#and also just stuff about how she doesn’t matter to sora and riku at all and girl!!! they’re so wrong

[transrikuu]

I judge kingdom hearts fans by how they treat Kairi

[fisherrprince]

do you have more thoughts on keyblade fighting that you need to put somewhere, because i have two hands ready to catch Should The Need Arise

anon: hey I heard you mention you’d analysed the combat styles in KH and what you said in the tags was already alluding to really neat stuff, but I for one would love to hear more of what you came up with!! so if you ever wanted to share any of your analysis then the floor is yours

aHAH, MY EXCUSE!!

Okay, so first some words on “standardized wielding styles”. These are styles shared by Terra, Aqua, Vanitas, Riku, and Xehanort and every other scala and daybreak kid. I will make the argument that the red style is the fanciest standard style, while the purple is seen often to make it easier on the little chibi sprites. BUT, I cannot discredit Eraqus, who uses the purple variant in bbs, nor can I discredit half of the Foretellers (Gula and Ava, at least, use this. Invi and Aced use the first type). So, two standard styles. For simplicity, let’s say one for primary offense, one for primary defense. The standard offensive style really wasn’t popular before Scala-era society.

check this difference out, specifically between ava invi and gula:

then between eraqus, hermod, and xehanort, and eraqus and terra.

These two were likely popularized and standardized for education in Scala ad Caelum for their predominant lack of obvious weak spots.

After this, we have unique styles. Those include Sora Kairi and Xion’s (similar to standard defense, but more mobile at the expense of form — Kairi takes after Sora but less confident, she hasn’t been hit that heavily yet), Ven’s (backhand, heavy range and mobility), Roxas’ (modified for two keyblades, but takes after Sora), and Axel’s (taught himself, comfortable with chakrams).

So! Let’s go.

.

Standard (offensive)

All styles have sub-variations, of a sense. Different wielders can choose where their keyblade points, and how they hold it exactly, based on what makes them most comfortable. Terra and Aqua point theirs downward, while Vanitas and Riku hold theirs above their head. What is recognizeable to this style is a hand for the sword, and a hand for guarding/blocking/items/magic.

It’s incredibly efficient. With only one hand on the weapon, you not only free up a hand for other things, but increase your range of movement with said weapon. Test it out yourself! The keyblade hand is always your dominant hand, held behind you for increased power when attacking (since you lose a significant amount of it by choosing not to grip with both hands). This style also decreases the speed of the defense you have, but with that increased mobility and swing power, along with a hand free to brace against the keyblade (defense strength up!), it makes up for it. Many people who use this also have strong barrier spells — both a testament to their preference for coverage and an acknowledgement that any directional block will take a little longer and be weaker if they try it with one hand.

The pointy end, though. What difference does it actually make, the height it’s at?

I think it’s half a matter of attack style preference and half intention. Riku, Vanitas, and Xehanort stab quite a bit. Aqua and Terra slice more. Not that they don’t do both, but it’s the first instinct. Aqua and Terra are also likely taught to hold their keyblade neutrally, in a safe position, until someone starts attacking. It’s polite! Eraqus also holds his one-handed, neutrally, until he gets into position. Riku and Vanitas learned to fight assuming everyone was out to fight them. Invi and Aced may like this style because of range (i hc she’s blind and strikes very very quickly, and he’s already very powerful with just the one arm and wants better motion).

and on character specifics: Terra often switches to two-handed, to copy his dad and add extra power to his hits without always sacrificing the empty hand. Vanitas likely was forced to relearn how to fight, as instead of solely being trained to be better at withstanding, he was constantly being made to better his own attacks. The moves Xehanort uses would best be replicated in the same style. Vanitas is wild for holding the massive spiky x-blade like that.

Now, what‘s good on this style does not correlate to what’s bad in the other. The two standard styles simply have different ways of dealing with each con they create or taking advantage of each pro.

(Here’s an interesting side note — Gula uses standard defensive, but in this instance, swaps. One hand… likely to display confidence! Wrong move, but hey. He got cocky. He’s also doing it wrong, and swaps back to two-handed to take Aced’s attack.)

.

Standard (defensive)

The main detriment of this style is the lack of ease of long range movement. Hold a wrapping paper tube out in front of you with both hands, then run. It goes to the side, or tucks in to your stomach, right? Dodge. Your legs will get in the way unless you know where to move that sword. It requires, interestingly, a little more discipline. You’d think Aqua would like that, but no, she wants movement and practicality, and she loves magic, and remember that you must take a hand off this style to grab a potion. You’d think young Eraqus wouldn’t, but remember that he’s a fancy royal lad.

The main draw, though, is tankiness, readiness, and power. You don’t need to move as much if nothing dares hit you! Ava and Gula might be attracted to this style because they’re not as physically strong, but want protection in close-quarters fighting. Using this style when your muscles aren’t as big but you still want to Hit Things Good, or when you want to be a boy you can’t knock over with a pail of water (horse stance rules), is probably solid advice.

Traditionally, this is a lot less like fencing, and a lot more like a samurai sword or kendo. Your blade is held in front of you, giving you very easy access to blocks and frontal attack/defense. In losing some twirly spinniness, you gain power and minimize your opponent’s ability to parry and block.

you gotta dodge master Eraqus so mcuh

All styles will swap between one and two hands for different moves. Eraqus, notably, swaps to a stance very similar to Xehanort when channeling a metric ton of magic.

Both of these styles require a degree of upper body/core strength, as does all swordfighting. I would be interested to see someone whose keyblade style relies on leg strength.

.

Sora, Xion, and Kairi

please look at the difference between the foretellers’ or eraqus’ two-handed grip and Sora’s. Do this with your shoulders and a top-heavy object.

They’re both in a hard stance, but hon. What are you, a gremlin? Anyways, a traditionally taught master would have… better form, even if it’s harder to learn at first. It’s habitual. Sora nearly crouches, and holds his keyblade back-pointed with two hands, which makes it easier for him to dodge roll, push off his feet quickly, and pull off those spinning combos he loves. It‘s really gonna hurt his muscles, in the future, though, since he’s doing a squat for like…. hours. Pulling on those shoulderblades and neck. Xion, too. Replicas had better have correct muscle dynamics. Kairi is brand new, so… maybe Aqua can teach her how to hold a sword so it doesnt hurt you.

Okay, now look at the grip itself. Held in front versus held to the side-back. They’re really attempting to combine both standard styles subconsciously, giving themselves more attack power while really wanting to keep that hard defensive parry, wanting to prevent all attacks to the front while also wanting mobility. It’s working for them really well, they fight like an anime character, and manage to get the best of both, with a minor sacrifice of length range that they don’t care about. We’re flexible and full of magic, baby! Holding the blade like this makes it pretty easy to let go with one hand without sacrificing that crouched defense position.

Now, Sora, specifically, is very adaptive. He’s had two keyblades, claws, guns, yo-yos, and a giant shield, to name a couple. He retains a bit of that alert crouch no matter where he goes, but Sora knows how he wants to attack and how to balance that with the most effective way to use his current weapon. He’s a smart kid! Sora has the most ridiculous shotlocks, which are also probably due to not always wanting to go standard for it. He also prefers to keep his focus on the enemy, which is evident in his reprisals and lack of very many effective “escape” moves.

Xion is very similar to Sora, but she does have some moves that are all movement. She switches to one handed for strikes a lot — using two for defending, one for smacking. In her data battle I’d swear some of those heavy hits are claymore-like. But anyways, since we’re magic, Xion cares not for the laws of exhaustion, and will ping about as a ball of light everywhere. Short range? Up in your business. Mid-range? In your business with one hand. Long range? Throws a boomerang. Hit her? No you dont. Ball of light. She’s above you and wants to bash your head in. (Vanitas also does this! A lot. It’s an easy way to catch someone off-guard. I’ll argue that the soras are very tough and strong, but not tanky. they want to avoid being hit a lot)

Another interesting note about Kairi. I say “unconfident” not because she doesn’t hit hard, but because her stance is also often tilted back, ready to dodge. It’s two handed, but almost all her moves are one. She does love spinning and throwing the thing! It looks like she’s been taking notes from the wielders she knows. It would be easy to teach her a standard style, I think. See here, she lets go on the strike, and by trying to do both, actually ends up with an advantage (being confusing) and disadvantage (losing both the power of two handed and versatility of one handed).

A counter to Sora and Xion is difficult to pin down. Time? Probably. Lack of heating pads. Something that takes all their attention is about the only way to get a sneak attack in, and then you have to hit hard. A counter to Kairi would be anyone who can knock her off balance. She needs a sturdier stance. .

Roxas

Roxas is interesting. He takes after Sora for the one blade. Wielding two, however, nets him a totally different way of fighting. Roxas’ clavicle muscles n… deltoids and stuff must be Ironclad. Also, two handed means you are very fast and sharp all the time. He has the advantage of standard defense (horse stance), and the advantage of offense (range of one sword, but twice).

Roxas generally attacks in two ways — simultaneous hits, and follow-up hits. Either he hits with both at once, or hits hard with the first one, and adds the second one as a bonus smack. He can attack by hitting in opposite directions with the two, like a drum, but that will be a little awkward and leave him prone to being tangled. That established, the follow-up hit method means he spins a bunch. As do we all.

Roxas gets a little complicated because we are not in the real world. We have magic and turning into light and physics that let you become a circular saw. So, typically, disadvantages would include: being unable to let go of a weapon to grab something or use an item, having just a very big silhouette to attack on, having difficulty with close-range attacks because Oathkeeper and Oblivion are kinda long, and convenience. Roxas gets to dodge #1 (keyblades can be unsummoned) and #4 (keyblades can be unsummoned). Speaking of dodging, he also gets to skirt the difficulty of dodging and rolling with two swords because he turns into a beam of light. But he can’t dodge how difficult it is to use two swords effectively — he needs to concentrate on fighting, and nothing else, or he risks messing up. He has to be very, very coordinated, and undistracted. Luckily he’s pretty good at making his opponents shut up, most of the time. Blocking is another thing — theoretically his blocks could be strong, but Roxas has no real brace: crossing your blades and taking a hefty stab might smack one of them back into your face. He mostly uses reversals and dodges, because of this.

The takeaway to this is Roxas is built for speed and power, and he is very strong. He’s a mid- to far- range fighter who if you’re not careful can snap you in half if you’re too close (be SO careful of that cross blade scissor).

A perfect counter to Roxas would be a tank that can grapple, and also be very distracting. If you can take hits, be talkative, and get close enough to stop his blades, you have a chance.

.

Ventus

This is a bizarre choice, my guy, but I get it.

Backhanded weapons are very impractical for a lot of... attacking, mainly in mid-range combat, and Ven likes to either fight very close or throw the keyblade like a boomerang (and hey, backhand gives it a good whip for throwing). His attacks aren’t meant to one hit KO, but they do come with a bit of power to them, especially on the backslash. Like holding a knife for gouging. It’s for very close defense — pretty good when Wayward Wind and Missing Ache have hooks.

Backhand also, while retaining that empty hand for potions and guarding, gives you an extreme coverage boost. By which I mean Ven’s sword hand now has a nearly 270 degree sweep of “I see you, don’t touch me”, very quickly, based on just flicking his wrist. It sacrifices a ton of strength/sturdiness, but you don’t need that if you’re dodging. You also don’t really need to block, which is slower, but relatively sturdy when Ven does it, as he blocks with mostly the chunky hilt between crossed arms. He sacrifices (again) a bit of strength for coverage — an attack would hurt his arms, not his chest, if he were hit head-on.

His attacks often have him flip the blade around in his hand, too. Quick swaps between standard moves and backhand ones. Basically, Ventus is built for moving, protecting himself, and quick attacks that wear down the enemy, not outclass it. Likely because he’s good at fighting, but everyone he’s fought hits harder than he can! It doesn’t matter how he holds it, getting hit will hurt. So he just. Doesn’t. He’s not a buff little guy — but he is a persistent one. Ven very likely made this up on his own, in Daybreak, and it was too hard to fix his whole style, but it was enough to correct most of his form so he doesn’t hurt himself too much. He is going to have to really stretch that shoulder and wrist (maybe get a brace), though. At least his neck is ok. … not sure about his knees tho dang boy that crouch

A perfect counter to Ven would be someone big and fast, who hits hard mid-range. He’s already been sparring with Terra, though, so when in doubt, try scruffing him?

.

Axel

Theres not a ton to say about him — he‘s not a swordfighter. He uses his keyblade like it’s a frisbee. Because that’s what he’s used to! His neutral is behind his back on his shoulder, which is terrible for readiness, but okay for chucking the thing. It’s good it has a sort of… ripstik like… boomerang quality.

Axel’s fighting style is completely made up, like most of the self-taught wielders’. His strengths lie in some of the benefits of standard offensive style (one-handed), and some of the same coverage stuff as Ven, having a cocked wrist most of the time so no one can sneak up around him without risking getting whacked very quickly, and having an interesting range due to the pointy end being basically on a spinny swivel wherever his hand moves. He’s not going to be good at close-range and he knows it — his attacks are mostly distance. And the guy has ZERO defense, combined with zero coverage when idle, so it’s for the better.

Distance-wise, though, he rocks. Treating the blade like it’s a flaming throwing weapon means his idle is actually great for sudden flick-tossing and attention-guiding for sneakier attacks, and his stance itself (…nonexistent) serves a different purpose: bait. Basically a big "come hit me". Fun, when you have a lot of fire magic and two friends who are beasts and love to take advantage of a distracted enemy — distance on the blade, proximity on the burning.

A perfect counter to Axel would be someone pinging around very close <—> very far and circling him incessantly. Like, data Xion could wreck him, as he has to wait for the boomerang to come back -- he no longer has two spinny wheels. Also someone with water magic.

.

SO! In conclusion! Having a teacher who teaches you correct sword usage rather than instinct may detract from overspecific styles that benefit you most but leave weak spots, but your muscles and your oversights will thank you. Everyone is glad we have the power of the Mouse and anime on our side.

Keep in mind again that I have done cursory research, and have had minimal actual sword instruction, I am not an expert and this is all for fun anyways :]

[phoenix-downer]

A Steady Wish Chapter 3

~1680 words. Sora/Kairi. Set during KH4. Memory Loss, Angst, Romance, Fluff, Longing, Pining, Hurt/Comfort. Updates Weekly on Fridays.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13

Summary: Kairi and Riku have a heart-to-heart about Sora’s missing memories.

Riku wasn’t sure how best to handle the sniffling Kairi in front of him, so he figured a nice cafe might cheer her up. Before long he had her seated at a small table tucked into the corner with a matcha latte to warm her up. The days were warm but the evenings were cool, and she had a lot to take in. She pulled her pink coat more tightly around her and stared at the foamy tea in front of her, and he cleared his throat. 

“Alright, time to talk,” he said matter-of-factly, then blew on his hot coffee. “First of all, I’m sorry Sora’s forgotten you. I was gonna tell you, but you rushed off before I could.” She was silent for a moment, so he continued. “But what really surprised me was your reaction. Why didn’t you tell him who you are?” 

She traced patterns on the table, avoiding his eyes. “Think about it, Riku. He’s here in this reality where he has a new life. A fresh start. He died because of me, and maybe… maybe it’s better if he—if he doesn’t remember.” 

She clutched her tea, and he raised an eyebrow. “He died for you and yet you think he’d be happier not remembering you? Come on, Kairi, you don’t really believe that.” 

“But it’s my fault he died!” she cried out, finally meeting his eyes. “I’ve brought him nothing but pain and suffering. Seeing him standing there, I couldn’t help but think—maybe he’s better off without me.” 

She was tearing up again, and Riku didn’t know what to do. Seeing her cry just always made him feel awkward and uncomfortable, and a few of the other patrons shot them looks over her outburst.

“Don’t say that,” he finally managed, then reached out to awkwardly pat her shoulder. “Sora would want to remember you. Can you imagine how upset he’d be if he realized he’s forgotten you?” He cleared his throat and put on his best impression of Sora’s voice. “Riku, I’m the woooooorst! How could I forget about Kairi? She’s the girl of my dreams and I forgot her? Man am I an idiot!” 

That got Kairi to chuckle weakly. “You really think so?”

“I know so.” 

She cracked a smile, but then her face fell. “Even so, I don’t want to tell him.” 

Riku wanted to groan. “Why not?”

“I want his feelings for me to be genuine. I don’t want him to feel like he owes me.” 

“Kairi, trust me, the way he was looking at you, even without his memories, I think he’ll fall for you again in no time.” 

She bit her lip and fiddled with her necklace. “I don’t know about that. Him falling for me the first time was just good luck and perfect timing. It easily could’ve been someone else.” 

“But it wasn’t, and even if his mind has forgotten, his heart remembers you. I’m sure of it.” 

“But what if he never remembers me?” she choked out, her eyes rimmed with red. “All those moments we spent together… all those memories… what if they’re gone forever?” 

She was dangerously close to crying again, so Riku said, “They’re not. The memories might be scrambled or broken, but they’re still there.” She searched his face for a few moments, and he smiled sadly. “Sora could never forget you for good. The memories will come back, just give him time.”

“I hope you’re right.” She sipped her latte and sighed deeply. “For now I guess I’ll just keep playing the part of friendly acquaintance. And please… don’t tell him, okay?”

Riku warred with himself for a moment. Sora would kill him if he found out later that he’d hid this stuff, but Kairi would also kill him if he spilled the beans. Which would be worse, to risk Sora’s wrath or Kairi’s?

“Riku, I mean it,” she said, very sternly. “If Sora remembers me, I want it to be from his heart. Anything else just wouldn’t be the same.”

“I understand.”

Content that she’d gotten his word, she sat back and smiled. They sipped their drinks after that, catching up on what all had happened in each other’s lives before their latest separation. Kairi’s training had gone very well, and Riku filled her in on life in Quadratum. 

“I do have to ask you something, Kairi. When you came here, do you remember anything about having to play a game if you wanted to leave?”

Kairi frowned. “I don’t think so, no. Why?” 

“Huh, that’s odd. Sora and I both did. Maybe it’s because he abused the Power of Waking and wound up here and I used it to come here and you didn’t?” 

“Right. I just… I don’t know. It was like I followed some unseen path to find you, and then when I woke up, I was here in Shibuya.” 

“Interesting.” Riku poked at the dregs of his coffee. “I thought everyone who came here from our realm has to play the ‘game’ to have a shot at leaving.” Kairi tilted her head, so he explained further. “This ‘game’ is how you get a chance to come back to life, and Sora, this girl named Strelitzia and I have all been playing it, for obvious reasons. It’s strange you don’t have to.” 

“Maybe I just forgot?” she said, a pensive look on her face. 

“Or it could be your powers at work. We still don’t really know the full extent of them. Xehanort seemed to think you could find this place all on your own.” 

She frowned. “Right. A world of neither light nor darkness…” 

“And there’s one more thing you should know. I had to give up what was most important to me to play the game and get the chance to leave.”

She frowned and searched his face. “What was it you gave up?”

“My strength. It’s how I protected my friends, so naturally, I lost it,” he said with a wry smile. 

He waited as Kairi put two and two together. “Then Sora can’t remember me because I’m what’s most important to him?” She smiled, but it was a very bitter smile, and her head drooped. “Sometimes I really do think fate wants to keep us apart.” 

Riku knew he better steer things to more hopeful discussions quickly. “I wouldn’t give up. I’ve tried mentioning you before to him, and he gets this blank look on his face. Like something or someone is blocking his access to those memories. But then when he’s around you, it’s like he’s trying desperately to remember you. I think that’s the key to getting his memories back. Either that or winning the game.” 

“I see,” she said, though what she saw, she didn’t say. She glanced at his hand. “I’m sorry you lost your strength. I can’t imagine how that would feel.” 

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. I’ve been training to get it back,” he said, flexing his hand. 

“That’s good, but when does the game end? How will you escape?”

“We just have to survive until the end.” 

“Survive in a world of death, now that’s a contradiction.” 

“Yeah.” He shuddered. “I’d hate to think what happens if we die in this world. It’s not all bad though. Our fights usually finish by 3 pm, and then we have the rest of the day to do whatever.” 

“Still, I want to get you and Sora out of here.”

“Yeah, I’d like to go home eventually. The problem is… Sora can’t go home. Even if we get him out of here, he won’t return to our reality. More hooded figures told us that,” he added with a sigh. 

“Those hooded figures don’t know us, then,” she said, a defiant spark in her eye. “Don’t know Sora. They underestimate the lengths he’ll go to to keep his promises. And he promised me he’d come home.” 

“He did, but—”

“No ‘buts,’ Riku, I promised myself I’d always have faith in him, and I’m not about to stop now.” She smiled slightly. “Besides, he’s coming home if I have to personally drag him back.”

Riku couldn’t help but allow himself a half-smile. “That’s the spirit. I’m glad you’re feeling better.” 

“Mmmm, not better, but… I am rather stubborn.” She smiled ruefully. “I’m not one to let things like facts and reality get in my way.”

“And that’s how you pull off miracles.” 

Her expression softened. “Thank you, Riku. This really helped.”

“Anytime.” 

They stayed a while longer and chatted, then Riku glanced at his watch. “Oops, it’s been over an hour now. We oughta get back to Sora’s place before he wonders what happened to us.” He glanced at Kairi and smirked. “Someone seems happy to see him again.”

Kairi pouted, and her pout reminded him very much of Sora’s pout. Maybe there was truth to couples taking on each other’s mannerisms. 

“What?” she said. “Even though he doesn’t remember me, I still remember him. And I’ll just be so charming he won’t be able to help falling in love with me all over again,” she playfully teased, then sobered up. “So long as he wants that, I mean. He’s changed so much, I really don’t know what he wants.”

But as they got into the elevator and rode it down to the street, Riku couldn’t help but think Sora would fall in love with Kairi all over again even without his memories. If fate was what was keeping his friends apart, he was also convinced it would bring them together once more. It had before, and besides, this was Sora. Sora, who’d crushed on Kairi for years. Sora, who became a Heartless for Kairi. Sora, who’d chosen a bare flicker of Kairi’s memory over Naminé. Sora, who’d begged on hands and knees to see Kairi. Sora, who’d shared the paopu fruit with her and took his promises seriously. Sora, who’d given his life and existence to save her from her fate.

In every reality, he would choose to be with Kairi, of that Riku was sure. Some things were just bound to happen, no matter what.

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

A/N: I thought it would be nice for Riku and Kairi to have a heart-to-heart about the situation to process everything and reveal some more details about the AU, and thus this chapter was born. Thank you for reading!

[atomic-taco-muffin]

Merman!Sora X Princess!Reader: Part Of My World part 2

Warnings: again this will be kinda like The Little Mermaid  

Previously in Part Of My World:

“Are you a mermaid.” you asked, your voice hoarse from coughing up all that sea water.

“Merman technically.” he replied.

“One of the patrol guards reported that he saw what appeared to be you swimming outside of the castle grounds and saving a human. Is that true?” Crap! He was caught. 

“Yes. But I had a good reason why I saved her.” 

“Well, what was that reason, Honey?” his mother asked.

“Thank goodness you’re alive! Who knows what would happen if you were dead?” your maid who was also your best friend said as she was cleaning off the sea water and sand off you. You didn’t pay attention. You were too busy thinking about Sora.

“Hello? (Y/N)?”

“Huh?” You snapped out of your thoughts.

“Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. Just a little shaken up.”

“Don’t worry, (Y/N). I’ll find a way to be with you. I promise.” 

~~~~

Sora laid in his bed, thinking about ways he can visit you. He wanted to get to know you more. His pet turtle, Goofy(Yeah I’m putting Donald and Goofy here.) crawled up to him and asked what was wrong.

“Nothing's wrong, Goofy. Just thinking about someone I met.” Sora said. Little did he know one of the castle maids heard Sora and went to report to his parents. 

“Your majesties. I’m here to report something about Sora.” the maid said. 

“Oh. Well, what is it? I hope he didn’t leave the castle again.” the queen said. 

“Oh nononono! Nothing like that. At least, I don’t think so. But anyway, Sora said he met someone.” The king and the queen looked at each other with shocked looks on their faces. 

“Please excuse us.” the king said. The maid bowed and left the room. 

“He finally found someone. The question is who is this special person? Is it someone in the village? One of the maids? Or one of the guards?(I have a headcanon that Sora is bisexual)” the queen wondered.

“That doesn’t matter right now. Right now, we need to prepare a party for his special someone.” The king and queen prepared a traditional party to welcome Sora’s potential new bride/husband. What they didn’t know was that Sora ran away to find anything to be with you again.

“Where’s Sora, Riku?” Riku looked at the queen with paled face not wanting to expose Sora’s secret.

“Riku.” the king glared at Riku and that’s when he broke. 

“I’m so sorry, Your Majesties. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. He ran away from home with his turtle and I don’t know where they went.” The king’s face became red and the queen warned everyone to cover their ears.

“SSSSOOOOOORRRRRRAAAAAA!”

~~~~

Sora and Goofy swam up to (Y/N)’s ship and started to explore. They found pictures, heirlooms, and many more.

“Sora. I don’t think we should be here. What if someone finds out.” Goofy said.

“Don’t be a guppy, Goofy.” Sora replied. 

“I’m not a guppy.” Goofy swam up to Sora. Sora took everything that he thought that belonged to (Y/N). He put them a satchel he found in his closet. 

“Sora! What are you doing. Those aren’t yours.” Goofy exclaimed. 

“I know. They belonged to the princess.” 

“What?” Sora showed Goofy a picture of you and your parents and pointed to you.

“This is who I’m talking about.”

“Wait! Is that who you were thinking about earlier?” Sora nodded. 

“Oh, you’re gonna be in so much trouble.” 

“I’m already in trouble. They grounded me for a week. But I can’t get over her. She was so pretty. I just want to be with her.” 

“Okay. But we need a place to hide all of this. Your parents will kill you if they found out about this.” 

“Lucky for us, I did.” Sora and Goofy left the ship and found a cave with a rock in front of it. Sora pushed the rock out of the way and let Goofy in. 

“Wow! This place is amazing. When did you find this?”

“Last night.” 

“Last night?!” 

“Shhh. I don’t want anyone finding out about this place.” Sora put the stuff he found on the shelves in the cave. He put the heirlooms, accessories, all the stuff that he thought was yours. The last thing he put on the shelf, was a portrait of you. You looked so beautiful in the portrait. 

“Don’t worry, (Y/N). I’ll be with you soon.” 

~~~~

You woke up feeling kind of hazy. Did yesterday actually happened? Or was it all a dream. Her maid walked in her room to open the drapes. 

“Good morning, Your Highness. For today’s breakfast, we have your favorite.” she said. You said nothing and stared at the ground. 

“(Y/N). Are you okay?” 

“Huh? I’m fine. Did yesterday actually happen?” you asked her. 

“I’m afraid it did. I’m sorry, (Y/N). I know how much your parents meant to you.” 

“Yeah.” 

“If you want, I can have your breakfast delivered here. I know how much your parents hated that.” 

“No. It’s fine. Do you mind helping me get ready?”

“Of course, Your Highness.” 

~Time Skip b/c I don’t know anything about Princess dresses~

You entered the dining room to see a plate for only you. You sat down and picked at your food. 

“Your Highness. You need to eat. You can’t just pick at it.” your maid scolded. 

“Sorry. Do you mind if you and some of the other staff sat down with me?” 

“Of course.” Soon, her and the other maids sat down and ate breakfast with you. You enjoyed the rest of the day with your maids. They were kind like your parents and helped you with whatever you needed. 

~Later that night~

You couldn’t sleep. You couldn’t get over the fact that your parents are dead and that you nearly died. Not to mention that you missed Sora. The gentle breeze from outside helped you a little bit. But you still couldn’t sleep. You then heard a song that helped you fall asleep. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Keal_UfT6o (best one I  could find okay.) 

You didn’t know this but just outside you window was Sora in the water singing you that song to you. Your maid came in to check in on you, she didn’t hear the song but only you could. She sw how you were asleep and turned off the light and left the room. 

“Have sweet dreams, (Y/N).” Sora said and swam home. Little did he know was that he was being watched. 

[smartzelda]

Okay, so now that that's out of the way, here are all my thoughts on the khmom

So starting out, I know some were hoping this was the big Kairi game, and I'm sad it didn't live up to my hopes in that regard, but we also have to remember that Nomura said in interview before it came out not to expect too much, and then we learned that the story mode is an average of 10 hours.

As a fandom we need to remember that KHMoM was never advertised as "the big Kairi game", so while you can be sad that the game didn't live up to your hopes and dreams, Nomura did not "basically" tell us we were gonna get a big Kairi game and then let us down. With all due respect, this game is only a "Kairi game" in the sense that she's on the front cover and the story cutscenes at the end show her side of searching for Sora. Even the advertisements and interviews about this game were mostly focused on the rhythm game aspect, so besides cutscenes, the only talk about Kairi was the change from Chirithy to her doing narration

Now let's continue on keeping in mind that this is all my opinion and analysis, and there are various opinions out there.

Let's start with Kairi, since most of this game is about her. I haven't played the game myself yet (I watched cutscenes for now), but although it's sad Kairi herself wasn't part of any teams (which honestly makes sense since she wasn't a main character focused on in any of the games as much as those chosen for teams. KH1, CoM, and KH2 really were Sora, Donald, and Goofy, Days really was our sea salt trio, wayfinder trio was obviously the main protagonists for BBS, and even though Sora was in DDD, Sora is already on a team and Riku got a bigger charactsr focus in that game, so why not include the dream eater pals. And then honestly kh3 was Donald and Goofy and Sora again), at least we get her in the end. And her getting a small playable section at the end honestly makes sense considering the cutscene portion is the part of the game about her/following her/focuses on her, and she's been getting better as a keyblade wielder.

Now, this section shows us the pink flower thing from remind, and I'm even more convinced that it isn't her heart. For one, in remind, it was used in kh2 fashion, like an object to create a pathway to the next world or in this case Kairi herself. Then, in this game, while she's sleeping and in the final world, she finds it and it breaks apart. If it was Kairi's heart, would it make sense for it to break apart inside of her and not have an affect on her or her body? And what convinces me more is that after you collect all these pieces of the flower with Kairi, she clutches her head and has a memory moment.

What is the pink flower thing, then, you wonder? Well tbh I wonder too, but I had a thought. It's not essential enough to her state of being to be her heart, but it's definitely a part of her or a representation of part of her. My thought is that it could be a semi-physical representation of her memories or a physical metaphor of her state of being at the time it shows up. For example, in remind, it could have been scattered pices of her memory, because we remember that in kh3 they learned that a person (like Roxas, Xion, etc) couldn't completely come back or wake up from wherever their hearts were until their memories were returned to them too. So if the flower is representative of her memory, it then would make sense why it needed to be gathered, why it made Sora feel Kairi, and why it can also act as an object related to Kairi that can pave a path to her. It could also be a metaphor for her state of being at the same time since just like the flower, Kairi's body is shattered. This also makes sense for KHMoM, because if it's partly a metaphor representation of Kairi's state of being, then her "state of being" in this case refers to her repressed childhood memories and the links in those chains of memories that have broken apart. And so if the flower is representative of her memories, it would make sense that when she gathered all the pieces she remembered these memories because it brought these repressed memories to light and essentially pieced them back together when she gathered the heart pieces. If not because the flower has to do with her memories, at least in this case, why else would she remember repressed memories after gathering the flower pieces?

Continuing on from here, when Kairi holds her head and begins to remember, we get this interesting turn of the camera that flips Kairi and her reflection in the water before transitioning to the memories. I don't know much about camera techniques, but it definitely symbolizes or means something.

So we get the memory of Apprentice Terranort taking young Kairi (I honestly laughed when it showed him reaching for her just because of that "gimme your phone" meme) and it transitions to showing the scene with Kairi in one of the pods. This scene tells us a few things. For one, somehow, Apprentice Terranort knows about "unreality" or what's essentially a parallel universe to the KH universe, you can somehow get there with a strong enough connection to it (like using someone who's from there like Riku did or your heart resonating in some way with someone there. For example, if Kairi's poh heart resonated with a keyblade wielder from the alternate universe instead of Riku on Destiny Islands). It also may tell us that it's possible that Apprentice Xehanort knew the stuff we learned in the kh3 ending with the Luxu reveal would come to pass. Obviously Xehanort knew by doing what he did with Kairi that he would cause Sora's disappearance, but since we know (from Dark Road I think?) that the ancient wielders went to another world and all that, we know the stuff with Kairi was his final plan, and we know Xehanort got his peaceful death, I don't think Xehanorts final plan with Kairi was a ploy for him to do more summon kingdom hearts or a petty go at removing Sora since he might win. More than likely this "final plan" has to do with preventing a possible future and setting things up accordingly. Apprentice Terranort told 4 yr old Kairi her mission as if it's success would affect the future of the universe. And on one hand it makes sense because they needed a keyblade wielder to defeat the heartless and restore the worlds and lock their keyholes, but what if it's double meaning is that making sure the worlds last past that is dependent on making sure "the keyblade wielder" would also be in the position to prevent a future crisis? Because I doubt Quadratum is gonna only be important for getting Sora and coming back. This place is gonna have some significance, and if preventing or battling the crisis also hinges on the Keyblade wielder going to the alternate universe as Xehanort's backup plan to balance the worlds or keep them safe, then the foretellers, Luxu, the box, and that whole thing are more connected to what's happening in the alternate universe as we would've thought. Anyways, to sorta summarize that, I think that Sora had to have ended up in the Alternate universe to give our main crew a chance of dealing with something big, and if Xehanort couldn't make a new world with the keyblade, he at least had to make sure Sora could be in the right place to make sure things happen as they should to save all the worlds.

Then we get Kairi faced with the man in a cloak who's revealed to be Xehanort. This part also honestly made me laugh because we knew it would be Xehanort, but also on behalf of those who insisted it was MoM (no offense to them btw because I get their thought process. It just kinda made me laugh). I liked this sequence in the khmom trailer (especially in og Japanese because what Kairi says there is better put), and I like it because it essentially serves as Kairi facing her fear and the one who changed her fate head on, channeling all those thoughts and feelings and letting them out. So, whether or not this Xehanort is real or fake, Kairi takes him head on.

Now the fight sequence has a variation of thoughts on it, and here are mine. For one, I spent this whole sequence being so excited because she was fighting so good and hard to the best of her ability. Second, this is memory Xehanort created from her heart, so I like the explanation that he too is influenced by her personal fears and doubts, mainly an insecurity and doubt in her own abilities. So the reason Xehanort is so easily able to catch her keyblade and dodge hits from her (the first time he grabbed it I honestly thought he would insult her and snap it like Xemnas did with Lea) is because no matter how much she wants to defeat him, deep down she doesn't believe she's strong enough, and so here leads into when she turns into Sora.

Now, to preface, if the literal explanation of this from Nomura is "Kairi isn't strong enough so Sora's sleeping heart sensed her danger and possessed her to do the boss fight for her", then I think this sequence is 1000% bad, unnecessary, and people have every right to be mad. However, my thoughts on this scene is that it also has to do with her memories and anxieties. Remember that memory Xehanort says that everything in this specific version of the final world was created by Kairi's heart. And so if her doubts are on her own strength, my thoughts are that it was these doubts and feelings of inferiority that had her become Sora (or a memory Sora more specifically) because she doesn't believe she can win or beat Xehanort with out him yet. In other words, she still felt dependent on him, so in that moment her heart responded by temporarily turning her into Sora to reaffirm her fears (like when she was losing against xehanort) and beat Xehanort for her. If this is true, then that gives some depth to Kairi's character in how she currently percieves herself as of khmom, and maybe how she believes others view her. And with Xehanort's comment, I think it may reaffirm that this Sora is a projection. Because if Sora came there through his bond to Kairi, then there's no reason Kairi would've disappeared or there's no reason why he wouldn't have talked or just something. So then, Xehanort's line about Sora being where his voice cannot reach them has a double meaning. The first is that this Sora that fights memory Xehanort does not speak (and also he's fighting like a controlled puppet without a will of it's own like, did you see his soulless face?), which affirms to him that Sora is in the alternate universe, and the second may be that he realized it's a version of him from Kairi's heart (just like he himself is), and he being there instead of the real Sora affirms that Sora's bonds in this world have broken and he couldn't have been there himself, meaning he must've been in the alternate universe (if not dead, which Xehanort knows he isn't because he knows his final plan with Kairi).

Side note, also during the earlier battle with Xehanort, Xehanort told Kairi she wouldn't find Sora in her heart and that the key to him is in memories long gone. And part of my reaction to that is that I felt validated and angry, because we've been saying that Kairi wouldn't find Sora through the search of her heart and dudebros and s/ks and the like said that we were thinking about our ship and being misogynistic in thinking Kairi wouldn't have that role, and then Xehanort himself, created from Kairi's heart said "You won't find anything here". My other reaction was to "memories long gone", and it honestly made me wonder if it meant that Kairi had some of Sora's memories in her heart that he lost and they're not there anymore, or that the key to Sora is memories of his he not only lost, but are literally missing and in someone no one can reach currently (like within Yozora or something)

So anyways, Xehanort gives Kairi a clue about how to find Sora through that line referring to the alternate universe (again it being brought up in the future for a different thing is why I think Apprentice Terranort gave his speech as a double meaning in the past), and she finally wakes up where the whole lab crew work it out

As for AtW and crew assuming the alternate universe is fictional, that may or may not be true. They worked it out by saying "The opposite of our reality is unreality or fiction", but we also know that could be referring to a parallel universe, meaning both universes could very much be real. As for Yozora telling Sora "this isn't the real world", I'm not gonna go far into it as others have, but if Sora is theoretically inside Yozora's heart, hence how he can visit him in his dream, then Sora is technically not in the real world, but the alternate universe is in the real world. And if the alternate universe is a fake world, it's not impossible, but it's still odd to me how Yozora would be self aware that the world he was born in wasn't real.

Forward from here, Riku enters, Kairi and Riku have their leads to Sora (tbh one of my hopes was that Kairi and Riku would have a real talk about the odd status of their friendship and how it's honestly not great, but maybe it'll happen in the future), and Fairy God Mother magics Kairi and Riku and herself into the final world (sorry this is a bit passive aggressive, but no, we knew that Riku wouldn't need to dream dive into Kairi's dreams to make it into the final world so they could get to Sora). FGM then starts talking about the final key, alerts the two teens about the hearts in the final world, and takes them to Nameless star. It was about this point I literally had a moment over how beautiful Kairi and Nameless star's respective voices sounded because they both sounded so pretty. This is also where they learn that shibuya in the other universe is named Quadratum (haha another square reference I see, square😂), and FGM says that you can get to the other universe with the power of waking and Nameless Star's strong dream and will. I honestly can't wait until we get to see Nameless star for real and hear her name. It's honestly so sweet that Riku wanted to make her dream come true (in like a "Riku is so nice and sweet" way, not in a shippy way) and was also willing to help her not just because she could lead him to Sora.

Then, FGM informs the crew that this is as far as she goes, and leaves the rest to Riku. This is another widely opinionated section of MoM's story, because here Kairi expresses her wishes to go and is ultimately rejected. I have seen people rant about how Riku is a misogynist and explain this scene as if Riku literally told Kairi "You're too weak", shoved her aside, and called her useless, but here's an analysis of the scene with some of my pov. That part wasn't nearly as bad as people exaggerated it to be. When Kairi expressed her wish to go, Riku literally stuttered, failing to actually say she can't. He didn't even really say anything before Kairi sighed and was like "I know". So to say Riku is misogynistic for that?😬 Also, this is a completely new universe, one where Yen Sid didn't even let Mickey Mouse follow, and as FGM said you have to have the power of waking to get there. Kairi is strong, as memory Xehanort said, but she's not to master level (or at Sora or Riku's level for that matter), not strong enough to deal with a whole new world, especially since her only real experience was being plunged into war just after some training (like Sora and Riku got this whole experience starting with dealing with low level heartless and getting used to it all, and they had been practicing and self teaching themselves how to fight since they were kids, to which Kairi did not), and she doesn't have the power of waking, so no matter how much Kairi wants to go with Riku, as he was trying to tell her and failing, it's not possible for her right now. It's like how Sora wanted so badly to join Riku and Mickey in the RoD on saving Aqua, but he hadn't regained his strength yet and didn't have the Power of Waking. Example one of the Kingdom Hearts fandom's double standards: Sora being denied access to also go to the RoD to save Aqua because he doesn't have the strength or PoW is fine, but Kairi being denied access to also go to the alternate universe with Riku for the same reasons is Misogyny🙄.

And also on Kairi's rejection to go with Riku to the alternate universe, I felt like this moment was a parallel to kh1 that showed that Kairi is beginning her character development. In kh1, Kairi insisted to go with Sora to save Riku, and Sora outright said she would be in his way so she couldn't go (idk what it says in the jp version), and after being told this, Kairi accepts her situation and resigns to wait on the islands for Sora to return with Riku. During this whole time she also makes no effort to train. However, in this moment in khmom, when Riku fails to stutter out "No", Kairi very visibly and audibly is frustrated when she says "I know". She's been here before, but it says something that her being left like this, waiting to the side, isn't something she wants anymore. She wants to go, and she's frustrated that she still can't. And I know this came off to people as "Nomura is just shafting Kairi again", but in my opinion if he wanted to toss her aside, he wouldn't have done this. He would've had her okay with Riku going by himself from the get-go and had Kairi just kind of go "well, back to training with Merlin again". Heck, if he really wasn't doing anything with her, he would have just left her while FGM and Riku met Nameless star in the Final World. But what he did was present us a Kairi that is strong, but knows she needs to be stronger. He gave us a Kairi that is visibly frustrated in knowing she can't help her best friend. And her response after accepting she can't go currently? She takes the initiative to train under Aqua (a real keyblade master), meaning that she really wants to take the steps to get stronger now, and she tells Riku that one day she'll stand by him and Sora (not just Sora). The girl has resolved to take her own path and take real responsibility for her training so she never has to stay behind again. It's showing Kairi's shift from "Sora and Riku are leaving me behind and I'm struggling to catch up so I try to make sure they come back to me or I do the bare minimum to still be around them" to "I take control of my own destiny, and I'm gonna close this gap myself, by my own efforts, not by waiting for them to do something". I'm fully aware Nomura could still shaft Kairi, but I truly feel like this little we got in khmom is the beginning of her development as a character. And I feel this way because while remind at times arguably came off as pandering to people who wanted K to do something, khmom, taking into account all the things Nomura could have done instead of what he did, felt more genuine, and actually made me hopeful and excited for her character and what she does in the future. Also, example two of the Kingdom Hearts fandom's double standards: Riku struggling to tell Kairi she can't go with him (and him not actually saying it) is considered misogynistic by this fandom, but Sora in kh1 bluntly telling Kairi she would be in his way and therefore couldn't go is "UwU he's protecting his love! So cute!"🙄

Anyways, going forward, I'm so excited to witness some actual development for Kairi amd seeing her interact with the wayfinder trio! Like training with Aqua? Yes!

Also, not to be passive-aggressive, but I know a number of S/Rs who would like an apology for being told that believing that Riku would be the one to save Sora was us reaching and being delusional and thinking Kairi wouldn't go is misogynistic🙂

Anyways, besides that, Soriku endgame actually?! Like Sorikus and Riku stans how you feeling about all this? Like, can you believe we were right when we said Riku would go save Sora? Can you believe in the same week we got confirmation Riku would be the one to go save Sora, we learned that there would be three sets of Soriku Nendoroids? Like we just keep on winning and honestly that makes me so happy. I honestly can't wait to see not only Kairi's training and possible future development, but also Riku's journey! This may have just been a bridge game, but I'm so excited!😊

[kingdomhearts-and-soriku-trash]

Okay but Sora trying to get it through Riku’s thick skull that he loves him. And Riku not getting it so someone jokes and says the phrase a way to a mans heart is his stomach and so Sora starting cooking his heart out to riku. But riku just DOESN’T get it. And finally when Sora bakes him a dish with papou fruit he has a Oh moment. I just think there should be more oblivious riku. Plus I like the idea of Sora just stress baking or cooking for everyone (riku gets special treats).

YEEEEEESSSS! I can see it happening. Riku definitely is a boy that has no idea what he’s doing. Well, in fighting he kinda does, but emotions??? NO!! So yh I’m here for that >:). They both don’t know what they HECK THEYRE DOING BUT YEAH-

If theres mess ups forgive me :’)

Whenever Sora was found, he and Riku spent a lot of time together. It wasn’t just to “talk”. They were just there for each other. And they loved it like that. They were loud, playful, and having a good time with the other like always, but they also loved the moments of being able to be silent and quiet with each other. And during those moments, Sora realized his feelings getting bigger. 

He loves Riku.

He’s always loved Riku.

But Sora always believed it was in a best friend way, or a family way...but he slowly realized it wasn’t. When he saw Riku run his hands through his hair, Sora wanted to do that, and he missed how he (as in Riku) used to run his through his hair (as in Sora’s hair). He missed it and he found himself wanting to kiss him. That’s when he knew he loved Riku. It took him for a shock, but he accepted it and decided to do something very Sora like.

Do everything in his power to show what he means instead of just saying it. Totally like Sora...

So, Sora learns to bake. He always loved watching his mother bake, so he tries to remember stuff she did, and he almost gets it right, but there are a ton of failures. But he knows thats okay, he now knows that that’s what has to happen for growth, so he keeps going. However, inbetween cooking and fighting, he’d try and show Riku how he loved him. It was difficult to push past the anxiety, but he managed to on multiple tries.

The first time was when he asked to hold Riku’s hand. It didn’t seem like much, but they used to always hold hands, and they loved the feeling of the other being there, so he did it again. Riku paused when he asked him, but he smiled and held Sora’s hand tight. It made Sora blush and he really hoped Riku noticed it, but he didn’t say anything. Sora considered that a failed attempt.

The second try is when he basically asked Riku on a date. This wasn’t a normal hang out because they usually just went to the island or went to a quiet place with each other. This time, Sora took him to a restaurant. He took him to see Little Chef! He basically tried to keep it serious, but did fail a bit and made Riku and him play with Little Chef. They enjoyed their time and finally ate some food. It was quiet and adorable, and Riku did blush, but he never said anything.

After that try, he didn’t know what to do. He was confused and stuck, so Aqua came up to him and said what Tiana said. 

“The fastest way to a mans heart, is through his stomach.”

He believed that Aqua knew everything, so he took her advice seriously. Since he knew how to bake a good amount already, he starts to look up recipes for lovers. Ways to show how you love someone with your cooking. He finds a recipe of cupcakes with a paopu fruit on the top. He honestly finds it sweet and delicious, so he starts on it. He does multiple batches, gets everyone to taste it (almost eliminating Aqua because she always tell Sora that he is great no matter what...but she actually gave him feedback this time), and gets feedback, and learns how to make them better. The paopu the first time was too sweet and hurt their teeth from the sweetness (since thats what happens usually if something is too sweet), so he made it less sweet, but accidentally made it not sweet at all. Then, he burnt one batch because he wasn’t paying attention (like always), but eventually, he made the perfect cupcake batch.

The paopu fruit design on the top was a perfect. It was a bright yellow, but not too bright. The blue frosting that it was on was a beautiful bright blue and it matched the paopu It looked really good, so Sora took this as his third chance. He got them into a little container and went to see Riku again. He found him training and he couldn’t help but stare for awhile. He never noticed how Riku’s muscles moved when he fought, how fast he moved, and how skilled he was. He knew Riku was skilled, but to actually see it up close was amazing to him.

“Sora?”

Sora snapped out of his daze and realized that Riku saw him. Instead of being weirded out, he smiled and made his keyblade disappear. “Whatcha got in the container?” Sora looked down at it and almost forgot what was in it, but he remembered and suddenly felt anxious. However, he needed Riku to understand his love. “They’re some cupcakes I made just for you!” Sora put on his best smile and Riku smiled back. The smile that made his eyes crinkle at the edge. 

Sora lead him to a bench in the training ground and opened the container to reveal the paopu fruit cupcakes. Riku stared at them for a minute, but believed it was just a simple cupcake. He knew Sora liked the paopu fruit legend, so he assumed he just made cupcakes out of them, but Sora looked at him with love in his eyes, trying to show him how much Riku meant to him. 

However...Riku was still an idiot.

He took a cupcake and took a bite out of it and smiled. “It tastes real nice, Sora!” Sora smiled at him, but when Riku didn’t say anything else, he realized that he still didn’t understand. 

“Riku? Are you serious?”

Riku looked over at him and looked confused. “What do you mean?”

Sora looked sad and Riku was worried, but Sora instantly said how he felt.

“I love you! These cupcakes were meant to show that. I’ve been trying to show you for awhile,” he said, with a worried look on his face. “We’ve been friends forever, best friends. I’ve known you all my life and believed my love in my heart for you was best friend love. But I realized that I don’t just love you like a best friend. It’s changed. Everything’s changed, Riku. I want to hold your hand, be with you, fight alongside you, kiss you, comfort you when you feel terrible, and just be with you, so bad.”

Sora stopped at that, realizing he was rambling. He looked at Riku and he saw a huge blush form on his face, and he knew the same was on his face. Riku swallowed the rest of his cupcake and took a breath.

“Um, that’s a lot,” he said as he looked down. Sora felt like he messed up. He ruined everything. He had an apology on the tip of his tongue, but Riku spoke first.

“I love you, too, Sora. Don’t apologize.” Riku looked back up at him and smiled at him, and Sora noticed his eyes. There was love in them, but they were...pink! Sora was shocked and Riku laughed. “I’m glad you said it and I’m sorry I didn’t see it at first. I was scared of assuming wrong, but I love you too. I don’t know when my feelings changed exactly, but I know I feel the same as you!” 

Sora was silent, his happiness taking over him, and he was still shocked at his eyes. However, he didn’t want to keep Riku waiting, so he leaned over and got close enough to kiss him, but left space for Riku to lean in, he didn’t want to rush him. Riku didn’t wait. He kissed him with passion. 

His lips tasted like the paopu fruit, sweet and juicy, and he loved it. He rested his hand against his cheek and they don’t even know how long they kissed, but it was blissful. When they pulled away, Riku’s eyes were still pink. “Hey, Riku, your eyes are pink!” Sora poked at Rikus cheek and Rikus eyes widened. “What?”

Sora pulled out his phone and took a pic of Riku. He showed Riku and he was in shock. “How is this happening?” It took Riku awhile to think of why, but it hit him in the face. “It’s because I’m your dream eater.” Sora smiled at that and wrapped his arms around Riku. “I guess it means I have to give you more attention,” he said as he ran his hands through his hair. Riku tried to not show how much he loved it, but he did love it. He leaned onto Sora’s shoulder and he noticed how he was purring. 

Sora kissed Riku on the forehead and leaned his head against his. “I love you, Riku.” 

“I love you more, Sora.”

“No, I love you more!”

Then, they became their 5 year old self’s again by bickering about who loved the other more. It was perfect for them.

AAAAAH!!! I love this idea and I hope you like it! Its so sweet and perfect. I love Riku and Sora and HNNNG the idea of Riku changing bc of his dream eater ability, is SO sweet and COOL and I LOVE it! Anyways, yeah, I hope you like this and I enjoyed writing it! I managed to write something not in bullet points! I’m proud :))).

[i-believe-in-soriku]

Essay Part 1: Riku’s Journey

Riku is undeniably the character who has experienced the greatest evolution throughout the series.

His journey begins in Destiny Islands, when he was just a little kid who wanted to live adventures with his best friend, Sora.

Riku: When we grow up, let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!

That's that will of discovering the world, and the fact that he was really close to his friend Sora, that lead him to make a promise:

Terra: Is there some reason you're interested in the outside world?

Riku: Yeah. I wanna be strong one day. Like that kid who left. He went to the outside world - I bet he's really strong now. I know it's out there somewhere - the strength that I need.

Terra: Strength for what?

Riku: To protect the things that matter. You know, like my friends.

Riku had a very strong friendship with Sora. The two of them used to fight with wooden swords, explore the islands, and watch the stars together. But then, Kairi came to the Islands and became part of their life. Years passed and their friendship became stronger - but somehow something was missing.

That's when Kingdom Hearts happens. At this time, Riku wanted to explore the other worlds, feeling trapped on Destiny Islands - will he had already expressed ten years before. Riku was jealous of Sora, and probably of Kairi and Sora's growing proximity. Riku felt lonely, as we can see during the game. These dark feelings caused him to be manipulated by Maleficent, and to turn to darkness.

There are also other reasons: he wanted to see the world - which he already wanted as a five years old kid-, he wanted to become stronger in order to protect his friends - even if he did it the wrong way, he didn't forget that goal, as proved by this scene:

Riku: So, Kairi's like a lifeless puppet now?

Maleficent: Precisely.

Riku: And her heart was...

Maleficent: Taken by the Heartless, no doubt.

Riku: Tell me! What can I do?

Maleficent, as the evil witch she is, manipulated him strengthening his feelings of loneliness, jealousy and betrayal.

Maleficent: You see? It's just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, he values them far more than he does you. You're better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I'll help you find what you're searching for.

Ansem, on his side, pretended he knew the way to make him stronger, as Riku was jealous of Sora's strength...

Ansem: The heart that is strong and true shall win the Keyblade.

Riku: What? You're saying my heart's weaker than his?

Ansem: For that instant, it was. However, you can become stronger. You should not fear in stepping through the door to darkness. It held no terror for you. Plunger deeper into the darkness and your heart will grow even stronger.

Riku: What should I do?

Ansem: It's really quite simple. Open yourself to the darkness. That is all. Let your heart, your being, become darkness itself.

... but he used him as a puppet to achieve his goals. The way he asked advices to bad people shows how lost that boy was. However, Riku finished by regain control of himself, and at the end of the game, decided to help Mickey close the Door to Darkness, even if it meant being somehow left behind - a beautiful act of redemption.

But that's only the begining of his story. In Chain of Memories, we follow Riku who has to fight his own darkness, embodied by Ansem (and also Repliku who mocks his fear of darkness). At first, Riku totaly rejects the darkness inside of him, afraid that it might overpower him once again.

Riku: All you have been talking about is the darkness. I can only assume you wanna pull me back in... so you can play Puppet Master.

And he doesn't want to hurt people like he did.

But we can see that he's becoming more and more mature, because this game is also about how Riku began to accept the part of darkness inside him as a strength (and I think Mickey helped him to do that). That's what makes him choose the way to Dawn.

Riku: What are you making me choose now?

DiZ: Between the road to light - and the road to darkness.

Riku: Neither suits me. I'm taking the middle road.

DiZ: Do you mean the twilight road to nightfall?

Riku: No. It's the road to dawn.

During 358/2 Days, Riku's will is to make sure that his best friend sleeps in peace - actually, he wants him to recover his memories and wake up. He teams up with Mickey and DiZ/Ansem the Wise to do so. In this game, Riku embraces the darkness in his heart while fighting Roxas...

Riku: I have to release the power in my heart- the dark power that I've been holding back. Even... if it changes me forever.

...a sacrifice made even though he's aware he may not find his own body anymore - which illustrates how Riku has finally accepted that darkness isn't 100% evil. We can also see that he's no longer bitter towards others: he's not even angry against Sora's Nobodies for keeping him away from his friend - just sad.

Xion: So, do you hate me for taking your friend away?

Riku: Nah. I guess... I'm just sad.

Still, in KH2, Riku is ashamed by his appearence and hides himself from Sora, even though he keeps on protecting him at distance. When they finally meet again, he tells this shame calling himself "a castaway from the darkness":

Riku: I'm no one---just a castaway from the darkness.

But he recovers his true self.

KH2 insists on the fact that despite a clear maturation, Riku still has doubts and still feel a little bit lonely. Sora points at:

Sora: Riku... C'mon, man! Why did you try to do so much on your own?You got friends...like us!

He still needs his friends to reassure him and accept him, and still thinks he can't get rid of his own darkness - his shame is still here:

Sora: You're coming back with us, right?

Riku: I had given in to the darkness.

Sora: Riku!

Riku: How'm I gonna face everyone?

Dream Drop Distance is a turning point to Riku's character. During the game, it is underlined that Riku is holding back some stuff inside of him, by four characters including himself.

Riku (to Quasi): Are you sure that's what's stopping you? Because I think something else is holding you back. Ask your heart, Quasimodo. [...] Wish I could take my own advice.

And:

Quasimodo: Master Frollo--he made me live inside the bell tower, but the real walls were the ones I built around my heart. You helped me see that, Riku.

Riku: I was...speaking from...personal experience.

Phoebus: I'd say you still keep a lot locked inside.

He also admits that he feels like his darkness will always follow him:

Riku: I gave in to the darkness once. And ever since, it's chased me around in one form or another.

But the end of the game proves that Riku has achieved a balance (a confidence that we can see in KH3).

Indeed, during the last parts of 3D, Riku is shown as a being of exception, whom heart has light and darkness in balance...

YMX: I don't know how you did it, but you really have found a way to trap darkness inside your heart

...balance which enables him to protect Sora, becoming his Dream Eater - he is able to change his very NATURE and didn't even noticed it.

Riku finally obtains the title of Keyblade Master showing that he is worthy of wielding a Keyblade - which he seemed to doubt at the beginning of the game:

Riku: My Keyblade--it just sort of...popped into my hand when I needed it most.

He has learned how to open his heart throughout his adventures, which can be seen in KH3.

In KH3 his new goals are to save Aqua and, with the others, fight the Seekers of Darkness. During the road, Mickey helps him to realize that he finally has the strenght he was aiming at since the very beginning: to protect the one person that matters.

Riku: I'm in control now. Maybe it's because you're with me this time.

Mickey: It's not me. I think it's because you've finally found inside you that special strength to protect what matters.

And the game lets no doubt: this person is Sora. He sacrifices himself to protect his friend against the Demon Tide in the Keyblade Graveyard.

This is a very brief summary of everything Riku did, but that's enought to come to a conclusion. If you have read carefully, you should have noticed that I didn't spoke about Sora that much. Because, even if Sora is actually what matters the most to Riku, the main reason why he did all those things, Sora is not what defines Riku.

Riku has a developpement that shows that he has to fight his own demons, overcomes his doubts and searches the strenght to protect who he cares about. He has other relationships than his (wonderful) relationship with Sora: for example, his friendship with Mickey.

He faced many things with the King and they share a special bond, just as Sora's with Donald and Goofy. He also shares a link with Terra and somehow Aqua, even though it's not developped that much.

Regarding of those elements, it is completely unfair to say that Riku isn't well written or too much written around Sora. Riku is interesting, relatable and touching, and I hope that he's going to have a good treatment in the future of the series. Watching the end of KH3 and Re:Mind, there's no doubt about the fact that he has an important role to play.

I want to close this part saying that Riku also has a personality. He's determined, selfless, mature, of good advice, a little bit sassy. Riku, even if he has doubts, can be now considered as confident. He is empathetic, cares about others, knows how to confort his friends, especially Sora. There are other important points - like the fact he's smart ~ but I think those are the main elements.

Intro • Part 2

[loekas]

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!

[queendom-hearts]

Kairi X Little Sister (Platonic)

My first request! Thank you for sending it in! (Also: I’d prefer if you sent requests in as asks. I’m only doing this one because it’s my first request ever and winterstarqueen is a friend. Sorry!)

(Note: If a request like this is made ( x family member) I am going to assume you mean platonically. I will not write incest.

Kairi would absolutely love to have a little sister!

Whether that sister is biologically related to her or not! Considering that Kairi was found by Destiny Island’s mayor and taken in by the mayor’s family, I’m sure if another little kid washed up on their beaches, they wouldn’t hesitate to take them in.

Close in age or not, Kairi would love to hang out and play with them. Anything her little sis wanted to do she’d eagerly join!

She would definitely puff out her chest and be “a cool big sister” in any way possible. 

After being protected and taken care of by others her whole life, she’s eager to do the same for another. Kairi is naturally protective over those she loves and cares about and her little sister is in no way excluded from this.

You would definitely be introduced to Kairi’s friends. You’d be especially close with Namine and Xion, because they are like your big sisters too! Selphie would adore you as well.

Sora and Riku would love Kairi’s little sister as well because you’re Kairi’s little sister, of course they’d like you! They’d be protective over you as well, just to a lesser extent becuase they know Kairi has what it takes to care for you and is a good big sister.

If you’re more younger, she’d love to play dress up with you and dolls. Or if that's not your thing, she’ll play in the mud and at the beach with you as well.

If you’re more close to Kairi’s age (but still younger) she’d treat you like a best friend, albeit more protective. She loves to take you to the mall, do each others hair, nails, and makeup and stuff. Unless if you’d prefer to do something else, she’d join as well. Kairi is still a tomboy at heart after all.

No matter what age you are, Kairi would always make sure you were included. Kairi knows too well what it’s like to be left out, albeit unintentionally. Whatever she was about to go do, with her friends or not, she’d always make sure if you were at least asked if you wanted to join.

If you wanted to become a keyblade wielder or just learn how to fight, she’s support you 100%! She’d be a bit nervous, of course, she doesn’t want you getting hurt. But she’s be more thrilled training with you or teaching you what she knows!

[khtrinityftw]

Honest KH2 Critique

I wanna talk about Kingdom Hearts II since we're quickly approaching it's 15th anniversary. Ever since it was released, it's become a game that people irritatingly refuse to be moderate over, or at least when it comes to the vocal fans online. People who love it don't love it so much as worship it, while people who hate it don't hate it so much as despise it with every fiber of their being. I may technically fall into the "love" category (I share the majority fan and critic view that KH2, especially it's Final Mix edition, is the best game in the series), but I'm also willing to look at both its good and its bad, and do so in moderation rather than hyperbolically.

And I know, without a doubt - Kingdom Hearts II...has the absolute worst-written story out of the KH Trinity!

OK, that was said hyperbolically, but I did so as a joke!

It's so weird that the original Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories have narratives that are deeply and thoughtfully structured with such care and consistency, and then the trilogy is rounded out by such a messily-written rollercoaster of quality!

.....Well, all right, maybe not that weird.

When interviewed shortly after KH2's first public reveal at the 2003 Tokyo Game Show, this is how Tetsuya Nomura described the process for writing the game's story: "I'm writing the plot, the main story of Sora and co. Other people are in charge of the plots for the events that will happen in each Disney world. Combining that with Nojima, we're completing one scenario."

The "other people" in question are the Event team: Masaru Oka, Ryo Tsurumaki, Michio Matsuura, Atsuko Ishikura, Yukari Ishida, and Kumiko Takahashi. Daisuke Watanabe and Harunori Sakemi also assisted Nojima with scenario writing whenever the need arose.

The problem that this process caused isn't apparent at first glance, but it's actually right there in that interview excerpt: "I'm writing the plot". In KH and CoM, Nomura only wrote the initial plot outlines, which were very simple and ripe for being fleshed out by the actual scenario writer. There's a big difference between that and writing a full-fledged plot the way he did here. 

Nomura wrote the story for what transpires in the KH-original worlds: Twilight Town, Hollow Bastion, the World That Never Was and Destiny Islands. It goes like this:

As far as plots go, I actually really like this one. It's a strong plot.

It's also convoluted as Hell.

I made a post saying the three one-word convoluted elements of KH2's plot are "Nobodies", "Data", and "Ansem". All three of those are literally the cornerstones of this plot that Nomura cooked up: they play a huge role through the beginning, middle and end! Because Nomura had more power with making this game, none of the more...out-there stuff that these concepts created could be curbed or removed. Which means that the scenario writer had better be in tune with Nomura when it comes to presenting them in a coherent way.

For the most part, Kazushige Nojima was....not.

Here is a tell-tale sign that Nomura and Nojima were not in sync. When asked if he planned from the start to make Kingdom Hearts be the heart-shaped moon seen on the cover of the original game, Nomura replied "No, I didn't. I asked Nojima-san to write the scenario and in his scenario it was written that the Kingdom Hearts Xemnas created is 'like a moon that floats in the World that Never Was'. When I read that, I thought ‘’Oh, this can be connected!’’"

Nomura just admitted that Nojima essentially had to make up how to convey Xemnas harnessing and trying to complete Kingdom Hearts, because Nomura's plot did nothing to convey it. It was a "wait, how the fuck is he doing that!?" detail. And you really get the sense all throughout the scenario that Nojima is struggling with trying to convey Nomura's stuff, and he has said as much in interviews: Nomura's plot and concepts confused him.

It also doesn't help that Nojima was the least major scenario writer on the original KH, mainly limited to the co-creation of Ansem with Nomura and writing the entire End of the World section. This is probably why Xemnas and Ansem the Wise are clearly the KH-original characters with the most confidence and complexity behind their writing in KH2's scenario. Nojima writes Sora, Kairi, their Nobodies Roxas and Namine, and Riku far more simplistically and trope-y, and the other Organization members and trio of Hayner, Pence and Olette are side characters so naturally they don't get much depth. 

Then there's Masaru Oka and his Event Team. First off, while Masaru Oka is definitely on Nomura's wavelength and understands his vision to a fault, as Event Director he is superbly mediocre at presenting that vision, or Nojima's for that matter. He just isn't cinematically inclined the way Jun Akiyama was in the original KH, and that leads to the event scenes usually being the barest minimum of adequate at best, and laughably awkward at worst.

Secondly, Oka and his team were responsible for creating the plots in the Disney worlds (hence Oka's credit alongside Nomura under "Base Story"). But not only were they frequently lazy and just directly rehashed the movie's story but with Sora, Donald, Goofy and the Heartless shoved in, but half of the time they didn't even bother connecting the world plots to Nomura's main plot in any meaningful way beyond thematically ala CoM, and neither Nomura nor Nojima seemed keen on correcting this even when they really should have.

Here is a chart displaying the game's flow, stage by stage as set by world battle level. Stages where the main plot is progressed in some way are bolded, and stages of the main plot as created by Nomura have red borders around them:

Aside from Space Paranoids which was part of Nomura's plot from the get-go, the only time where correlation with the main plot occurs without any side factor to note is Beast's Castle, where both visits feature the machinations of Organization member Xaldin and culminates in the boss battle against him that leads to his demise.

Olympus Coliseum correlates to the main plot in the first visit but not the second, although the second visit is now made plot-relevant due to tying up loose ends from the first. Port Royal correlates to the main plot in the second visit but not the first, although the first visit is now made plot-relevant due to setting the stage for the second (it also has Larxene's Absent Silhouette in FM). There is technically a main plot correlation in the second visits to the Land of Dragons and Agrabah (the latter of which has Vexen's Absent Silhouette in FM), but Nojima botched the writing of them to the point where there may as well not have been, especially in the case of Agrabah’s which is "oh btw, an Organization XIII member came by off-screen".

And then there's the case of Disney Castle / Timeless River, which only acquires relevance to the main plot because it was decided that Maleficent should be resurrected and be Pete's boss in the present time. And unlike her appearance in Halloween Town, her role in this stage correlates directly to her role in the main story, revealing her resurrection to the heroes and establishing that she seeks a new evil stronghold from which to advance her return to power. Pete's backstory and connection to King Mickey shown here also receives a direct reference toward the climax of the World That Never Was.

While it could be argued that there's additional value in the first visits to Port Royal, Agrabah, Halloween Town and Pride Land due to the presence of Pete (Maleficent when it comes to Halloween Town), I would have to disagree because nothing they actually do in these stages end up mattering to the main story whatsoever - especially in Pride Land, where Pete just shows up in lion form to say “Ooga Booga Booga!”. Their presence alone just ain't enough.

The consequence here is that for the continuous stretch of Port Royal in the first go-round, Olympus Coliseum in the second, and Agrabah, Halloween Town and Pride Land in both go-rounds, it feels like nothing is advancing. And as bad as that sounds on paper, it's even worse when applied to gameplay because it means this lasts for several hours straight! The only main plot event that happens in either cycles is Kairi going to Twilight Town, which happens in a sudden cutscene between Agrabah and Halloween Town and is thus totally out of the player's control!

To sum things up, Nomura wrote a main plot that was good but too overwrought with confusing and complicated details. Nojima is a highly talented writer, but he didn't fully get Nomura's vision. Oka gets Nomura's vision, but he isn't a highly talented Event Director (and as seen in later games, he has even less talent as a writer) and often portrayed scenes that Nomura or Nojima came up with flatly. And none of these men were in sync when it came to how the Disney world plots and the main plot would connect, often simply not caring or else just not trying hard enough.

That is why KH2 has the weakest writing in the KH Trinity: the primary creative voices that shaped the story were completely out of sync with one another on a regular basis. You could say that their hearts just didn't connect on this project. And as a result, we have blatant inconsistences, bad edit jobs, pacing problems, mood whiplashes, missed opportunities, and dumbass moments galore.

However, on the occasions where things between them did manage to sync up, we were given some of the highest points in not only the KH Trinity but the entire KH series, and the input that was given from Daisuke Watanabe, Harunori Sakemi, and others like production assistant (and major Disney fanatic) Eri Morimoto surely helped the messy story become not quite as big a mess as it could have been otherwise. And that story still stayed true to the series' roots as a whimsical Disney/FF crossover project driven by relatable characters and emotional resonance, as opposed to a vanity project for Nomura that is driven by perplexing lore, plot twists and mystery boxes.

And that's why I and so many others love KH2, warts and all, and would gladly take dozens more narrative messes just like it over the different, far less enjoyable kinds of narrative messes that we've been getting afterward.

[a-merman-not-a-guppy]

What I love about your Muses and You

A positivity post by me (Lena) with some commentary by my muses

MK:

You do an incredible job with all kinds of characters, and I love that you do a good balance of good and evil, but you also know how to find that gray area. I think working in that gray shady area is a lot of fun and you really pull it off. You come up with some wild plot arcs and you always find a way to keep people guessing (personally am thrilled about the polyamorous relationship. Nice one!)

Louie: yeah Lou’s been a real cool dude. A R T man. I may not be skilled, but he was always fun to learn with. Someday I’ll learn more. Ashley: Belle like is literally saving my ass with this job. Seriously my favorite person at the moment.

Avarick:

man I’ve always loved writing with you. We always clicked well with that, and I’ve loved all the characters you brought into the rp. I was so so so excited to see that you were coming back and that you wanted to bring RIKU! I couldn’t believe it! I loved it when we wrote horse buddies back in the day, and I’ve loved every other opportunity we’ve had to do stuff. I’m so so glad you’re back to writing with us.

Sora: =DDD RIKuUUUUU. I missed him so muuuuch. Roxas: yo who the f is this Riku guy?

Mckala:

You have always been the backstory queen, and I tip my hat to you. You do the level of research that always blows my mind. I just do not have the time or the energy for it, but you have all these lists, giant ass family trees, you know the works. It’s really impressive, and one can see the dedication that you put into your characters.

Louie: so Elena’s like a sick Crown PrincesS? That’s dope! When you gonna take back the kingdom man? Queen it uuup!

Finn: Adella’s always been nice to me when I would visit Ariel. She’s really talented.

Wilbur: (imagine a happier time) mum’s great! She’s always there if I need her to be, and while she won’t buy me everything I bloody want, she knows what I really need.

 Ashley:

honestly such a great person and great rper. I think the most memorable thing for me lately has been Ashley popping in occasionally when she thought I might be upset or bothered by something and checking in. Talking things out and venting together. She’s honestly such a great listening ear, I think we’re really lucky to have her in this rp. I may be slightly biased toward Ashlee T. and Ollie, but all her babes have nuance and I love them. Ashley: Ashlee!!! One of the only people in this world that matter!!! <3 We made it through some nightmares. Things look up from here babe. Wilbur: duuude Ollie I didn’t realize you were adopted too and it’s the coolest fact I got to know about you. It’s awesome to have someone to relate with.

 Pet:

I feel like we used to have a harder time connecting writing wise and things were awkward, and I’m so happy to say it doesn’t feel that way at all anymore. The things we’ve written have been so fun, and I feel like (correct me if I’m wrong), but I feel like bringing Chickaroo together allowed for us to start having more conversation and plotting and just. It opened doors in some way. I think it’s awesome because I love your writing and I love getting to connect with your babes more. As you know, Al has my heart now because he just does, and Barrel has also managed to steal my heart. But all of your babes are so great, and I’m glad that we’ve managed to connect better. I look forward to more time spent writing hilarious things like Dipper and Roxas at the bar, or Al teaching Arthur about the internet.

Louie: yo Al’s like the chillest boss I’ve ever had. He’s also the only boss I’ve ever had but still! Cool dude!

Roxas: Dipper’s a nice guy. I hope I can get to know him more.

Sora: Dipper is Mabel’s TWIN BROTHER =DDDD that’s SO cool!!!

Wilbur: duuude. Barrel is like the person I didn’t expect to ever care about in a billion years, but if anyone did anything to him...like...die.

Alex:

I feel like we also used to not really vibe and were awkward with each other, and I’m super glad that’s changed because you’re literally so cool and you send such fun stuff and we just have a great time! I love Nyx, you know that I have an appreciation of Arista from afar, and Haley is just...great. All your babes are. I’m so happy we’ve finally made that writing connection because it’s been so fun to talk to you and get your perspective on things. Ahh it’s great. Can’t wait to see what you come up with in the future.

Ashley: Haley was like...almost cool. It’s a shame she’s such a goodie goodie two shoes.

Dot: Haley’s a good dragon? What the hell? She seems okay, but I’m still not sorry I shot her in the foot. She totally deserved it.

Clarion: Nyx has been my constant companion for some time now. I’m so grateful for her presence.

Bee:

Bee my big bro, my wife, my partner in ridiculous here too. You’re such a great joy to write with, and I love the way you tell your stories. I’m still so impressed by your take with Hera, and how she is as a sorceress. That’s so damn cool! And of course you’ve got the lovely Marie who’s charming and vain and I love that about her. Marie is a gift, your writing’s a gift and I’m grateful you’re in the rp. Not to mention you and Chloe are our resident British experts and that’s great. Thank you for joining the rp and for bringing the perspective you bring. Look forward to more crazy storylines with you.

Louie: yo nerd! Just kidding, wassup Huey? You’re the best big bro a guy could have. Keep it real, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.

Fflewddur: Marie! My beautiful wife! Love of my life! The world must envy me for having the most amazing wife in the entire world.

Sora: Kristoff! Best roomie ever !!! =DDDD hope you don’t mind if my best pal Riku stays with us. Thnx dude <3 <3 <3

Becky:

I mean where do I begin. We’ve had such great stories and ridiculous teen hijinks and theatrics. It’s been such a good time. And of course, there are few people I’d be sure about doing a big plot like the one we’ve got going with Ashley and Roo, but we’ve managed it, and I think it’s been a really really fun story to tell. So thanks for taking that leap with me and letting us tell a ridiculous story together. It’s been awesome. Glad to have you in the rp.

Ashley: well, you’re an alright guy I guess Roo.

Bryer:

we’ve only really had a little bit of time to write together before with Dash, but it was super fun, and even just observing, I’ve loved seeing your characters on the dash and seeing where they’re at. Hatter’s awesome too. It’s great to have him around in the rp, and especially with such a different take than we’ve had in the past. Love the werewolf storyline, love to see it.

Chloe:

I feel like you’re a person after my own heart. Mitte often makes me think of my old Shego muse, and that just makes me happy because I just love the chaos that she brings. I love all of your babes of course, but that just makes her a bit more #1 in my heart. You’re also so chill to plot with and to come up with these crazy schemes. I mean remember how we sort of pitched Mitte turning on a bit of a whim and now here she is? It’s literally so good and you went with it and I just...ugh. I truly love it and seeing the growth. All your babes tell such awesome stories, and this just tells me I need to find a way to plot with you more when time/work allows. Keep up the good work. You’re kicking ass.

Anthony: what a brat. As long as this girl doesn’t cause me any more trouble though I suppose she’s tolerable. 

Dezi:

We haven’t been able to interact much writing wise, but I hope to change that someday soon/when time/work allows. Charlotte is honestly such a great character, and I think it’s awesome to see her and Tiana around, I think it’s the first time in a long time...if we’ve ever managed that before? I don’t know. It’s seriously so cool and I love reading your stuff together, and just Charlotte’s stuff in general. Keep cool and carry on writing a great babe. 

I wish I had things my muses could say but I don’t think I’ve had the chance to interact with Charlotte. Just Judy before ;-; Forgive me. I still think you’re swell.

Emma:

Boy do I love that you swooped in with your kids. Phineas, Tiana and Aquata are such dynamic characters. It blows my mind, truly. I love them all. I love how ready you are to plot and to throw out great ideas. Phineas has the kind of chaos energy that I love (obviously, as Louie is my chaos energy). You’re so chill with me trolling your babes on twitter, and a joy to write with. Thank you for coming back as well. I’m glad we’ve gotten the chance to write together. <3

Louie: duuuude we gotta do something crazy again soon? Operation dumbass commence? Jk jk Operation Too Cool For School.

Wilbur: what is with that twitter lady tho? Too old to be arguing with teens on twitter don’t you think?

Ginny:

Ahhh i mean we’ve done so many fun things and continue to do. With so many connections and stuff it’s hard not to! I’m so glad you rejoined as I have and that we got to bring these characters into the rp that vibe (and/or fight each other). To each their own. Our kids have an energy what can you do? I think your characters are all awesome, and I love seeing them on the dash. I love writing with them. Two besties, no wait THREE now with Kairi, isn’t that just wild? I love that best friend energy our babes have. Support it, thanks for writing all kinds of good things with me. You’re a gem.

Finn: I love you Ariel. You’re the best of friends. I’m so lucky to know you =]

Ashley: Ashle B!!! Babe you are a rockstar. You’ve kind of been the glue of our friendship I think. I love you babe. Stay true to you and kick some ass in college!

Wilbur: (in happier times) DADDD!!! Best dad to ever dad, person that gets me cool things. Coolest of dads. You rock.

Sora: ????!!! KAIRI???!!???

Hannah:

Hannah Hannah Bo Bannah Fee Fi Fo Fannah HANNAH...I couldn’t resist. You’ve been so great to talk to and write with and honestly it’s been so great to love our babes together and talk about BTS together and talk kpop in general. I’m so so so glad that we’ve gotten to know each other more over these last few months and stuff. You’ve really been so great, and our plots and characters are such a good time. So glad you got my brother, and my best friend. It’s awesome to have and to write with you.

Louie: DEWEEEEEEEEEEY. DEWFORD. DEWEYYYYY….hi.

Louie: TAEEEEEEE. Bro. my dude. Sorry I make memes outta you all the time. But in my defense...your face is kinda funny. Love u dude =]

Sora: Mabel!!! My GIRLFRIEND =DDDD you’re great! I love spending time with you and looking at hot boys! Speaking of...I have a friend you might think is hot…

Finn: Tae! Thanks for being so nice to me and allowing me to open myself up and get to know you. I’m so lucky that Nemo introduced us. You’re a really great friend =]

Jaby:

JABYYYYYYYYYY. Man we always had muses that vibed and our writing just clicked and that always brought me joy. I’m so glad you came back, because your characters are great, the stories you tell are great, and I really really missed having you around. I know we’ve both been busy lately with our own work stuff, but I definitely want the chance to connect some muses again, because I love your babes and you and I’ve been so happy to see you. Let’s figure something out someday when my schedule stuff evens out a bit better.

Jean:

you haven’t been in the rp long, but boy have you made an impact already. Lachlan is amazing!! Truly an icon and I’m so glad that you brought him in. And so glad that you’re here. We’re all lucky to have you. I really think you’re bringing in such a unique take and writing and it’s just awesome to see and to see Launchpad driving around, and driving people a little wild on twitter. It’s beautiful.

Louie: soooooo did you really nearly kill my bro?

Kiara:

We also don’t really have any interactions right now but that is a-okay because you are living a life doing the real life hero work. Truly I’m amazed by you, and I think we’re all lucky you’re around. I hope you take care of yourself and that you do get to enjoy that time to just write and love your characters. They’re all truly fantastic and I love seeing where you take them. Especially Georgette. I think her journey has absolutely captivated me.

Kit:

man you are awesome to plot with. The pirate au was such a good time, just brainstorming some ridiculous ideas. And your ladies are so truly dynamic and powerful and I am so excited to see where you take them. I don’t think we really have had much interaction besides the au, but I look forward to a day where life is less stressful and we can do some more stuff. That’d be great. <3 Keep doing you, you’re killing it.

Lauren:

Man I love your characters so much. Greg is such an icon on the board and otherwise. And I love pushing your characters buttons almost as much as I love agreeing with them. They’re just such joys to have around. Lol well I’m sure Roscoe would argue about that and be all Roscoe, but I’m glad to have him around. It’s been great talking to you and having debates over milk being a capitalist scam. I am glad you’re in the rp, and I continue to look forward to seeing what new things you and your characters bring.

Lauryl:

This go around of me rejoining the rp I feel like we’ve gotten a lot closer and that makes me really happy. =] It all started with a Jimin, how did it end up like this? It was only a...just kidding. I know exactly why. Nemo and your brilliant writing and his connecting with Louie drew me into this BTS zone and then before I knew it there was Finn and Lunch Squad and and and. The list really does go on because we’ve just come up with some really ridiculous and fun stories and it’s been great. Thank you for bringing Olaf and teaching me a lot more about aromanticism, for Atta and that sister bond that I am stoked about (reminds me we gotta do another thing for them that yes). I’m so glad we’ve connected more and that you are in the rp <3

Louie: Neeeeeeeeeeemo I have a crisis of boy things! CRISIS. WEE OO WEE OO chop chop and help me out. Also I’ve got cookies.

Finn: Nemo, I can’t believe how close we’ve gotten in so short a time. You’re one of my very best friends. I love you lots.

Finn: Hyung, you’re so warm and kind. I’m so lucky I know you.

Dot: did you drink water today Atta? You better not be going anywhere crazy without ME.

Lins:

You’ve just joined but I’m so stoked we’re already talking and talking about TORTALL of all things. Like WOW! I didn’t think anyone out there appreciated those books the way I did. It is so nice to be wrong, and to have a source to discuss my fave childhood books. It’s also exciting to have Eilonwy, and I’m excited to interact with her. <3 

Sav:

I know life keeps you pretty busy, but you push through and you bring your babes and keep steady with all of that and I think that’s really admirable. You’ve got the older gentleman muse energy and I respect that. I think it’s great that you have your niche. I myself have the teens as we know. I’m sorry we haven’t had much chance to interact, but I hope to improve that in the future. Especially with Seamus. That’s my rich uncle. I wanna do something about that when life gets less hectic. Either way, you’ve got great babes and you’re doing a great job. Take care of yourself lovely.

Louie: soooooo gonna buy me a motorcycle Uncle Seamus?

Sid:

man you’ve got a great bunch of characters and they’re all so different and dynamic and I love that. Ratigan is complex, and he was especially good fun in the pirate event I have to say. Truly loved the take we had on the ship and everything. He’s so great. I also love seeing Eric on the dash, and am excited to interact more with him cause I think he’s just groovy. They’re all groovy. I can’t think of any whimsical things to say but you’re doing awesome and your babes are great. Take care lovely.

Sierra:

I have not had a chance to interact with you or your Tod yet, but I look forward to the day where I can. Tod’s a great character, and it’s exciting to see that he’s come back. I know I saw him connecting with some of the other Swynlakers and I think that’s even better. Love a character with history, and Tod definitely has that. I hope you take care of yourself, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of Tod in the future.

[davidmann95]

Kingdom Hearts 3, two years on? Also general state of the franchise?

I maintain my position that for all its flaws it’s actually one of the better entries: gameplay’s great, the Disney worlds have more meat on the bone than any other game but the first, it touches on subtler emotional notes than a lot of the previous ones, and the final stretch is incredible. I believe it even conceivably could have surpassed II with relatively minimal restructuring if not for one insurmountable problem: Dream Drop Distance existing.

That is a game that I promise you only exists because Square Enix told Nomura he had to do something else if he was gonna take that long before kicking off III, and so all the subplots that were supposed to buoy it until the endgame were instead shoved into the final world of this. Riku’s (for now) final catharsis, Sora learning the basics of everyone he’s connected to, the unveiling of the master plan: all necessary for the finale to function coherently unto itself, all relegated elsewhere.

I’ve been mulling it over for awhile and there’s basically a cottage fandom industry around it at this point anyway, so here for your amusement and edification, my take on ‘how I would have fixed Kingdom Hearts III (a game I liked)’:

1. The opening tutorial segment is Sora and Riku taking their Mark of Mastery exam by journeying into the Realm of Darkness to save Aqua. They fight Dark Aqua and succeed in getting her home, but Sora loses the mandatory chunk of his powers in the process of purifying her with the Power of Waking so we can keep that in play; Riku gets the Mark and feels insecure about it (Sora is acknowledged for his efforts but with all the strength he’s lost giving it to him would only be a token, so the player doesn’t feel actively cheated even if the disappointment’s there), and the Destiny trio get a scene together before going their separate ways because it’s wild they didn’t get a scene together.

2. Aqua is back but pretty messed up from her experience, so she goes to recuperate in the timeless realm Kairi and Axel are training in. These interactions give Kairi some more time, and having the other two around makes it easy to recap the basics of 358/2 Days and Birth By Sleep for players who just want to go I/II/III.

3. Since Aqua can’t do it right now (and maybe the intervening decade saw it hidden more thoroughly thanks to the Organization), Sora, Donald, and Goofy are charged with tracking down Castle Oblivion to free Ven. He’s still gotta save everybody and remaster the Power of Waking he used to free Aqua, so 80% of the game plays out the same, there’s just a more concrete goal to his journey.

4. Riku goes through his DDD character arc in the background, culminating in the midpoint of the game where in the equivalent to the 1000 Heartless Battle as a dividing point in II, here we get the first big run-in with Young Xehanort  and the outline of the 13-nort gameplan.

5. Arendelle is swapped out with the Fantasia world because the former was the worst world in III and the Fantasia world obviously should have been realized on the PS4.

6. Kairi still dies because it’s a logical thematic climax (EVERYONE dies and has to be brought back, she’s last and most dramatic because she matters to Sora most) that propels everything afterwards forward, but before that she fights with Sora and Riku against the 3 Xehanorts instead of Mickey because Mickey has no emotional connection to anything that’s happening and this would bring the trilogy full-circle with the three of them working together, and this way she could die doing something heroic.

7. The Guardians of Light vs. the Xehanort Armor squad is part of the finale proper instead of a DLC segment.

Relatively minimal overhaul, I’m obviously not of the opinion that the mark was entirely missed; just snapping the basic pieces together a little more smoothly and putting a pinch of extra attention where it feels needed.

(Credit for this excellent mockup art, though my own heart will always belong to this barebones, strangely evocative take from way back in 2008.)

As for the future, my many theories aside, it’s hard to say. III was the best-selling of the franchise thus far, but who knows whether that means Nomura gets way less or way more control going forward. Even the role of the Disney worlds going forward relative to the metafictional war with Quadratum and the ongoing Master of Masters mystery depends on both Disney’s demands and the core messages of the next games, given the warring core aesthetics of the franchise are now actually part of the plot and theme going forward through Yozora. So are we getting GTA: Kingdom Hearts with Sora in an open-world Quadratum? A Riku and/or Kairi story? A spinoff about what Mickey was up to during I and II? Literally just Verum Rex? Some seem more likely than others but nothing feels off the table, though I do hope they adapt some of the latter parts of that mobile game into a movie like they did the early stuff so I can just watch that. But in any case IV proper is poised to recenter the sense of mysterious wonder and longing of separation that’s driven so much of the series, so in any case I think whatever comes next is still basically going to work in core ways that recent entries have missed for a lot of people.

(My own IV desire is that I want the main campaign divided between Kairi doing regular Kingdom Hearts stuff and Sora spending his half of the game exploring the gigantic and increasingly bizarre city, with Riku sections of him sorta bopping between the two worlds out of phase Flash-in-Crisis style, leading into a Destiny trio game for V. I think that’s the best way of selling the necessary contrasts of the new setup while having a lot of the game adhere to the formula.)

[roxasboxas]

An Exhaustive Post About WHY I Hate Eraqus So Fucking Much

*back on my bullshit voice* so the thing about Eraqus, right

We don’t see a lot of him, so when analyzing him we have to focus on his impact on other characters. And the first thing to note is how a lot of people in canon consider him pretty great, for whatever reason. But, again, we don’t see him being much of anything. So, his lasting effects on other characters are where it’s at.

Terra

Terra doesn’t display any actual skill when it comes to being able to tell who’s trustworthy.

Some of it comes from him not having grown up on Disney movies like we have, but even then a lot of the people he falls in with over the course of BBS are pretty blatantly suspicious. A lot of people put this on him as a personal failing, but I’d argue that a good deal of that falls on Eraqus, his fucking teacher-dad who was supposed to help keep him safe and know how to keep himself safe.

Although, in all fairness, this may be a skill Eraqus lacks, too, as he hangs out with Xehanort.

Still, though, Terra seems to trust people (especially authority figures) with an almost unnatural absoluteness in most circumstances (ie, any time outside of that scene where he saves Ven from Eraqus), which plays into my next point.

Terra is ridiculously hard on himself.

Terra: *makes one mistake while acting in self defense* Terra, literally: “I can never go home” (in the scene it’s a bit more obvious, but it’s implied that his thought process is that Eraqus would never accept him home after, yknow, him making a literal mistake)

Xehanort kills Eraqus, but who does Terra blame? His own damn self, to the point of telling Aqua that he Terra killed Eraqus, rather than that Xehanort who literally killed Eraqus did it.

Where did Terra’s darkness come from, anyways?

We don’t really have a solid idea of how hearts and light and darkness work in Kingdom Hearts (despite how often they’re brought up) but darkness at least seems to be pretty heavily sourced from negative emotions (Ansem SOD possessing Riku via him being upset about Sora not needing him, Vanitas’ entire character, etc.)

So. Terra’s darkness. Terra has enough negative emotion for it to apparently be a palpable problem that we are concerned about. Like, does he have a genetic predisposition to depression or anxiety or something? Are there any therapists in the Land of Departure? What’s going on there

Terra has so much going on emotionally that he literally gets possessed. He needs some milk therapy

Aqua

Aqua is the golden child and the eldest daughter and it. fucks. her. up.

She’s two years younger than Terra but she’s taking the Mark of Mastery at the same time as him. Did she just start at the same time as him? Why did she start so young? this is ridiculous

She absolutely puts herself in a caretaker role (definitely to a higher degree with Ven, but also with Terra at times). Her fellow apprentices are almost more her responsibility than Eraqus’ at times, which should absolutely not be the case. My girl is 18 in BBS she is too young to be raising a 16y/o boy and a 20y/o man.

What parental stuff does Eraqus do on screen? “Terra, you are like a son to me” fuckin act like it then

If anything Eraqus encourages this thought process and behavior when he tells her to keep an eye on Terra as he sends the two of them off to punch monsters. This aint healthy man. shut up

Even when she’s hanging out in the realm of darkness for a hot decade her focus is less on taking care of herself and more on getting back to Terra and Ventus because she feels so obligated to take care of them

She’s only IN the realm of darkness in the first place because she hopped in to save Terra, who was kind of. hella possessed and evil at the time.

I feel like this actually shows up in her game mechanics as well. She’s a glass cannon. She’s out here solving other peoples problems and killing monsters like a champ but shes got no health bc shes not taking care of her own needs.

All of Aqua’s problems really fall under that one category but hoo boy it is a doozy huh

Ventus

im going back and getting the exact dialogue for this part because holy shit

Eraqus: “Ventus, you’re alone? I thought Aqua would-- Well, what matters is that you’re home. You don’t belong outside this world yet. You need to stay here, where you can learn--” Ventus: “In your prison?” Eraqus: “What?” Ventus: “That’s your excuse... for keeping me imprisoned here, isn’t it?” Eraqus: “What did you hear?” Ventus: “That I’m supposed to be some weapon... Some kind of... ‘X-blade”!” Eraqus: “I knew it. Xehanort-- He could never let it go.” [pause for flashback] Eraqus: “I failed. I had the chance to stop him and couldn’t do it. But I will not fail again.” [Eraqus summons his fucking keyblade to kill a child] Ventus: “Master! What are you...” Eraqus: “The X-Blade has no place in this or any world. Xehanort has made his purpose clear... and I am left with no choice. Forgive me... But you must exist no more.” [Terra steps in and saves Ventus.] Eraqus: “What?” Terra: “Master, have you gone mad?” Eraqus: “Terra! I command you-- step aside!” Terra: “No!” Eraqus: “You will not heed your Master?” Terra: “I won’t!” Eraqus: “Why do all my attempts to reach you fail?” [side note: this is its own fuckin loaded statement but its in terms of his effect on Terra’s own self doubt rather than what Ventus is up to] “If you don’t have it in your heart to obey... then you will have to share Ventus’s fate.” [Terra and Eraqus begin to fight] Ventus: “Enough, Terra! He’s right...”

Or, tl;dr, Ven literally believes he should fuckin die just bc Eraqus said so. What the FUCK

Ventus: hey did you know about this Eraqus: yes. die Ventus: shit ok

Things to keep in mind:

Ventus has about 4 years of cumulative memory due to magic heart shenanigan induced amnesia

Eraqus was technically responsible for him this whole time, and claimed to Ventus (getting Terra and Aqua to lie about this, BY THE WAY) that this had been the arrangement since forever.

Xehanort and Yen Sid

Xehanort

Okay, we can’t blame Eraqus for Xehanort being evil as shit and we’re probably gonna get more info on that in the new Xehanort game, but. Eraqus fucking cheats at fantasy chess. Probably didn’t contribute that much to Xehanort’s darkness problem, sure, but probably didn’t help at all, either.

Yen Sid

Dude just lives in his tower. doing jack shit. making Sora and Riku teach themselves during their final exam. Making Merlin teach Kairi and Lea. do something my guy you’re irrevocably caught up anime drama anyways

this is the joke section. to lighten the mood after talking about the whole child murder thing

And then Eraqus had literally no direct effect on anyone else in the whole ass series. His entire impact was literally negative. I hate him

[nadziejastar]

Imo I just wished the KH-series would give thier characters the freedom to form bonds with other characters outside of thier respective crews (SRK and TAV e.g), instead KH3 had to bring Roxas and Xion back as seperate people from Ventus and Kairi to form RAX again because Fanservice and Lea and Isa being forced into a trio with obviouslySkuld, it's a huge flaw in the series these days.

“Oh, Xehanort. Is your research going well?” Ansem smiled at Xehanort, who was bad at showing his emotions.

“That’s the case, but…”

“Well here, eat an ice cream.” Cutting off Xehanort, who seemed as though he was about to ask something about research, Ansem took an ice cream out of the fridge at his feet, and held it out.

“No, I…”

“We need sugar in order to fuel our thinking in order to research necessarily. Now, are you going to eat a Sea Salt ice cream too?”

Xehanort, upon receipt of the ice cream, reluctantly nibbled a bite on the spot. His brow raised slightly, showing reluctance. But Xehanort, couldn’t hate Sea Salt ice cream.

Me too. That’s one of the things I was looking forward to most. There was so much potential there to form connections outside the trios. I was thinking about how much we missed out on just by not exploring the experiments in Radiant Garden. There’s a lot, so I’ll put in under a cut.

As we saw from Blank Points, Terra was the front personality when he first became an apprentice. There are many parallels between Eraqus and Ansem the Wise. Both are kind father figures who had a sweet tooth. And both were very vigilant about darkness lurking in the heart.

It would have been so nice to see that relationship develop and for Terra to form a bond with Ansem the Wise after all the chaos was over. In KH3, Apprentice Xehanort reunited with Ansem the Wise, and even with Aqua present, it was all about the new mystery girl. There was nothing interesting said about the existing characters or their relationships. It was just used to connect to KHUX.

Kairi got robbed. With Xion and Roxas back, she gets no relationship with Ventus. Her friendship with Lea didn’t matter anymore once Xion was back. She met Aqua, which gets only a passing mention. They’re gonna show her more of her childhood in MoM, but how much are they gonna try and make it revolve around the new KHUX stuff now? I doubt they’re gonna show much of the stuff I’d really like to see.

Kairi, a resident of Radiant Garden over which I had ruled, was one of the Seven Princesses that uphold the realm of light. With no darkness in her heart, Kairi produced no Heartless, and instead of vanishing, her body remained in the realm of light.

I would have liked to see Kairi develop a bond with Terra. Ansem was familiar with her. She and her grandma apparently were regular visitors at the castle, most likely because she was special and Ansem was intrigued by her. So it’s totally believable that Xehanort (back when Terra’s personality was still in control) would have been acquainted with Kairi, too.

I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world... I wish I could soar off and find out! Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow. But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place.

Terra is really sweet. I’m sure Kairi would have liked him. It would have been cute to see her bond with him like a big brother. And since Terra got along so well with other pure-hearted characters (Cinderella and Ven) I’m sure he’d like her, too. Then one day, he changed out of nowhere and became a different person. He horribly abused her and sent her away from her home. And it all started when he began to feel curious about other worlds.

I sit on the sandy beach, looking up at Kairi, who’s standing.

“You ever want to go back?”

“Hmm…Well, I’m happy here —” Kairi stares out at the ocean, her face unreadable. It doesn’t look lonely or sad or even happy, but her face is expressing something. Kairi wears this expression often. “But, you know...I wouldn’t mind going to see it.”

I think Kairi did remember at least some of her past. Like the memory Sora sees of her and her grandma in the castle. Maybe she didn’t remember everything, but enough bits and pieces for her to not wanna talk about it.

I've chosen a girl. I don't know if she holds the princesses' powers, but I will find out. She may lead me to the key bearer.I shall set her free and observe.

Kairi was put inside the ark and “set free”, arriving on Destiny Islands.  

Beyond this world is a place in which darkness reigns. (Details shall be archived in a separate report.)There are many worlds in existence, some of which we know nothing about. The world in which we live. The realm of Darkness. The realm of Light.

I imagine that this ark existed in the realm of darkness, accessible through the computer’s Datascape, the D.T.D.

“Where does the body go when it separates from the heart? If the soul remains within the body, is it still considered to be deceased? When the heart returns to the Heartless, the physical form disappears. But that is merely true in this world. Perhaps the body exists in another form in another world.” 

Inside those pods, the apprentices gave up their hearts, and their Nobodies were reborn in the realm of light.

“While pursuing the truth, I became acquainted with an unusual entity. It is the soul and body left behind when a being loses its heart. When a Heartless is born, this entity disappears from the realm of light to be reborn as an entirely new being in another realm.”

Lea wasn’t an apprentice, but he chose to give up his heart willingly alongside them so he could bring Isa back. The “D.T.D” reminded him of being inside that ark. It’s very possible that Lea and Isa and Kairi all lost their hearts inside that ark at the same time.

Naminé: I was lonely for so long. I just couldn't bear it anymore.

Naminé was Kairi’s shadow, the other side of her heart. She was lonely.

Nomura: I like the scene in KHI, when she watches the sunset with Sora, and tells him not to change. I thought it showed very well her anxiety and loneliness over how as we get older we find a distance growing between us and our close friends.

Kairi was lonely, too. If you actually develop Kairi and explore her hidden loneliness, then suddenly Naminé doesn’t feel like a separate character anymore. She feels like a part of Kairi’s heart. Terra changed into Xehanort and Kairi lost everything in life. She never wanted to go through that pain again. But now, Riku is showing similar traits, being obsessed with other worlds and growing distant. Kairi is scared he’s going to change, too.

Talking to Roxas and Xion always brings back memories of my human life, back when I was a kid. It's a weird sensation. I ought to be able to share all this with Saïx, but I just don't feel like it anymore. It's strange, but I'm content with just missing what's gone. I'm not the one who changed. You did.

Watching the sunset was such a key memory for Kairi because it hinted at her anxiety and loneliness. That pain was meant to be part of her character arc in KH3. She was always so drawn to Sora because she felt like he was the type who would never change. And that was something Kairi had in common with Lea. Lea’s loneliness was also caused by the experiments, when Isa changed into Xehanort.

Axel: We've got something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss someone we care about. Hey, I feel like we're friends already.

If you showed everyone’s FULL backstory in Radiant Garden, you can develop a much, much deeper connection between everyone. If you actually took the time to do this, you wouldn’t need all these separate clones. KH3 brings back all the clones and introduces more KHUX characters, but it doesn’t make up for how shallow everyone felt. 

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Lost Princess Chapter 40

Warnings: do I even have to tell you?

Rating: SFW

Yui and Roxy had arrived at Hollow Bastion and began searching for you. They looked all over town but could not find you. But they weren’t about to give up. As they were scanning the town, a Dark Corridor opened up. 

“I thought that you were searching for the Spirit,” their father said. 

“We are. We know that she’s here, we just don’t know where,” Yui said. 

“Heh, she’s probably with that boy toy of her’s,” Roxy said. 

“Whatever. If she is with the Keyblade wielder, then I’ll take care of it.” Their father walked back into the Dark Corridor and disappeared. 

“Tch, does he always have to ruin our fun?” Roxy asked. 

“You know that he has good reason to do so,” Yui said. Roxy grumbled something under her breath and the two of them disappeared. 

You and the trio had arrived in Hollow Bastion, where the town was bustling with activity. Moogles were flying through the air selling items, and people were at work trying to rebuild the town. You, Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran in and gazed at the castle in the midst of rebuilding.

“It's Hollow Bastion!” Sora said. 

“Gawrsh, it looks kinda different now,” Goofy said. 

“I hope Leon and the gang are doing okay,” Donald said. Goofy saw some Soldier Heartless on the roof of a nearby building.

“Uh-oh. Looks like we're gonna have to do some fightin',” he said. You and the trio ran over to the building and took care of the Heartless. You, Sora and company walked through the Marketplace and spotted an elderly duck holding some ice cream near a freezer.

“Uncle Scrooge!?” Donald asked. 

“Er, who?” you asked. 

“He's Donald's uncle---a business typhoon! Before the Heartless showed up, he traveled the worlds on a Gummi Ship with the King. He was helpin' to set up a traffic system,” Goofy said. 

“Transit system!” Donald corrected. 

“What's all the racket?” Scrooge asked. He turned around and spotted you four.

“Why, if it isn't Donald! And Goofy! Hello, lads! Aye, you all look hale and hearty!” he said. 

“So do you, Uncle Scrooge,” Donald said. 

“Ah, if only I were... I canna seem to recreate my favorite old-time ice cream. I'd make millions if I just got it right...” Scrooge looked at the ice cream bar in his hand, licked it, and looked disgusted.

“Terrible...!” he said. You, Sora, Donald, and Goofy made your way to the Borough, where some odd light pedestals appeared and disappeared, as if scanning for something.

“Hey, what's going on?” Donald asked. 

“That's the town's defense mechanism.” The four of you turned around and saw Yuffie on top of a building.

“Yuffie!” you and Sora said. Yuffie waved slightly, and saw something behind you four.

“Look out!” she said. Sora's Keyblade flashed into his hands as a Dusk swooped in to hit him. The four of you were quickly surrounded by Nobodies. The four of you disposed of them, and the defense mechanism also helped.

“Hey, you guys!” Yuffie said as she hopped down to the four of you.

“I see you're still in top form,” she said.

“What'd you expect?” you smiled. 

“Looks like you're doing okay,” Sora said. 

“Well, what did YOU expect?” 

“How are the others?” Donald asked. 

“Great!”

“Hey, Yuffie! Have you seen the King and Riku?” you asked.

“Nope.” She started to walk off toward Merlin's House.

“But I had a feeling I'd see you guys again,” she said. 

“‘We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other,’” Sora said as he imitated Leon.

“Is that supposed to be Leon?” You, Donald, and Goofy laughed.

“Everybody's working on stuff over at Merlin's house. C'mon!” Yuffie said. Yuffie ran around the corner. You and the trio followed her and entered Merlin's House. Cid was typing at a computer, while Aerith and Leon watched.

“Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!” Yuffie said.

“We missed you!” Aerith said. 

“Well, if you ain't in top shape,” Cid said. 

“I knew it,” Leon said. 

“Knew what?” you asked. 

“A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time.”

“You...remembered? Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us!?” Sora said. 

“Thanks!” Donald said, annoyed.

“So where've you guys been all this time?” Yuffie asked. 

“We were sleepin',’ Goofy said. 

“Where? In cold storage?” Cid asked. You and the trio acted nervously. 

“It doesn't matter. This is great. Everyone's together again!” Aerith said. 

“So, um...we're trying to find Riku and the King. Have you seen 'em?” you said. Leon, Aerith, and Cid shook their heads.

“Right. Um, do you know anything about Spirits and where they come from?” you said. They shook their heads again.

“Sorry. But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?” Aerith said.

“Okay. Thanks,” Sora said. Cid got up in you and Sora's face.

“Don't go thankin' us just yet,” he said. 

“Hollow Bastion's got a problem. A big problem,” Leon said. 

“You mean, like Nobodies? And Heartless?” you asked. 

“That's right!” Yuffie said. 

“Sounds like you could use our help,” Sora said. 

“Then let's cut to the chase. (Y/N), Sora, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the four of you might give us a hand around here,” Leon said. Sora patted his chest proudly.

“Like we're gonna say, no?” he asked. 

“...I forgot who I'm dealing with,” Leon said. 

“Hey...what do you mean by that?” Donald asked. 

“Just think of it as a sort of ‘Leon compliment,’” Aerith said. Leon opened the door.

“Follow me to the bailey---there's something you need to see,” he said as he left and Merlin appeared. 

“Oh! I thought it was you. Right on time!” Merlin said. 

“It's Merlin!” Donald said. 

“Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!” Yuffie said. 

“Splendid! We'll count on you!” Merlin said. 

“Right!” you and the trio said.

“Ah, yes. Did you give them the cards, dear?” 

“Oh!” Aerith said. She took out four cards from her dress.

“Here...they're presents for you. Leon thought you might like to have them,” she said. You took one of the cards and flipped it so you could read it.

“Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!” you said.

“Membership cards!” Donald said. 

“Sweet!” Sora said. 

“Kinda cool, huh?” Goofy asked. You, Donald, and Sora nodded.

“Hey, thanks, Leahhh...huh?” Sora said. He turned around to the door and saw that Leon was gone.

“Oh no! We're supposed to be at the bailey!” you said. 

“Just a moment, you two. What about your magic?” Merlin said.

“Huh? Oh, that's right...” Sora said as he crossed his arms.

“Maybe you forgot it while you were asleep!” Yuffie said. 

“Now, what am I to do with you? I suppose I'll have to lend you a few spells. But be careful with them!” Merlin said. 

“Thanks, Merlin!” Sora said. 

“What about you, (Y/N)? Do you need some spells too?” 

“Actually, I can summon a guardian when I want to!” you said. 

“Oh! Well, it seems that you’re in good hands then.”

“To the bailey, and fast!” Donald said. you, Sora, and company reached the bailey, and saw Leon looking over the edge at the dark castle far in the distance.

“Look at that,” he said. You and Sora gasped.

“We want to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be. Who knows---maybe even something better. There's still a lot to do, but I'm sure we can handle everything--- Except...for that...” Leon said as he pointed to the castle, then pointed to two Dusks walking in the direction of the castle.

“...and that,” he said. 

“We'll handle 'em!” Sora said. 

“Well, that's good to hear. So Sora, (Y/N)---do you know what's going on, then?”

“There's this guy, Pete, who's been going around plotting with the Heartless. But he's not smart enough to tie his own shoes. The ones we need to worry about are the Nobodies. And there’s two Spirits that I need to take care of,” you said. 

“Two Spirits? Interesting.”

“And don’t forget about those Organization XIII guys in charge, too!” Goofy said.

“You called?” someone said. All five of you looked around and saw no one. You and Sora ran out into an open area.

“You're doing well,” the person said. 

“Who's that!?” Sora asked as he unsheathed his Keyblade.

“See dad? I told you the Spirit will be with the Keyblade wielder,” a girl said.

“This calls for a celebration...” Several Dusks had appeared. Leon readied his Gunblade. You and Sora chased the Dusks through the bailey. The gate to the inside closed. You, Sora, and Leon helped keep the Nobodies away from the gate.

“The Keyblade...a truly marvelous weapon. Were it only in more...capable hands...” the person said. A group of six people laughed including two girls.

“Show yourselves!” you said. Six cloaked figures appeared and the central one raised his arms while two girls sat in front of them, smirking.

“Organization XIII!” Goofy said. 

“Good! Now we can settle this!” Sora said.

“What a shame... And here I thought we could be friends. Yui, Roxy. You know what to do,” the central figure said. 

“You got it!” Roxy said. The two girls disappeared and reappeared behind you. 

“Surprise!” Yui said. You felt them grab your arms, giving you no way to grab your dagger.

“(Y/N)!” Sora yelled.

“Sora, help!” you said. The two girls took you through a Dark Corridor and disappeared. The figures disappeared with a laugh.

“Stop!” Donald said. He ran to a set of stairs and a single cloaked man appeared before them.

“What's the big idea!?” Donald asked. 

“Oopsy-daisy!” the man said. 

“Move!” Sora said. 

“Now, do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?”

“I said get outta the way!”

“As if! You can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing.”

“Then we're gonna MAKE you move!” Donald said. 

“See, that would work---if I were just any old dude. 'Cept I'm not. I'm with the Organization. Nothing ‘any old’ about me.” (really?! how do explain the whole luxu thing then?!)

“Ha! Tough talk for someone who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkeys did the fighting!” Sora said.

“Oh, dear. I think you got the wrong impression.” The hooded man wagged a finger at Sora.

“You gonna cry?” Sora asked. 

“As if! Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?”

“Remind me?” Sora snapped out of it, causing the man to laugh.

“That's RIGHT, he used to give me that same exact look,” the man said. 

“I guess you think you can psych me out by saying really random stuff!” Sora said.

“Gee... I just don't know.” The man spread his arms open as if challenging them to strike him. He soon gave up.

“Ugh, you guys are boring,” he said. 

“What did you do to (Y/N)?” Sora asked. 

“Me? Oh, you’re accusing the wrong person here. That was all Yui and Roxy. The Superior’s daughters. They have the power of a spirit as well. So, they needed (Y/N) to help complete their powers.”

“What do you mean by that?” Sora asked. 

“Can’t say. But I do know that those girls will take good care of your precious (Y/N). They’re not that mean, you know.” He looked at them and waved.

“Be a good boy now!” he said. 

“Wait!” Donald said. The man disappeared as Donald tried to jump on him.

“Nuts! He got away!” Donald said. 

“That was weird. WHO gave him the same look? And what did he mean by taking care of (Y/N)’s powers?” Sora said. 

“Y'know, I think he was just tryin' to confuse ya,” Goofy said.

“Yeah, you're right. Only one me!” Sora took out his membership card and read it.

“The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member---” he said. The card began to glow. Sora gasped and let go of it. It floated in the air to everyone's amazement. The Keyblade started to glow as well.

“Huh?” Sora asked. 

“What's this?” Leon asked. 

“Gawrsh, ya think...?” Goofy asked. Light flashed from the Keyblade and the card. Wind blew through Sora's clothes and hair as a crown symbol appeared on the ground beneath him. The card revealed a Keyhole and Sora locked it, opening a gateway.

“Ohh...now I get it. That must've been the gate Yen Sid talked about,” he said.

“Oh boy!” Donald said. 

“Sorry to run, Leon, but other worlds are calling. And I have to save (Y/N) from the Organization,” Sora said. Leon nodded.

“Organization XIII... They look tough. Be careful out there,” he said. 

“See ya soon.” Leon saluted them. Sora's group reboarded the Gummi Ship and noticed that their map had changed.

“Hey! What happened to Twilight Town?” Chip said.

“It's gone!” Dale said. Sora piloted the Gummi Ship through the Asteroid Sweep to the Land of Dragons.

“Don’t worry, (Y/N). I’ll save you,” he said. 

To be continued...

[smartzelda]

An Essay (mostly for Soriku shippers looking through the Sokai lens)

So first, before you read this, I would suggest checking out my post on the Sokai vs Soriku lenses (https://smartzelda.tumblr.com/post/189934176949/trying-on-different-lenses)

One off, honestly from what I've learned this year, multiple Sokai scenes aren't as romantic as they seem to be either on the surface or because of mistranslation, and there's not much Sokai in any of the games really. The Sokai really comes up and hits you in the face, and it's because Sora will just not mention it even think of Kairi for length at a time, and then suddenly there's a parallel made in Sora's head (looking at you kh2), but even then, after kh2, that doesn't happen anymore. Kh1 is praised as the best game for Sokai, and that's valid. There's Sora wanting to share a paopu, Sora and Kairi promising to see each other again, Kairi giving Sora the lucky charm as a promise they would find each other, and even Kairi finishing the paopu drawing and crying when looking at it. Though, I would not go as far to say that Sora is completely in love with Kairi. First of all, it's because Sora confirms that he doesn't know what love is in kh3, and two, there's not much suggesting Sora's in love with her, and I'll explain why. After destiny islands falls to darkness and Sora lands in traverse town, he spends a couple worlds asking people where Kairi AND Riku are. Throughout the game, except for a parallel or two (though I can't remember if there are any or not) maybe, he expresses his concern for both Kairi and Riku. He doesn't start to switch gears on that till Riku proves he's on the side of the enemy, but even then Sora tries to reason with him so he can get his friend back. Sora does not care for love in this game really. If anything, he cares for his friends. Now, you're probably wondering why I didn't include a few scenes, and it's simple. I didn't include Sora stabbing himself in the heart because it can easily be taken as something different than "an act of true love". As I stated, Sora makes it clear that he cares a lot more for friendship in this game. Riku's possessed by Ansem, and he wants to save Kairi, so it's no biggie that he sacrifices himself for a friend because he would do it for any of his friends. We know that. You probably wonder too why I didn't add Kairi hugging Sora as love on Sora's part, and that's simple too. It could have been on Kairi's part, but Sora confirms in Twilight Town in kh3 that it was the light from Donald, Goofy, and Kairi and their wants for his return that brought him back. It was not simply Kairi's love that brought him back from being a heartless. We could say that Kairi's in love with Sora, but based on the evidence, there's no way Sora's in love with Kairi at this point of kh1, and even if he was, he could not identify it. But because of a couple scenes and the fact that Kairi is Sora's light in this game, I would say he has a crush on her. Also, I'm going to add that he easily could've hopped the gap and gone with Kairi to destiny islands, but because he cares about having his friends all together over just being like "yeah I love you" and going with Kairi, he decides to go find Riku because what he wants is for the three if them to be together again.

Now onto Chain of memories. This game is also attributed to being a Sokai game because people look at it and go, "Well, Naminé replaced Kairi in Sora's memories and Sora is in love with Naminé at the end meaning that he's in love with Kairi", which is not the case. At the beginning when Sora is let into the castle, Sora answers Marluxia's question of who he misses with Riku. We can argue on that forever on why he said that, but I'm still arguing that he can miss Kairi whether she's safe or not and still miss her, even if he misses Riku too and is looking for Riku. He has been apart from both of them for nearly the same amount of time, and if he was in love with her, he probably either would've said both their names, or just Kairi's, but again, that's just my argument. So, continuing on, I admit that during the worlds, Sora does look at the lucky charm and talk about Kairi. However, the beginning of this game still keeps Sora's goal of finding Riku and bringing his friends back solid. Even when Naminé enters Sora's memories initially, his want to find her is because

1. According to his memories she just disappeared

And 2. He can't believe he forgot a friend and wants to find her and make it up to her.

Then, even when Naminé does replace Kairi in Sora's memories initially, he just has a want to find her because she's in danger. When he talks to Repliku and Repliku pushes him away, he acts a lot like kh1 Riku did. Repliku pretends like he loves her and that he's gonna go find her because he wants to drill into Sora that now he's gonna be alone. Initially, Repliku does this to get his feelings across that he feels like Sora left him alone (leftover from Riku's memories) and never cared about him or his feelings. This is where it takes a turn for the different though. Obviously, just switching Kairi with Naminé in Sora's memories does not make him in love with her. No, there's a very specific memory mentioned that marks a sort of turning point for how Sora acts. This is a key memory that relates to why Sora is in love with Naminé (and Riku, but I'll explain). Before this, Sora's trying to get Riku back as his friend. He tries to spur Riku (repliku) to go with him to save Naminé because he wants them all to be friends again. Things don't escalate further, make any idea of bringing Repliku over to his side unattainable, until the meteor shower promise memory comes up.

So anyways, the meteor shower promise is a key memory. Before this memory comes up, Repliku is much like kh1 Riku. He uses Naminé to get to Sora. To get his feelings of being abandoned and left behind by Sora across, he says stuff like "she doesn't wanna see your face" or "you never cared about her feelings", then it slips out that he's probably talking about his own feelings under the guise of Naminé's feelings because he says "you never cared" and "you're always trying to worm your way into my heart". So obviously, he's mad at being abandoned by Sora and is trying to get all that across, but is also trying to get Sora to feel alone cause "look, now you're alone because Naminé and I are together." This is basically what kh1 Riku does with Kairi, and Nomura confirms in the kh1 ultimania that it's not due to love that Riku tries to save Kairi, but because of his feelings of guilt. Kh1 Riku also uses Kairi to get Sora to feel alone and, get across how he feels about being abandoned, and to get Sora back onto his side, thinking about and focusing on him. There's a switch between Repliku's attitude when the meteor shower memory comes up, and neither of them are in love with Naminé until this memory enters. Maybe Sora has a crush on Naminé before this, but as with in kh1 he cares more about friendship than anything else, and he's not in love with her until the meteor shower promise is a memory of her and him. Same with Repliku, after the promise comes up, his attitude changes, and it's clear that he really could care less about Sora (again, I'll explain more of Repliku's side later) and only wants to protect Naminé. There's something interesting, funny even, about this promise, and it's because there's no way this is a memory where Naminé simply replaced Kairi. It's not because Naminé created the memory completely because when she expresses how terrible she feels for what she did, she assures Sora that she didn't create any new memories. The reason that this memory that spurs Sora and Repliku to love Naminé can't have been one with Kairi in it is because the promise was the night of the meteor shower, and Kairi arrived that night. And it can't be that Riku and Sora met her that night because kh1 brings up a memory of Riku and Sora's where they discover the secret place for the first time, and in this scene, Sora asks if he's heard about Kairi, the new girl, the mayor's daughter, wondering if Riku's heard anything about her because they've only heard of her. They knew she came the night of the meteor shower, but had never seen her. This means that the meteor shower promise had to have been between Sora and Riku. Funny that it's not just Naminé replacing Kairi that gets Sora to fall in love with her, but her finally replacing Riku in a key memory. Maybe he has feelings of love from his memories, but even though he knows it's fake now, he still uses that promise to assure her that he'll protect her, and after she does confesses that, he also shifts back to his more friendship approach. He wants to bring Naminé AND Repliku out of it safely, no matter what's happened (don't get me started with Sora telling Repliku that he's his own person with his own heart and feelings and Repliku telling him that he can tell Sora's feelings are genuine and that he can feel them). Sora probably doesn't remember the meteor shower promise after CoM because of the whole memory thing, but because Sora doesn't remember much from when he was so little, it's safe to say that the meteor shower promise was a memory stuck down in his heart and that he has more important memories stuck in the darkness of his heart like Naminé said. Now, it's safe to say that after a symbolism thing, Kairi is still Sora's light cause they do a light tunnel where Riku's to the side and the light shines through Kairi, however, I again would say that his feelings for Kairi are not of love, but a crush.

So, back to Repliku's side, it's obvious at the beginning that Kairi is replaced in his memory with Naminé as well, but he doesn't actually love her, doesn't switch from kh1 Riku acting towards Sora till the meteor shower promise. Basically, he doesn't love Naminé until Sora is essentially the Kairi of his memories and Naminé is the Sora of his memories. Riku has been shown in the future, time and time again, to put others aside, do bad things to people, for the sake of keeping Sora safe or bringing him back. So when Sora is replaced by Naminé in this key memory of Riku's original memories, Repliku could care less about Sora as long as Naminé is safe, and this is illustrated by his switch in not acting like kh1 Riku towards Sora anymore. After this switch, he makes it clear he does not care about Sora and even goes to attack him, fight him, for Naminé's sake before Naminé puts him down with her power. So, again, it's telling that to finally get either one in love with her, Naminé had to replace the other in a key memory of Sora and Riku's

So, now we got days. I'm giving Kairi a pass on not remembering Sora for a year because she at least knew that something was missing. She knew that there was someone besides Kairi and she didn't completely forget. However, it is also telling for Riku how even though he doesn't completely remember Sora, he holds onto his memory of him and his want to protect and bring him back so hard that he remembers that. He still has memories of Sora. This game is also hailed to be a "look a Sokai game" for a couple reasons. First, people take when Riku says that Kairi's most important to Sora. They take it as a "look, even Riku confirms he loves her" when in fact that might not be exactly what's going on. Sure Riku says that, but if he has no hope at all of Sora liking him like that after kh1 and thinks he's in love with Kairi based on his own anxiety of what he did to Sora and what he saw with Sora putting her over him at times and knowing he has a crush, of course he would say that. He would have no hope of Sora liking him and would think he could only love Kairi. He would even suggest that at that point because it's his dark period and he feels like his own presence is bad to Sora and Kairi and Sora deserve each other after what he's done. We also know that you can't take everything a character says at face value because in kh3 Sora and Riku think and even say that Dark Riku IS Riku from when he's possessed by Ansem before it actually comes out that they were wrong and that Dark Riku in the keyblade graveyard is another version of Repliku. So really, it's not that far fetched to think that Riku saying Kairi is Sora's most important person may be a misled observervation or even something he says based on his own anxiety rather than the complete truth. Another is the existence of Xion. Naminé says in com that Sora has to recover memories most important to him to wake up. All these memories involve Kairi, hence Xion's appearance. However, I would argue that these memories would be important to Sora whether it was Kairi or Riku or someone in them. Many are likely important because he lost them and some are for key development (Imma touch on this later again). Not all of these memories are strictly Sora and Kairi only memories since Naminé implanted herself in every instance of Kairi in those memories. Naminé has Sora hold onto the idea of Kairi because since Kairi is the thing missing in most of those memories, thinking about Kairi will return them to normal with Kairi in them. This has nothing to do with whether Kairi is Sora's most important person, so it doesn't mean too much that Xion looks like Kairi. The last reason people attribute Days as a Sokai game is because Rokushi. Yes, I'm serious. Don't get me wrong, I ship Rokushi, but they are not a Sokai clone. Roxas may be Sora's nobody, but he barely shares memories with him at that point and becomes a completely different person with different memories, a differentish personality, differentish motivations, and his own heart. Roxas doesn't care about Xion as much as he does because "she looks like Kairi and he's Sora". He cares about her because of their memories together. And on Xion's side, besides looking like Kairi, she's nothing like Kairi. If anything, she's a smarter Sora and based on Riku's observations in the days novel, she bears similar personality and anxiety stuff to Sora. Then, even then, as with Roxas, Xion is also her own person with her own heart. Whether Roxas and Xion get together or not have nothing to do with Sokai.

Now for kh2. It is indeed true during the Roxas section where Sora's memories are returning to him, they show memories with Kairi in them. Again, I would say it's because these memories with Kairi are the ones he lost due to Naminé's meddling, and it can't be because he's completely in love with Kairi because of one reason. During the tutorial, there's one last memory or memories Sora needs to wake up. We get through all the memories with Kairi, but that's not enough to wake him up. It takes one last memory that we don't see to wake him up, and based on CoM, I would attribute that to be the meteor shower promise between Sora and Riku in which Naminé messed with that memory and replaced Riku. Again, this is a key memory for Sora based on how it's the memory Naminé had to mess with to get Sora to love her and the final memory Sora needed to wake up at the beginning of kh2. In other words, you can say that those memories Sora needed to wake up are all Kairi because he loves her, but that doesn't take into account that Sora needed a key memory between him and Riku to finally wake up, and I doubt a Sokai fan would like to use Sora's important memories being of the person he loves if one of those memories is strictly a key one between him and Riku, so this further goes that Sora probably holds onto most of those memories because they were the ones that were tampered with and he lost because if the meteor shower memory wasn't a key memory and if Naminé hadn't messed with it, it would not have been a key memory to wake Sora up.

So, Sora wakes up and to his knowledge Kairi is safe on the islands. Now he just has to find Riku. So of course, he asks around, and you can tell this want to find Riku gets more and more desperate as it seems like he's not there and Mickey won't tell him what he knows. Every time he comes upon evidence that Riku's alive, he gets incredibly happy knowing that Riku's okay. Now, this is the game where Sora will bring Riku up, but it takes someone else bringing up a parallel or reminding him of Kairi to remember she exists. It takes being told that Kairi's in danger by the Twilight Town squad for him to try to look for her, and that's valid cause he thought she was safe before, but that still doesn't explain him barely mentioning her. That's why all the Sokai moments such as halloween town and potc are such a slap in the face because he doesn't mention her and BAM a love parallel. Even with these parallels though, it seems he's more holding onto the idea of her and his crush on her, rather than who she is now (I'll bring this up again). In Halloween town, yes he only knows her as a child, but he makes no attempt to age her up, showing he's holding onto and remembering her as who she was, not knowing who she is.

Okay, so now onto a very big attributed Sokai scene. The infamous begging scene. Usually it's attributed this way because on the surface summary, Sora begs on his knees before the enemy, begging to return Kairi, telling him that she's very important to him. That scene is very romantic, however, if you disregard everything about Sora. Again, Sora has shown multiple times that he cares more about friendship rn than a crush. Really, there's a couple things that bother me from that scene by just taking it as romance. First, is the way Saïx puts it to Sora. It's a common trope for villains to ask the hero how much they care about something, and the hero takes it as them needing to show how much they care when the villain is just going to hold onto the person/object the hero is seeking in the end, having meant it as the more the hero cares about the person or object, the more incentive the villain has to withhold that person or object. Sora cares deeply about each and every one of his friends, so it can very well be true that this isn't a romantic Sokai confirmation. It could be Kairi, Donald, Aladdin, or Goofy, if Sora thinks that Saïx isn't going to return a friend safely if he doesn't show that they mean the most to him, then he's going to beg his little heart out in hopes that it'll give a better chance of Saïx returning them safely, and I believe it's possible that that's what happened rather than "he begged because he loves her so much."

Okay, so say you don't believe me on the begging scene. That's fine. That's valid. I simply presented another way of looking at that scene. Now, I'm bringing up another infamous scene. It's the subject of many Sokai vs Soriku arguments and a lot of confusion. It's the kh2 reunion scene. So, as I discussed, under the Sokai lens this scene doesn't make a lot of sense. Sora hasn't seen Riku or Kairi in over a year and they are both his best friends, so why is there such a huge difference in his reactions to both of them in the reunion scene, especially considering those love parallels and the begging scene? Under that lens, Kairi is Sora's crush/he loves her, so why does he react that way? Some argue that Sora's reaction to Kairi is cute and Sora's flustered, but that probably isn't it. Kairi hugs him and Sora reacts like he did when Tron hugged him, uncomfortable just because he's not used to that, but as that hug continues, he never leans into it, comfortable, smiling. That uncomfortable look stays, and as Kairi's into the hug, smiling, glad that she's finally with Sora, Sora hesitantly brings his arms around her to hug her back. He nowhere near looks as comfortable and happy as Kairi does, squeezing him. Then, his reunion with Riku. He cries on his knees, and fine, you can say that it's just because they're best friends. I'll take it I guess. It is valid considering he could've been dead and Sora barely had evidence that he was alive and was holding onto that evidence very hard. But through this lens, an uncomfortable hug vs a heartfelt cry on the knees? Some fans have said it's because knowing Riku was there overshadowed his reunion with Kairi, but that's not true. He only knew Kairi was there during his reunion with her and didn't know Ansem was Riku until Kairi made it clear after his reunion with her. Some fans have said it's because Kairi's simply a crush and Riku's his best friend or that Sora knew Kairi was safe on the islands while he basically had no idea whether Riku was okay, but that's not true either. Kairi is Sora's best friend too, so "just a crush" is not an excuse. Also, he knew Kairi wasn't safe on the islands the whole time. He knew she had been in danger and had been captured by the enemy from the Twilight Town game and Saïx. So that's no excuse either. Some looking through the Sokai lens would rather just put it off as bad writing on Nomura's part because if Sokai is meant to be canon, then there's no other explanation. But, I'm going to take a different approach, look through a different lens. Remember before when I talked about Sora being "in love" with the idea of Kairi and who she was? Because Kairi's changed now, she grew up a whole year without Sora and Riku, and Sora's not much different than he was. So my explanation for the sudden shift in Sora's reaction to Kairi for this scene is...the whole time, Sora's been holding onto his crush, onto Kairi as she was, so when he sees her again and that hug ensues, he's shocked, uncomfortable, because this isn't the same Kairi. Kairi's changed. And I believe this is a turning point for his and Kairi's relationship through the series because now Sora has to cope with having to re get to know someone he used to know. He doesn't really have a crush on her anymore because he doesn't know this version of her, and this has to rebuild that friendship in a way. So, even if that begging scene is romantic, or even taking the romantic parallels into account, how he acts in the reunion scene shows that he was holding onto Kairi was, not taking into account that Kairi may be or is different now. And, this is not the first time a "sokai moment" has a different meaning, a more character growth and friendship oriented meaning if you don't look at it with the pretense that Sokai will be canon(Also, for anyone who's thinking about Donald anf Goofy's teasing, they will tease Sora like parents anytime about whoever they think his crush is. They tease Sora about Naminé on CoM, about Kairi in kh2, and Riku in kh3)

And after the reunion scene, there isn't any romantic parallels between Sora and Kairi in kh2 or even Sora seeming to have a crush on her. After this, there's like 3ish "Sokai scenes" I guess. I'll go in order.

First is the RokuNami = Sokai canon parallel that was done with Rokushi in days. There's a scene where Roxas and Naminé emerge from Sora and Kairi's hearts and have a talk. This is normally attributed as a romantic tragedy scene because people look at it as "oh gosh they'll never be human again but at least when Sora and Kairi are together they'll see each other again". But really, it's not that romantic when you look into it? Like, Naminé and Roxas talk about how at least they'll be able to see each other again as long as Sora and Kairi are together, but they kinda became friends sorta during before Sora wakes up and they're the only nobodies left. Naminé is Roxas's only living friend at this point. Roxas doesn't remember Xion, and Axel "died". Of course they'd wanna get to see each other again. They're the only ones. It really doesn't have to have a romantic meaning. Plus, there's no way Roxas and Naminé fell in love. Yeah he spent some moments with her in the beginning tutorial of the game, but it was a bond forged over Roxas wanting to know his past and what it means to be a nobody and Naminé wanting to make up for all the hurt, help him, and fulfill her promise of promise to Xion to protect him. Them becoming friends is plausible, but a few meetings isn't enough time to fall in love. People argue that Rokunami is canon because Sora and Kairi are in love, and that because Sokai is canon Rokunami is canon, and it doesn't make sense. The circular reasoning runs off the assumption of one pair being canon when neither have been confirmed canon by Nomura. Also, again, Roxas and Sora are not the same people. Roxas is "a Sora" but he's got a different heart, motivations, memories, etc like I said earlier. Similarly, Kairi and Naminé, although Naminé is closer to being Kairi than Roxas is Sora, are still their own people, with different hearts, and even Kairi mentions this in kh3. So like Rokushi, even if Naminé and Roxas happen to get together, it isn't a Sokai clone and it doesn't confirm Sokai.

The next one is sorta a Sokai scene? It's during when Riku and Sora are in the RoD on the beach and they receive Kairi's letter. I mean, it could be love on Sora's side? It really more shows the love on Kairi's side, especially since she wrote it while barely remembering Sora. I mean, it's true that after reading it, Sora's heart opens a door to the realm of light to the play island where Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey are. What's interesting though, is that that whole scene isn't framed as a Sora returning to Kairi thing really. Before they return to the realm, it puts focus on how Sora is taking Riku back with him, framing this as a finally Sora's with Riku and Kairi, together again. This whole thing is framed as a group reunion, not a "finally Sora and Kairi can be together". Then, they focus on Riku and Sora together dropping down into the ocean, then it focuses on individual reunions. It frames Sora and Riku by themselves before stepping through the door, then Mickey and Riku, then Sora, Donald, and Goofy, then Sora with Kairi, finally giving her back the good luck charm (effectively closing off the charm thing where Sora had to get to Kairi to bring it back, also symbolizing that Sora doesn't need it because now he, Kairi, and Riku are together again), then finally Roxas and Naminé, going back to them being able to see each other through Sora and Kairi and still be friends. Again, it's fraimed as a whole group reunion and Sora and Riku coming home, the trio being together again, not a Sokai reunion.

The last Sokai attributed scene is in the credits of kh2 when Sora returns to the secret place and sees the finished paopu scene drawing. It's hard to know exactly what Sora was thinking, but I still doubt it shows Sora being in love. Again, as I argued before, at this point since Kairi's different, him reacting or smiling at the action of Kairi having finished it as he does probably incites a reaction like that because the Kairi that did that is the Kairi he knew and had a crush on. The Kairi that did that is not the same Kairi he has to get to know now. Also, I think the fact that he smiled further shows that it probably was just a crush he had on her and not full on love in kh1. When Kairi sees that Sora did the paopu drawing and completed the drawing more at the end of kh1, she smiles and cries and it's heartfelt. When Sora sees that she completed it, he just kinda smiles after putting his hand on it. But then again, the fact that he traces his hand over it means he's probably reminiscing because before he finds that particular drawing, he traces his hand over other old drawings in the cave. Plus, reminiscing can also be attributed to him not having a crush on her anymore. I can look back to moments with my first crush and reminisce over old moments and even remember how it felt, but it doesn't mean that I still like that person that way. Also, I'm gonna add that after Sora bounds out of that cave, he goes over to where Riku is on the paopu tree, and they basically end up switching spots and watch either the sunset or sunrise for a moment together, not to mention that Riku would sit up there in kh1 and look at the sky alone, but Sora coming up there means he's not alone anymore and that their relationship has shifted to be closer than it was in kh1.

Okay, so there's basically one Sokai attributed scene in bbs since Sora and Riku are childhood best friends and they haven't met Kairi yet. It's when Aqua and Mickey save Kairi from the unversed. Aqua puts a spell on Kairi's necklace. Most take it as Aqua meant the spell to take her to "the person" meant to protect her as in someone who would be "her" true love. That's not what Aqua says. Aqua just says that it would lead Kairi to someone's light so they could keep her safe. Based on what Aqua says, this person is effectively any person with a heart of light with the power to keep her safe. Then, according to the Ansem reports, he set Kairi out in hopes that she would lead him to the keyblade weilder, which technically Riku was before Sora temporarily gained use of it in kh1. That means that Kairi could've been lead to the light of either Riku or Sora since they both had a strong light and Riku technically was the keyblade weilder, and based on what Aqua says, it doesn't have anything to do with love.

Recoded wise, Kairi appears like once I think? Really, there's no Sokai in this. Kairi's not present, so Data Sora's fretting over Data Riku like the real Sora does starting with CoM and Data Riku acts like days/prereunion Riku. Data Riku constantly apologizes, and when taken over by darkness/the bugs, tries to get Data Sora to leave him be. He'd rather take it all and alienate himself from Data Sora because, like days and prereunion Riku, thinks Data Sora better off without him. If anything, it shows how different things would have been if Kairi wasn't there.

DDD wise, Kairi literally appears like 3 times, and during blank points when Sora decides he's gonna leave with Riku to go to the tower, Kairi gives Sora the good luck charm again as a promise that he and Riku will come back, but unlike in CoM, he doesn't mention the good luck charm the whole time. About the times when Kairi appears, she appears once when Sora says "my friends are my power" while in the presence of Xigbar and Xemnas, and she appears along with the rest of the weilders and people Sora's connected too out of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the main cast of original characters. Another time, she and Riku appear, and Sora tries his hardest to catch up to both of them. Another time, she appears so young Xehanort can explain that the robed guy was there at the right time at that moment in kh1 when Kairi flies through Sora. Then, the final time, she appears in the secret ending so Nomura could reveal that her keyblade wielding was gonna be important for kh3. Besides those times, Kairi is not mentioned the whole time unless Riku happens to be talking about a time with Sora and Kairi or unless Sora happens to be talking about Kairi and Riku, and I can't remember a single time like that where they mention Kairi by name (though I could be wrong). They pretty much just refer to the other. Also, there are plenty love parallels in DDD, especially the hearts in tune scene, and none indicate Sora and Kairi. Every parallel you can make love or relationship wise in that game parallels to Sora and Riku. And, in the end, we don't even see if Sora brings that good luck charm back to Kairi. It's just not important or brought up in that game

So now, we're to kh3 territory (I skipped 0.2 because Riku and Kairi are there, and the only mention of Sora is Kairi telling Riku that he's more like Sora). I get how this one also seems like Sokai the game, but I would attribute that to the Eng version and its mistranslations. Also though, there's not many Sokai scenes in kh3 anyways, and many I could breakdown as not really being romantic as everyone says.

Literally, there's basically no Sokai the entire game until the paopu scene. So, the paopu scene. The first problem I have labeling it romantic is the framing of the scene. The scene starts out with Sora focused on Riku, even when Kairi says that they should leave him be and that he said he wanted to be alone. It takes Kairi shoving a paopu in Sora's face for him to shift his focus onto her. So then, similar to the reunion scene, Kairi shoves the paopu in his face and he moves back with a look uncomfortablility on his face, and that's valid because that's a valid reaction to having something shoved in your face, but like the reunion scene, that uncomfortable expression stays. Sora looks at the paopu and to Kairi uncomfortably until (in the jap version because the eng version mistranslated it with an obviously romantically slanted line) she just puts it off as a good luck charm. Because of bbs, we know that sharing a paopu can be a romantic or platonic. Based on Sora's knowledge of the paopu though, it's likely he sees Kairi handing him this paopu as a romantic advance. But, when faced with this romantic advance, again, he keeps that uncomfortable look until she just puts it off as something else. And when she puts it off as just a good luck charm, that's when he decides he's gonna share the fruit. If this scene was gonna be romantic, his uncomfortable face would've disappeared into comfortability and a smile after he processed looking at Kairi and the fruit. He would have easily been receptive off the bat. And again, it's not like he's flustered. That look, just like in the reunion scene, is a look of uncomfortablility, not being flustered. So, when Kairi puts the sharing off as something else other than romantic, a simple sharing, he becomes receptive, and they share the fruit, just like in the cave drawing...almost. During the creation of the cave drawing of the sharing, Sora was the one to share first, showing that at that time he wanted to share a paopu with Kairi. But in this scene, Kairi's the one who makes the move, and Sora's not interested in it till he knows it's not binding as a romantic sharing. Also, though they don't take a bite of the paopu in the cave drawing, if you look at that scene closely, Sora's the only one who takes a bite of the paopu. Kairi doesn't take a bite, and no matter how you look at it, if she had taken one, it would be clear to see based on how every point of the paopu is a curve. Now, relating back to the kh2 reunion scene, Sora hasn't had the time to reforge his friendship with Kairi. Maybe they get a week after 2 because in 3 the Twilight Town kids are still on vacation, but not enough time to get to know each other. So really, there's no way Sora's in love with Kairi during this scene because he still doesn't really know who she is yet. My vote is that the real significance of the scene is it's supposed to be a key point showing that now Sora and Kairi are going to rebuild their friendship (because Kairi loves Sora and Sora doesn't really know her anymore), and I'm gonna come back to this later. Also, I forgot to add the fact that the scene can't be a Sokai romance confirming because Sora just states a few worlds back that he's got a lot to learn about love, and I doubt he figured out enough to know whether he's in love with anyone in the span of a few worlds

So, the next scene is the scene where Sora hugs Kairi when Terranort goes to attack her. On the surface and out of context, this seems like, "Oooh how romantic. It's a true love sacrifice", but again, I'd argue that it's really not. First, in context, before Sora does this, Lea goes to protect Kairi, holding up his keyblade to block Terranort's attack, and it does no help because Terranort launches Lea back and goes to attack again. So, Sora could've gone to block the next attack, but he likely realized that wouldn't work because of what just happened to Lea, so he didn't do that. Again, Sora has been shown time and time again to be self sacrificial for his friends, so if blocking the attack doesn't work, and Sora really wants to keep all his friends safe, of course he would just be a meat shield, especially if that's the only option he sees that might work. Also, it can't be an act of true live for a couple reasons. The first is that there's no way he figured out love yet (it definitely would've had more of a focus if he had figured it out) and next is cause of the framing and emphasis of the scene. Acts of true love in kh3 such as Eugene and Rapunzel's and Elsa and Anna's are given emphasis, they feel climactic, the shot is directly focused on it. Sora's sacrifice in that moment doesn't seem much like that. Yeah there's some focus on it, but the focus and framing is put more on Goofy saving them both with his shield. Heck, emphasis and shot wise, Donald casting Zettaflare got more of the attention of a true love's sacrifice. Based on the way this moment is framed, if Sora had died for Kairi like that, it would have just felt pitiful, and definitely undeserving because Kairi just didn't fight back. It wouldn't have felt like an impactful true love sacrifice. Really, after looking into it, this scene is more of Sora being desperate to keep his friends all safe and being lucky Goofy was there to save him

The next scene attributed to being a Sokai moment is just before Riku's sacrifice (which has all that dramatic, climactic, true love sacrifice framing btw). Kairi gets swept up in the demon tide originally after meat shielding for Lea (again showing that meat shielding doesn't necessarily mean romance, especially if you're trying to keep all your friends safe), then pulls around again, reaching for Sora before getting swept back and Sora reaches for her too. Again, a moment that's like, "omg so romantic,"  but really, no? Sora just watched all of his friends, all the other keyblade weilders besides him and Riku get swept up and he reaches for Kairi in hopes that he can at least save somebody

Okay, so next is the light tunnel scene.  This is taken as another Sokai confirming moment cause on the surface it's like, "See! Kairi has been Sora's light all along! She saved him! They're holding hands!" I believe that's not how it is though. First off, Kairi does have a part in saving Sora so he can end up in the final world because Naminé does say that it was due to Kairi he endured, but that's not all. Sora's heart and body both endured in the final world, he just needed to piece himself back together to be whole and have a whole form. Now, we know that Sora's enduring was due to an act of true love, so Kairi must have performed one (even though there's no focus on what it was, so it's probably less important that Kairi did it and more important on who else), but who else may have allowed Sora's heart to endure? Who performs an act of true love for Sora, framing and all? Riku does. Riku's sacrifice has a lot of emphasis, focus, especially considering it happened twice literally, and a third time symbolically for the Final World world title screen (you can check the SRT for more detail on that). So, it's safe to say that Kairi held Sora's body, his form together, but it was because of Riku's sacrifice, telling Sora he believes in him (jap version cause in eng it's mistranslated to "you don't believe that"), that Sora's heart endured. So yeah, Kairi helped save Sora, but it wasn't all her. Now, as for Kairi being Sora's light (as in the light for Sora versus a light), I don't think so. There's more detail on this in the SRT, but after CoM, there's no symbolism for Kairi being Sora's light, and there are plenty of parallels, including exact ones, where Riku is shown to be Sora's light (such as on Sora's station of awakening at the beginning of kh3 when they do an exact, frame by frame, parallel of Riku=light with kh1's opening). You may say that she must be because Sora decides that (but again as with Riku thinking Dark Riku is him from the past taken over by Ansem, character's original thoughts can be wrong, and Kairi also never approves or denies Sora's statement of her being the light) or because she's there in the tunnel, but in the first instance of Sora's tunnel of light the person who is the light is not in the tunnel because they are the light, and they are the one presenting flashbacks, or the person who was the light was presented with the light shining through them. Kairi is in the tunnel with Sora, so that knocks off what happened in the first instance, but in the second instance, the light shined through Kairi. In kh3's tunnel scene, Kairi is spotted off to the side from the light and purposely has to eclipse the light to get Sora's attention. Then, I doubt Kairi gave Sora those visions cause of how she reacts. When Sora receives the visions of the true love sacrifice, she reacts to his reaction as if she had no idea he's getting the visions. To Kairi, she just feels Sora jolt, but when she looks back and sees he's fine, she just smiles, showing she's unaware. If she had purposely given him those visions, she would've probably expected his reaction to seeing the visions and would've initially looked back with a smile instead of concern. Sora also gets these visions from looking deep into the light, not at Kairi. Further that Kairi can't be the light is that she's in the tunnel, and besides when she eclipses the light, she doesn't have the light shining through her like that at all, instead, she's to the side, leading Sora to the light, but if that light IS Kairi, then there's no way she can follow herself, taking Sora with her. Kairi may be helping lead Sora TO the light, but there's no way she IS the light (again, this whole scene is detailed further and better in the SRT and I would suggest taking a look). Also, I would say that Kairi can't be Sora's guiding light rn, because he still doesn't know her as she is yet and still has to rebuild that friendship. About the handholding in that scene though and Sora's reaction to finding her though, first of all, she is leading him, she was the one who initiated the handholding, not Sora, and simple handholding doesn't automatically mean love (no matter how much heteronormativity drills into you that a girl and a guy holding hands = relationship, while two people of the same gender holding hands always equals friendship), and second, Sora wants all of his friends back, together, and alive so when everyone is saved but Kairi, and he can't find her, and finally finds her again, of course he's happy because he finally found her and all of his friends are okay and safe now.

Now, onto the scene where Xehanort kills Kairi. First, I'm going to add that Sora has a hero complex. Whenever a character is presented in danger and/or has a history of that, his reaction is to decide to protect them. Example A is Aqua. Aqua calls Sora out on it. Sora sees her weak, she had fallen to darkness, and his kneejerk reaction is to do all the work, to protect her and fight Vanitas when he shows up. Then, although Nomura has Sora show up for every battle in the keyblade graveyard to drive the story, it can also be telling of Sora's personality. Sora shows up to every battle because as Kairi says, this is their toughest battle yet, and just before he lost everyone in one fell swoop, so if he's there for every battle, he can protect all his friends and make sure he doesn't lose any. This also reaches back to example B, which is the paopu scene. Sora promises to keep Kairi safe. It could be attributed to him "being in love with her" (even though there's no way that's possible at this point), but it could also be his hero complex taking over. If there's anyone who's been kidnapped the most, shown she needs saving, and hung back during fights, it's Kairi, so his hero complex says that now that she's fighting, he needs to be ready to protect her so he doesn't lose one of his friends. Her telling him she would keep her safe is almost a parallel to Aqua telling Sora that he had seen her weak and her going to fight Vanitas because it's her telling Sora's hero complex that she can protect herself and that she can save him too. So, with all that in mind in the scene where Xehanort kills Kairi, it's probably not like "Sora's in love with her and that's why he's so sad and angry when she is killed! It's soooo tragic!" So, really, Sora and his hero complex have gone through all this trouble to make sure no one dies again, to make sure everyone of his friends are safe, and then Xehanort summons Kairi, Sora goes to save her, and Xehanort kills her, effectively ruining Sora goal (since one of his friends got killed), and causing all the stress and desperation he built up trying to keep everyone safe to burst out. So Sora's terribly angry, "Why her?!", because out of anyone who gets to die in the war, why does it have to be one of his friends? After all his hard work, why does one of his friends deserve to die? It's similar to when the Demon Tide killed everyone but him and Riku. He breaks down because despite everything he cares about and has worked for, one of his friends is killed again, and there's nothing he can or could do about it.

Okay, so the next "sokai" scene is the scene after everyone returns to the keyblade graveyard after Sora defeats Xehanort. I'm going to redirect you to a post by @blowingoffsteam2 on tumblr because they do a great job of explaining how the mistranslations in this scene make all the difference on how this scene and Sora's feelings are perceived. The post: https://smartzelda.tumblr.com/post/189913559229/at-the-ending-of-kh3-sora-decides-to-go-save

Now, there is one final Sokai scene in kh3, and it's in the ending. In the ending, Kairi and Sora are on the tree, holding hands, and Sora disappears. First, this scene is a direct parallel to Pooh's story book in kh3 and where I talked about how Sora needs to rebuild his relationship with Kairi as seen by the kh2 reunion scene and the paopu scene. In kh3, pooh's storybook is shown to have Sora missing from the cover, and when he sees pooh again, he figures out that it is because their bond weakened. Then, when talking to Merlin, Sora learns that when that happens, those friendships simply need to be reestablished  and rebuilt. It's obviously a lesson Nomura wanted Sora to learn if it is directly focused on by Sora and explained by Merlin, so it's not far fetched to think that this lesson may be relevant in kh3, and I'd attribute it to Sora and Kairi's relationship. Kairi and Sora's positions on the tree in that final "Sokai scene" and Sora's disappearance are a direct parallel to Pooh's storybook in which they are in the exact same positions, and in both Sora disappears. This may also symbolize that Sora needs to rebuild his relationship with Kairi as Merlin discussed. Kairi being paralleled with pooh doesn't stop here though, and this is better discussed in a post by @fandomoverflowThe post: https://databoyreekoo.tumblr.com/post/188351277667/kairis-grand-adventure-an-analysis-of-kairisWe won't know more about this scene till remind comes out probably, but from what we have already, the fact that they are on the tree holding hands is not a confirmation of romance. In the end, after kh3, there's no way Sokai's canon because Nomura never stated it himself and all of these Sokai scenes either aren't romantic at all, or can be taken as not romantic (at least on Sora's side).

So really, based on all this, it's safe to say that although Sora thinks Kairi is his light rn, she is not, and that going forward, Soriku has more chance of being canon if we're not going off the assumption Nomura's a bad writer (which it's pretty sad that to make sense of writing choices through the Sokai lens that you have to put Nomura off as a crappy writer for so much) and that Sokai will be canon in the end. I would probably attribute any romantic tension between Sora and Kairi after kh2 to Kairi being in love with Sora and making advances while Sora isn't at that point. I'd say rather than leaning more towards a Sokai confirmation, knowing some of the mistranslations and all the Soriku parallels people have found, Soriku has a bigger chance rn, though Nomura left it open ended at the end of kh3 in a way because we don't know for sure how Sora feels yet because he doesn't know love yet (we'll just have to see). If there's anything you learn from reading this or take back, I hope it's not that "I'm right and you're wrong blah blah". Instead, I hope that especially the Soriku shippers looking through the Sokai lens learn to question, look past the surface, and look for other explanations for Sokai besides taking it for romance. I urge you to stop perceiving everything through the notion that Sokai is going to be canon (especially when Nomura has never stated this would be the case), and instead try to leave it more open ended on your journey to discover Nomura's intentions and where he's taken the series. 

I'm incredibly sorry for writing this huge essay