to let Roxas get hurt.

I guess you could argue that maybe Xigbar needs Roxas alive for The Plan, either Xehanort's or the MoM's, but...this mission occurs less than a month before Xemnas says that it doesn't matter whether Roxas or Xion lives. Roxas isn't Ventus; he isn't himself a necessary part of the MoM's plan. He's also not Sora, and in fact him dying would probably just wake up Sora sooner. It doesn't seem like there'd be a pragmatic reason for Xigbar to risk his hide to save Roxas's.

So we're just left with this...thing. This one moment where Xigbar puts himself in direct danger to keep Roxas from getting hurt by his own dumbassery, for seemingly no reason. There are other little moments in this game that can be read as sincere attempts at support or encouragement of Roxas or Xion, but a lot of the time he comes across as, like, condescendingly overfamiliar, more annoying than genuinely supportive. There is no other moment that reads this much like an act of altruism and just an act of altruism.

The people who made this game made an intentional choice here. And I think a lot about what the scene might be meant to communicate.

...And then in BbS and 3 he goes back to seeming like a complete fucking jackass. But considering what we learn about Luxu later in the series—about his motivations, what he used to be like, what he's been through—I don't think this is an isolated out-of-character incident. It's just like...this one short glimpse through a crack in the facade, a hint that there is a lot more depth to him than we realize. What's in there, old man!!

ugghghgh his characterization in this game is so fascinating to me. getting to see him in a completely different context. the only time we see him interact with a teenager who he's allied with outside of Days is in 3. and that also occupies my brain day and night.

another very specific, intentional moment. the camera brings attention to it. what does it mean what does it all mean.....................

anyway. evil little league coach. my mind it swirls and spins.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

So like, mini disclaimer before the post. I was not and am not a believer in the "Sonic is going to be forced to choose between his original friends and the shatterspace variants" theory, nor the companion to it "all the variants are just gonna essentially live with their memories inside the og friends' hearts"

However, I do have brainrot over the idea of Nine meeting Tails in his dreams, and some of these ideas require a prerequisite of "in which Nine exists within Tails' heart but does not currently have a body.

ㅤ

Imagine, if you will, a setting post canon in which the variants exist within the hearts of the original and (kingdom hearts style) they would just need a body/vessel of their own to exist again. Tails is sleeping, and after dreams upon dreams of meeting the variants, experiencing their fleeting memories and their hurt (their feelings about everything), he comes across Nine.

Nine... Tails has had a hard time remembering much of his dreams while awake, but when he's dreaming, he remembers that Nine has been perhaps the angriest and most conflicted of all the variants. All of them want to be alive, of course. Tails wouldn't be surprised if *all* of them have been parsing through his own memories in exchange for sharing theirs.

But none have been so volatile as Nine, harder to reason with. The others at least face him more often than not, but Nine has directly done so few times.

But...Tails can't blame him for that, especially not after what he knows. He understands how Nine likely feels (abandoned, lonely, forgotten). Perhaps he wouldn't be so agreeable either if he fought tooth and nail for a better future, and the universe denied him that (nay, punished him to watch but to never have).

But tonight...

Nine is standing under a palm tree, facing the vast ocean past the beaches of Green Hill. Tails takes a few steps down the hill he's on, and soon enough he's standing off to the side (dream logic, he understands)—where he can see Nine from the front, but isn't standing directly in front of him or obstructing his view.

It's at this moment that Tails realizes he's never seen Nine so clearly before. The tips of his ears, to his permafrown, to his 7 mechanical tails, and down to his shoes. He's fought the fox before in his dreams, seen glimpses of him, but this is the first time he's had a chance to really see him.

Nine turns his head away from the sea, and suddenly Tails is beside him, mere feet away.

Tails opens his mouth, a dozen questions and sentence starters flying through his head. What eventually comes out is just a simple, "Nine?"

Nine smiles at that, and yet...Tails can tell almost instantly that it's not because he's happy or excited to see him. No, the smile is almost...accepting, if not a little bit sad.

Then, Nine sighs. "This could have been the other way around, but...it has to be you."

Tails hesitates for a moment before pointing at himself. "...Me? Why?"

"There are so many people connected to you—all of you, if my hypothesis is correct. It often is. You're me, so...you can feel what I felt. You could...feel how I feel."

And maybe it's true that Tails can feel what Mangey, Sails, and Nine are feeling, but all that proves is that one is affected by the presence of others residing within their own consciousness.

Tails shakes his head. "No. You're you, not me."

There's a moment of silence before Nine chuckles, and Tails continues, "I want you to know that you deserve to live as your own person, just as much as I do."

"Every time we've fought—here—I've asked you the same question. Do you remember it?"

Well, of course, Tails finds multiple questions as he tries to think back, but by keeping the terms of Nine's question in mind and employing process of elimination–

Nine turns back to the sea, squeezing both gloved hands into fists at his sides. "I was angry—among other things. I just couldn't understand why I was here. After everything I'd fought for, everything we'd been through together, I couldn't understand why he chose you. And every time I asked, you never gave me an answer."

Nine's right. Tails has never given him an answer to that question.

But to Tails...that question was never his to answer, at least in his opinion. Unless Sonic told him, Tails would never know why he put in for him, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge over worlds of new friends. All he does know (straight from Sonic's own testimony) is that Sonic would have never made the choice he did had he known it would lead to all this. Sonic had wanted home, Tails, and all his friends back, but he never meant to erase the other worlds. Even as he tries to pretend otherwise, Tails knows Sonic has been beating himself up for the choice he made ever since.

Shouldn't Nine know that—that Sonic didn't mean to hurt him, that Sonic feels regret, that Sonic wasn't intending to choose between one or the other?

"Nine–"

"Save it," Nine says, cutting him off. "It doesn't matter anymore. Sonic made his choice, but you still have that chance."

Nine turns back to Tails and holds out a hand.

Tails looks down, then back up at Nine. He hesitates for a second, but ultimately takes Nine's hand.

Tails is an observer, a spectator without form, as memories begin to play out before him in quick succession. Despite the lack of form, somehow his head begins to ache in pain that only grows over the moments.

And then, he begins to notice a pattern in the memories shown to him. Despite the pain, he recognizes the clear shift since a certain blue hedgehog—Sonic, of course—saves Nine from being hit by a train.

Each and every memory, if Sonic wasn't centered or mentioned in it, then his palpable absense was the focal point. Nine fought him, he worked with him, he almost lost him, he thought he lost him, and then he fought him again.

Nine had spent most of his life lonely, though he hadn't realized that until his life was almost over.

A waterfall of emotions hit him then, just before the highlight reel crackles into black.

And then, Tails is standing beside Nine again, head pulsing and heart pounding. He can hardly remember what he's just seen, and that waterfall of emotions seeps through his fingers as he tries to catch them, to study them.

All he knows is that he understands. Somehow, he understands why Nine feels the way he does. Now, more than before, he understands why Nine is hung up on Sonic the way he is.

Perhaps, Tails thinks, he understands how it feels for Nine to be with Sonic (and without him) far more than anyone else.

Tails musters up a look of determination as he stares into Nine's eyes, and he squeezes his hand. "I'll figure it out. No matter how long it takes, I'll make sure you—you, and Sails, and Mangey, and the rest—can walk along the beach. You don't deserve to sit here and watch like this. None of you deserved to have your lives taken."

And Nine... Nine smiles, like he just can't help it. "Don't you see? That's why it has to be you."

There's a feeling, an almost indescribable feeling, that strikes Tails' heart at that.

"I promise," Tails says.

And then, he’s sitting up in his bed, breathing deeply.

As he makes himself get up, get ready, and rush into his lab, there's little he remembers from his dream as always.

But he knows what he has to do.

I'll make sure of it, Nine.

[dreamsy990]

fuck akuroku as a ship btw not only because its pedophilic because thats obviously a huge issue. but also i think we should be able to have platonic relationships with the same amount of devotion as any romance. not everyone who loves each other is in love DEREK.

[yume127]

I find it interesting how Roxas is often described as the “angry one” or “short-tempered one” when compared to Sora or Ventus, mostly because I always felt Sora and Ven have a shorter fuse than Roxas.

The association between Roxas and anger is understandable, because many of Roxas’ most poignant moments in the series happen when he is very (and understandably) angry, but I also feel like it’s a disservice to his character to only reduce him to his anger, especially when it’s far from who he is in normal circumstances.

For example, during Days, many Organization members treat him poorly and insult him to his face and, for the most part, Roxas doesn’t react at all. In Halloween Town, Lock, Shock, and Barrel throw bombs in his face multiple times before Roxas finally snaps at them. He senses that many people around him are keeping things from him, but it takes him months before he confronts someone about it. That’s far from someone I’d consider short-tempered or easy to anger.

The only situation I can think of when we see him get upset quickly is if anyone does or says something bad to Xion and, even then, the most of his reaction is verbally snapping at Saix to make him stop disrespecting her. In Axel’s case (when Roxas is upset with him for attacking Xion), Roxas doesn’t confront him at all, he just avoids him altogether. Also, I think it’s important to note that every moment in which Roxas is very angry happens when his entire life is falling apart, which is a situation in which, I believe, everyone would be upset.

Roxas seems the kind of person who bottles everything up without much reaction until it becomes too much and he explodes, and that’s when he has a hard time controlling his anger/emotions. Having spent most of his life in the organization probably plays a part in it as, every time he brings up any emotion, his feelings are invalidated and suppressed. That’s not an environment that gave him the tools to process strong emotions in a healthy way.

Let’s compare that to Ventus. Ven is the definition of short-tempered in BBS. He’s ready to throw hands with Vanitas the moment he says something remotely bad about Terra, which was minutes after he met him for the first time. He fought the dwarves without a second thought just because they refused to talk with him. His first reaction when he becomes small and is trapped in a mousetrap is to shout. These are just some examples from the top of my head, but it’s clear Ven has a shorter fuse than Roxas.

Ventus usually expresses how he feels in any given situation and has a short fuse. On the flip side, he doesn’t seem to hold on to these feelings at all. He externalises them the moment he feels them, but then he lets it go and it doesn’t bother him anymore. Out of the three of them, Ventus seems the most open about his emotions and, from what I remember, when he opens up about feeling a certain way with his friends, his feelings are usually not invalidated nor brushed aside. In UX, Ventus seems calmer and doesn’t have much anger in him, but he’s still open to expressing his feelings of low self-worth and sadness with the other union leaders.

Sora, I think he falls in the middle? He seems to have a shorter temper compared to Roxas, which was especially clear in KH2, where he snaps at the Organization multiple times, but he also bottles up his emotions more than Ven, especially around his friends. This happens mostly with his sadness, which he always tries to hide or brush aside, but in KH3 we can also see, for example, how much he’s bothered by everyone constantly bringing up him not passing the Mark of Mastery, even if he tries not to show it.

I think Sora feels like he should always be happy for his friends’ sake, and even during the rare moments when he tries to express his sadness, his feelings are not truly welcomed (“No frowning. No sad faces. This boat runs on happy faces”), so he just tries to brush it off as a joke. He’s loud in expressing any kind of positive emotion, and he openly expresses his anger against his enemies (and to his friends too, sometimes), but he also doesn’t hold on to that anger and is pretty forgiving. However, he usually bottles up his sadness, low self-esteem and other negative feelings, and then explodes when he can’t hold it together any longer (like it happened at the Keyblade Graveyard when he thought all his friends were gone forever).

[starrieisdelusional]

why kairi might be the one who manipulated sora's memory

yes you read that right, and no i did not mis-type this (if you're thinking hey that should be namine!)

i was going back a few times to kh3 and i found many patterns and cutscenes in 3 that can be compared to previous installments of the game, even side by side, this one particularly caught my eye:

crazy am i right

so remember that scene in 3 where sora falsely exclaimed "the light in the darkness" to be kairi? (it's actually riku) where sora and kairi goes enters the light to made it back to the real world

previous clip in link because tumblr isn't working with me ("riku, answer me!!" comparison with "okay! i have to protect them (aitsu)! Namine can you hear me?")

as you've seen in the comparison i realized it probably a direct paralell to namine's fake meteor shower scene back in COM Sora's side. And these lines of dialogue in particular interest me

it got me thinking, and i think that kairi purposely did something to sora's memory at some point in their lives. The exact when i'm not too sure, but she had inserted herself into some of riku's part in sora's life as sora's taisetsu na hito (special someone)

i know this sounds crazy, but i think there's a valid reason to this theory

Why??

the motive is clear: that kairi is lonely. i personally relate to her character struggle, loneliness can be suffocating, just like how namine portrayed hers that resulted to the events in COM

kairi's main theme has always been about 'seperation' and being left behind by sora and riku. so it would make sense for her to crave attention

kairi might feel sad that sora and riku doesn't pay attention to her unlike how they pay attention to each-other, so i don't see it as off character for her to insert herself into a fake picture if she had the chance, especially as the love interest of her crush

she even said this back in KH1 which sora responded with "Huh!? What's gotten into you?"

or is it done out of malicious intentions? there might be a possibility for that, but i don't think it is as it goes against kingdom hearts thematic story that stays consistent over the years, that portrays every character struggle in a sympathetic way that honestly you can relate too

(xehanort is even a subject to this in dark road)

i think that kairi felt really guilty about it and didn't realized the impact that she had done to sora and riku's relationship. or maybe she thrived for it, because even if the affection is not real, kairi is still loved and remembered by someone as their precious person, and it feels nice especially with someone like sora

snippet from kh3 novel

in the novels, there's a strong hint that kairi cut her hair because riku cut his, which contributes a lot to the theory of kairi wanting to be sora's precious person (riku) where she somewhat mimics his behavior (she probably realized deep down sora cares more about riku than her)

Passing Memories

i think this also made sense lore wise, because why else would sora suddenly lost his memory of riku? and i don't think sora's sort-of infatuation with kairi is caused by comphet alone

forgotten promises is a recurring theme in sora and riku's relationship, everything up to this point has always leads to hidden thoughts and burried memories, you have to dig deeper if you want to find a connection between sora and riku, the examples currently are:

whatever is happening between soriku

passing memories jp name of oblivion keyblade that is owned by roxas

riku is the TRUE light

necklace theory: the fact that THE necklace is everywhere in the game but is never brought up like ever

aitsu (check full discussion on the internet)

COM the game (just everything related to COM, the only game with riku and sora beside DDD? it's sus if you ask me)

compared to sora and kairi who's relationship always seems shallow and on the surface. i think it made more sense with the 'why' factor answered, because every time sora is thinking of riku, kairi would replace herself in his position, just like the light-tunnel scene in kh3

the 'oathkeeper' (promise charm) and 'oblivion' (passing memories) also reflected sora keeping his promise to kairi, but forgetting about his to riku, riku might not be affected in the same way that sora does, so this happens:

+ the multiple and many instances, riku is straight up covered by kairi

some of those instances:

kairi is true darkness (ex: sea is metaphor for darkness)

xion (is said to be kairi but proven also to also be riku)

the final world

Power?

honestly, i think kairi is more than she lets on (like LUXU), let's talk about her nobody:

i think it's already suspicious that namine has the power to mess with sora's memories (because she's from kairi's body and sora's heart?) when existing nobodies like roxas and xion for example has powers directly tied to their somebodies (kingdom key), xehanort doing xehanort things, marluxia possessing the same rose petals as his somebody counterpart, (and a lot more...)

so, with a game like kingdom hearts, does namine's powers really came out of no where? we know that sora doesn't have the ability to manipulate people's memories, so who else could it be?? kairi's powers might even be more powerful

this would also aligns with the theory 'riku is light-kairi is darkness' because even at front value the game is telling you 'hey kairi is LIGHT and riku is DARKNESS' time and time again its always the reverse in certain situations, but you never got to wonder what it actually mean

yes riku is the light, but why is kairi the darkness?? yes she sort-of brings demise as xehanort's pawn, but is it really just that?

lastly, kairi is a princess of heart, and might even came from the lost masters era as it is decorated and spammed with stars (every symbol is replaced by stars i'm not joking)

it's very on-theme with the 'traitor' plot point that has been consistent in every khux game, so... (i have a theory that kairi is master ava, or master ava is her grandma, OR kairi is mom... or skuld)

in addition to all of this, i also think that kairi can also be a creature, maybe she's actually a chirithy:

however i do think as opposed to riku as a dreameater (spirit), kairi is a nightmare chirithy, as seen in their color pallet (might be a coincidence but who knows)

[recent-rose]

heres the thing abt kairi. i don't think she's poorly written, i think she's poorly executed. like there's a conflict/lack of cohesive vision for her and they're trying to shoehorn her into a role she does not fit.

nomura, from kh1, has clearly always wanted kairi to remain a link to the past/manifestation of fond memories of childhood/like a bittersweet hometown that isn't quite the same when you come back as an adult. that's the role he has consistently, persistently assigned to her. and there's nothing wrong with that. not every character ever has to take an active role and be a hero and do Things. sometimes characters exist to embody an allegory, or symbolism, or an idea. that was kairi, initially. embodiment of home, safety, comfort, childhood. for that matter, riku was the future, the unknown, growing up and letting childhood go. sora, of course, a boy coming of age and being torn between the two.

so consequently i've never understand the choice to make her a keyblade wielder when she's already a princess of heart twice over. like it or not the princesses of heart have an established role in the story and it's not fighting on the front lines. she could have been a leader and taken an active role in her own way if they really wanted, without ever needing to hold a keyblade and be a Chosen One, Also!(tm). in this way she also would have maintained a cohesive narrative role in the story. her path would still be diverging from sora's, and it would be as bittersweet and nostalgic as it was in kh1 without the clownery than her involvement in endgame kh2 onward has been mired in.

what clownery, you ask? kairi literally cannot grow as a person while in sora's orbit. we've seen it happen again and again, any growth she gets is away from sora and any time she's near him she regresses as a character. this is because, again, she is absolutely cemented in the minds of the writers as The Nostalgic Past that sora is holding onto. in the context of the kh narrative, she can literally be nothing else to him. there's no more growth to be had between them. hence, every time their relationship ends up the focus in a scene you can't help but feel the rapidly growing distance between where they once were vs where they now are as individuals. this relationship can, imo, ONLY be regressive to both of them in the context of kh's overarching narrative where kairi is constantly (and overtly) being framed as Sora's Idealized Childhood. or, as a prize he 'wins' when the story ends. the two are fairly connected in kh.

back on track, having kairi remain a princess of heart and not a keyblade wielder also would've solved the problem of the writing team having to shelve/fridge her every time they want riku+sora to go on another romantic getawa - uhhh adventure together. like she was asleep for a year post kh3? and now she's going to train with aqua while riku goes to rescue the love of his l - i mean bestest best boy friend again? you're joking.

it just stinks of trying to girlbossify a character so she can 'keep up' with her male counterparts in the eyes of media illiterate consumers who associate a lack of a weapon with a lack of power. dawg we're past that. female characters can be relevant, important, interesting and powerful without following in the exact footsteps of their male counterparts. and this is to say nothing of kairi's keyblade bequeathing being a relative accident and how it creates a pretty glaring plot hole because somehow xion and roxas, sora's nobodies, can wield keyblades at will but namine can't? okay. yes, perhaps we just haven't been 'shown' her wielding a keyblade. maybe. but i think it seriously indicates that they had no intention of making kairi a keyblade wielder in the first place.

and don't get me wrong, if they intended on changing/overhauling her role going forward i would understand making her not just a wielder but a guardian of light. problem is, they have already established she's not going to be fighting/active in the next game. she is, yet again, the home they are returning to and not the future they're moving towards. this, consequently, will continue causing some major tonal dissonance among those who either consciously or unconsciously recognize that kairi is not meant to be where she is currently placed in the narrative. she's SHOWN to be just a regular girl who still to this day does not particularly want to go adventuring, and yet we're TOLD again and again that she's a warrior now, riding on sora and riku's coattails regrettably. it's just so tonally off.

[akurokuyuri]

hi this is really stupid but a common misconception that's been bothering me for a LONG time and is constantly used in akuroku discourse.

"nomura saying nobodies dont age was a lie" has never been proved, their only evidence is zexion growing up because they think hollow bastion took a year or less to fall and organization 13 taking the same time, however this is not true and this is talked about in kh2.

in this secret ansem report, ansem says that he met xehanort YEARS ago, of course it's never confirmed how many years it's been by this point (and from what i know i believe it's only been 2-5 years, probably not above 7 because kairi was sent to destiny islands some time before this happened and seems to know sora and riku way too well, HOWEVER that is only my own intepretation.)

i also highly doubt that axel himself would lie, he himself says that nobodys dont age either. he also describes roxas as being "AROUND 10 years seperate from when he himself became a nobody" which bbs was around 10 years before kh1 so because this is an estimate axel more likely meant a number above 7 years. this also goes with axel at one point saying something like one day were working for xemnas the next we're nobodies as if indiciating it probably wasn't more than 2 or 3 years.

however you can intepret axels age as whatever you want, but don't get mad over someone else's intepretation, i just personally feel like from what's shown in canon he is more likely only 2 years older than roxas.

"but roxas is 15" roxas does not have a canon age and is partially based on both sora and ventus as a result of them merging hearts. that does not make him only soras nobody he is also ventus's. he could be 15 or 16, or maybe not even have an age at all. and if you unironically call him 2 years old i am going to laugh im sorry.

if you headcanon akuroku to be age gap i also don't mind because i just don't care what people ship regardless, i think ship discourse is stupid especially when it mispreads information. like when people say vanven is canonically brothers when vanitas saying brothers was a metaphor for "my other half".

the "axel and zexion got too tall for it to only be 2 years" argument is stupid because did you see how tall riku got in only a year. (yes it was confirmed only a year) in canon now riku is most likely an adult during the events of kh4 because remind limitcut is a year after the events of base kh3.

and axel was only around 15/16 in bbs, he is not gonna grow past 18 most likely gonna stop growing at 17 because that's how bodies work and i thought this was obvious idk. is it not common sense that growth spurts exist cuz we can see riku obviously had one as well

i honestly think it's really funny when the kh fandom just says every ship they don't like is problematic when it's either up to interpretation or just not toxic at all. if you dont like a ship that's PERFECTLY fine. just be respectful about it

[scouting4love]

Please talk about it so bad this tangent sounds so interesting

Omg... I will go on my bipolar, brain rot rant for you 🫵

I do think that Roxas & Riku are really good narrative foils for each other, especially at the end of Days, tragically so! I think it's also looked over and brushed off quite a bit, my reason being that, in the game, Roxas and Riku only interact once on a meaningful level and that's the fight at the end.

Days, as a game, is about the emotions that make us human. Throughout the game, Xion and Roxas see things like love (Beast's Castle), friendship (Aladdin), and experience those things along with sorrow, desperation, etc. On the flip side, Riku is "real", he was never split in half. He doesn't have to learn all of those things and he knows what he's feeling; e.g. when Xion tries to cut him deep and asks if Riku hates her and Riku answers with "No, I'm just sad." (He's so fucking emo during this game.)

Riku also has a purpose during this game and that is to wake Sora up. He's working with Naminé and DiZ to do so. Roxas is collecting hearts for "kingdom hearts" so everyone in the organization can be "complete again." Throughout the whole game, we read in his diary, hear him talk to his friends, and hear in his inner thoughts that he doesn't know what the fuck that means. He doesn't know what a heart is, he doesn't know what having a heart means, and he doesn't know why he's doing what he's doing. He just knows he was given an 8-8 blue collared job, a roof over his head, and he's part of a cult now.

Personality wise, during the game, Roxas is very curious and sweet. He wants to know more about having a heart, he's always concerned when his friends are hurt, and he's always trying to cheer them up. His temper does flare (especially concerning Saïx) and he's a shit talker. At the end of the game, he is fucking PISSED, as is his right! One of his friends has been lying through his teeth to him, the other is dead due to work place negligence, no one is telling him the truth, and he wants answers! Riku is in what I like to call his "Zoloft Era" because he needs it. Since he's gotten, basically groomed in the first game, dealt with all the shit in Castle Oblivion during CoM (watching his clone die and killing people), and now he has to put up with DiZ's grown ass throwing a hissy fit, he has mellowed out considerably. He makes level headed decisions, like giving Xion time to decide on what she wants to do and has confidence that she will do what's right and doesn't pressure her. He also doesn't shit talk like he does in the first game, he has learned his lesson.

So, at the end of the game, when it all comes to a head, it does so in the saddest fucking way. Roxas understandably upset because his best friend just fucking died and he's the only one who even remembers her (sound familiar?) is going to destroy "kingdom hearts". If he does that, he's gonna get his ass kicked! He's acting on sheer impulse and anger but can you blame him? He's 15. DiZ tells Riku that the only way to get Sora to wake up is to bring Roxas over so Riku leaves to do that and he stops Roxas before he gets to the castle where they fight. When Riku asks what Roxas is doing and he tells him, Riku can remember Xion but just barely like how he can remember Sora just barely but she's slipping away. Riku understands what Roxas is trying to do but he can't let him go through with it.

The end of the fight is the most important part, in my opinion. Roxas beats Riku's ass twice, breaks his fucking wrist, and is sick of his shit. He also shit talks Riku which Riku does not participate in. Riku knows what he has to do at this point and takes off his blindfold, accepting the darkness in his heart, and taking on the appearance of the man who possessed him in the first game. Doing this, allows Riku to win and they put Roxas in the VR Twilight Town. The whole reason Riku won is from taking off the blindfold, by resigning himself to looking like Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. He is willing to give up his sense of self, his identity, his existence, just to get his best friend to wake up. Roxas isn't willing to, isn't able to do that and that's why he lost.

Roxas' character is about identity, personhood, what makes a person a person. "I feel this, so surely I exist, so surely I am meant to be here." The things he is being told, i.e. you're not supposed to have a heart, you're not supposed to feel, don't line up with what he is experiencing and he has to find out what it means to "be" by himself. That's what being a person is, figuring things out, finding out things for yourself, finding out who you are, what you are supposed to be. It is inherently selfish and there is nothing wrong with that, I think it's good for his character. The problem is that it's a double edge sword, it is his ultimate downfall. "My heart belongs to me."

Riku's character is about sacrifice. We have seen it plenty of times throughout the whole game series. He puts himself in the realm of darkness, he spends a whole year trying to wake Sora up, he becomes Sora's dreameater, he sacrifices himself for Sora in KH3 (gay ass). The point is, he is a protector. He puts himself in harms way without a second thought for the sake of his friends. He doesn't want to look like his fucking groomer from the first game but if it'll help his friend, he's gonna fucking do it! "To protect the things that matter."

I think the line, "Forgive me, Roxas," is probably one of the most heartbreaking in Days and it's so so so so depressing that it's not in the game (it's in the manga). If they had put it in the game it would be more clear that they are narrative foils and give the audience more sympathy to Riku's character. In the end, both of them just want to save their best friends but Riku knows he has to take away what Roxas is fighting for not only himself but for Xion as well. He doesn't want to, he's fucking 16 but in the end, he is willing and able to give up is personhood to save the thing he cares about most. Even though Roxas wants to save Xion, he is unwilling to give up his agency and as an audience, technically as Roxas' friends (cause we have been playing the game and reading his diary, etc.), we understand that he had every reason to fight. We also understand that Sora needs to wake up and we understand why Riku needs to do what he needs to do. It's kind of a lose lose because both of them don't end up on top at the end of the game either. Riku may have won, yet he gave up the thing that Roxas was fighting for, his agency, his personhood, his sense of self and identity but he got his best friend back in the end. Roxas lost and had to go back to Sora but ended up keeping himself separated (as we see in kh2 and DDD) but he lost his best friend in the process. They are really good narrative foils and I don't think it is talked about enough..!!

[jetsteelyourheart]

My top 5 Crackships

Inspired by my top 5 8 characters thing going around, I want you all to vote on your favorite of my Top 5 Questionable Rare pairs

I will be providing excuses reasoning excuses below the poll, so if you feel like roasting me properly seeing my justifications, do that - or don't!

And remember, they're fictional characters, so it costs nothing to be normal about this and have fun

*Not all of these are controversial, but those that are? watch out!

Excuses:

Zuki:

If you follow me then you know I'm an OG Zutara fan, but on the rare occasions I'm feeling Cannon Compliant, Zuki is my go too ship. This has all to do with the comics, where basically Zuko's only confidant is Suki and you get wild panels of them looking at each other like this:

I was devistated when Korra came out and it seemed like Sokka and Suki didn't last, but if the above is why, then I'll take it.

Stobin:

I am going to get so much flack for this one I think. BUT. Consider: The cannon ships in the show are generally not well written. I like Hopper/Joyce, I like Max/Lucas, but Nancy/Jonathan and especially Mike/Eleven do literally nothing for me, they are so bland. I do see the irony that one of the things that makes Stobin well written is because its one sided on Steve's part because Robin is gay. But their interactions are literally the reason to watch the show if you ask me. Pushing past these excuses though, I just kinda dig the ship. In my head its an open poly situation for certain, but sexuality is so wild and fluid and weird, and Gold Star status is gatekeepy at best anyway, so like, why the fuck not. I had a great aunt who had an open marriage with a gay man, (big beard behavior) and they had kids and did everything together. Its like... Platonic soulmates + if you will. And that's what I want for Stobin. Platonic soulmates + and a big ole polycule surrounding them. Or maybe its just my incoherent bisexual ass talking

(If I could put fan-art with the polycule in it I would but I wouldn't repost someones art like that... so I'm stuck with cannon images)

Zacknei:

No one has played this game. When people think Zack, they either ship Cloud or Aerith, and honestly I ship both those as well (though ClAerTi will always be my top for them). But I love Cissnei. She has big Sydney Sage energy for me, and all of Zack's emotional beats in the second half of the game surround her (...or cloud) not Aerith (just for the record). Also if you join all the fanclubs and work hard you get invited to your own fanclub and I'm pretty sure there's evidence that Cissnei is the president which is hilarious. I just love their interactions and was DEVASTATED at the end. Analytical Girl & PuppyDogHimbo is a beautiful ship dynamic. Also Rick Gomez will always be my Zack Fair VA. I hate the new guy so much (and its not his fault!! Sorry man!)

Aquarella:

So the section is really short. But my god. Cinderella and Aqua have the most chemistry of any character in that game series bar none. I'm including Riku and Sora in this. I'm including Roxas and Axel. Ok, not really this is not the hill I want to die on. BUT. At least in Birth By Sleep, this is the emotional high-point. Aqua taking her hand like a gentleman at a ball? The way Aqua saves Cinderella from getting run over by her demonic carriage??? The way she lovingly protects Cindy's body with hers? Did you see Prince whats his face doing any of that ? NO. And then. If Aqua were a guy everyone would've seen it when this game came out (but I guess gay people weren't invented until 2015 or whatever.

look how devastated Aqua is when Cinderella goes to Charming at the end. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THEM.

Sorayla:

I really do like Raylum, but this is a poll on my hot take rare-pairs, not cannon compliance. Let me start off by saying, no, I haven't seen this season yet, it only came out twelve hours ago whats wrong with you? This pair grew on me starting in Season 4 after the time skip. I think it goes along side my preoccupation with tough smart girls and their dumbass golden retriever himbos. They have a nice trajectory, and with Callum going a lil dark and edgy on us recently, I like their banter a lot. Especially in Season 4 I was surprised by them and I crave more adventures with the two of them alone. I don't think it will ever happen, but I like it none the less. They bring a certain... Sokka & Suki vibe to the party that I'm here for.

Anyway, I tag @ebbilayart @retiredficwriter & anyone who decides to do it!

And if no one feels like setting themselves up as a target, that's good too!

[descendant-of-truth]

The data characters in Coded are endlessly fascinating to me because like... they're so much like the originals. But everything is shifted just enough to the left that they feel different, and a little off if you think about it long enough.

Probably the main thing that stands out is that they all start out with different "base memories" from each other, if you will. The only thing Data Sora knows is that he grew up on the islands with his friends, but Data Riku has an encyclopedic knowledge of everything that happened in KH1. Data Namine knows what happened in CoM, and Data Roxas remembers up to the end of the KH2 prologue.

None of them are caught up to the present. The events of KH2 don't exist to them, because those events are written in a different journal.

But you can't even say that Data Sora is "just" Sora from before he started his journey, because almost as soon as the game starts, there's something wrong with that picture.

It's a little hard to explain, but Sora seems... remarkably unconcerned with his surroundings. He accepts whatever Mickey tells him without a second thought, even if he admits (still much too casually) that he doesn't understand what's going on.

(Not to mention that the giant, eye-catching blocks around him are things he doesn't even acknowledge until prompted by Mickey to "look for anything odd.")

But probably the biggest difference between the two Soras when they're starting out is that the journey isn't personal for Data Sora. He doesn't dwell on the islands being lost, and more importantly, he isn't looking for his friends. He doesn't even think about his friends. The first time Riku's name comes out of his mouth is when he literally shows up in front of him.

The early parts of Coded really make the "data" part of Data Sora apparent, I think. He's kind and brave like Sora, he has his mannerisms down, but he feels a bit hollow. There's nothing that's really important to him yet; he just goes along with things as they happen to him.

And then he loses the Keyblade and Riku at the same time, which is the first event to prompt genuine distress from him that he doesn't quickly bounce back from.

This is when Data Sora goes from a passive protagonist to more of an active one - something that the original Sora was from the start. He finally disobeys a request from Mickey, going to Hollow Bastion by himself in order to save Riku.

It's only there that he finally starts to process what having friends means, though, courtesy of Donald and Goofy's guidance... which the original Sora had ever since Traverse Town, by the way. Mickey wasn't a bad mentor to Data Sora, necessarily, but he was a lot more objective-focused, and thus didn't do a lot to help foster a deeper understanding of certain things in him.

Another thing I find interesting - the original Sora lost his Keyblade before going through Hollow Bastion, too, but the way they each get them back is different. Sora makes a rousing speech about how his friends are his power, and his conviction in that summons it back:

While Data Sora summons his back in a moment of fear, and a desire to protect his friends from being crushed:

He even fights a possessed Riku like Sora did, but the dynamic between them is much different on both ends. Originally, Sora was really fed up with Riku, and didn't know the full extent that he was being manipulated. (Also Riku stole the Keyblade and his friends by extension from him, so he's understandably kind of mad about that)

Meanwhile, Riku's villainous sass was on full display, mocking Sora for having a weak heart and saying he would get destroyed by the darkness. This was probably the worst terms they've been on with each other.

In Coded, there's no bad blood between them, and Data Sora knows exactly how much Riku isn't acting of his own accord. So his tone becomes one of unambiguous concern, while Riku wants so much to not fight Sora that he asks to be destroyed instead.

And because Ansem just... doesn't seem to exist in the datascape, Sora is able to bring Riku back with him much faster than the original could, so the motivation that made CoM and KH2 possible in the first place is gone entirely.

Data Sora's journey leads him to the same places as Sora's, and the story beats are similar, but his experiences are unmistakably different. Which is what makes the way Data Riku talks about things especially fascinating.

He makes a lot of references to the original events of KH1, and talks like he and Data Sora are inextricable from it. "I always seem to give in," "you once turned into a Heartless," "you would have saved us." He never completely separates the events of the datascape from those in the real world, treating Riku's failings as his own, saying that Data Sora lost his heart and doesn't remember it.

Data Roxas and Namine are the same way - it's actually Sora who's the odd one out, who doesn't give his original a second thought most of the time. It's only when other people attribute Sora's experiences to him that he, somewhat mistakenly, adopts that information into his worldview.

(No, Sora, that's not your Heartless. No, you weren't on a journey to find Riku and Kairi. That was a different guy. You don't even know Kairi for some reason. Add him to the list of people that live in Sora's shadow along with Roxas and Xion)

I don't know what the conclusion is here exactly, just that there's something about the way the data characters are so different but similar at the same time to the people they're based on that's really engaging to me.

I mean, one of Sora's biggest fears seems to be turning into someone else, or just being a copy of another person, as we saw in DDD. Data Sora is a Sora who's a copy, and he's kind of just... fine with that. He's content with what he has. Even when his memories are a complete mess by the end of the game, he accepts the situation as it is and keeps moving forward.

Anyway I could keep going but for now I'll leave it at "and that's why the data characters should show up again in future games"

[mythicalartistx]

Why Mickey is not to blame for leaving Aqua in the realm of darkness — He was busy

All the time I see people say how it's Mickey's fault for leaving her there for ten years— No doubt Anti-Aqua says that and makes him feel bad.

But the thing is he actually only left her there for 1.5 years if you want to say he left her there.

Cause he didn't know where she was for ten years. Ven was hidden and his heart has been lost, but nobody knew where he was except for Aqua. Aqua and Terra went missing and there was no sign of them.

Nobody was that close to Terra that realized Oh he and that person with no memory look oddly similar except he has silver hair.

Mickey didn't know Terra, he only knew Aqua and Ven. The closest people who would know his appearance well were dead, missing, or wouldn't help cause they're antagonists.

So for several years they probably searched and had no clues also around that time Maleficent was cause chaos with the start of gathering the first few princesses of light' hearts. So Mickey probably had to deal with that.

Then when he realized what was going on and worlds being disappearing he took an opportunity to go to a world that's heart been lost and jump into the door of darkness to find the key that will help close the door

That's when he first finds Aqua and it's been ten years.

She sacrifices herself for Riku and then Mickey and Riku go through the realm of darkness until they get separated somehow. Riku reaches castle oblivion and then Mickey soon helps him and officially becomes his dad.

Then while Sora is asleep, Riku protects Sora and does everything he can to try and help him wake up.

During this part Mickey and Riku separate for a bit. Mickey probably went to Yen Sid and was like Aqua is actually in the realm of darkness we need to save her.

And Yen Sid probably was like we don't have the capabilities or strength to do that, it's way too dangerous.

He probably also told Mickey about Organization 13 and how they're dangerous and needs to be stopped.

Once Sora wakes up he must make pathways to the other worlds and stop organization 13. Mickey also is trying to find Ansem the wise. So after all that happens they finally go back to the islands and Mickey is probably going to try to see what can be done about Aqua.

But then wait Jiminy Cricket runs in and tells him about his journal. So they spend time doing that.

After all the journal stuff is over, Mickey informs Master Yen Sid and sends a letter to the destiny Trio that explained what happened.

Master Yen Sid then tells Mickey because of the stuff they discovered through the data in the journal that Riku and Sora must take the M.O.M. Exam because they fear of darkness uprising.

Then while they are taking the Exam, Mickey goes back to his castle cause Maleficent and Pete captured Minnie. Lea/Axel appears saves the day and then saves Sora from being turned to Darkness. And they realized what Xehanort is planning. They finally have the abilities to find Aqua now. Mickey is now free.

It's only probably been a year and a half since. 1-2 is a year. The events of 2 probably took like a few months, coded probably took 1 month, DDD probably took 1-2 months. And 3 probably took about a few months too.

Reminder that Sora is in 15 for KH2 and KH3.

But they realize they need 7 lights and it's now their mission to find Aqua have Sora get the power awakening to wake up lost friends like Roxas.

Mickey and Riku goes to find Aqua.

And Aqua at the beach, she has trauma being there so long but when she sees ANSEM she says I'm staying here they'll come for me.

And the words she speaks to Mickey in her antiform are only half right. She was possessed by darkness of course she going to say the worse things. Like I don't think she really blames anyone.

It's kinda like people trying to blame one of the trio members in BBS— you can't.

But it wasn't Mickey's fault.

He was busy and they did it as soon as they could which was about a year afterwards.

She has trauma but she was in there for about a decade. Nobody knew where she was for 10 of those years and then the remaining few years they tried at the best time to get her out

When I first saw things relating I was like that's kinda plot hole, they didn't mention them before and was now just added but more I think about it. It kinda makes sense.

I feel like they could have gotten her out when Riku and Sora went to kh2 but she probably was at a deeper part of the dark world. But the point is they were all busy dealing with other things.

Yen Sid probably didn't want Mickey going alone. And Riku was literally using darkness and his form was Ansem, who knows what that would do to him if he went there and if he would ever get it back.

So after passing the exam, Riku went with Mickey where Sora eventually helped them out too

And It wasn't Mickey's fault.

[strayheartless]

I’m thinking of liverpepper… and it’s making me sad.

So here, have a AU brain dump over cloud and his Geostigma:

I know we’ve seen Mako drawn as tablets, but I kind of imagine Clouds Mako days as being either injections like steroids or him having to go to the hospital for specific mako treatment, like chemotherapy.

Cloud was off school a lot. As a result he had to work twice as hard as everyone else just to keep up and graduate. His friends always brought him his homework, but there were some teachers (you know the ones) who made him feel guilty about how often he got laid up.

Like it got bad enough that now Cloud kind of has a complex about it as an adult, and Leon has to keep reminding him that he’s not weak for letting his body heal.

We know (from sora) that Mako used to affect his memory, make him pretty much a zombie. But I imagine that it’s worse straight after treatment. Like he’ll be in bed for two or three days but then for the next week -maybe two if it’s bad- Cloud kind of used to walk around in a haze. Squall, Zack, Tifa and Aerith used to tag team on who would guide him from lesson to lesson.

Squall used to act as a bit of a body guard with Zack. If anyone dared gossip about Cloud or try to make his day more difficult while he was vulnerable, they’d end up having the terrible twosome descend on then. Turns out there a lot of ways you can threaten someone without getting caught.

Cloud didn’t stop taking Mako until age 18. And he absolutely has been hospitalised by it.

He’s had Mako poisoning twice, and each time people truly thought he would die.

He was part of a clinical trial for materia to begin with, and it meant he had to forgo Mako treatments for 4 months (to get it out of his system) before they could start him on Materia.

Those four months were probably the most fraught and painful of his life. He spent most of it asleep and in agony, while Squall refused to leave him ‘just incase’. The entire friend group rallied to try and make it easier.

The first month on Materia was also not fun. Lot of knew side effects while his body got used to it. Some got easier, some he still has. He doesn’t suffer from tinnitus or depth perception issues anymore, but he still has periodic bouts of insomnia. He also deals with almost chronic heart burn.

Materia doesn’t effect his memory like the Mako, but it doesn’t help either. The Mako did a serious number on his brain tissue, and while doctors are sure his brain will recover, it seems to be a long arduous process.

Sometimes Cloud requires a mobility aid. Sometimes a cane, sometimes crutches, sometimes -if it’s bad- he needs a wheelchair to get round a supermarket or mall. It depends on the day, the spoons and the sores.

The first thing Cloud demanded be done when they adopted Sora and Roxas, was that they get them checked for the Geostigma Gene. He knows they are not - biologically speaking -able to get it from him, but Leon agrees just to settle Clouds anxieties about it.

Nowerdays his Geostigma is the most manageable it’s ever been, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Lockdown was scary In their house. It’s no exaggeration to say Squall whipped down every surface, sanitised every piece of food packaging, made sure anybody with even a sniffle quarantined as soon as it happened. And Cloud -for all his griping that it was fine appreciated it.

after lockdown rules started easing Sora and Roxas started feeling super anxious about going out incase the brought something back. Because it wasn’t a joke to them.

Cloud himself dealt with a sudden surge of powerful anxiety even going out the front door.

Squall got him one of those sunflower lanyards, that lets people know you are immunocompromised, and it helps a little, but they all felt different about going outside.

These are just a few thinly thoughts.

[wodniars-void]

I'm dying to hear about "the lingering will is becoming a person and terra has to cope with that." (for the WIP game!)

hihi Cori!

Since I went into the general gist of things in the other ask I thought I'd pull a couple bullet points from my outline and talk about them here!! Since there's a few images and it got a bit long, I'm sticking it under the cut <3

first, straight from my notes:

I think one of the interesting things about the Lingering Will is the balance of being an object with being a person. It's a construct- a living suit of armor, hollow metal and magic. And yet it moves and thinks and feels, and ultimately chooses to sacrifice itself. I choose to represent that dichotomy with its pronouns- part of its personhood comes from its inhumanity, and i feel like It pronouns mesh well with that. Some people choose not to use It pronouns because they feel dehumanizing, but that's exactly why the Lingering Will uses them. Its inhumaness is an important part of it. There's less thought behind it also using they/them, mostly vibes. But it definitely prefers It/Its.

Next is a character interaction and dynamic I'd love to explore:

Roxas has direct, personal experience with the kind of thing Terra is dealing with. So since Sora isn't around, Terra reaches out to him. And despite how things are weird between them, because Xemnas (and Ven), it's a very earnest and personal conversation. Terra very genuinely wants to understand Roxas' perspective on finding his identity, especially separating who he is from Sora, and very few people have ever listened to Roxas.

For most of his life, people lied to Roxas about who he was, where he came from, his feelings and memories, even his friendships (im looking at you, DiZ & twilighttown.exe). So his point of view is very focused on honesty. Come what may, Terra should be honest with LW about what's going on, how he feels, what the possibilities are. He should never dismiss what LW has to say, and he should never lie to it, even to "spare its feelings". Now frankly Terra is a pretty poor liar so this isn't necessarily a problem, but it gives Roxas a space to express his feelings about what he went through, and hope that someone else will be treated better.

It's not all doom and gloom though- there's joy in becoming! Growth like that is beautiful and wonderful and so, so worth it. Having someone to lean on is so important when you're figuring yourself out, so Roxas also encourages Terra to be that person for LW. The little things can matter so much, and they're even more meaningful when you have someone to share them with.

This is the other character interaction I think would be really fitting:

Lea has had a pretty tumultuous time with identity and personhood himself. He understands that dissonance between Somebody and Nobody, or in Terra's case, Somebody and Construct. He also understands, in a way, what it's like to grow a heart where previously there "wasn't" one. And in being friends with Roxas and Xion, he's watched them grow up and change and figure themselves out. He's sort of the Terra parallel here, where Roxas is the LW parallel.

Their conversation is a lot more uplifting- Terra should be proud of LW and its growth, that all that heart business is just as or more complicated than it seems, and it's not a quick or easy process but the first step is the hardest. This is the space where Terra is able to confess his concerns and worries and be heard and understood, because Lea really does get it. Most of it, at least. He emphasizes patience and openness, because identity can be really messy, and he doesn't want someone to make the same mistakes he did.

(side tangent: Lea being one of the oldest active keyblade wielders is something I don't think people talk about enough in a serious capacity, because Nobodyness aside age does bring life experience that the others simply don't have. He's fucked up and burned out and hurt others and grieved and healed in ways others haven't purely because he's been around a little longer, and his life has been Messy. He also has a greater grasp of the weight of being a keyblade wielder because he made the active choice to become one, and had a different life to compare it to. So while things may be kind of awkward because of his past, he really does have some uniquely valuable perspective and insight to offer.)

Okay last one. The Lingering Will is a mouthful so i had to come up with a different name at least for convenience:

I thought a Latin word would go really well with TAV's theme, and I wanted to attribute an "element" to it too. So I went with Animus, or Soul/Mind, because that's kind of what a "will" is in kh. Xehanort calls the Lingering Will a "wretched spirit" and asks "why does your mind resist?" which also contributed. Frankly the metaphysics of a "will" are best left for the theoretical Lingering Will presentation I'll make someday, but I felt Animus covered those concepts while fitting the themes.

(also, I love The Adventure Zone: Balance, and the Animus Bell is a bit of inspiration as well <3)

Thanks so much for the ask Cori, and I'm totally down to talk about more! It's a great way to figure things out, really :3 One of these days I'll give it a proper go but for now it's just my doc and these posts lol

[septnanis]

catch up

a bit about Riku and being a loner.

The surf comes in, soaks the back half of his pants. He knows when he stands up he’ll look ridiculous. Sora will point and laugh and tell him how ridiculous he looks.

Riku doesn’t mind. He likes to make Sora laugh. He always has.

The water is warm, warmed by the evening sun and the heat of a summer that never really ends on these islands. He never really noticed that, how his home was cradled in a static existence where the sun almost always shined and even when it stormed it just meant the sun would shine brighter the next day.

“You’ve always been too good at this,” Sora says from behind.

Riku looks up and over his shoulder at him.

“Good at what?” Riku asks.

Sora sits down next to him and smiles. Riku’s always been absolutely weak for Sora smiling but now that they’re growing from exuberant borderlining on goofy to bright and sweet, he’s pretty sure Sora could ask him to do terrible things and he’d do it without hesitation.

“Being alone,” Sora says and immediately frowns when it makes Riku laugh. “What?”

Riku shakes his head. “I’m not,” he says. “Good at being alone. The last few years being alone has lead to some questionable if not outright terrible decisions on my part.”

Sora stays quiet but stares intently.

“I isolated myself back home and ended up tossing it into darkness,” Riku continues. “Also ended up getting possessed which is weird because sometimes when it’s really quiet I can still hear him whispering in my mind. Maybe just a memory? I don’t know.”

The waves roll in just a fraction closer, but it makes both of them curl their toes into the wet sand.

“Castle Oblivion was me at my very best,” the sarcasm in his voice makes Sora frown a bit deeper. Riku is direct and dry in his communication but rarely sarcastic. “Kept that up but then blindfolded. Don’t get me started on Roxas and then transforming myself into the man who possessed me.”

“You did the best you could, Riku,” Sora says. Maybe it’s part of his dna, but he can’t help but feel sorry for his friend. “It must’ve been lonely.”

Riku grins. “When you said you wanted to go with me so we could do the Mark. Together…” He’s past caring about how this looks, so he sighs. “I was so happy. Even when we got split up..”

“Which was my fault,” Sora says with a sad look.

“Nah,” Riku says. “You did your best. Which is a thousand times better than most people’s best.” He leans down to lay his crossed arms on his raised knees. “It was the first time I felt like we were together. Even though we were apart, I still felt like you were with me.”

Riku doesn’t continue, like what happened after the Mark is something better left unsaid. The Dark Margin, the Graveyard, how Sora can’t remember Riku staring death down in a way none of their friends had been able to. He knows it happened, like Castle Oblivion happened, like he fell so deep into dreams Riku had to yank him out, memories because someone else told him.

“That year you were gone,” Riku says. “Don’t think I’ve ever felt so alone. Everyone was involved with finding you but, it was like they lived life alongside that. I just couldn’t. Felt like I was…”

Dancing on the kid’s grave, Cid had said to Riku. Chin up, he wouldn’t want you to be like this, maybe it’s time to move on, all those baseless platitudes that made Riku only more determined.

“Felt weird,” Riku says. “And wrong.”

“You found me, though,” Sora says with a grin.

Riku laughs again. “Yeah and you forgot all about me,” he says, leaning in close to Sora’s face, giving him a nudge with his shoulder.

“I didn’t mean to!” Sora says with mock indignation. “You know… you’re always finding me.”

Riku frowns at him.

“You found me in Traverse Town,” Sora says. “And in Castle Oblivion. You found me all over the place once I woke up. You found me when I got lost during the Mark and when I fell to Darkness in the Graveyard…”

Riku startles and whips his head towards him. “You… you remember that?”

Sora doesn’t look at him but he grins. “I did eventually… in Quadratum,” he says. “It was you, how could it not be? It’s always you.”

“But Kairi…” Riku feels his face heat at his stammer, feeling caught out.

“Kairi kept my body from fading away,” Sora says with a fond look. “She’s so strong. Don’t think I’ve ever given her credit for that. I thought it was you at first! It felt like you… but then I thought it was Kairi. I mean… there she was, waiting for me in the Darkness.”

Riku turns his head back to the sea. The sunset is turning the water to that vibrant amber orange that Sora likes so much.

“But it was you,” Sora says. “Should’ve known it was you. And then you found me in Quadratum, even though I didn’t recognize you. If it hadn’t been for you, Kairi and I would’ve just wandered in the dark.”

Riku looks back at Sora when he feels a hand on his arm, curling around it with a firm grip.

“You were always so much brighter than all of us,” Sora says, his voice uncharacteristically solemn. “You were just too good at hiding it. And here I am, thinking you’re good at being alone. I fell for it again.”

Riku isn’t sure why it touches a nerve, but it does. His back straightens, his eyes feel a little warm, he tries to clear this throat as subtly as he can.

Sora looks right at him, uses his grip on Riku’s arm as leverage and presses a quick as can be kiss to Riku’s cheek. Riku whips his head around to stare at Sora with eyes so huge they feel like they might pop out. Sora, of course, is grinning.

“Haaa, wanted to do that for ages," Sora says. "Was that okay?”

Riku is stuck between disbelief and joy. He nods though, because this tiny act of affection from his dearest friend has been a thing he had given up wanting.

It’s his own fault - he’s never given up on Sora before, and for good reason.

So Riku returns the favor, moves in slow so Sora knows what’s coming. Sora tilts his head up invitingly and lets his eyes slip shut, which Riku takes as acceptance. The kiss he gives Sora lands on the corner of his mouth, momentary and fleeting.

Sora opens one eye when Riku draws back. “That was it?”

Riku’s cheeks are burning. “You’re such a dork,” he says. “Why am I even friends with you?”

Sora looks at him with a sort of knowing smile that says he knows exactly why but he’s not going to deprive himself of the pleasure at watching Riku squirm to get it out.

“You’re…” Riku starts. He shakes his head because he’s overwhelmed and Sora won’t stop gazing at him like he’s making the sun shine brighter. “Such a dork.”

Sora laughs, presses his cheek to Riku’s shoulder and lands a well aimed punch to his arm. “I really came down here to take you back to the ship,” he says. “Donald’s going to blow a gasket if we stay any longer.”

“Let him,” Riku says. He’s dutiful at his core though, so he stands, Sora still hanging from his arm.

Of course Sora bursts out laughing. “I get that sitting on the beach is nice, Riku,” he says, pointing at the wet seat of Riku’s pants. “But you could at least try and find a bush or tree.”

Riku nods his head with a sardonic grin and leans over to smack the equally wet seat of Sora’s pants. “Look who’s talking!”

It just makes Sora laugh even louder, setting off at a run up the beach back to the Gummi ship.

Riku follows, because he doesn’t like being alone. He doesn’t have to anymore.

He catches up quick.

[tapioca-puddingg]

The Future of KH Characters

Hey y'all, I know it's been a while. But lately I've been having some feelings about the future of KH and I wanted to share them. These are just my own baseless speculations and wants, i don't know nothin about nothin.

So the future of these characters have me concerned. I'm glad that characters like Roxas and Xion got revived, but I'm concerned about how they're gonna fit into this new story. Like, what are their new roles going to be? The problem I see here is that most of the heroes have had resolutions. Unless they introduce a new threat in the KH Universe.

So Sora, RIku, MoM, Luxu and Strelitzia have already been confirmed to be in the Lost Masters Arc. Riku isn't in Quadratum yet, but he will be soon. This'll be the first time that Sora will be isolated without his friends by his side (until he knows Riku is there), so I would like to see how he navigates that loneliness

Kairi

Kairi will be trained by Aqua, which is one of the best decisions they could've made for her character imo and I'm really excited to see their dynamic. I would love to see her and Aqua travel to new Disney worlds as part of her training. I think it would make the most sense for Kairi to be the one to travel to these new worlds since she hasn't had that journey yet

Maybe she can temporarily live at the Land of Departure too!

Ooh maybe she can eventually get keyblade armor too

She can become friends with the disney princesses and learn from their stories

Maybe the princesses inspire her to be stronger

Speaking of stronger, there still isn't much clarification on what her powers are exactly. Her powers have been only shown for the convenience of the plot, such as when her belief in Sora is what allowed him to keep his physical form in the Final World

So I would like full clarification on her abilities as a Princess of Heart and to possibly see those abilities applied to her moveset. I really just wanna play as her again okay

Aqua

Aqua will be Kairi's new master, like I said above

She finally gets to have a little sister!

I feel like having a pupil makes the most sense to be the next step in her life

I would still like to see more issues she developed from her time in the Realm of Darkness. It was a great touch that she got triggered by the swarm of heartless in Re:Mind

Also I'd like to see and her, Terra and Ven are processing Eraqus' loss

And just more friend moments between the three of them

Ventus

So it's implied that his memories have been restored, as he welcomes Chirithy with open arms at the end of KH3. Literally

That opens up the floodgates of hell

If he hasn't already, he's gonna have to tell Aqua and Terra the truth about what happened back then. I wonder if that will cause some tension in their friendship

Speaking of tension, maybe he'd want to find Lauriam and Elrena and reunite with them to talk things out

Terra

I can see Terra being a mentor to Kairi alongside Aqua

We know that he was disappointed that he couldn't act as a mentor to Riku, so this could be a second chance for him

But I can also see him going on his own path to getting stronger and mastering his darkness

Maybe Aqua and Ven disagree bc they want him to stay with them to get stronger. But he insists on going it alone

Maybe he finds a teacher (new character?), or he just does some solo self-reflection

Random thought but it'd be cute if he revisited some of the worlds in BBS to meet up with his old friends and see how things have changed

Speaking of which, wtf happened to Zack. Please don't tell me he died in this universe too... the last shot we see of him is hella eerie

Anyways, I want for that journey to end with him becoming a keyblade master

Lea and Isa

There's still the matter of Subject X, which many speculate is Skuld

That was their whole motivation for joining Organization 13 to begin with, so they gotta spin back on that

Now that Ansem is back in action, they're gonna have to press him about what happened to her

It's funny bc Ansem SoD was also searching for her in KH3, but we don't know why

Mickey

He was tasked with going to Scala Ad Caelum to investigate the Lost Masters

i hope we're able to learn even more about the past. Maybe we'll learn how MoM and the Foretellers were able to hop between dimensions

Unknown

As for Roxas, XIon, and Namine, I have no idea what their roles could be in the future. If anybody has any ideas, do let me know. I'm open to hearing more speculation

[derekscorner]

Kingdom Hearts: Recompletion Tangent

Intro

It's been a while since I had an actual KH Tangent barring my mad ravings about the cosmology. It was more about the random things I think about rather than an actual tangent.

Although both that post and this one have spun off from a literal shower thought. Anyone who has been through my tags before also knows that I've had issues with how the Nobodies were handled for a long time.

They're something that I truly consider better on paper than in execution. It may even be something that's near impossible to put into practice entirely.

They're too Human

The main reason for this is the corner it puts you in as a writer. These are supposed to be beings born lacking a heart, the core of what they were as a person. Their very emotions and connection to the world.

Back in the day the story went with this notion that the human nobodies act human based on memory. They can't feel emotion but they can remember having them.

For what reason they did so was more or less left up to your interpretation. What was made clear is that they're desperate to become "whole".

The reason for that is because they are slowly fading away. Even in the modern KH era I think that rule stands. Their black coats and crusade for Kingdom Hearts was to avoid fading back into the void.

A fate that Yen Sid brings up in KH2 when explaining the nobodies to Sora.

As far as execution goes the lesser nobodies do it perfectly. They move in otherworldly ways, come in a variety of shapes based on how strong their heart was as a person, and we see them speak yet we can't actually hear the voice. (when the dusk talks to Roxas)

Where the concept hits a hitch and finds itself in that writing corner I mentioned is with the human variants. You are stuck between portraying them as they're described which would be boring narratively due to lack of emotion.

They simply wouldn't react to anything.

So you're stuck having to make them act human which then pokes a hole in the concept. You could excuse Roxas and Namine since their "somebody" still existed. That connection was there and even before Days or DDD you see it affecting Roxas in Kh2 as well as Sora in CoM whether it's the GBA or PS2 version.

Likewise, Namine's face, powers and desire to belong in someone's heart is her connection to both Sora and Kairi at play.

"How is that a problem????"

Quite frankly my reader it's not. At least it wasn't back then. As I type this I may have to reconsider my initial stance and say that Nobodies as a concept work well when used once because it's the expansion that's the issue.

I say this specifically in regards to KH DDD, KH3, and beyond. We not only get the Organization back either in human form or nobody but how they act is all over the place.

Ienzo, Dilan, and Aeleus come back both human and supposedly remorseful. We don't see much of it since Dilan and Aeleus don't talk while Ienzo is far more sociable than he is feeling guilt.

Even is revealed to have became a nobody again yet the guilt he felt upon awakening human and chose to be a double agent of sorts.

This raises a lot of issues to me personally.

Firstly, they can just go between nobody and human. I'm not saying it's an easy process but it is exploitable. Not only did the memories carry over as if the nobody was just revived with a Phoenix Down but apparently emotion was too.

Secondly, it highlights how pointless having nobodies return was because they're acting the same as they were prior in KH2 but also the same as they would if human. There is no distinction between the human and the nobody.

Barring have-to examples like Xemnas or Ansem there is no reason to do what they did. Worse, someone like Xigbar not only can exploit this mechanic but he does.

Being the current host of Luxu means that Xigbar can not only reclaim his long lost keyblade (Xehanort's No Name) but still freely use the powers you gain as a nobody.

Luxu now has his heart, his weapon, a potential legion of nobodies, and other dark powers to more freely as he wises with dark corridors and his manipulation of space. (his own unique nobody power)

This also makes the whole weight of nobodies being able to develop a heart of their own feel cheap to me.

Them gaining a heart of their own makes the whole nobody concept cheap for me to be fair but it is a KH stable that anything can have a heart so I'll begrudgingly accept it.

But to just jump between man and monster without seemingly losing anything as it's portrayed in KH3 just irks me. It makes the decision to become a nobody again feel without risk.

Given the nature of Luxu you could ignore it once but for Even to just carry over everything when becoming Vexen 2.0 is a step too far.

I also ponder why nobodies would even obey the revived Organization because while emotionless the lesser nobodies are not mindless.

Seeing this makes me question why they weren't questioning their superiors. They can think, plan, and surely more than a few can spot bullsh*t when they see it.

My Point

By now you likely wonder what my point with all of this is. If you've read this blog before you likely expect me to offer a solution or rewrite.

That's the maddening thing my patient reader, I don't have to offer such a thing because my friend @blackosprey did years ago.

And it ties back into the other new mechanic introduced after KH2, recompletion.

See, when a heartless is destroyed in the right way the heart will be freed. The two ways we know of so far are using a keyblade or the light of Kingdom Hearts.

Once that heart is freed it'll find it's vanished body and if that body has become a nobody it'll wait until the nobody meets it's end.

In that moment the original person is revived. On the surface that can make the nobody concept feel cheaper because it's essentially a "get out of jail card" for dying.

A mechanic that Luxu is fully capable of abusing in the current narrative btw.

But here's the crazy thing. Osprey just occam razored the whole issue and I have never forgotten it.

Her idea? Just make that nobodies death permanent in some way.

For example, lets say that you recomplete Marluxia. In this amazing idea you'd still get Lauriam back but the ego that was "Marluxia" is gone.

Lauriam would revive without his memories of Marluxia.

It's the most perfect solution to every gripe I have about nobodies ever told to me. It almost angers me that this isn't a thing!

Yes, that's right, you're not reading me tear down Kingdom Hearts to vent or talk about how bad it is. I'm not going to claim I can do this better than Nomura.

No no. What you're reading is me losing my sh*t because I think about this often. Just imagine how much that adds to the story, this idea of Osprey's.

The Potential was There

Not only do you keep all the stuff added to nobodies after KH2 but you keep the weight of their ephemeral existence.

Hell, it makes their existences more tragic because they'd eventually gain hearts to feel the dread of such a death. Knowing full well they "as themselves" would vanish for the original to return.

Those outbursts of emotion in defeat, the desperation to claim Kingdom Hearts, it all just flows so much better.

Sure, you still have Luxu abusing this human to nobody system but that'd just be one person out of 13. (no I didn't count Xion since she's a replica)

Sure, Vexen's role in KH3 would need a tweak or two but that's easy to do. You could even add that to his motives because he not only "ceased to exist" but comes back to see what he couldn't finish in his research.

Or you can spin it so that Even actually is remorseful upon seeing Vexen's research.

The potential there is endless and I can't help but think about it often. I'm going to go scream about it into the void now.

GAHHHh (bye~)