#and how aqua sees these apparitions of Terra and Ven that you chase through the Dominion in 0.2?

[star-sworn]

1) Which kh trio do you think works out the most? I mean it’s gotta be the wayfinder trio right?

2) which trio is your favorite?

1. What an intriguing question anon…I agree, it’s gotta be Wayfinder as a group, simply because they’re the only ones that actually attend a school with consistent training. You could argue that killing Heartless literally seven days a week in violation of child labor laws as Roxas, Axel, and Xion did during their time in Organzation 13 kind of counts as a workout routine too? But yeah I would go Wayfinder WITH THE ONE CAVEAT that damn, have you seen Riku’s biceps? That boy works out enough for the entire trio. While Sora was taking a ride on the Mountain Coaster, Riku has been all aboard the Gain Train, if you know what I mean. Though as I think about it, I was a state level swimmer growing up, and so I can personally say that Sora’s abs have to be insanely strong to swim like a merman for hours on end, so… maybe this isn’t as clear cut as I once thought, anon. But Terra for sure is a gym bro. He needs those big strong arms to hug his friends real tight. Also look at his Break Time. Literally just flexing on all of us.

2. This one is tough, and if this turns into an actual novel, I cannot be blamed. So my answer is super basic, but it has to be the destiny trio. I absolutely adore Sora: he’s my darling boy, I miss him every day, and he alone would make this trio my favorite. He’s so positive, so kind, so protective of those he cares about, and I think what I love most is that, through and through, he really is just an ordinary kid, with ordinary dreams. I really feel that, while Sora likes going to all these worlds, likes meeting new friends and helping them with their problems, and he understands his role in saving the world and accepts that responsibility, he doesn’t care about being some big hero. He just wants to find his best friend, and go home to the girl he loves, his other best friend. His desires are so small, so simple, so human, I just can’t describe how much I love him for that. Second, because I am a ride or die Sokai shipper, and I could go on about them for literally 358/2 days, but I’ll try to keep it brief. Just look at the cave drawing they made when they were like four years old: even if it wasn’t romantically back then, they’ve literally loved each other almost their entire lives. Sora considers Kairi his home. He’s sacrificed himself twice for her. He spends kh1 and 2 yearning for her, dreaming about her. How he finally puts her first at the end of 3, and says "she's out there, alone... not for one more second." Going against Riku, against Mickey, and saying: i've done everything anyone has ever asked me to do. I've saved the world, I've saved all these people. Now I want to do what I want to do. I want to be with her. I can't stand that she keeps getting ripped away from me. She needs me, and I can't be without her for one more second. Swoon. Also, did you see remind? the gratuitous hand holding? the three dates they went on? One Heart? Just end me now. And the way he reaches across the divide of reality itself to save her in Melody of Memory? That their vow gave him the power to keep her safe like that? I don't care that shit's romantic as hell.

And this isn’t just because of Sora. Little kh1 Kairi, with no weapon, no magic, she’s surrounded by Shadow Heartless, so what does she do? She throws her arms around Sora. Literally shielding his little Shadow form with her own body. What about when Sora is tackled by a mob of Heartless toward the end of kh2? She jumps off a freaking balcony–once again, without a weapon of any kind. In kh2, when she reunites with riku, she's so happy. and when he tries to leave before Sora can recognize him, she pleads "Riku! Don't go!" and grabs onto his sleeve. She would do anything to stay with her boys, both of them. People always talk about how protective sora is of kairi (and I live for it), but Kairi is exactly the same when it comes to Sora. They both make that vow. And then how she holds on to him in kh3, keeping him on the edge of life itself? How he tells her, “I feel strong with you, Kairi!” with this big grin, and she blushes? I will never be over that. They’re both so devoted to one another, it’s just that Sora’s devotion is more prominent. Kairi is also brave and loyal, and she does her best for her friends no matter what, too. She literally gave up a year of her life sleeping to try and find Sora.

And going back to kh2, I also adore Riku. His whole arc, from childhood (and love) rival in kh1, the fall from grace, to his redemption in kh2? Absolutely beautiful. What struck me during my first playthrough of kh2 was Riku in the background. He wants so badly to atone for what he's done, yet he’s so ashamed he doesn’t want anyone to see his face, to know it’s him. It’s such a complete 180, to become so humble after being such a jerk. He creates that portal so Kairi can escape Axel. He teams up with Namine and does just enough to save Kairi, then tries to run away before she can find out it’s him. In his mind, he just wants to get her to Sora. That’s such a shift from “I have to be the one to save her” in kh1. And when Kairi jumps off the balcony, he saves her from the Shadows, then puts a keyblade in her hand(!!!) and literally fights with her, back to back. And do I even have to explain the end of 2, how Sora and Riku reconcile and Riku admits he was jealous of Sora? And then its Kairi’s letter connecting her heart with Sora’s yet again to open a door to the light for then to get home? While they’re playing Sanctuary??? Literally high art. I know Kairi is still kind of a lesser character in kh2, but kh2 still did a great job making it feel like they all love each other to death.

Which brings me to my one and only gripe with kh3: the destiny trio, or lack thereof. Before the paopu scene, Sora and Kairi literally don’t even make eye contact with one another. And before we rescue Aqua and Ven, the whole game is just everyone idolizing Riku and weirdly and not even tacitly bullying and disparaging Sora (which I was not here for). Even Riku is like “lol yeah you’re not good enough to save Aqua and you’re dumb for even trying” and then what does Sora do? He saves BOTH their asses. I digress. Now I know, in an interview Nomura talked about how kh3 was meant to show change. And since the other trios are all in peril, they’re all sort of frozen, static. So this kind of has to be referring to the destiny trio, and I do think we see that in 3 with the paopu scene. There’s a shift, and Sora and Kairi definitely have something they just can’t share with Riku. But as much as I love Sokai, I feel kh3 really needed at least one scene where they were all together, actually being friends like they used to be. Just going from 2 to 3, they seem like barely friends at times. But I do think they tried to show Riku being distressed when Kairi was killed, and sad when she went to sleep during Limitcut, but the execution was a bit poor.

And I have to say, seeing Riku, the guy who put the keyblade in Kairi’s hand’s and fought by her side in kh2 telling her to stay behind for literally no reason while he goes to Quadratum, that stung. It felt like such a betrayal of the love these three have for one another. And honestly, I’m getting a little tired of Riku, only because he’s already had one incredible and complete arc, arguably an arc and a half including DDD, and I just feel like he should take a backseat for a little while. Now, it’s my hope they’re playing the long game with this, that it will be up to Kairi–Master Kairi–to team up with/save her boys down the road, but I’m also way too hesitant to truly believe that’s what they’re planning. So in sum, I absolutely adore all three members of the destiny trio as characters in their own right. But especially in the sequence from 1-2, I love their friendship, how they’re doing everything for each other, that all they really want is to make sure the others are okay, that they grow and change in order to treat each other better, it’s just so beautiful. I think kh3 had so many balls in the air, it was trying to balance so much and tie up so many ends and set up so many new things that the destiny trio just kind of got lost in all of it. So I'm really hoping in the next phase maybe they'll get to team up together. Here's hoping, right anon?

Thank you for letting me gush about kh, anon! I’d love to hear your thoughts, or anyone elses! Happy 20th anniversary, I hope you're having a good day today. :)