#riku and kairi friendship please

[aitsuheart]

Kairi is Riku's friend too, she's the person that everyone feels safe confiding in their deepest dark secrets and for Riku it's quite obvious what that is.

And she is on his side and knows all about his feelings for Sora. In fact, she is constantly hoping that one day they'll be together as both of them talk to her about their feelings.

Only in Sora's case, he's unaware of his own feelings towards Riku.

She is the person that helps tie the two of them together. Riku is recklessly in love and Kairi knows how to look after him to make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid.

When Riku goes to the quadratum to find Sora, it takes some time but he finds Sora. They hug and end up revealing their feelings for the other, but unfortunately for Riku he did not study about the Quadratum enough to find a way out.

So together they are lost in the quadratum until Kairi shows up to save both of them as she has gotten stronger through training with Aqua and knows how to get out of there.

I live for Riku Kairi friendship

[robotsafari]

the way terra gets sent onto the fucking galactic federation ship makes NO SENSE like suddenly he just starts getting magnetized into the underbelly of the ship (is it gravity???) and then suddenly he ends up in jail WHAT.

ah yes "swept onboard" more like hurls into the underbelly of the ship and it fades out like. what.

also i love how they dont show terra breaking out of the cell. he just pulls out his keyblade and then the next shot hes out like can you just show it like a normal person.

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 2, Poll 5

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Riku-Kingdom Hearts

Qualifications/Propaganda:

So Riku is neither canonically LGBTQ+ nor canonically disabled but there's quite a slew of subtextual evidence. And this subtext is considered basically canon due to the creator's (Tetsuya Nomura) stance on media, which is that he enjoys leaving clues for players to figure out. So while Riku is never explicitly said to be queer or disabled, there's clear evidence on both accounts.

So first: Riku is gay. There's no doubt about it (despite what the dudebros insist...) Riku is gay for Sora, his childhood best friend/former rival. Long story short, Riku was afraid of Sora's friendship with this girl Kairi, didn't realize those feelings were gay jealousy, and he got gaslighted by the Mistress of All Evil, MALEFICENT HERSELF, into believing that Sora didn't care for him anymore. He went Dark Mode, destroyed their home, and antagonized Sora for most of the first game. But then he gets trapped in the Realm of Darkness after Sora kicked his ass for the millionth time and he realized how *sora voice* stUpid he was being and helps Sora stop the apocalypse (saved the world counter: 1) Then Riku goes through a whole arc of "wow i was an idiot. sora will never forgive me and i have Darkness in my heart and i need to protect sora while he's in a year-long medically-induced coma to undo his amnesia" and. idk. theres a Lot of stuff. So much so that someone made a 6-HOUR video essay about it! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll17V9DJr7g)

Riku is also likely suffering from chronic pain. Throughout the year that Sora is in a coma, he fights Sora's Nobody, Roxas, to get Sora's memories back. During the fight, Roxas breaks Riku's wrist, and it never heals correctly. Throughout the finale of Kingdom Hearts 2, the next game chronologically, Riku wears a wrist brace that goes largely unexplained. During the final boss fight, Riku throws himself in the way of Xemnas (the Big Bad) to protect Sora, getting hurt twice in the process; being struck so hard in the shoulder that he's flung halfway across the battlefield, and then hit in the side so badly that it causes him to collapse as soon as the adrenaline from the fight fades. It's likely that none of these injuries healed properly, as even in Kingdom Hearts 3 (which is like 5 games later. dont ask) he has some interesting tells; his walk is incredibly stiff and his battle stance changes, likely because of the strain put on his wrist for the old stance. (https://www.tumblr.com/nobodyriku/706960754548604929 shows this pretty well, though i can't find the other post i had in mind but whatever)

Anything Else?:

soriku endgame actually <3

Darth Maul-Star Wars

Qualifications:

Maul is canonically disabled; he was bisected at the waist by one Obi-Wan Kenobi, but SOMEHOW did not die, and was in fact teleported into a garbage dump, where he proceeded to live as a spider cyborg for the next 12 years, when he was found and rescued by his long-lost brother. He has used prosthetic legs of one kind or another ever since, and in Rebels, he uses a cane. He is also definitely gay. In The Clone Wars cartoon, he is OBSESSED with Obi-Wan, to the point that Obi-Wan is his entire personality and the entirety of his life goals. All he wants is to kill him and cause him suffering in revenge for being cut in half and subsequently abandoned by his master. However, this obsession is. Definitely homoerotic. Dude fights Obi-Wan naked at one point (the animators forgot that people with prosthetic legs still have to wear pants). He literally builds a hate shrine to Obi-Wan's dead ex-girlfriend, who he killed, AFTER he kills her. In Rebels, once he is able to merge the two holocrons and ask any question he wants, he asks where Obi-Wan is. The answer is Tatooine, of course. He goes there, has one final fight with Obi-Wan, and is fatally wounded. HOWEVER. He dies in Obi-Wan's arms. He dies being HELD GENTLY by Obi-Wan. I cannot adequately explain how insane that is. Makes me froth at the mouth. Anyway.

Propaganda:

I love this severely fucked-up dude so much. He dedicated almost 20 years of his life to a single-minded obsession with Obi-Wan Kenobi, an obsession which literally kept him alive when he was chopped in half in a garbage pit, stuck in a hole on Planet Sith, and just generally attempting to live after being raised for nothing but violence as a child. He is missing half his bones, many vital organs, and got his two biggest blood vessels sliced right open, and yet REFUSED to die. He then became a spider cyborg. The first thing he did when coming onboard the Ghost was critique the interior design. He took over an entire planet just to get a guy to notice him. He was kidnapped as a child and tortured nonstop for the first 20 years of his life, resulting in an attachment style where he can only conceptualize relationships as a hierarchy (master/apprentice), so he searches constantly for an apprentice, and even treats his brother as one; despite how he very clearly just wanted a brother, he didn't know how to be in an equal relationship. He does absolutely nothing but cause problems for people-- be they Jedi or Sith. Ahsoka once released him from a magic strait-jacket as a "distraction" and he immediately began tearing panels off of the walls and decapitating people with them. He has a death grip on my brain.

Submitted by @convenient-plot-device

[dailycupofcreativitea]

AHHHHH you're playing kingdom hearts? Please report back with your thoughts when you feel up to it it's my special interest 👀

Okay here are some thoughts I've spammed to my friends in the last few days! (BTW I read the manga already for the first game so I basically spoiled it but I was still equally as shocked when these things happened in the game lol)

By the way, spoilers below for anyone who hasn't played!

General thoughts:

SORA IS SOOOOOOOOOO CUTE 🥺 The voice actor voiced him PERFECTLY, he's exactly the perfect combination of hopeful, friendship, little kid, strong heart, over confident at times, stubborn, sweet. 😭💖

Told a friend I love Sora in a different way than I love Gohan, here were my thoughts: Gohan is more quiet, sweet, gentle, burdened with a lot of power that he seems hesitant to use and slowly builds his confidence throughout the show, I relate to Gohan a lot, sweet cinnamon roll that must be protecc, but forced to protecc others, etc etc Sora is sweet and gentle but loud, has a HUGE heart and he uses it to protect his friends with 100% confidence (he's more like Goku in that way), his heart is just unwavering and he doesn't seem to doubt himself often (at least in KH1), funny and goofy and his stubbornness can get him into trouble sometimes but his bonds with his friends give him strength, I don't relate to him but I would love to draw inspiration from him

"Shonen protagonist done by Disney" vibes (as put aptly by @genisflyingkites)

Riku is so insanely jealous of Sora it's hilarious, he's overall kind of a jerk and even Kairi said she wanted to leave the island without him, but also Riku is 15 and hormonal and Maleficent got to him so I don't really blame him for it

Donald and Goofy are way less annoying than I assumed they would be, I like that they seem refreshingly mature?? Donald is stubborn and beefs with Sora a lot and Goofy seems like he has a good head on his shoulders and is a deep thinker

Also I keep seeing memes of Donald constantly getting knocked out in game and being useless but for me Donald ALWAYS comes in clutch with the elixirs and ethers

That scene where Maleficent tells Riku that Sora replaced him and Kairi with Donald and Goofy was sad in both the manga and the game but what REALLY made my jaw drop was that SORA LOWKEY FELT THE SAME:

(Yes he was fighting with Donald at the time too but LOOK AT HIS FACE!!! 😭🙏)

If Riku talked to Sora for more than 10 seconds at a time literally all of this would be resolved XD LIKE!! Sora is literally trying to find them! Riku please!

This scene had my sister and I's JAWS ON THE FLOOR:

It was low blow after low blow! I read this in the manga too but somehow it hit harder in the game!

Hollow Bastion is a great OST and I've been listening to it on repeat. The map is also pretty nice but I wish I could explore more without heartless appearing every 5 seconds

Actually I also liked the OST "A Day in Agrabah"

I beat Riku's ass in 10 seconds and it was glorious (Ansem is a whole other story...still working on it)

DID I MENTION SORA HAS SUCH A KIND AND SWEET AND STRONG HEART!?

Every single cutscene had the words "light" "darkness" "friendship" "heart" "memories" repeated over and over again to form a cutscene (I saw this in a Youtube video and thought it was incredibly accurate XD)

My sister and I were CRACKING UP during this cutscene because it made NO SENSE

It just kept getting more and more non-sensical XD

I think Aladdin was my favourite world so far but tbh they were all pretty cool (Sora's Halloween Town fit was so cute! Also I loved flying around by Big Ben, and then getting the glide feature)

The Maleficent Dragon boss was really hard, cool, and fun; Tinker Bell really came in clutch

Also I gotta say this game is really hard to play because the control are so annoying, the jump function is annoying (I keep falling off and misjudging his jump), it keep glitching cause it's connected to the cloud or something, the directions are too vague so I have to follow a walkthrough while playing, and I have to keep stopping between plays because I get motion sickness from the wildly spinning camera really easily -- despite all that I am indeed having a blast

I think that's all my thoughts for now :3

[goldensunset]

ok fine since you asked for it. let’s break down @felikatze ‘s lactose tolerance/intolerance headcanon list from forever ago

sora and riku: native island kids, have never had contact with the outside world, dairy is not part of their diet, they cannot handle this foreign poison. please help these kids

kairi: from radiant garden. lucky genes. loves dairy and does not understand why sora and riku don’t

lea: from radiant garden but unlucky genes (he eats poison ice cream every day, yes. the things you do for friendship. also he’s chaotic.)

roxas: inherited sora’s lactose intolerance. (yes he also eats poison ice cream every day. he and axel really just started bonding over something neither of them were supposed to have. but nobody bodies are also weird)

naminé: also inherited sora’s lactose intolerance, but not as badly. but she doesn’t like dairy anyway

xion and repliku: replicas that were genetically engineered in a lab. they may be kinda messed up otherwise but they can have dairy soooo. (‘a power the real riku does not have’ refers to lactose tolerance lol)

ventus and vanitas: ven got the lactose tolerance in the split lol. eraqus makes all his students drink their milk so they’ll grow up big and strong but why does ven seem to enjoy it. he just chugs straight up milk. what’s wrong with him. vani thinks he’s disgusting for this

terra: lactose tolerant but doesn’t like milk that much (he loves cheese though). however he thinks it’s funny to chug milk in front of aqua because she thinks it’s gross

aqua: please help her. she likes baking a lot because milk that’s been cooked into something is tolerable. ven and terra drive her insane on purpose with milk chugging contests right in front of her (for ven it started out innocent but then terra convinced him it was funny). eraqus does not know she can’t have milk and she doesn’t know how to tell him

[tapioca-puddingg]

The Future of KH Characters

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

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

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

Kairi

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

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

Ooh maybe she can eventually get keyblade armor too

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

Maybe the princesses inspire her to be stronger

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

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

Aqua

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

She finally gets to have a little sister!

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

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

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

And just more friend moments between the three of them

Ventus

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

That opens up the floodgates of hell

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

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

Terra

I can see Terra being a mentor to Kairi alongside Aqua

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lea and Isa

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

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

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

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

Mickey

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

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

Unknown

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

[synergysilhouette]

Making a tracklist for a Kingdom Hearts musical

If you haven't seen my previous post about pitching a Kingdom Hearts musical film made by Walt Disney Animation, please check it out; you'll probably be confused if you don't, as I've changed some things. As the title suggests, this post is an idea for the songs that would go with this musical. I haven't really established if in my mind there's a different voice cast for this movie, or if it's the same speaking voices but mostly different voice actors doing the singing. NGL, this was difficult to make since I only had the concept; now I gotta iron out the plot! I may edit this later.

"Scaela Ad Caelum" By Xehanort, Eraqus, the Foretellers, and chorus--I like the idea that this is an epic opening track in a similar vein to "The Emperor's Dream," an alternate musical opening to 1998's "Mulan," as well as "Prologue" from Raya and the Last Dragon. I'd like it to explore how the kingdom was created by the foretellers--though in my mind, the design is widely different to incorporate The Land of Departure, Radiant Garden, and Destiny Islands, with SAC would as the capital. It'd be a long song, since it would cover Xehanort's childhood and friendship with Eraqus, as well as how he descended into darkness.

2. "Destiny" By Kairi, Sora, and Riku--This song would mainly concern their dreams of traveling, visiting Scala Ad Caelum, as well as concerns of drifting apart as they have different dreams. Kairi wants to visit her hometown where she lived with her grandmother, Riku wants to find adventure, and Sora, despite wanting to visit different places himself, tries to find a compromise so that they don't have to separate, at least not yet. As such, Kairi gives them a paopu fruit to share, telling them that her grandmother used to say that the people who share it will always be a part of each other's lives. (I'm also fine if they sing a revised version of Hikaru Utada's "Sanctuary.")

3. "Something Greater" by Riku, Ansem the Wise, and Xehanort--Following a fallout with his parents about traveling, an insecure Riku is invited by Xehanort (in his younger form to appear more inviting; essentially Ansem, seeker of Darkness) to come to Scala Ad Caelum and allow him to learn under Ansem the Wise and learn magic (since Ansem the Wise is conflated with Yen Sid here and is thus a mage or mage-like scientist). Riku reveals that he's afraid of losing his friends as well, and while Ansem consoles him, Xehanort privately stokes his fears, telling him to forget them because they'll forget about him as they travel. This starts his own descent into darkness as Xehanort begins to manipulate him. When he's not there, Xehanort convinces Ansem the Wise to appoint Terra (one of his assistants) to supervise Riku and monitor the darkness taking over his heart.

4. "Chasing the Sunset" By Kairi, Sora, and Chorus--Believing that Riku has left them, Sora encourages Kairi's dream of returning to her childhood home and goes with her. They enjoy their time traveling, but both of them worry about Riku; Sora is worried that he abandoned them, while Kairi is concerned that something much darker occurred. Their romance also grows at this point, while Xehanort shows this to Riku to convince him that they don't care about him. Xehanort also uses his powers of shapeshifting (again, read my previous post) to pose as Riku and make Kairi and Sora believe that he is annoyed at them leaving him behind and abandoning their friendship, making the two feel guilty over giving up on looking for him so soon.

5. "The Master" By Ansem the Wise, Sora, and Kairi--Eventually the duo makes their way to Scala Ad Caelum, where their appearence makes Ansem suspicious of Xehanort, and sees the kindness in Sora and Kairi's hearts. Posing as DiZ, he teaches them limited magic, where Sora manages to summon a key-shaped weapon. Kairi, inspired by him, summons one as well, which Ansem dubs "Keyblades." He tasks them with using them to get rid of Vanitas' unversed that lurk around the city and spy on the citizens, and promises to help them find Riku, not revealing that Xehanort has corrupted him. He also keeps his assistants in the dark, worried about what Xehanort may do if he found out they knew.

5. "Nobody" By O10 (excluding Xehanort, Terra, and Vanitas) and Kairi--By this point, Kairi has been kidnapped by Axel because of her pure heart that Xehanort intends to exploit in order to bring balance to the world and bring it into a golden age and rid the world of its impurities. (Saix is the only one who knows that this means she'll likely die, but Luxord has his suspicions). Kairi manages to befriend Axel and Demyx, as well as somewhat amusing Luxord, but Saix, Xigbar, Larxene, and Marluxia are all about business. It's explained to Kairi that by using her light, she will be restoring their hearts, as they are creatures called Nobodies. The backstories of Axel, Saix, Marluxia, and Larxene are explained here, while the rest are left enigmatic.

6. "Wayfinder" by Vanitas (featuring the Wayfinder Trio, Eraqus, and Sora)--While Sora attempts to find Ventus and restore his heart, he is intercepted by Vanitas, who wants to kidnap Ventus once he awakens and returns him to Xehanort. In this particular universe, I imagine Vanitas has a soaring, amazing voice, and he's essentially telling Sora the story of how the Wayfinder Trio and Eraqus stood against Xehanort, only to be defeated. Terra was one of them, and believed that his friends died against Xehanort, so it was easy for Xehanort to break him and recruit him into their ranks. One of them--Vanitas' "brother" Ventus--so strongly resisted Xehanort's attempts to control his light that his heart fled to Sora's, resulting in Vanitas looking like Sora. Sora attempts to appeal to Vanitas and tells him that he could be his own person. Vanitas says that he doesn't know who he is without Ventus (and now Sora), and tells Sora that he needs to abide by his "older brother." During this, Xehanort summons Aqua from the depths of the Realm of Darkness, tricking Aqua into battling him Spoiler: He does indeed defeat Sora and capture a restored Ventus.

7. "Don't Think Twice" by Axel, Saix, Vanitas, Xehanort (featuring Riku, Ventus, Terra, and Kairi)--This is an emotional song where Axel and Vanitas attempt to convince the Kairi and Ventus that trying to fight Xehanort and the organization is futile. At this point, Axel's allegiance is failing, at which point Saix is telling him not to think twice, and to think about their childhood friendship instead of his new friendships with Kairi and Ventus. Meanwhile, Xehanort attempts to continue to have Terra and Riku embrace their darkness while Aqua and Sora appeal to them.

8. "One Sky" by Ensemble--This song is a bit of a two-parter, with some during the battle and then a reprise at the end (elements of "Face My Fears" could be thrown in there). As Sora, Riku, Terra, Axel and Aqua battle against the organization, they show Xehanort that they represent light and darkness, while he and his group simply embody darkness, having casted a pall on Ventus and Kairi's light. As such, he realizes that his goal of harmony was achieved--just not by himself. As he is defeated, Ventus and Vanitas become one person, while Sora ventures to rescue Kairi and disappears, and he gives his life to restore hers after Xehanort seemingly shatters her body (but her heart was intact). In the end, the people of the kingdom marvel at the concept of light and darkness, and that selfish deeds eventually led to peace. The nobodies are restored to their original bodies, and Elrena and Laurium tell Riku and Kairi that Sora is out there somewhere: "Sora didn't die. He just went somewhere else. Wherever he is, he's watching the same sky we are." Maybe tie it into the wishing star Disney motif by having Kairi wish on it, and the star begins to fall...

In the end, we'd hear that iconic KH1 quote.

Lemme know what you think! I may add or change a song based on how I feel later; I'm still on the fence about having removed Namine.

[kairithemang0]

The "Kairi Problem"

Hey guys it's Kairi day I'm gonna go on a long rant about how sad I am that she kinda sucks as a character.

To start I want to say that I absolutely adore Kairi, and that this isn't meant to be me hating on her, because I do really love her as a character (I literally stole her name for heavens sake). I just believe that there are a lot of problems with her character I need to get out of my system.

Ok, let us begin! First off, and the main issue with her for me is her pure reliance on Sora, and how much that really has damaged her character. Kairi is best when she's not around Sora. For instance, her conversations with Lea in KH3 are some of my favorite parts of that game. Their dynamic is so fun, and I wish they had more screentime together because they have the potential to have this sibling relationship that would be so wholesome. Along with her other interactions with characters, she could have such a great friendship with Aqua, seeing as Aqua will be teaching her how to better herself with the keyblade, it would be great to see more of their interactions.

HOWEVER! These are the only 2 meaningful relationships Kairi has outside of Sora. And even then, Sora makes up 80% of her interactions. Not even her and Riku talk much after KH1. They hardly even talk in Melody of Memory, a "Kairi game" where she is hardly playable. Not only that, at the end of that game Riku basically told her that she needs to stay home and let him to do work to find Sora. This to me is a big misstep in the writing for her character.

Kairi has self-confidence issues, one of her battle lines in Re:Mind is literally "please work". She has no faith in her abilities, but so much can be done with that. She can have an arc about believing in yourself and coming into her own and learn to stand beside Sora and Riku, not just letting them protect her.

This is partially due to her lack of screentime. She's never really been the focus of anything, she's just Kairi. The prize. That's really what she is, she's like the princess in another castle. Just "the girl". And that's a terrible thing to do with her character because unlike Peach, the princess in another castle, Kairi doesn't get the chance to rise above that label. In 21 years you'd think she'd be given something, anything really. I think that's why her kicking a heartless in the KH TV show pilot made me, and probably others, so excited. She did something! And it was cool, that's what we needed. Something cool.

So why am I talking about all this? The fandom has made jokes about Kairi being a plank of wood for years, it's no secret to anyone she's been given very little in terms of character. I guess my question is why? Why is Nomura giving this character with an interesting backstory and an interesting set of powers with seeds of a character if you squint such little time? Not only has she been around since the very beginning, but even characters who we know much less about than her are far more fascinating. I like to compare her to Yozora, who is a character we really know nothing about however we know he's powerful, and we know he has a goal. And I can assume he will deliver on both of those things even when we know more about him. Kairi on the other hand has had very few cool moments, has no goal, and just MIGHT be powerful. I mean you'd think having a princess of heart, a topic that has been covered in multiple games and will likely continue to be touched upon, as a main character would be amazing, right? Well, she's hardly ever mentioned to be a princess of heart and all we know about her powers is that she can bring back a heartless Sora in Kingdom Hearts 1. And that's it, that's all we know.

And I haven't even gotten into the whole thing about the Destiny Trio, the main trio in this series made up of 3 very important characters, feels more like 2 duos. It's either Sora and Riku or Sora and Kairi, not "Destiny Trio". And we know Nomura can write good trios, even while having 2 of the characters have moments together. So why can't the Destiny Trio have this? The 3 of them hardly interact without one of them overshadowing the other. For instance, the Riku and Sora KH2 reunion.

Sora is confused on how Riku can be here when he looks like Ansem. Kairi shows Sora that it is in fact Riku, and Sora and Riku have a moment. Then Kairi does nothing for the rest of the scene. In every case, that is a Riku and Sora scene where Kairi is just there. And this happens time and time again, where Riku or Kairi is put to the side so they both can have their moment with Sora.

And now it's time to talk about the scene where Xemnas kidnaps her. This scene is just... GAH I HATE IT!!! Xemnas just snatches her and then somehow, she's just passed out and gets killed. Not only that, but the reactions from other characters are also so lackluster. Sora does his "Kairi!" thing, and if anyone else were to have reacted I would say it should be Riku and Lea. Of course, Lea was dealing with his own troubles during that scene, seeing his best friends again was definitely something that would be more important to him, however he and Kairi spent time together growing a bond and training together, you'd think he'd at least go after her a little more? He does nothing! The only person that reacts to it is Sora, which is so sad since you'd think even Roxas would care a bit, since he and Kairi had that brief moment in KH2 where Roxas and Kairi's minds connect. You'd think any of them would have more of a reaction than they did. And she herself just sits there and struggles a bit. She's got another hand she could use to summon her keyblade again and swipe at him or do anything else that isn't absolutely nothing.

This whole scene would have been better if they had waited longer for Kairi to get taken, maybe she goes into battle with Sora, Riku, and Mickey when they fight the norts, but Xehanort swopes down and stabs her with his keyblade or something. If that happens, we could get more of a reaction from Riku. Really anything that isn't what we got would be better.

Throughout this whole series Kairi has been pushed to the side time and time again, and I highly doubt that'll end any time soon. With a new saga coming and more focus being placed on the Foretellers and what came before, Kairi will likely be once again pushed to the side lines while other more interesting characters take the front lines. It's a very sad fate for a character that has so much potential she'll never live up to due to a lack of interest from the writer.

[rhythmmortis]

I feel like i have been terrorizing ur inbox lately. But i feel like i have seen a lot of kairi & terra friendship posts and im so curious to where that came from. It seems really random but i want to know if there's any in-universe reason for it or why people think their dynamic would be interesting

i literally cannot express how much i love the asks please keep them coming and i love talking to you you are my friend!!! and i think theres a few things behind kairi and terra friendship like firstly. terra himself is the only one in the wayfinder trio that hasnt actually met kairi (aqua in bbs did, you could argue that ven and kairi in sora's heart in kh1 did but if not then theyre in the same room (even if they dont interact) in kh3) but with this there IS a small argument to be made that he has. but as apprenticenort. the guy who cast her astray from her home and shot a toddler into space in a silly little capsule

but also with kairi saying shes gonna be training with aqua after khMoM (and presumably in the land of deprature where the others in the wayfinder trio are), shes probably gpnna be interacting with them a lot and theres potential with every single character! i wrote a small fic a while back about kairi training with each one and as a summary: training with aqua and the connection behind aqua basically starting her fate by bequeathing the keyblade in bbs, ven and kairi both being hearts of pure light, and kairi and terra both BEING ABSOLUTE HEAVY HITTING TANKS (or at least thats my dream for her. please dont let her be another mage/magic oriented female character. please let her kill . i want her to kill), and its also just a wholesome friendship!! bonus points for terra meaning earth and a recurring theme of kairi's being flowers, they match well :) terra also deserves to show his friendly happy side that he has sometimes in bbs especially after brewing in his own anger and hatred in a suit of armour for a decade because he genuinely is a really sweet character and so is kairi. hes a fun big brother and god kairi deserves some good fucking family. she got ripped away from her grandmother, then from her next home in kh1, then stayed in a lab asleep for a year, i wanna see more dynamics beyond immediate friendships (like riku and sora) and different dynamics

as for anything in canon suggesting a kairi terra friendship: nothing to my knowledge dfkhfdkjh

[winter-kh-sideblog]

If i ever say something mean about riku especially like saying that i want kairi to yell at him or fight him or something, please know that it isn’t riku hate or even me wanting them to not be friends, it is just a byproduct of being introduced to the main plot of kingdomhearts via 358/2 days and now my love language is friendships slowly falling to pieces because of secrets and miscommunication and the desperate urge to protect one another and take back control in any way possible even if that way is just straight up lying to your best friends so you can pretend things are okay for a little bit longer, and clutching at ever smaller threads of an unraveling relationship until everything snaps and your heart is torn to shreds. I do also want kairi and riku to be best friends i just think it would be fun for me if they yelled at each other and maybe hissed and snarled in the rain and threw blame around and shattered each others hearts and maybe swords were involved. And then they can be best friends and hold hands and sometimes even kiss depending how im feeling at the moment. Like they can sit next to each other on the tree and snuggle and be so comfy and kiss each other on the cheek and understand each other in ways no one else can i just Also want them to maybe kill each other a little bit. I contain multitudes

[kosmic-arts]

Roxas, Namine, & the Reality That Carl Jung is Real

OK SO. this video is great and is an even more detailed, succinct version of what i was talking about in my roxas/kh2 plot analysis post. please watch, this is such good food for thought. for a while ive really been thinking about the meaning of nobodies in kh, and how i feel the concept has been gradually bastardized over the course of the story- but disregarding that lmao! i have been making the connection myself about how similar nobodies are to the concept of the shadow in carl jung's psychology theories, and boy howdyyyy was it great to see i wasn't the only one, because violet howler mentions the same in this video. as ive mentioned before, i feel like roxas and namine should have never been pushed as being their own separate people, rather as reflections of sora's and additionally, kairi's worst aspects. or at least the parts of themselves they repress. roxas and namine should have always been vehicles to help strengthen the main characters, rather than growing into people of their own- that way the ending of kh2 would've actually been the happy ending that they were clearly trying to push that it was for roxas and namine. but only to backpedal in ddd.... in the video, violet howler tries to argue the contrary- that the further developments in the series for roxas and namine to separate as whole people from sora and kairi are logical extensions of their representation as shadows- but i just disagree. i already mention this in my post linked above, but sora and kairi should've grown as people and actually gained the memories and experiences of their nobodies when they merged; the whole plotpoint of confronting the side of themselves they wouldn't rather acknowledge should've been wrapped up ages ago in kh2 instead of being stretched out for so long. roxas and namine's stories and connection to one another should've been more tightly written to more properly lead into their ending of returning to their counterparts. i am still miffed about how roxas spends so much of days chasing after xion who gets to have all the character development and hard choices, instead of the guy you're literally playing as- ok.... although ill say namine is written a lot better, as she gradually grows into having her own initiative- and its nice that kairi in kh2 also starts to express the same urge as she decides to stop waiting for sora and riku and just go find them herself. anyway. i will say though, i am very so-so hmmm lukewarm about the whole "nobodies can grow hearts" shtick. in a lot of ways, i like the idea. BUT ONLY when you think about it through this context: through forming connections with others, and holding on to their humanity so to speak- nobodies can grow a heart of their own and regain their humanity. thats cool! kingdom hearts is about the importance of friendship and connections, and all that- so having such a thing have real physical results in the nobodies is a powerful concept. that, and it really does fit with the whole nobody/shadow carl jung representation going on. BUT THATS NOT HOW ITS IMPLEMENTED IN GAME. xemnas in ddd says the body will replace its missing heart at the first chance it gets- not when the nobody makes connections with others. which is why i hate the growing hearts bit, because its very clearly a poorly thought-out escape for the nobodies' major dilemma. same thing with how a person can be recompleted by killing the heartless and nobody. thats fucking insane because it makes it so that the answer to all the organization's problems was to commit seppuku all along!!! nothing of value is lost, everyone is technically immortal if they lose their heart to darkness and split- just shoot their two counterparts and you get to live again. its so bad help alright. i'm starting to lose the point so i will end this here lmfao. long story short, i agree with everything in the video except most of his reasoning that the weird shit at the end of kh2 and postgames made any sense and is justified by the carl jung shadow theory comparison. kthx, watch the video its cool :)

[aitsuheart]

I've been trying to write longer things but because of that I'm often getting writing blocks.

Here's a short wip of one of the fanfics I'm writing, the fanfic is basically Kari's POV through what happens. It's about her thoughts and her friendship towards Riku and Sora.

I added a scene during KH2 after Kairi sees Riku where they talk about what Riku did.

[khtrinityftw]

Interesting excerpts from the KH2 Ultimania Nojima interview...

As detailed before, Nojima co-created Ansem with Nomura and handled his involvement in Hollow Bastion as well as the fall-out from what he did, plus End of the World. Other than that, Nojima had far less to do with KH than Jun Akiyama and Daisuke Watanabe did.

Also as detailed before, Nomura wrote the main plot (beginning, middle and end of the game) while the Event Team did the Disney worlds' plots, then Nojima adapted them into his script. The big problem was, well, "he relayed his thoughts to me and then I was free to do the rest", all while Nomura's thoughts in question were confounding to Nojima and difficult to translate into script form.

Mystery Boxes!

Nomura wanted sea salt ice cream as a visual.

Nojima turned it into a plot point, the absolute mad lad!

Hence the weird cheesy Christmas special feel to the Halloween Town visits. It was a deliberate creative choice and I love it.

Ngl, I wish their roles were slightly more important.

Thanks a lot, Nomura. -_-

Was that supposed to be the takeaway there? Well, Nomura did say in his interview that he deleted more details from this subplot.....

FUCK YEAH! Aerith ain't so pure; she can be dark too! Love it!

Look, you can ship Sora and Riku if you please, but I appreciate Nojima being explicit in saying that the intention behind their relationship is the strongest of friendships: two guys who are like brothers even though they aren't related, which means it's ripe for being emotionally tumultuous ("not easy to have" / "embarrassing").

Thank you for that, Nojima, and I hope that you actually stick to this sentiment in your subsequent writing, unlike Nomura who sold out.

The padding. Good lord, is this man self-aware!

The final thing I want to note, which I have noted before - Nojima is really good at dialogue. Not only is his mastery of it responsible for that iconic exchange between Sora and Kairi at the end, but it also helped every character have a unique voice and memorable lines that feel like stuff they would say. Even lines people mock are often deliberate (ex: "we totally owned you lamers!" - as Nojima says elsewhere in this very interview, Seifer is supposed to project faux coolness - "trying too hard to be cool"). He wasn't the best writer for the KH series narratively, but he's at the top of his field in dialogue.

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 2, Wave 2, Poll 13

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Wade Wilson / Deadpool-Marvel

Qualifications:

pansexual who has cancer and [has] chronic pain

Propaganda:

Deadpool is all our favourite mutant/mutate merc with a mouth who suffers from chronic pain and makes others suffer by killing them, he is also pansexual and heartmates with Spiderman (they even have a ~genetically engineered evil~ daughter ~clone~ together)

Riku-Kingdom Hearts

Qualifications/Propaganda:

So Riku is neither canonically LGBTQ+ nor canonically disabled but there's quite a slew of subtextual evidence. And this subtext is considered basically canon due to the creator's (Tetsuya Nomura) stance on media, which is that he enjoys leaving clues for players to figure out. So while Riku is never explicitly said to be queer or disabled, there's clear evidence on both accounts.

So first: Riku is gay. There's no doubt about it (despite what the dudebros insist...) Riku is gay for Sora, his childhood best friend/former rival. Long story short, Riku was afraid of Sora's friendship with this girl Kairi, didn't realize those feelings were gay jealousy, and he got gaslighted by the Mistress of All Evil, MALEFICENT HERSELF, into believing that Sora didn't care for him anymore. He went Dark Mode, destroyed their home, and antagonized Sora for most of the first game. But then he gets trapped in the Realm of Darkness after Sora kicked his ass for the millionth time and he realized how *sora voice* stUpid he was being and helps Sora stop the apocalypse (saved the world counter: 1) Then Riku goes through a whole arc of "wow i was an idiot. sora will never forgive me and i have Darkness in my heart and i need to protect sora while he's in a year-long medically-induced coma to undo his amnesia" and. idk. theres a Lot of stuff. So much so that someone made a 6-HOUR video essay about it! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll17V9DJr7g)

Riku is also likely suffering from chronic pain. Throughout the year that Sora is in a coma, he fights Sora's Nobody, Roxas, to get Sora's memories back. During the fight, Roxas breaks Riku's wrist, and it never heals correctly. Throughout the finale of Kingdom Hearts 2, the next game chronologically, Riku wears a wrist brace that goes largely unexplained. During the final boss fight, Riku throws himself in the way of Xemnas (the Big Bad) to protect Sora, getting hurt twice in the process; being struck so hard in the shoulder that he's flung halfway across the battlefield, and then hit in the side so badly that it causes him to collapse as soon as the adrenaline from the fight fades. It's likely that none of these injuries healed properly, as even in Kingdom Hearts 3 (which is like 5 games later. dont ask) he has some interesting tells; his walk is incredibly stiff and his battle stance changes, likely because of the strain put on his wrist for the old stance. (https://www.tumblr.com/nobodyriku/706960754548604929 shows this pretty well, though i can't find the other post i had in mind but whatever)

Anything Else?:

soriku endgame actually <3

[cozfics]

Impatience (Aqua x Reader)

Request:would u write an aquaxreader based right after kh 3 please ? (not platonic tho)

Word count: 1.2k

Tw:blood for like 5 seconds?

notes:Sorry for the wait, I had a long week at work this week, and I'll be honest. I haven’t written at all in like 6 years now. I’m really excited to get back to writing though!

You took in a shaky breath as you lowered my keyblade. Was it truly over? Was Xehanort really beaten? Does that mean that you finally get to rest? Finally, after 10 years? Your body ached in ways you hadn't even realized was possible. The battle had been the toughest thing you had ever done. You took a quick glance towards your friends. They all looked as beaten down and tired as you felt. Each and every one of them had fought their hardest. And they all had your respect for that. Especially Roxas, Riku, and Sora. Kairi too. They all had either little or no training, and they fought with ferocity. Like they were desperate to prove themselves. I turned to my other side, glancing at my old friends. Aqua, Terra, and Ven. They had all fought hard too. Aqua and Ven had been on a warpath to reunite our little friend group. You don’t think you had seen your friends that mad since… well ever. Definitely not any time before you had decided to stay in the room with Ven for the last 10 years. It felt absolutely wild to you that 10 years had passed since then.

Wow, maybe the adrenaline was talking but your thoughts were definitely going a mile a minute. And that became painfully obvious when the group broke off, milling about to check over themselves and their friends for any lasting injuries that hadn’t been healed or noticed before. Ventus and Terra were deep in conversation while Aqua started her way over to you. Now this brings on a silly little problem, which honestly after everything you went through kinda feels stupid. You had a big crush on the keyblade master. You had been hopelessly crushing on her since you were teens under Eraqus’s tutelage. You’d been meaning to confess and just get it over with, but it just never felt like the right time. She had either been busy with keyblade training, or she had just… not been alone. And by the light, if you were going to get rejected you definitely did NOT want an audience to your humiliation. 

The thing about a near-death experience is that it really puts things into perspective, and makes you realize you may not have time to wait until that elusive perfect moment. Maybe you should just suck it up and confess to her now? You made eye contact with Aqua and immediately felt any blood that had stubbornly stayed in your body during the war immediately rush towards your face. The other thing about a near-death experience is it makes you think crazy and stupid things that you should absolutely NOT do because it could destroy your friendships you quickly decided. 

Aqua made it to you within seconds. “(Y/n)..” she muttered, gently putting her hands on your face. Oh god. You could die right here and you’d be happy. “When’d you get this?” Aqua asked. You were suddenly aware of a painful sting on your forehead. Oh. You must have taken a hit in battle and not even realized it. You didn’t even get a chance to answer her before she was casting curaga. 

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” You told her. Okay come on (Y/N), you can do this. “Actually Aqua. I uh... Wanted to ask you something.” There, if you throw yourself in the deep end you have no choice but to confess. No chickening out. At least that’s what you want to believe.

“Oh, what would you like to ask?” Aqua asked, pulling her hands back. Her head cocked slightly to the side, making her hair cover her matching eyes slightly. Her gaze held such a softness in it, a stark contrast to the way her eyes had been just an hour ago, narrowed in the desperate analyzing way that battle called for. I was almost tempted to brush the hair out of her face, she’d probably let me. We had been friends for so long.

Friends. Focus. That’s what you were doing! “Aqua, I uh. I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while now.” You started. You could feel butterflies in your stomach, twisting and turning. Why was this the most nerve-wracking thing you had done today? “Aqua I-”

Another thing about near-death experiences. They tend to bring into perspective how short life is. In other words, they tend to make you impatient. Maybe that’s why you didn’t get to finish that sentence before you were cut off.   “(Y/n), would you like to go out sometime?” Aqua suddenly blurted out. Even she seemed surprised by it. You must have looked incredibly disappointed at losing your chance to ask because she quickly backpedaled. “I’m sorry I just wanted to ask since I came back from the Realm of Darkness and it’s okay if you don’t want to.” she began to ramble “No, no it’s not that it’s just, I got so caught up in preparing to confess, and I was just about to, but then you beat me there!” you threw back your head in a laugh. Aqua’s shoulders quaked as she joined you, laughing yourself to tears. Seems like you weren’t the only one who had been waiting for the perfect moment.

“So I take that as a yes?” Aqua asked as her laughs stilled. She looked at you with such a softness, you immediately felt warm. You put your hands on her cheeks and paused, hesitating. 

“I uh… was about to answer with a kiss but, also I realize that might be moving too fast” you admitted, letting out a nervous chuckle.

You didn’t get a verbal answer to your question, as Aqua instead decided to move her head closer. She closed the gap and locked your lips, pulling you as close as she could. Time felt like it had stopped. The two of you were only aware of each other in the moment. 

You stood next to Aqua on the beach, laying your head on her shoulder. You grinned as you watched Terra, Roxas, and Riku charge past you. “I put 10 munny on Terra winning.” You said, grinning widely as you glanced at Aqua. Your girlfriend, (God that word sounded amazing. Like it was the perfect word to describe her. It just felt right) shook her head and grinned a little, though she was quick to correct her features.

“You know I don’t gamble,” Aqua said, lightly pushing your head off her shoulder. You stumbled for a minute at the loss of support. 

“It’s not like it's a casino,” you mumbled, following her as she walked towards the boys, now at the finish line of their race. Sure enough, Terra had won. From the corner of your eyes, you could also see Ven pull away from playing frisbee with Lea and Isa. Yeah, near-death experiences can make you have stupid and reckless ideas, but maybe, sometimes you get so caught up in your head, so caught up in what might go wrong. That you forget to stop and think about how an idea might go right. Honestly, you wish you had confessed sooner. You stood next to Aqua, slipping your hand into hers. You looked to the side and watched the sunset, feeling completely at peace.

[theladyheroine]

Kingdom Hearts x Star Wars! 🪐

So recently I’ve been getting really into a Kingdom Hearts mood and this is a bit less of a crossover headcanon and more of an idea? I’ve heard that Star Wars is a possible world for KH4 so I figured why not try my own take! This is basically what I think might happen if we were to get a Star Wars World in KH4! Thank you for tuning in!

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ Characters ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

Now for starters, we gotta talk about Luke Skywalker as a party member! He’s the ultimate Star Wars character (please don’t be upset 😅🙏)! I have a feeling Sora might see him as a kinda mentor type figure, seeing as Luke is older than him & he does get a bit more serious by the time of Return of the Jedi. Although he still has that kind, but reckless farm boy attitude so I think he’ll get along with Sora pretty well or even Kairi! While Kairi is a bit more soft spoken, I feel like she’ll connect pretty well with Luke due to his ways with the force & wisdom he’s received from Master Yoda.

Another trilogy character I feel would make it into KH4 is Han Solo! The greatest pilot in the galaxy and his Millenium Falcon would definitely make an appearance. I feel Sora might like him because he's cool but I also feel Han might but heads with Riku just a bit. It's mostly because Riku himself is a bit impulsive in a way, despite being calm and collected he’s also willing to do things his way first. Maybe they both bicker about where to head next or who does what in the ship.

Another thing that might be cool is if Chewbacca were a character you could summon as an ally. Maybe he could launch the characters into the air for some kind of light blast attack or maybe he just goes around smashing obstacles and stuff for you? Kinda like Wreck-It-Ralph but hairier.

Okay next one! This is a bit less tied to KH4 actually, but I thought it would be a good idea for maybe a Birth by Sleep AU! Although real quick, I unfortunately barely started watching the Clone Wars a few weeks ago, but I really liked this idea. 😅 But dw, I know at least the major parts & about Rex & Cody so hopefully this is okay. 😅🙏

Okay anywho, the Clone Wars and/or The Bad Batch is next on my list! Since this period of Star Wars mostly takes place before the empire, or at least right when the Empire takes over, this might tie into Birth by Sleep a bit more since BBS is a KH prequel. Or at least maybe this can be a cool alternate world for KH4 since the Clone Wars series is so popular. Anyways though, I feel Aqua might fit a bit more into the Star Wars universe simply because I feel her calm and noble demeanor resembles that of a Jedi knight. After all, she is a Keyblade master, people might mistake her for a Jedi or at least force-sensitive.

Plus, it might be a interesting balance for the Clone Troopers, since I know that the Clones take their brotherhood very seriously. Aqua and the rest of the Keyblade wielders might compare that to their friendships.

A few other characters I’d like to include is Ahsoka, Master Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, although maybe the old man version of him too lol. But these are just a few ideas for the worlds as party members, but I can see the Keyblade weilders helping these guys along in their own personal stories maybe?

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ New Areas & Places ✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

Tatooine - This planet I can see as a starting point for the gang, as Tatooine is like a main setting for most Star Wars content even though it's a pretty shady place. I can imagine quests such as helping villagers with their daily tasks, fixing ships, and keeping thugs off the peoples' backs as you navigate. Although, one fight I've heard people talk about is having either Jabba or Sarlacc as a boss fight. Plus, its where Luke Skywalker lives so it might work!

Endor - This one I feel might play a bigger role than Tatooine simply due to its role during the trilogy too. Plus, forest-y planets are also seen alot in Star Wars, which is I think to add mystery I guess? But maybe the gang ends up taking shelter on Endor and happen to run into, say, Princess Leia? And they have to help her and the rebels fight off the Empire!

Coruscant - This one also adds into the whole Clone Wars-BirthBySleep AU, but this might be an option in KH4. Since Coruscant is the capital of the galaxy, I can see maybe it being mentioned at least? Plus, since most of the gang doesn't live in a world with alot of technology other than the datascape, it would be intersting to see them marvel at all the technology there. Plus, maybe they mistake Coruscant for the city Sora's in? Since they don't really know about Shibuya yet.

Okay I think that's everything but thank you for listening! I hope this was fun! I really hope we get a Star Wars world in Kingdom Hearts but I'm thinking about making a few most posts like these for KH4, but anyways thank you!