#riku is the light

[ziireaux]

heartstrings - 大切な人

some zooms

between the riku is gay video, riku is the light theory, necklace theory, and setup for kh4, I’m having a lot of feelings about these two. nomura hurry I’m starving

[kiolilo]

大切な人を守る力〜♪( ´θ｀)ノ

[avalon-knightly]

Something, something, Riku is the light...

[dotted-clouds]

My Favorite Red Vox song with Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 3

[thefreshprinceofjunes]

people pointing to one heart as proof s/k is canon is sooooo funny when it seems to be a light only attack

bc like

its been stated consistently throughout the series that you cant just have light. light and dark need to be in balance.

like they literally say 'light!' as the attack starts.

that doesnt seem very balanced to me.

but you know what team attack is?

also, i feel like it being called one heart points even further to it being another s/k red herring.

like, compare that to hearts in tune

love is not being one with someone, or someone else 'completing' you. love is just being with someone. by their side.

and theres also the fact that the attack literally cannot function without the two of them together. they need both wings to fly. whereas the two halves of the combined keyblade can be used on their own

or at least i think they can, anyway. in nightmares end/mirage split we see them used individually to cut the chains before they merge:

plus all the emphasis on the nobodies/replicas/etc being their own people, and growing their own hearts. even tho they were 'content' with being merged with their og selves.

idk, maybe im reading too much into the name. maybe its not that deep. but it still seems kinda weird, with all the emphasis post-kh2 on everyone having their own identities

[starrieisdelusional]

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

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

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

crazy am i right

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

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

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

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

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

Why??

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

snippet from kh3 novel

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

Passing Memories

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

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

whatever is happening between soriku

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

riku is the TRUE light

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

aitsu (check full discussion on the internet)

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

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

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

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

some of those instances:

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

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

the final world

Power?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[holleighgram]

Inspired by @hollowwhisperings reminding me that Riku may not be entirely human

[blowingoffsteam2]

Just saw someone get mad about Riku is the light. Nothing new but it's been a good while. And it might be stupid but I got a bit upset. Like damn are they right am I making everything about Riku. I try to be objective with KH analysis... but what if it's bias clouded.

I mean at this point all I can say to that is what’s all this then

Coming to the conclusion that Riku is the light isn’t bias, regardless of whether we ever get any payoff (which I’m still certain we will). It’s extremely basic media literacy. It’s so blatant that I always compare it to this funny meme

The joke is that it’s not subtle at all. Just because something isn’t stated explicitly (yet) doesn’t mean we can’t be confident that something is intended when it’s THIS loud about it.

People being mad at the idea of Riku being important and there actually being a hidden layer to the story is the only bias clouding anyone’s judgement here.

[rikunih]

The Light

[temporalbystander]

To the lovely KH blog that I follow that asked why Kingdom Hearts is trending, I would like you to know just how much of my hate you have. I looked up what's recent on the Kingdom Hearts tag and you know what I found?

The earth shattering certainty that not only is Soriku canon but is also an allegory using Jungian psychology to perfectly illustrate the need to accept and find balance with oneself. And that, contrary to all my prior held beliefs that Sora is pure cinnamon bun levels of light and purity, I should have trusted the openings, the games, and the keyblade masters Terra and Aqua who state that it's Riku that guided them to destiny islands and also implying that Sora may be a big darkness villain at some point.

Don't even get me started on Roxas, or how I never put together that "Kairi arrived on the night of a meteor shower" means that Namine COULDN'T have been replacing Kairi in the memory she gave to Sora and Repliku in CoM about the promise to always protect her.

So, once again. To that lovely blog who asked the question that sent me down this rabbit hole 2 HOURS AGO!!!! Thank you.

[verathena14]

Scared of the crack where the light comes through I'm only really me when I'm here with you

[mythicalartistx]

So I just looked at Hikari English translation lyrics for the first time...

IT'S DEFINITELY FROM KH1 RIKU'S POV I'm going insane it's so him.

It shows how he is alone and that he got separated for Sora. He forgotten his destiny probably referring to his Kingdom Key going to Sora. Then he is referred to as light he awakens in the middle of the night.

Now the light is sometimes referred to him or Sora. Because to Riku, Sora is light.

He wishes he can tell him but he's scared and repressed his feelings. And he always wants to be together with Sora. Because with Sora who he views as light, he'll be fine when it's In the middle of the night when it's dark such as when he was going through a dark place in KH1

He's like turn everything off, don't do anything else but look at me. It gives KH1 Riku vibes so much.

He's still in his "I'm definitely not gay" phase and says he doesn't believe in us completely

But with Sora, he views as his Light

Riju wants to continue being with him and just want Sora to only pay attention to him.

And the thing about light, Riku is the light but to Riku, Sora is His Light.

They are each other lights.

Riku once said in the novels, Riku looked away from Sora because he was dazzling. For Riku he was too bright or dazzling.

And these are just some of the main stanzas I have thoughts on from it being about Riku

My thoughts on Chikai

[kiolilo]

Bare with me, my English is a little rusty but you will get what I mean

It makes me so sad and leaves me without words when someone who is gay, kingdom hearts fan and A SORIKU SHIPPER says: “yeah but disni won’t allow the ship becoming canon”

Context: I work at anime conventions (I’m an illustrator) and a fellow artist and I were talking about kingdom hearts (actually the whole classroom were talking about kh) and I was saying stuff about the neutral pronouns they use (chain of memories) in Japanese and how the English translation messed it up.

And at some point he said that Disney won’t allow… and everyone got quiet (everyone that was present at time were soriku shippers, even my mom) before that, everyone was having a good time talking about sora and riku and how the games are cool etc we even talked about how Donald is the most powerful wizard in the kingdom hearts universe

Even with all the information I have about the games, things I discovered in my wonderful time on twitter with the soriku community. I couldn’t say anything that time and made me realise how people still think “straight is the key” on media…

But even with all that Disney allowed representation on their stuff:

Star vs forces of evil

Owl house

Luca

Onward

Zootopia

Beauty and the beast

Finding dory

Toy Story 4

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Cruella

Lightyear

Strange world

It’s not impossible

The games are telling us a lot of things. There’s no way we are being played

SORIKU ENDGAME ACTUALLY

[avalon-knightly]

[tennelleflowers]

Hey, just here to fuel your Dark Fiagra about Riku being gay and the Light.

In KH2 when Sora and Riku are in the Realm Between the portal to the Dark Margin doesn't open until Sora and Riku have the first part of their "heart to heart". He's literally being vunerable in every way and Sora just shows him patience and understanding. Then the portal opens.

Then on the Margin, Riku opens up once again. I think the reason that Riku wasn't the one to open the Door to Light was because Sora confirmed that he was happy to stay in the dark with Riku.

This part is a stretch but I think, maybe, Riku hearing Sora wistfully reading the letter may have opened the door. Or you know, Maybe it was Kairi. Riku is under the impression that Sora is the Loght because Sora is HIS light, which is why he tells Sora that the door to light was his heart.

Who knows, maybe Soras heart DID open the door, but imo, Kairis letter wasn't romantic. It doesn't even make much sense pertaining to the story.

You're so right. You want to know the funny thing tho? In the character files, there's a short story from Riku's pov about their conversation at the Dark Margin at the end of KH2. It's the same one where Riku says that he used to try to act like Sora's older brother as a kid, but doesn't think of their relationship that way anymore.

To tell you the truth, Sora...I was jealous of you.

As I sat on the dark shore next to Sora, I wondered when I began to feel that way.

Was it when Sora became a Keyblade wielder?

Or was it all the way back when we were children on the islands?

It wouldn’t be strange for me to think I was better than Sora. After all, when you’re a child, a year is a big age difference, so I played the older brother and took Sora around with me everywhere. When did that change?

And then, when it gets to the part where Kairi's letter is supposed to come in, it's just completely omitted???

“I wished I could live life the way you do. Just following my heart.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got my share of problems, too.” Sora responded, staring at the horizon.

“Like what?” I asked Sora, smiling a bit.

“Like...wanting to be like you.”

“I see.”

That made me a little sad, so I responded with as cheerful a voice as I could manage.

“Well, there is one advantage to being me..something you could never imitate.”

“Really? What is it?”

“Having you for a friend.”

Sora was surprised for a moment. Then, he exhaled a bit.

“Then, I guess...I’m okay the way I am. I’ve got something you could never imitate too.” Sora responded with a smile, and he looked off beyond the horizon, at the moon shining faintly in the sky - at the world where we would meet our end.

We both had our own things that the other couldn’t do. Our hearts, each just like the other, were both filled to the brim with happy feelings at that moment.

I was glad to have been Sora’s friend.

“Light.”

My eyes instinctively narrowed at the sight of the bright sun-like light that appeared right before us.

“The door to light...we’ll go together!”

Sora stood up and offered his hand to me.

“Yeah.”

I responded and began to walk with Sora.

LIKE? Hello? Look at this thing just directly implying that it was actually Sora and Riku's hearts opening up to each other that opened the Door to Light??? Skipping Kairi's letter entirely??? (why do they keep doing this lol just let Kairi HAVE SOMETHING sakdfljsd)

Now, like I've said before, stuff in the novels/characters files are SECONDARY canon, so it is canon that Kairi's letter in a bottle shows up and Sora reads it, and then the Door to Light appears. But with this added context I wouldn't say it's a reach that the Door to Light opening to them probably has more to do with them than Kairi's letter specifically.

[thefreshprinceofjunes]

soriku endgame: an imagining

OKAY WELL HERE IT IS

TEN WHOLE PAGES OF HOW SORIKU ENDGAME MIGHT ACTUALLY PLAY OUT

i was rewatching vin play RE2 and fsr this invaded my thoughts and wouldnt leave

this is barely proofread and i reused a lot of the same words/phrases BUT its just meant to be an outline/abridged version so keep that in mind

(if i got any lore wrong tho pls let me know)

btw if you dont want to read this on tumblr for whatever reason, heres a link to the google doc

note: this is going off the assumption MoM saw everything (or at least everything soriku) through the gazing eye

scene is quadratum probably. master of masters (or whoever the bad guy in kh4 is) has sora and riku caught in a bad situation (for temporary visuals im picturing something similar to the dark guardian restraining aqua and ven in kh3)

sora and riku are struggling to break free, while the MoM just laughs. some kh dramatic banter occurs, before MoM changes the subject and starts monologuing (with sora and riku probably interjecting here and there)

MoM: [to sora] you still havent figured it out yet, have you?

MoM: dont you ever wonder why rikus heart holds as vast of a darkness as it does?

MoM: its not because of jealousy, or ansem, or even his desire for strength since you were children.

MoM: no, its much simpler than that.

MoM: remember that dream you had, sora? before the islands were destroyed?

MoM: there was a voice speaking to you, from deep within your heart:

MoM: 'the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.'

MoM: well, the road goes both ways, kid. the deepest of darknesses can only come from the brightest of lights.

sora: wh-what are you saying?

MoM: its been in front of all along, but you were too blind to see it.

cut to voiceless flashbacks of all the times sora encountered the brightest light: when receiving the keyblade, when almost pulled out of sleep by the memory of aqua on DI, during the dive to heart at the beginning of kh3 (assuming it really happened and wasnt just for gameplay purposes), and after using the power of waking at the KBG (the tunnel scene)

sora looks at riku, then back at MoM. riku is grimacing.

sora: that… that was… that was rikus light?

MoM: bingo!

MoM: but theres even more to it than that.

MoM: theres another force of power in this universe that keeps light and dark in harmony

sora: another…?

MoM: you feel an unfathomable depth of it in your heart for, well, pretty much everyone youve ever met.

MoM: what lies in rikus heart, however, comes from the same place, but is also very, very different. its something you claim to not understand, even though youve encountered it many times during your adventures.

rikus eyes widen and he tries to interject, but the MoM physically stops him; sora calls out for him

MoM: its more than just friendship. its hearts that are really, truly connected between two people.

MoM: think about it. think about all the times when everything seemed hopeless, but something, something, kept the bad guys from winning. it wasnt light.

cut to voiceless flashbacks between many of the disney couples sora has met: the beast arriving at hollow bastion out of sheer force of will in his search for belle, flynn sacrificing himself for rapunzel and her tears bringing him back to life (some shit with will/elizabeth and sam/quorra too maybe idk), and finally, herc gaining his strength back as he rescues megara from styx, followed by herc saying, 'people always do crazy things when theyre in love.'

sora stares ahead at nothing in particular, before wincing in pain; suddenly, a forgotten memory surfaces in his mind (if the convo with NS confirms he hasnt completely forgotten, then its the key details that have been missing):

rikus sacrifice in the KBG

riku calls out for him and struggles, but MoM just laughs so more.

MoM: there, now its coming back to you. and that wasnt the only time riku sacrificed everything for you, yknow, although it was probably the most heroic instance. remember him taking on ansems form to beat roxas? and his dive into your heart to wake you from slumber, despite the tremendous danger? you only met her briefly, but one of the princesses of heart experienced something very similar.

MoM: aurora. maleficent placed a curse on her when she was a baby, causing the princess and the rest of the kingdom to fall into a deep sleep on her 16th birthday. but the heir to a nearby kingdom, prince phillip, valiantly fought his way to the castle, and woke up the sleeping beauty– through a kiss. a kiss, of true… 

MoM trails off and looks at riku, then back at sora, expectantly. riku is still struggling to free himself before the truth is revealed, but its no use.

sora stares off again, before looking MoM in the eyes.

sora: … love…?

MoM does jazz hands and poses.

MoM: ding ding ding ding! we have a winner! it only took you, what, 12, 13 years to figure it out? honestly, i just couldnt stand watching it go on for any longer.

MoM: but, hey, i still have my honor. if im wrong, im more than happy to apologize.

MoM turns to riku then.

MoM: well? am i wrong, riku?

riku doesnt respond, and MoM sighs dramatically.

MoM: still no answer? okay, guess well have to do this the hard way.

MoM starts hurting sora, causing him to cry out in pain while riku watches helplessly 

MoM: come on, riku! do it! use your true strength! unleash the power hidden within your heart!

sora gasps and winces, barely getting out rikus name 

suddenly, theres a bright flash of pink energy (maybe rikus eyes also turn dream eater pink too?)

(if the power of love is too cheesy even for kh, then maybe its a black and white darkness/light combo attack)

riku breaks free of whatever MoM did to him, and then channels the energy through his arm, blasting it through soras restraints.

unfortunately, sora was being held in the air, and starts to fall– but in the blink of eye, riku is there to catch him in his arms.

MoM laughs in triumph and draws back slightly.

MoM: there we go!

MoM then shrugs.

MoM: well, this was fun, but ive got places to be. and im sure you two have a lot to talk about. toodles!

MoM disappears, leaving sora and riku in stunned silence.

after a moment, riku sets sora down and turns away from him, avoiding soras gaze.

sora meanwhile takes a second to catch his breath, before staring at riku with wide eyes.

sora: r… riku… is… is that...? is that really… how you feel?

riku clenches his fists at his sides and stays turned away. after a pause, he responds.

riku: … even if it is, it doesnt matter.

sora: what do you mean?

riku: i know… im not the one for you.

riku takes a deep breath.

riku: … when you were put to sleep for a year to fix your memories, some of them found their way into xion. they happened to be your most important memories– the ones you couldnt wake up without.

riku: those… were your memories of kairi. and xion took on her appearance because of them.

sora is stunned, only having been vaguely made aware of what happened in that year.

sora: k… kairi?

riku nods solemnly.

riku: yeah. and the only reason your memories got messed with in the first place is because the organization forced namine to make herself the person most important to you, instead of kairi.

sora pauses.

sora: you mean… castle oblivion.

riku nods again.

sora watches, before feeling a pain in his heart and grabbing at his chest instinctively.

underneath his hand, he can feel the cold metal of his crown necklace.

and thats when it finally clicks.

everything blurs, and theres a sudden rush of memories.

(maybe a memory sequence that you actually play through?)

sora, holding kairis wayfinder in castle oblivion. suddenly, the memory gets static-y, like during soras memory restoration.

cut to namine confessing to sora shes not the girl he cares about– but every time the word is feminine, its distorted by video static. (this is how we fix the aitsu thing)

"no. the g̸͓̦͙̫̮̦̠͗͐͗̊͑̕͝i̷͖̝̝̱̐ͅͅŗ̸̄̆̓̆̊̄̿l̶̮͉̦͓͔̹̀̂͗͝ͅ you care about...the one who was always with you... its not me. its ḧ̴̳͔̻̾̇e̵͚͂̀r̸̺̣̠̓̂̀̚."

cut to namine speaking to sora before he goes to sleep.

“but theres another promise you made—a promise to someone you could never replace. s̵̹̀͗͜h̷͇͇͌̆̐e̷̡̛̱'̷̦̆s̵̫͖̦̄̈̄ your light. the light within the darkness. if you can remember h̷̼̼̜͚͒e̸̢̡̤̹̬͖͐̒͒̾r̸͓̣̜̼̜̠͚͂̋̃...all the memories lost in the shadows of your heart will come into the light."

cut to a flashback of repliku talking about their shared promise. again, the feminine words are indecipherable.

"there was a meteor shower one night when s̶̳̄͑̆̅̆͗h̴͍̞͖͙͑̔̋̈́̎̈̾ę̷̧̰̰̖̝͆̆̕̚ and i were little... n̸̨̙̼͑̽ả̴̗͕̮́͊͝m̴̻̳͚̒i̸̳̟͑n̶̡̥̋̑̌é̸͍̦͑͐͋́ got scared and said, what if a shooting star hits the islands? so i told ḧ̷̡̬̽̅͆̊ė̸̙̩̠̥̿̃̚͠r̶̛̥̻̖̉̾̽͝, if a shooting star comes this way, ill protect you! and then—"

cut back to the memory pod.

"look at the g̴̬͛̄̚͘ŏ̴̞̙̰̍͂̀ö̴̘̥̗̱̐͋͆ͅď̷̨͙̙̩̓́͝ ̸̢̋̈́̂̚ļ̷̯̥̲̪̐̋͌̾̚ṵ̵̼̥̥͖̎c̸̱̟̹̚ķ̸̭̱̖̓̇ͅ ̷͇̳̃̑́͑͐͜ͅc̸̢̤̈̈́̊̚̕h̵̙̗̓͊̾ͅą̷̣̮̞̾̈́r̶̜̜͓̥̀́͋͝m̸̺̖͈̖͓̊̀̕. i changed its shape when i changed your memory. but when you thought of ẖ̴͚̙̆ȅ̴̡̛̞̲̥̼̋͐r̸̹̱̐, it went back to the way it was."

finally, a few more lines from namine.

"remembering one thing leads to remembering another, and then another... your memories are connected, like links in a chain. those same chains are what anchor us all together. i dont destroy memories. i just take apart the links and rearrange them. you still have all your memories."

cut back to sora in the real world. everything is still blurry, but now rikus voice can be heard in the background calling for him, distorted.

and then, a flash of light.

nighttime. its still. everything is quiet and peaceful.

young sora and riku are walking back from the beach.

suddenly, theres a bright streak across the sky. 

sora and riku both gasp.

then, another. and another. and another.

the night of the meteor shower.

riku watches the sky in amazement– until he feels a tug on his arm.

he glances at his side and sees sora, utterly terrified and clinging on to him for dear life.

sora: wahhhh!! r-r-riku, the sky is falling!!

riku laughs.

riku: no, those are shooting stars. theyre way up high in the sky.

sora however is not convinced, and keeps shaking as tears start to well up in his eyes.

sora: b-but…! theres so many of them. and theyre so fast!! what if a shooting star hits the islands?!

the reality of soras mood finally sets in, and riku is left staring as he tries to think of what to do.

hanging from his pocket is his wooden sword.

the words of the man with the real sword echo in his mind:

“no more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love."

riku grabs his sword then and holds it up to the sky as he looks at sora, courage glinting in his eyes.

riku: if a shooting star comes this way, ill protect you! ill hit it right back into outer space!

sora sniffles as he watches riku swing the sword around.

sora: r-really?

riku nods his head confidently.

riku: i will. i promise!

after a moment of thought, riku reaches into his pocket and pulls out a silver chain with a crown dangling from the end.

riku: here. take this. i found it the other day.

with the magic of cutscene, riku somehow turns the chain into a necklace, and then reaches over to hang it around soras neck.

riku: whenever you get scared, all you have to do is look at this, and remember that ill always be there to protect you. no matter what.

tears run down soras face as he looks at the necklace.

the voice of the strange girl theyd met before rings through his mind:

"so then if something happens, and riku is about to get lost—or say, he starts wandering down a dark path alone—you make sure to stay with him and keep him safe. thats your job, sora, and im counting on you to do it, okay?"

sora gulps and then reaches out to grab rikus free hand in both of his own. riku is surprised by this.

sora: ill… ill protect you too! i-i know im not as strong as you, but ill… ill try! i promise!

riku is taken aback for a moment, before he smiles gently at sora.

riku: … thanks, sora.

afterward, a multitude of quick flashbacks to all the times sora and riku protected each other, culminating in seeing the KBG sacrifice one more time.

fade to back.

in a hotel room (or smth similar), sora suddenly sits up straight in a bed, heart beating rapidly.

sora: riku!

(paralleling when riku called out for him after waking up from the dive into his heart in ddd)

riku has been seated at the edge of the bed, waiting and worrying. when he realizes soras awake, he scoots down the bed towards him.

riku: sora! youre okay!

after catching his breath, sora looks around the room, confused.

sora: … what… happened?

riku: you passed out, so i brought you here. how are you feeling?

sora puts a hand to his head, grimacing slightly at his pulsing headache. but that doesnt matter right now.

sora: im… im fine. listen, riku… i saw… i saw some of the things that happened at CO.

rikus eyes widen.

riku: you did?

sora: yeah. i saw you… well, a version of you. and namine. namine…

sora looks into rikus eyes.

sora: she… she was wrong. or… maybe i was wrong, and she just played along for my sake…

riku: huh? what are you talking about?

sora swallows as his voice starts shaking, just a little.

sora: kairi… kairi wasnt the one most special to me. you were. i remember… i remember the night of the meteor shower.

sora clutches at the crown necklace.

sora: all this time, id thought id remembered everything important… but i forgot about it. [sighs] im sorry, riku

riku stays quiet for a moment, before putting on a forced smile.

riku: its fine, sora. we were little kids.

sora frowns.

sora: but… you never forgot, did you?

riku shrugs, and theres a moment of silence between them, before riku speaks again.

riku: maybe i was the one most important to you back then, but its not the same now. thats alright. im just happy to be your friend. i know how you feel about kai-

sora suddenly moves forward, closer to riku, now yelling as he cuts him off.

sora: i get to decide how i feel, riku! its my heart!

riku is taken aback at the shouting, and stares in shock. sora realizes hes gotten loud, and takes a moment to calm down.

dearly beloved starts to play in the bg

sora: i… i know now. maybe it took me a long time, but… i figured it out. the person most important to me… all along, its been you.

riku freezes up in pure shock. he cant believe what hes hearing. hed talked himself out of hoping for this day long ago.

sora finally smiles again.

sora: youre the one i love.

(paralleling prince eric with ariel)

BOOM FIREWORKS MAGIC SORIKU ENDGAME

riku is absolutely speechless, staring at sora with his mouth agape.

sora gives riku a sheepish grin, now growing nervous at the lack of a response.

sora: and… im the one you love… right?

after a second, riku returns soras smile– and, for the very first time in the series, starts crying.

he nods, shakily.

riku: … yeah. yeah, i do. i always have.

riku wipes at his eyes to stop crying, but its futile. the tears flow even harder.

sora feels himself start crying, too, but hes laughing at the same time.

he pulls riku into a hug, grabbing his upper back tightly.

without any hesitation whatsover, riku returns the embrace, holding onto sora in the same way.

(like so [sora in orange, riku in teal])

fade to black.

then they kill the MoM, get married, and live happily ever after. the end. :)

love balancing light and dark is largely taken from these tags by @osrinlore on this video of mine btw: