#until sora arrived in quadratum

[endlessskymaster]

When Sora arrived in Quadratum, he'd been asleep for 7 days, and in Sora and Strelitzia's reality, an entire year had passed.

[kadextra]

re: nomura newest message oh my god kh crossroads symbolism….. ur telling me its been a consistent fact this whole time since com that if we see characters present at one it means its a decisive moment where they’re literally gonna lose something & gain another thing,, and it’s directly inspired by the actual folklore stories of the devil at the crossroads,? I didn’t realize this until now hey?? nomura gracing me with knowledge at 3am???

and crossroads in mythology are also said to be places where the veil between worlds is thin and spirits can be reached- the keyblade graveyard is a graveyard and spirits/hearts Were reached there *cough* ephemer + keykids…. sora arrived in quadratum inside a crossroads (kh3 secret ending) after losing his existence for breaking the nature taboo, quadratum is the land of the dead for him OHDGIHHHH

[mythicalartistx]

Okay so we already know Player Character reincarnates and have multiple lives.

The second life is Missing Link and what if after that life the Player reincarnates again until they reincarnates into Sora

Think about it. They're both ordinary people. There is "nothing" really special about them. Player wasn't chosen as a dandelion. But Skuld and Ephemer saved them.

Then in KH3 Sora is saved by keyblade wielders of the past, the ancient ones and among them is Ephemer who smiles at Sora. He helps him and uses the ancient keyblade wielders. Unless just for a cool visual.

He helps Sora because he is the reincarnated version of his friend. It wouldn't make that much sense.

Then Strelitzia in Union X always watched Player Character and wanted to meet them. When she found out they weren't part of the dandelions, she then went to find them. However she got struck by "Ventus" controlled by darkness and as she falls she wishes she could have met with Player.

Then in the data world, they see a hooded figure like either Luxu or MOM taking Strelitzia somewhere probably Quadratum?

Finally when Sora arrives in Quadratum, Strelitzia can talk to Sora "player" like she always wanted to.

Though it kinda sad if you think about what Marluxia and Larxene did to Sora with him being another of the Player's life.

Anyways KHML hype

[antonella411]

Soriku Week 2024 day 7: Simple & Clean (Future)

I decided to create this fanart for the last day of Soriku Week 2024 because it's free day and so I decided to create a future for Sora and Riku after the events of KH4.

Plus this is my first Soriku Week I've attended since I became a Soriku Shipper!

In the cut part there is the whole story of Sora and Riku's future in detail

@sorikufanevents

Marriage Proposal

Sora and Riku have been together for 4 years now. On their 4th anniversary, Sora and Riku were in the Paopu Fruit Tree watching the sunset together, thinking that it's been 2 years since they not had a new adventure after Quadratum and, above all, Sora and Riku are now adults (Sora is 18, while Riku is 19). While Riku has been a Keyblade Master for 3 years, Sora continues to study to become a Keyblade Master as well. For their anniversary, Sora made a big surprise for Riku: Sora bowed before Riku showing a small red box that when opened revealed a magnificent engagement ring with a heart-shaped diamond! Sora has finally decided to ask Riku to marry him! From the sight of the ring, Riku was so moved that not only did he agree to marry Sora, but, after Sora put the ring on his finger, he kissed him passionately! That same evening, Sora and Riku invited their friends to their house, announcing their wedding

Wedding

As it was said in the last chapter of my favorite Italian work... that blessed day came: their wedding day! Sora and Riku decided to get married in Radiant Garden, once Baston Hollow, the place where the two had shared their first kiss. Sora had his Nobody Roxas as best man and his best friend Kairi as a bridesmaid, while Riku had his "mentor" friend Terra as best man and his best friend Naminé as a bridesmaid. Sora and Riku arrived in Radiant Garden brought by their gummiship and, according to Ansem the Wise, they were married! The reception was at Destiny Islands and lasted until midnight. After the wedding, Sora and Riku left on their honeymoon in the gummiship to the worlds that Sora had visited. During the honeymoon, Sora and Riku spend their wedding night in the bedroom of the gummiship

Pregnancy

Two weeks after the wedding, Sora was looking at the sea in the Paopu Fruit Tree, feeling nostalgic for the times when he and Riku were kids, when his new husband arrived early from his job as a Keyblade Master in the Land of Departure. A few minutes later, Sora received a amazing news: Riku is pregnant! Sora was almost moved when he found out that they were going to be fathers. That evening, Sora and Riku invited their friends to their house, announcing the baby was on the way. Seeing that Riku won't be able to work due to his pregnancy, Sora offers to temporarily be the master of his 14-year-old apprentice. 9 months later, seeing that Sora has taken great care of Riku's apprentice, Yen Sid decides to name him a Keyblade Master! Sora is very happy to have become a Keyblade Master, but he doesn't yet know that this moment will coincide with the happy event...

Birth

In fact, at midnight, Riku's water broke! In a panic, Sora immediately called an ambulance, taking Riku to the hospital. Sora stayed with Riku during the childbirth, asking the midwife many times if the baby was a boy or a girl (throughout the pregnancy, Sora and Riku had decided to know the gender of their baby when it was born). After a few hours, Riku gave birth to a beautiful baby boy with brown hair and green eyes! Sora and Riku were very moved by the sight of their newborn son and decided to name him Roxas

Fatherhood

Sora and Riku loved their newborn son more than anyone else. Now their days are like this: in the morning, while Sora was at work, Riku spent his mornings being a father to little Roxas, while in the afternoon, Riku goes to work and Sora takes care of Roxas, on some days, Sora and Riku take the day off to spend time with Roxas, while on other days, when the two had to go to work, they call Donald and Goofy to babysit Roxas. As he grows up, Roxas begins to resemble Sora a lot, both in appearance and in character. When he turned one, Roxas quickly began to learn to walk and talk (Sora and Riku were moved when their son began to call them "dad")

Family

Some time after Roxas learned to walk and talk, big news came to the family: Riku is pregnant again! During this second pregnancy, Riku stayed home to take care of Roxas, while Sora worked as a master with both his apprentices and Riku's apprentices. 9 months later (and 1 month after Roxas turned 2), at midnight, Riku's water broke! Before going to the hospital, Sora called Donald and Goofy to keep an eye on Roxas. At the hospital, just like during the first childbirth, Sora stayed with Riku during the childbirth, asking the midwife many times if the baby was a boy or a girl (even throughout this second pregnancy, Sora and Riku decided to know the gender of their baby when it was born). After a few hours, Riku gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with silver hair and blue eyes! Riku was moved as he looked at his newborn daughter, seeing that she looked a lot like him when he was little. In the morning, Sora took Roxas to meet his new little sister. Even though their family was no longer all-male, Sora and Riku loved their newborn daughter and decided to name her Kairi. Even though he was no longer an only child, Roxas was still Sora and Riku's favorite child!

I've always wanted to create this future forever and share it with you! I've always loved Mpreg Riku and I have a strong desire for someone to create their own version of my Fankid Roxas as newborn with his fathers (like @mpregfanatic197) 🥰

[luridaemos]

i know people are tired of versus 13, but i've been thinking about if anything from the trailers will be made relevant to kingdom hearts 4 lately so i want to just dump my thoughts here. also a little bit about the 4 trailer because a certain line is bugging me and i’m going stir crazy waiting for news. like for one "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so" was so important that it was in all of the trailers until the direction change and could possibly be mentioned by mom or yozora himself. if maybe "the true figure is still hidden in sleep" is still important with how much sleep still seems to be (sora and yozora sharing dreams but also riku’s dreams and sora’s apparent coma upon arriving in quadratum). strelitzia is the new white-robed figure & it’d be so cool to maybe see a variation of yozora vs strelitzia or even sora vs her:

i kind of feel like maybe the conversation between noct and stella might have been mostly scrapped

i think mainly the parts about a select people being able to continuously see a light in the sky after a near death experience from which they gain power from at the cost of another's life. but the stuff about etro opening the door for the dead and a light shining down could easily become “door to kingdom hearts” related or even related to the meteor shower that happened on destiny islands. maybe worked into the characters we know arriving in quadratum the way kairi arrived on destiny islands.

there’s also the whole “eyes that see the light of expiring souls” and “there are things i just ‘know,’ and i have no idea how.” which i guess could now be yozora being able to go to the final world in his dreams. 

plus an conversation that happens directly after noct talks to stella after their first trailer interaction which boils down to a disembodied voice asking who noct is and him responding that he was going to ask them the same thing. a line added in a later trailer is him saying “goodbye. whoever you are.” which i’m thinking could either be now yozora talking to whoever stole his appearance/whoever told him to “save sora” or completely reworked into his meeting with sora in the final world. i think it’d be super interesting if yozora had spoken to the person who stole his appearance before hand and maybe even become friends before it happened, but i’d honestly be okay if that isn’t the case. it being whoever told him to “save sora” could also lead it to him not knowing who stole his look and that maybe the same person took nameless star’s name.

i’m also wondering if “the heart resides within the soul, which in turn is guided by fate to its rightful place.” and “the choice is yours once more.” form the kh4 trailer is related to yozora saying “if you are who you say, and it was fate that brought us here, then... my path is clear.”

i also wonder if “guided by fate to its rightful place” is more related to yozora or sora, or perhaps everyone who isn’t supposed to be in quadratum and it’s clear that it’s up to sora to decide what to do. sorry if this is all something people have already talked about at length. i just figured i might as well use this tumblr dump my hyperfixation thoughts somewhere.

[inconsistentracoon]

190K words and almost a year later my fic, Brought Back, is officially complete!

Hurt/Comfort, SoRiku romance, and lots of them being besties with Kairi. Also action, mystery, fluff, and a lot of depression allegories.

Obsessively canon-compliant (aside from KH4 trailer) and most main characters turn up along the way. Set post ReMind and Melody of Memory. Angst with a happy ending.

I'm actually seriously proud of how this turned out 🥹 and amazed I made it to the end.

Chapter 1 is a short Prologue: As the Master of Masters observes Sora furiously searching for him, he senses more Keyblade Wielders appearing in Quadratum.

Full prologue and summary below

Summary:

After waking up in a strange city, Sora has wandered its streets alone for months searching for a way home, whilst tormented by Heartless and stalked by a stranger in a black coat. When he is gravely wounded, Riku and Kairi arrive just in time to get him to safety.

However, he has returned with more than just physical wounds. With his body, heart, and spirit all severely damaged, and memories of Rage still haunting him, the road to recovery will be long and painful. Could there be more than trauma to these dark feelings Sora has brought back with him?

His many friends want to be there to help him through it though, even in the times he doesn't want them to be, and doesn't think he deserves it. Above all else, Riku and Kairi will always be at his side, even while one must desperately try to hold back his feelings.

Prologue:

He yawned widely and glanced up, checking the moon's position in the sky. It seemed a long time since the sun had set but, judging by how little the pale circle had moved, it must still be several hours until midnight.

Every now and then the boy's hoarse voice floated up through the night air to where he sat on the edge of a skyscraper roof, as he continued to shout for the man to come out and fight. It had been a nice change of pace, seeing Sora consumed with anger and openly trying to hunt him down. But after several days of it, the novelty was wearing off. 

He was bored. If losing that silly charm of his hadn't been enough to push Sora over the edge then maybe it was time to give him another nudge... Such an interesting challenge this was, keeping the boy balanced on the edge of this dark abyss until just the right moment.

Push too soon, and he would be lost. Wait too long, and the chance might be missed. But if he got his timing just right... Sora would fall, and let something else take flight. 

And it would fly right into the cage he had set for it.

His head snapped to the side as he sensed something change, something abruptly alter the energy of this world. Someone else was here.

He stepped through the dark flames of the corridor he had summoned and emerged atop the roof of a different soaring skyscraper. A red light pulsed beneath the platform he stood on, and from the matching tower on the other side of the building. It was the ideal place to spot his intruders from, and he didn't have to look far.

There they were.

Four teenagers, standing in the centre of the semicircular plaza far below. What a convenient location for them to have chosen. A blue sphere surrounded by diamonds hovered in the air behind them, pulsing faintly. It disappeared as a blonde-haired boy pointed a weapon at it. That weapon though, a Keyblade? 

A roar of anger rose in his throat but he forced it back down. They must be here for Sora.

How dare they interfere! After months and months of careful planning and work, tormenting Sora with Heartless, sleepless nights, and murderous visions, these four were going to waltz in here and try to stop him? Try to throw away all those decades- centuries of planning.

They could never defeat him of course, but killing more Keyblade wielders unnecessarily was something he would prefer to avoid, and if Sora glimpsed them and regained his hope... It would all be for nothing, and he would lose his ideal vessel for the 13th.

Or maybe... His lip curled into a sneer as an idea occurred to him. Maybe this was that final nudge Sora needed.

The dark flames engulfed him once more and he returned to his previous observation point. He called down to the boy running through the streets below.

"Hello Sora, why don't you come up here and join me?"

Full story on AO3

[dullahandyke]

Ok hi com thoughts.i just reached the sixth floor so I'm almost done w the initial Disney worlds I think? Idk I only have halloweentown left

Sora is remembering more ‼‼ and its incheresting... tbh I was expecting it to be more 'blatant incorrect memory bullshit' but had I not been spoiled to high heaven I probably would have believed naminé's scheme. Idk something about the way sora describes 'we had a friend when I was really little and then one day she was gone and the adults tried to explain it to me but I didnt understand ans I didnt remember her until now because I've been repressing my memories of her' that unsettle me even knowing what I do... plus the parallels w kairi and idea that they're unable to coexist even in timeline with the way naminé 'left' without explanation and kairi arrived without explanation at around the same time in soras brain.... many thoughts I need to rotate before I conclude. Also I'm only at floor 6 duh. But idk obviously lore videos + fandom osmosis were never gonna get all the impact of the story but I'm starting to realise that Oh Shit The Memory Stuff Is Interesting

Speaking of which, I know this is coming from Mr 'luxord should've been at castle oblivion', but the fact that marluxia is heading it is Interesting when you have union cross knowledge... spouting off all this shit about 'precious memories and people are often the ones most buried in your heart' like wow I really showed sora now he's gonna fall for our plan, meanwhile somewhere in quadratum strelitzia gets the sudden urge to bang her head into a wall

Aaand final thought I think, the sprites r rlly cool and nice and awesome... axels hair in particular is so so cool w the shading. Also something abt larxenes face looks way different from the other games but I'm kinda digging it

[daylighteclipsed]

Have you seen the secret ending yet? 👀

I didn’t know what that was til you sent this, but NOW I HAVE

First of all, GORGEOUS ANIMATION. Second, Sora wakes up laying in a puddle in Scramble Crossing. The shallow water and mirror effect of the puddle(s) are similar to the salt flat-inspired Final World, the KH equivalent of purgatory… With the KH4 trailer having shown us that Sora wakes up 7 days after arriving in Quadratum, some part of him must still be asleep here.

7 days is the duration of a Reaper’s Game in TWEWY and since Neku also appears in Scramble Crossing after he dies, as well as this ending’s emphasis on the 104 building… maybe Sora has to deal with something like the Reaper’s Game to get a second chance at life. I doubt it’d be a direct crossover, but maybe. DDD does suggest Sora and Riku will meet up with their TWEWY pals eventually.

Sora’s side of this universe is golds, oranges, and reds, while Riku’s is silvers, purples, blues. Matching their character color schemes as well as their joint reality shift Keyblade. The first shot we see is the puddle reflecting a representation of these two sides. They stand across from each other, but they make up the whole puddle. They mirror each other as Riku and Sora’s characters do in this ending, but the puddle itself is also a mirror.

And Sora’s side is the only one with puddles/reflections/mirrors. While they seem to be in the same universe, I don’t think Sora and Riku are in the same world or on the same dimensional plane. Maybe a parallel dream world situation like DDD, a mirror world like Toybox, but then, I’m getting a lot of CoM vibes, too… I also like how Sora wakes up in water, which has always represented darkness, with the camera angled at the ground, while Riku rises surrounded by bright light, with the camera angled at the sky. I just think the constant yinyang-ism of these two is neat.

Anyway, something else that stood out to me is that one of the transitions from Sora’s side to Riku’s side is through this billboard that looks to be a PlayStation ad or some kind of gaming system. We go through the screen, similar to when Young Xehanort yeeted Sora into Verum Rex.

And Riku has Yozora on his side, who we know is a video game character in the KH universe. Clearly, probably, Yozora is gonna be the link between Riku and Sora, since he’s like a fusion of their designs, color schemes, motifs. Man even has one red eye and one blue eye.

But does that mean Riku’s in the Verum Rex video game that exists in the world Sora’s in, Quadratum, or is Verum Rex Quadratum? Is it a world you can go to in Quadratum like how you can go to Disney worlds in KH? Hmm.

Then we see a hooded figure in a black coat that I’m assuming is the Master of Masters making a heart in front of the moon — gee I wonder what that means! And I’m too lazy to find another pic, but MoM is in the same gold light part of the world that Sora is. Though like I said, in this ending, I’m pretty sure Sora’s not on the normal material plane yet. Not until he wakes up in KH4.

Ah, and then the theme is “Reconnect” and that could mean a couple things. The most obvious takeaway is Sora and Riku having to reconnect since they’re separated in this ending. But it could also mean reconnecting with the reality they come from… What I want to know is, MoM is originally interested in Quadratum because it’s a place neither light nor darkness is supposed to reach, right? But in this ending, we see his hands form the symbol for Kingdom Hearts. Why would he want to summon KH there?

My working theory right now — and I could be completely wrong — but my working theory is he wants to destroy Kingdom Hearts, rid the universe of darkness and light. Just based off of what we know about the MoM, he’s lived through multiple Keyblade wars so he’s seen the destructive influence light and darkness have had with their constant clashing, seems to understand light and dark cannot exist without each other, and was obsessed with reaching a world free of light and dark — a world he couldn’t even conceive… Maybe he gets to Quadratum and realizes he brought dark and light with him from the KH reality, thinks there’s nowhere he can go that light and dark can’t reach, and decides he’s going to destroy Kingdom Hearts, God, to liberate the universe, which would literally tear apart reality… And what he doesn’t realize is that so long as people continue to care and feel and have hearts, light and darkness, and thus Kingdom Hearts, will always exist. Cue shonen hero speech delivered by Sora and/or Riku about accepting the light and darkness inside of you instead of rejecting one or the other — because accepting the darkness is how Riku became immune to the corrupting influence of it (this is also where Xehanort went wrong wanting to create a new world of only light and Eraqus went wrong in his teachings believing darkness must be destroyed. One cannot exist without the other and both are necessary, reality depends on this duality). Cue epic boss fight.

But that’s just a theory! With some of Eraqus and Xehanort’s last words being about how it’s too late for their generation but not this one, before Xehanort hands Sora the X-blade, I think it would make sense to continue the theme of this generation understanding light and dark and how to create a brighter future better than the past generations did/do, which includes the MoM.

[drazavonia]

Is Any of This For Real, or Not?

The first shot we have of Sora is him sleeping on the couch in his new apartment and for Yozora, the first shot we see of his physical self, is him sleeping in the back of a car driven by Luxord. 

We see that Sora and Yozora meeting in the Final World, at least on Yozora's side, was via a dream. However, now that we learned that Sora has also been asleep since arriving in Quadratum, the other side of Reality, and that he was sleeping when the Secret Episode began, it would seem that both Sora and Yozora were sleeping at the same time, met in the Final World and fought it out.

What's most interesting about this is that the ending where Sora is victorious has been confirmed to be canon. When Yozora wins he wakes up immediately without Luxord's interference, but when Sora wins it's almost as if Yozora stays asleep for a while until Luxord wakes him up.

So, is the beginning of this trailer when Sora wakes up after hearing the doorbell, right after defeating Yozora? And if that is the case, then does that mean that the Darkside attack on Quadratum happens during Yozora's car ride? Is that what Luxord awakens and beckons for Yozora to look at to his left?

[verathena14]

Sunlight by Deas Vail + Soriku Explanation

Some days come and some days go, where do they get off running out on me? They're running to their symbols. We can't break up, can't break up with ourselves.

Riku feels a little bit jealous of Sora’s friendship with the other Destiny Island kids, but knows that Sora favors him.

I wanna, I wanna break through. I wish it were so simple. And underneath the colors of our skins, we are the same. We all began when everything was little.

Despite-- or perhaps because of-- Sora and Riku’s differences, they spend every waking moment together. Until Kairi arrives at the islands, and everything changes.

We want more than we can get. Isn't that the way we all like to live-- without reservations?

Riku realizes, at the age of around 12 or 13 that he wants more than just Sora’s friendship. But he figures that Sora doesn’t feel the same.

Sunlight is falling again, but it never touches us because we cover our eyes and cover our fragile skin, and we are comfortable with this.

Sora’s light is strong, but the darkness within Riku’s heart shields him from it, corrupting his love into jealousy and bitterness. He’s comfortable in the darkness because it hurts less than loving Sora. 

Elevate the product of our sins. We are the soul of modern trends, or just the imitations?

Riku’s leftover darkness in his heart is the product of his sins, a remnant of the time when he was willing to hurt the one he loves the most.

Sunlight is falling again, but it never touches us because we cover our eyes and cover our fragile skin, and we are comfortable with this.

Riku once again has to shroud himself in darkness, but this time it’s all for Sora. He covers his eyes with the blindfold and hides his body behind the cloak. He’s comfortable with it because it’s all for Sora.

We can't forget what we came here with and what we'll have left when we leave. So here we stand, with our key in hand, with the ones who stood the closest slowly falling out of focus.

We can't forget what we came here with and what we'll have left when we leave. So here we stand, with our key in hand, with the ones who stood the closest slowly falling out of focus.

oh boy this is where it gets sad (also it switches to Sora’s POV!)

six hearts no sacrifice. need i say any more? no, but i will. Ironically, the lyrics say he can’t forget what (who) he came here with, but Sora forgets Riku by the end of the fight with the Real Organization XIII. He stands with the other keyblade wielders, and acknowledges Riku when he’s there, but as soon as Riku leaves Sora’s view, it’s like Sora doesn’t even remember him. Maybe because he doesn’t...

Sunlight is falling again, but it never touches us because we cover our eyes and cover our fragile skin, and we are comfortable with this.

This time, Sora is the one who- accidentally- hides from the light (Riku) when he finds himself in Quadratum. 

How can we hide ourselves like this? It doesn't seem like we all know where we belong, where we belong, where we belong...

Sora feels like something’s missing from his memories, but can’t place a finger on it. He knows something’s wrong.

[dusky-dancing]

An Unbreakable Connection - Chapter 2

Summary: Sora's time arrives to pay an unconventional visit to the friend he can't remember.

Rating: T

Length: ~2.5k words

Genre: Post-KH3, Romance, Hurt/Comfort

Pairing: Kairi/Sora

Continuation of SoKai Week - Day 7 - KH4/The Future

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Links for story navigation:

CH1 | Epilogue

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Sora had never considered himself an astronomer, but for the next several days he studied the night sky like his life depended on it. For all he knew, it did.

Strelitzia was wonderful company during the day, but evenings and nights spent alone in his apartment often released the loneliness that Sora had almost forgotten he'd felt. Every partially moonlit night that followed, he missed the comforting presence around him. There had been something special and soothing about it that had made him trust them immediately. He hoped he could give them the same feeling.

As the moon grew thinner and thinner, Sora waited anxiously, and on the night when it finally disappeared, he had to spend several minutes just trying to calm his nerves.

How much time he really had, Sora didn't know, but he couldn't stress about rushing and risk wasting more precious time. Eventually, his heartbeat slowed, though its rhythm could still be felt through his chest. He closed his eyes and narrowed his focus on the steady beating.

To focus on their connection, Sora had no voice or words to go off of, only the feeling they gave him and what little information he had. Hopefully it would be enough.

They're not in Quadratum.

They're a close friend.

They make me feel happy, safe.

They feel like home.

However long he ended up meditating, it only felt like a brief moment before that airy, weightless sensation returned. He thought that they'd instead come to visit him again, until he opened his eyes to a different room. The ceilings were still tall, yet they were angled and painted a dark blue. The space was smaller too, almost like a dorm room with a desk and chair nearby. A light fruity scent filled the air.

A gasp that wasn't his startled him, then a voice originating from himself.

"Hello, Sora."

A girl's voice, so soft, yet through it he could still hear her smiling. He wasn't in his own body anymore.

"I knew you'd find your way. You always have." She sounded so nice, Sora hated that he couldn't remember her. "Do you need a moment?"

Right, their method of communication from before. He breathed in deeply and focused on moving his—now her—index finger. Two taps would hopefully reassure her that he was ready. Sure enough, it worked, strange as it felt to control someone else.

"Good," she let out a small laugh. "I guess I should start with my name. I'm Kairi."

Kairi. What a pretty name. The kind that he couldn't picture himself saying without smiling.

"I hope you don't feel bad about losing your memories. It's probably just a weird effect of where you are. We'll find you soon, promise." She paused to take a breath. "Speaking of Quadratum, well…it's a long story how you got there." She spoke quietly, like there were people close by she didn't want to alert either. "Would you like to know?"

Yes, he answered quickly.

"Okay, long story short," she continued, "You stopped something really bad from destroying the worlds. You saved many lives, but in the process, you used powers that shouldn't have been used too much. The consequence was that you were…taken from us."

He could feel her voice shaking in her throat as she spoke, but it was the only thing keeping him anchored to reality with the paralyzing amount of information she'd given in just a few sentences.

"I'm sorry, I—" she choked, her breathing heavier. "I thought I'd be okay, but saying all of that, knowing you're here with me, it's…bringing up alot."

Hearing her cry was more painful than the challenges Sora had faced in Quadratum, and more than anything, he wanted to just wrap her in a big hug. Suddenly, the realization hit that she'd given up control of her hands, and he gently lifted one to wipe away her tears as best as he could. He couldn't see what she looked like, but her cheeks felt so soft and warm. Her hands were small and delicate compared to his too, emphasized with the bracelets on her wrists.

"Thank you," she said as her heartbeat calmed. "I know our time is limited, so I won't talk about myself for long, but…"

In truth, he wanted to hear her talk about herself. He'd sit here all night and listen if it made her feel better and he got to learn more about her.

"But one of the people you saved, Sora, was me. In fact, it was saving me that pushed you too far, so I just—I can't help but feel responsible."

Now he really wanted to hug her, to reassure her that she shouldn't blame herself. If he had his way, no one would have to end up in Quadratum, especially someone as nice as Kairi. Sora couldn't even remember her, and he found himself wanting to make her smile. He could only imagine what he'd do for her if he had all of his memories back.

He shifted her hand from her face to rest above her heart, in the same way that she'd comforted him so many nights ago.

"I know you'd tell me that it wasn't my fault, it's just hard not to feel that way, you know? But anyways, enough about me. There are alot of people trying to bring you home. Do you want to know their names?"

He tapped her collarbone once for yes.

"Well, there's me and Riku, our other childhood friend. The three of us all grew up on Destiny Islands together." She hadn't said how long they'd been friends until now, but it made more sense if they had this kind of connection. And since she'd mentioned it, relaxing on some tropical islands sounded really nice. "Riku actually left not too long ago to try and find you, so if you meet a tall boy with short silver hair and green eyes, that's him. He might give you a hard time, but he means well," she giggled.

"Then there are Donald and Goofy, two dear friends of yours who've gone with you everywhere, and they miss you alot. Their King, Mickey, is also a good friend."

Sadly, none of those names rang a bell, and guilt began to weigh more heavily on his heart again. He had to find his way out of Quadratum, and soon.

"There's Roxas, your former Nobody…do you know what that is?"

A…Nobody? Sora knew the term 'nobody' as an insult, but that didn't sound right in this context. He answered, No.

"Oh, oops," she giggled again, and Sora was beginning to discover his new favorite sound. "I guess it doesn't matter too much, but just know that you two are very close. Naminé was my Nobody, and she's helping too. She has magic over people's memories, so maybe she can help you recover yours! And oh! There's Xion too. She's also pretty special."

From how it sounded, all of these people were his closest friends. Saying that he was lucky before was an understatement.

Kairi continued, "Right now, I'm in a place called the Land of Departure. Here with me are Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. Do you still have the Keyblade?"

Yes. He took a moment to answer, too enraptured with the adorable way she rambled on about their friends.

"Well, they've been training with Keyblades of their own for a long time, since we were really little. We all didn't meet until later, but we've been connected all along. Aqua's a really powerful Keyblade Master, and she's training me so I can be of better help to you."

You're already helping me more than you know, he wanted to say. He made a mental note to say it to her next time she visited him.

"Oh yeah, Axel and Isa are helping too. They used to work against us—another long story—but they're both good now."

With each name added to the list of people trying to help him, Sora's heart grew heavier. At the very least, he wanted to remember them. If he dwelt on the negative emotions for too long, he feared he'd lose connection with Kairi. He tapped Kairi's finger twice.

She hummed. "Do you want me to stop? It's okay if you do."

Her voice didn't sound strained or hurt at all, so Sora felt less guilty about answering, Yes.

"I understand it's alot to take in. Now I know how you felt, only being able to ask 'yes' or 'no' questions and not knowing exactly what to say…"

Sora could listen to her speak all night; her voice was lovely. Yet a part of him itched to know what she looked like, besides her hands and arms. At the very least, seeing her might be able to trigger his memories.

Though partially covered by a sheet, a full-length mirror sat in the corner of her small room, right beside a tall window with thin purple curtains. Mustering up his resolve, he lifted her hand to gesture towards it.

She hummed inquisitively before following her hand. "Oh, would you like to see outside too?"

No, he lowered her hand and pointed more precisely.

"Then…the mirror? I don't see why—Oh," she said, her voice dropping lower. "I suppose you wouldn't remember…but that's alright. I suppose I look different from how you'd remember me anyways." A moment's breath, and she continued, "I trust you too, Sora, go ahead."

He hesitated, surprised at how quickly she'd trusted him. Sure, he'd done the same with her, but to be given so much control over someone he didn't even remember felt like being handed fine porcelain. More than anything, he wanted to be delicate.

Focusing further on her heart, so bright and steady and easy to follow, he slowly willed the rest of her body to move as if it were his own. First, she sat up straight and swung her legs off the side of her bed, bringing another wall of her room into his view. Pictures covered it, both drawn and photographed, with light ribbon and trinkets decorating the spaces between. If he had his memories, he'd probably recognize all of these people, yet none of them registered in his mind.

"Those are our friends," Kairi said when he paused for too long. "The people I told you about."

Hearing about them all had been one thing, but to see just how large his friend group was stirred more emotions than Sora was ready to bear. He steeled himself and stood Kairi to her feet. Though she had a smaller frame than him, he could tell she wasn't lacking for strength.

Steadily, and more easily than expected, he stepped towards the mirror.

"I uh—I should warn you," she said, and he stopped. "I wasn't exactly prepared to show myself to anyone tonight. I'm decent, promise, just not necessarily…presentable."

Sora couldn't bring himself to move further. Was he pushing a boundary too far? Or making her uncomfortable? Stranger or not, he couldn't live with himself if that was the case.

"It's okay," her voice softened with reassurance before clarifying, "I'm okay, Sora."

The way she spoke made her words difficult to ignore. He should be the one comforting her, yet he still found himself on the receiving end.

So he took a step forward, then another, and her room was so small that she was already standing in front of her covered mirror. Without another moment's hesitation, he lifted her hand and pulled the sheet from the mirror.

He'd figured she'd be pretty, but not this pretty.

A cascade of red hair ending just below her shoulders drew his attention first, before it drifted to the face it framed so elegantly. Soft blue eyes and a natural smile seemed to light up the room, despite the faint dark circles beneath her eyes. How much had she been working to help him, exactly, if she was losing sleep?

Speaking of sleep, her outfit did indeed look ready to wind down for the night—a simple white tank top and black shorts that barely covered her legs. Tousled hair in the back betrayed the fact that she'd been lying in bed for a while. Suddenly, he felt more guilty for keeping her from rest.

Otherwise, she looked healthy and active. And her skin looked so soft, he just wanted to wrap her in a big warm hug again. Instead, he just lifted her hand to run her fingers along the opposite forearm.

She giggled. "Told you I'm a little messy." Her gaze fell momentarily before asking, "Do you remember anything?"

No, Sora answered, honestly and painfully. He wanted to remember her, needed to. She was so kind and patient and beautiful, how could he forget someone like that? And all their friends pictured on her wall, how could he forget them?

"It's okay," she reassured him again. "We'll get you back no matter what. You don't remember, but we've made it through similar challenges before. Just keep being yourself, Sora, and have hope."

He squeezed her arm more tightly and crossed the other hand over to give her a little self-hug. That brought her smile back, but she was still visibly in thought.

"And about before," she said slowly, "when you asked if we were more than friends…"

Sora tried his best to remain calm. He'd have been lying if he said he hadn't thought over that question everyday since he'd first asked it. It hadn't been the right time or place yet, and he kicked himself mentally for putting her in an awkward position.

Regardless, she continued, "I didn't answer because, well, I didn't want to speak for you, especially since your memories are gone again."

Again?

"But I can speak for myself, Sora, and say that you're very dear to me."

Sincerity showed itself through her bashful smile and the newly resolute timbre to her voice. He believed her, and wanted more than anything to speak with her face to face. Even if his old memories never returned, he wouldn't mind being a part of her life.

Suddenly, his senses through her began to stutter. She must've noticed too, for her smile dimmed a moment.

"Thank you for visiting me, Sora, I've missed you."

He squeezed her arms around herself again.

"This won't be the last time we see each other, I promise. I'll come to you again when I can."

Sora relaxed, enjoying her presence for a few more moments before being shunting back into his own body. His eyes opened to his minimalist, high-ceiling room and immediately filled with tears. Sitting up, he buried his eyes in his palms and let the waves of emotions crash over him without resistance.

The weight threatened to pull him down, but he couldn't allow himself to drown in guilt and longing, not here. He needed to focus on getting back to his home, back to Kairi and his friends.

With a racing heartbeat, Sora shot up from his sofa and made his way to the balcony door. He placed his palm flat against the glass, staring out at the dark moonless night, and wondered if Kairi felt the same determination in that moment.

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

Thank you for reading! The final chapter/epilogue will be out next week :)

[luxu-loveskh]

Welp i had a random story idea , so i am going to write it down. But keep in mind i am not the best in English and story writing , so hopefully the grammar is good ,enough to be understandable .

____________________________

Its been 1 week and 3 days since i first came here. Quadratum . If we count the one week i was unconscious,then it would be 2 weeks and 3 day.

I am still getting used to this new cycle .

Waking up in a unfamiliar place, smelling the smell of whatever kind of recipe strelitzia is trying out for breakfast. Baldrs silent footsteps,that always make me feel like hes trying to sneak up on me, when in truth hes just well very silent.

Today is just pretty much the same. I look out the window and just wonder who •×}÷ is . That name and person i know that its very important to me. But i just cant remember. Strelitzia aand Baldr said that losing some memories is normal and that they'll recover over time. And if they dont recover i might be able to find someone who i knew and they might help. " •×}÷ i just want to remember who you are", i mumbled.

”Sora”

I turned around a little bit shocked by the sudden noise and started smiling ,when i saw strelitzia and baldr standing at the door.

"do you want to come with us?" Baldr , i dont know much about him except for the fact that he came before i came and that he's a keybalde wielder, although he refuses to actually use his keyblade.

”there is a new bubble tea i want to try, and i thought since you didnt go outside yet , ut may be fun for you to come with us ” strelitzia smiled

"sure... But what's a bubble tea?"

”Youll see”

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

Yesterday i arrived in quadratum, the place where sora is supposed to be. Ever sine ive been walking around and getting lost by this giant city....

Until at some moment a familiar face appeared infront of me.

"luxord?"

Luxord smiled at me.

"hello riku and welcome to quadratum. I am indeed luxords somebody but it would be nice if you called me dolur ."

I'll try...

"a right here" luxo- i mean Dolur (rikuyouhadonejob-) gave me a key and a piece of paper with something written on it "this may seem a little bit fast but this is a adress and house number from a place where you can live in if its ok for you. There are many people like you here ,that came from the other world after death. The organisation i work for speciallises in helping these people out." There was a distant car hooping sound"Coming in a bit! If you need anything you can call the handy number written on the paper. I'll pick up right away , its the least i can do after giving you guys such a trouble through org 14. Anyway have a nice day riku." I nodded as thanks while watching dolur as he walked to his car.

This was indeed very quick...

I stuffed the key and paper into my jacket. when i turned around i could not belive my own eyes. To think it would be this easy. I walked up to him.

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

Strelitzia, Baldr and me finaly reached the shop and ordered the drink. Since i was a but overwhelmed by the huge selection strelitzia decided for me. A bubble tea called tropical fruits. It tastes good , like home. ... I hate this its so familiar it made me tear up... •×}÷ ...

I noticed someone standing behind me. Strelitzia put on an 'angry ' face, probably trying to intimidate whoever was behind me. While baldr completly ignored the situation whike drinking his tea.

I turned around and....

•×}÷... that's him the person i couldn't remember.... •×}u...... R×}u.... "Riku!"

My 'tearing up' from earlier turned into actual tears. Riku he-He cried to.

"sora! "

My body moved on its own. I hugged riku and he hugged me. "Sora! I found you"

Yes... Riku found me... Riku .. i am so happy to remember this lovely name.

".... So sora are you going to explain who this is or -?"

"ah" i stopped hugging riku and turned around to baldr.

"I am one of soras friends"

"seems more then friends to- aghk!" Strelitzia kicked baldr for some reason.

”its nice to see that you two where able to reunite , and i can see that you where able to catch soras bubble tea that he dropped"

Wait what my tea is right he- ah my hands are empty .... Riku is indeed holding the bubble tea.

*haha yeah im used to having sora randomly dropping things"

"th-that doesnt matter right now! How about we go back to the apartment !"

"good idea..." Baldr started walking home.

Strelitzia followed while winking us to follow . I looked at riku and he looked at me... We both started to follow strelitzia.

Hes here riku. I am happy

_____________________

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Legend of Hana Chapter 133

Warnings: This has noncon under the cut. If that makes you uncomfy, then please skip! Still the same warnings as last chapter. 

Rating: NSFW under the cut

It was a sunny yet busy morning in the world of Quadratum. People walking and driving to school and work, the train speeding by to deliver people to their destinations. In an apartment complex in the heart of the city, was a boy with soft, chocolate, spiky hair. He wore a black tank top with a gray jacket with red seams on it and matching pants. He laid on a couch next to a window with a thin curtain covering it. He was currently asleep until he heard the doorbell ring. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up. When he did, he saw that he was in a completely different place than he remembered. Where was he? He heard the doorbell ring again and went to answer it. When he did, he found a girl with strawberry blonde hair in low pigtails and in a white dress with black boots.

“Oh, you’re finally awake, Sora,” the girl said. 

“Huh? You…know me?” Sora asked, confused. How did this girl know him? How did he end up here? 

“Of course. My roommate brought you here,” the girl replied with a smile. “Unfortunately, he had to go to work so it’s just us. I’m sure you have a lot of questions. First, come to my place. I have tea brewing so we can enjoy that while we talk.” Sora hesitantly nodded and followed the girl to her apartment where they sat down and enjoyed some tea. 

“So do you have any questions?” the girl asked. 

“Yeah. First off, who are you?” 

“Oh, how rude of me! My name is Strelitzia. But my friends call me Litz” 

“Okay…Litz, how long have I been asleep?” 

“You’ve been asleep since you arrived in this world seven days ago.” Seven days?!  Has it really been seven days since his fight with Yozora?! 

“W-where are we?” he asked, hoping it was somewhere near to where Hana was. Or at least where he thought she was. 

“Follow me.” Sora followed Litz to a patio where he got a good view of the city “This is Quadratum. It’s a world full of life--but for you and I, it’s similar to an ‘afterworld,’ I suppose.” 

“Died?!” He can’t be dead! He had Hana to get back to! His friends! “I need to get back! I can’t be dead!” 

“At least you weren’t murdered by one of your best friends,” Litz replied. Sora sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to gather his thoughts. 

“How do I get back?” he asked.

“I’ve been working on it. So far, I have nothing but with your help, perhaps we can.” 

“Then, let’s get to work.” 

                                                          ☽✧☽✧

Tw: Noncon. Please skip if you’re uncomfy with it

Hana woke up to feel the most painful headache she has ever had. It was as if she had multiple migraines all at once. She looked around to find herself not in her room but a room with a bed made for someone of royalty. Not only that, but her arms were tied above her head and she was wearing what appeared to be a somewhat see through nightgown. She struggled to get free from her bonds, but no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn’t budge. 

“Aw, you’re awake~” someone said. Hana gasped and looked toward the voice as best as she could to see a man in a black coat. “My queen, you are even more beautiful than I pictured.” 

“Q-queen? W-who the fuck are you?! Where am I?!” Hana asked, scared as the man approached her on the bed. 

“You see, I go by many names but I’m most known as the Master of Masters. You are to be my queen of darkness and together we will take over Kingdom Hearts and rule the entire universe!” the man cackled. 

“As fucking if! My powers are not to be used to summon Kingdom Hearts!” 

“Oh, but they are! The prophecy has already been written! But for now, I think we need to do some training. A queen shouldn’t be so aggressive towards her king.” He started trailing his hand up Hana’s thigh and she immediately started to squirm away from him. 

“H-hey, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Hana exclaimed. 

“What’s it look like?” He started taking Hana’s panties off and she started to kick him away but had no luck. She closed her legs, trying to hide her sensitive area from the Master but he forced them apart and was able to tie them to the bed posts. 

“Let me go! Please!” Hana begged, tears forming in her eyes. The Master didn’t listen and unbuckled his black pants, revealing his hard cock. Hana looked away and continued to try and get away but it was no use. The Master of Masters let out an insane giggle and roughly pushed himself into Hana, causing her to scream in pain. 

“TAKE IT OUT! TAKE IT OUT PLEASE!” she begged but the Master refused to listen. He started moving in and out of her roughly, causing her to scream and cry out for him to let her go. 

“You’re so tight, my queen~ You’re all mine now and you’ll be mine for the rest of time~” the Master moaned. He felt himself getting close to his orgasm and started getting rougher but his thrusts started to get sloppy. 

“I’m gonna cum in you~ And you’ll be mine forever! You want that don’t you?” the Master laughed maniacally. 

“NO! GET OFF OF ME! PLEASE!” But the Master didn’t listen. He continued his rough thrusts till he finally shot his seed deep inside Hana. The Master soon pulled out and made Hana look at him through her teary, fearful eyes. 

“Welcome to your new home, my beautiful queen,” he whispered to her and left, leaving Hana to cry in pain and in fear. 

“Someone please save me…” she whispered. 

                                                         ☽✧☽✧

Meanwhile, in the Underworld, Donald and Goofy walked along the dark halls, Donald’s wand being the only source of light. 

“I wonder where he is,” Donald said. 

“I don’t know, but I sure hope he can help. After all, he and Hana are best friends,” Goofy replied, looking at his duck friend. While they were searching, a single blue flame appeared behind them, gaining their attention. They looked at the flame for one second before turning back around and standing up straight. 

“Hey! Just where do you think you’re going?” a voice asked. Donald and Goofy slowly turned around only to see red flames, causing them to scream and hold onto each other. Just then, the flames returned to blue again and a boy came floating up to them, laughing. 

“Oh, wow! That was so much fun! Thank gods I recorded it so I can show Idia it!” the boy giggled. Donald and Goofy let go of each other and looked at the boy confused. The boy had blue flames for hair, golden eyes, and had robotic gear almost all over his body. What even made him seem more like a robot was that he was flying. 

“You must be Donald and Goofy. My dad has told my brother and I so many funny stories,” the boy said. 

“Um, who are you?” Donald asked, tilting his head in confusion. 

“Oh! I’m Ortho. Ortho Shroud. Hades’s son.” Donald and Goofy were shocked until they remembered the last time they visited Olympus and Hana mentioning Hades’s family. “So, is there a reason you two have come to the Underworld?” 

“Actually, we’re here to see your dad. We need his help,” Goofy explained. 

“Oh! Okay! Follow me then! I can even give you a tour if you want.” With that, the three headed deeper into the Underworld to see the one and only god of the Underworld. 

[maverickflare]

i want to know about whats goin on with your strelitzia really love her design !!! in general your au sounds really cool and id love to know more :)

oh ! uhm . well the general idea was; 

strelitzia actually Was killed by darkness, and in those moments somehow transcended her body and the planes of reality and found herself within kingdom hearts itself, able to both hear It and understand It as whatever sort of higher power It actually is. BUT she was dragged back to life, tossed around in time and space, and eventually spit out in quadratum, where a lot of these memories lay dormant for eleven-ish years as she struggles to make sense of the dreams tht plague her from tht whole deal. until sora arrives and something about that just clicks some things into place. 

she helps sora out cuz she remembers what it was like for her waking up here alone and doesnt want another kid to go through tht (and also bc her connection w the keyblade was severed when she ‘died’), but ends up vanishing just before soras friends show up. which leaves sora to wonder if strelitzia was real or just some manifestation of a comforting presence he needed to see to get through the situation.

the more she sees alongside sora the louder her memories get and she can constantly hear some higher power calling to her again except she can no longer make sense of it or even describe the noise or feeling beyond “unbearable”. and from there she sets about finding some way to use what powers she does still have (lots of Light.) to carve her way back to kingdom hearts and either understand what It wants or make It be quiet.

theres more to it than but thts the. idea.

[kyzveryown]

Observations — KHUX Finale, Pt. I

So, we're finally at the end of KHUX. This update was just the first part of what I'm assuming is a two-part finale with the next and final part releasing at the end of April. Nevertheless, this was a huge update. I do want to say that the simultaneous global release of this update was unprecedented for KHUX. Makes you wonder why they didn't do this when global was 3+ months behind. But that's history now. Not a lot of new stuff save for the last two cutscenes with Luxu, the Master of Masters and 'Darkness'. Also, Ventus going 'Super Saiyan' surprised me. That said, let’s begin.

Let's start off with the Union Leaders scrapping with 'Darkness'. As I expected, they all got smacked and couldn't do any significant damage until the Player arrived (*ahem, Sora Syndrome). I'm disappointed with what they did with Lauriam, even more so with his weird, 'out-of-left field' plea to not lose Ventus. That said, it's whatever. Skuld standing up to 'Darkness' was a moment along with Ventus in 'angel mode'. As per usual, he's trying to sacrifice himself. His ultimate goal is to fuse with 'Darkness', giving it a physical form, so the Union Leaders can defeat it.

Does this mean that Vanitas will appear? At the very least, we could see some form of Ventus-Vanitas but not Vanitas himself. There's also the question of, if by slim chance it turns out that Vanitas is the dark entity battling the Union Leaders (I doubt it), then who/what is the 'Darkness' inside Ventus in Re:Mind? Because that's NOT Vanitas. I'm not surprised that Ventus is a being of 'pure light'. That's been established since BBS and it was mentioned in Re:Mind.

The final pod departing from The Ark will shatter the world(s). The fates of both DDBT & RDBT are quite literally tied to The Arks which is interesting. Once the Union Leaders escape, DDBT will be sealed off and 'the entities of darkness' will be trapped there. This, of course, is part of The Master's plan — his temporary 'truce' with them. Say what you will about his methods, but you can't deny he yields results even if he is a textbook sociopath.

That also makes me wonder; since ‘the darkness’ being trapped in DDBT was only temporary, at some point they'll be freed. From the way things have been developing, I can only assume they'll be largely important in this saga. So, they'll have to arrive at some point. The question is, when? Also, 'the darkness' being able to enter data worlds through electrical signals is the tamest explanation of lore I've ever seen in this series.

Lastly, the conversation between The Master of Masters and ‘Darkness’. The Master only wrote down the important bits of what he saw through the gazing eye. So, it doesn’t contain or cover everything. Again, not surprising. That was done on purpose to throw off the Darkness. The sole purpose of the Book of Prophecies was to be a waypoint that’d ensure the Master of Masters’ arrival in the future. The Book is his path to the point at which it was written – or more precisely, when it ends. I’m going to cover that in another post along with the Seven Crowns & Seven Lights thing because I have a lot to say on that.

The Master didn’t know about Quadratum’s universe. Since he didn’t know about it, and its not part of his grand plan to defeat the darkness (as far as we know), then I have to wonder what purpose is Quadratum’s universe serving in this saga? Why is it important? Furthermore, what are his intentions for being there? Guess we’ll find out somewhere down the line. Can’t wait for part two of the finale. I just hope Ava appears.

[kitsoa]

So, about your Theory ...

So, we talked on Reddit a while ago, Kitsoa, and I have some more thoughts about your theory. It’s more rambling and longer than what I previously intended – my apologies for this.

Kitsoa- Hello again! I’ll reply in brief through quotes though I’m not interested in doing a solid defense of my theory. Mostly it’s a lot of creative stretching using the crumbs of the narrative and I’m not feeling particularly impassioned to bring out the counter citations nor do I think it necessary.

Also: I have written and re-iterated upon this meta theory of mine multiple times so if I am not referencing the correct Original Post in question that’s probably because I never bothered to do a big manifesto and I will take the fall for that confusion.

It’s certainly very interesting but parts of it seem to not only be unsupported but outright contradicted by the games. For instance, take your surmise that Xehanort’s villainy is motivated by his knowledge of the KH world as fictional and his self-knowledge that he has to play the role of the villain to create a conflict and thus sustain the universe. His actual speech in Re:Mind after Dark Road’s world tour points to something else:

“All around the world people live seemingly peaceful lives. They believe themselves to be moral and virtuous, but it’s all an act. Darkness lurks in the pit of everyone’s heart. Their light is a total farce. Those who are weak, and who desire greater power, simply strip the strong of their power, and convince themselves they’ve earned it. That’s how people become tainted by darkness. They believe what they want them to believe, using hollow reasons as justification. They repeat this cycle, and their darkness grows. No, its better they be ruled by darkness. People carry delusions of having power, but it’s a lie. They are but sheep pretending to be wolves. Though I can admit, I can understand why.”

This edgy little diatribe isn’t about the nature of the universe or Xehanort’s own origin … it’s about his view of human (or talking animal, w/e) nature. It’s a similar theme to his final speech in KH3, and ends not with him concluding that he needs to play the role of a villain to create conflict ,,, but that to prevent the KH universe collapsing into chaos, he needs to become its absolute godlike ruler. Which is what sets up the conflict, yes, but his goal isn’t explicitly to create conflict to keep the universe going.

Re: Xehanorts motive aligning with a meta-awareness on his ‘role’ as a villain. This is a theme I was definitely playing with. Xehanort is clearly symbolic of the corrupting pursuit of knowledge and we have a god-like encounter spark stranger behavior yet. It’s a fascinating trope yes? Corrupted by the Truth. Saving the world by sacrificing the world. That was my angle. The World Tour from Re:mind had him summarizing his villainous disdain and I’ll agree that it gives him no direction towards a ‘role’. But I also take note of the fact that this enlightenment comes directly from the actions of the chessmaster MoM who could feasibly manipulate Xehanort towards a conflict-sparking war. If Xehanort isn’t directly and consciously responsible for fulfilling the metacontextual requirements for a ‘story’ then MoM is. And as I’ve stated it probably comes from a more experimental god-mode type motive.

And again, your argument that time doesn’t really exist in the Disney worlds until Sora arrives and this is related to them literally being stories that he’s diving into. I don’t know where you get this from, at all. We go into Disney worlds and experience plots unrelated to the films (KH1 Olympus, Halloween Town); we go into Disney worlds in medias res (too many to count); we go into Disney worlds before the movie’s events take place (BBS Deep Space, Neverland); we even go into Disney worlds in-between or after the movies’ events (KH3 Toy Box, San Fransokyo). Which rather gets in the way of a simplistic “Sora arrives in the Disney world, time starts flowing forward and the movie starts” look at things. You’d previously characterized this as “every world has its unique story” which IMO would be a more reasonable way to look at things rather than the stronger “the worlds literally are the stories and nothing else”.

I’ll defend this a little. The entire concept of the Worlds as Stories demands only that we recognize a higher reality. A reader/audience/ creator relationship with the happenings. When I say ‘time doesn’t exist’ I’m saying it doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter is the time spent there by Sora (or his subsidiaries). Time is going to move between visits but not at a pace that runs independently of Sora (and co). And all of the events within those worlds are unique to the source material-- on the virtue of having Sora. But when I say the worlds are the stories, I mean it... metaphysically. The relationship between the greater kh multi-verse (and no greater) and these literal planet world island things is that of stories given form. Most all of my KH musings come from the very simple concept that formless metaphysical concepts like love, bonds, imagination, memories etc are literal, tangible things. Tangible. In this, Worlds are not so much another universe equal to other universes. They are a story, fictional and potentially subservient to a greater reality. It’s only from that understanding that I add the extra layer upon KH (and Quadratum by later extension) itself. 

The exact logic behind this reasoning is cyclic. KH is a fictional story to the literal higher reality (us) and seeing how there's a parallel within the narrative, I just applied that logic within the universe and used my understanding of the ‘literal metaphysics’ theme going on with other lore concepts.

Power of Waking ejecting Sora into “real reality”: This analysis is based on the idea that Sora is “waking himself up” out of dream states until he “wakes up” out of KH reality into “real reality”. But YMX tells him (and implicitly us, via the conventions of this kind of villainous exposition) that Sora is repeating the same error he made in 3D and sending himself into the abyss at the bottom of the Realm of Darkness, not doing the opposite thing and “waking himself up” out of KH reality.

I’ll just punt Power of Waking stuff. There is a lot of stuff with the power but I take most of the speculation from the name and the results. There’s a big interweave of darkness that can support or deny my thoughts within the next sentence and I’m electing now to wait and see. Sora abuses the power of waking-- ends up in another reality. Waking--> realities--> dreams--> sleep. Run with the word association. I like to think the ambiguity with sleep and the darkness of abyss has more to say about the nature of reality as a whole ergo: “everything is a dream” concepts that are hard to swallow. What is waking up, if you find yourself deeper in sleep? Nonesense stuff like that.

MoM as Creator of the KH universe/Quadratum as the “higher reality”: Not only is he presented as a clear villain figure; given that the rest of the Foretellers are based on the Seven Deadly Sins, MoM as their leader would clearly represent the sin of pride. We also have him saying in Back Cover that he “might” disappear from the KH world, suggesting that it was beyond his control; and Luxu’s report suggests that the KH3 Keyblade War was engineered to open a means for him to return to the KH universe, presumably via Sora going to where he is in Quadratum/”unreality”.

I believe strongly in this still. MoM can be a villainous figure and at the mercy of universal laws while still being the Creator and denizen of a higher plane. I try not to dig into scenarios too much but follow me here: Creator of the world, literally self-inserts himself into a world of his own creation. He’s a verified Mad Scientist who of course likes to experiment and test his creations and he does so directly, physically, to them. There, he put them on auto-pilot and is watching Characterization carry on. I am not claiming that he is breaking the rules of his own universe and traveling in and out with ease. Nor am I saying if he is exercising any sort of Creator-granted power over their will. He’s there, he’s interacting with them, and he’s watching them. I find it to be an intentional obstaining of power. Self imposed limitations OR an understood sacrifice for this meddling (think, giving up ‘divine’ form to live amongst his ‘mortal’ creations in divine parallel. he is at the will of his universe but not out of control.)

When he says he ‘might’ disappear not only is he being vague on purpose to terrorize his high-strung apprentices but he’s made no indication that it’s something against his intention. And the actions taken by Luxu in formulating his return mean nothing to his plan or his ability or his potential Creator status. I can’t stress how Long Game I perceive MoM’s actions to be. All in the effort to observe, toy, and curate the perfect... something. And since I am talking about the literal nature of stories, I mean the ‘perfect’ story.

Also, we may note that if it was truly a “higher reality”, Quadratum wouldn’t be noted as the fictional Verum Rex video game in KH3 – there’d be no explicit sign at all of its existence, as it would be the higher reality generating the lower one. Which suggests that what may actually be the case, if the series is going meta, is that KH-verse and Quadratum view each other as fictional – in which case MoM would be somebody falsely claiming or believing to be the Creator, which makes sense in relation to the sin he represents.

Not that I’m saying KH-verse isn’t generated by a higher reality/being; but I don’t feel that the higher reality is Quadratum or that the higher being is MoM. There was a fairly interesting post on Reddit comparing KH to Plato’s world of the forms; in which case Kingdom Hearts would be the higher reality from which both regular KH-verse and Quadratum are generated. Or “unreality” really is a “lower reality” than the regular KH-verse, which TBF seems a bit less likely than “’reg. KH-verse’ and ‘unreality’ view each other as mutually fictional but are actually ontologically equal”.

I think my theory posts predate most of the Quadratum reveal so the details of the reveal haven’t been accounted for in my words but I did call it when breaking down Remind’s Yozora scenario. That said yes, I think there is a higher reality and I feel like you mentioned it outright. I see KH and Quadratum as equal fictional realities, segregated but connected through creator. Some of my earlier meta posts before re:mind saw Quadratum as the “higher reality” (or like “host reality”) until the presence of an author between them became apparent enough. We can potentially consider MoM=the author as a separate subject in this respect as it’s not entirely dependant on that reveal. Ultimately, my point in this caveat of the theory is that the relationship between KH and Quadratum strikes an intentionally meta-referential parallel to the actual creator Nomura. That’s an angle that is very audacious and I have full understanding in the denial but it’s my supporting evidence to a higher power within the re:mind secret episode alone.  As for the ‘unreality’ I literally think that is just a way for them to say ‘fictional’ without saying the word, not necessarily an indication of ‘rank’ (for lack of a better word). I use a little reverse logic on the reveal in Melody of Memory when I claim they are ‘equal fictional realities’. No one thinks to assume that they themselves are also “fake” so it;s not a stretch to believe that the reverse assumption could be true. This putting KH and Quadratum on the same level and almost guaranteeing a connection through a mutual creator. 

Now, you also talk about the Whispers in FF7R, but in that they’re in-universe contextualised as “guardians of destiny”, essentially manifestations of the Will of the Planet. Which just goes to show what I talked about earlier – the meta-level of a story can’t exist without a surface-level narrative. We know that the Whispers out-of-universe represent fan anger at changes to the plotline; but they’re presented as something in-universe, which can be defeated by in-universe forces (another reason I doubt it as it seems to leave no room for our heroes’ victory in the confrontation with MoM that’s being teased as the next saga).

I bring up the Whispers to note a synonymous use of the words ‘destiny’ and ‘fate’ to ‘story and ‘narrative’ Not explicitly of course, that would break the 4th wall, but its a subtext that's easier seen in a ‘remake’ because of direct references and deviations being drawn. I think the same synonymous use can be applied when brought up in KH because of their common creative entity.

Finally: How do you see this “metapocalypse” of yours playing out as an actual KH game? We know the conventions well enough by now – a trip through Disney worlds fighting monsters and villains in flashy shonen-style combat, being stalked and looked over ominously from afar by a council of villains with mysterious schemes. Then an invasion of the villains’ lair by the heroes with a final serving of flashy, SFX-heavy boss battles, a number of dramatic plot twists and arc resolutions, and an ending with the villains’ schemes having been at least forestalled. Then we get the ending credits; with an epilogue, a superboss and a secret ending all hinting at more to come.

Well I’m glad you asked! Honestly, I’m basically writing a fanfiction about it. I’m writing the story in part to engage some of these theories/speculations into a serviceable game narrative. So I’ll be vague:

Thematically: This breaking the 4th wall has the power to thematically drive home concepts of free will, defining your personhood and defying expectations. Furthermore, you have questions like... what makes something real? What makes it matter and what’s important? With growing up and the sanctity of youth being a constant struggle as the series and the characters age, the reverence in imagination and growing connections to things that aren’t stereotypically ‘real’ is a strong concept. If I were to break down the big message simply: As long as it’s real in your heart it doesn’t matter.

Overall, the reveal doesn’t really have to impact the basic formula. You can have Disney World Hopping and Villainous characters scheming and manipulating a greater force. I personally think the world-hopping parallel can become more direct with the context of it being movies/stories adding a different understanding of the process of visiting those worlds and meeting those characters. The episodes can be more about fate and predestination and can speak directly to the importance of the connections to those worlds. And the dramatic stakes are the literal threads of reality and godhood! 

If I am to be more detailed and imaginative (without substantial evidence)  I might say... MoM’s experiments in manipulating his own created world(s) are aiming to shape Sora (or 2nd favorite son Yozora) into some kind of perfect conduit for the marraige of reality and fiction and the success or failure of that process might weaponize his ability to connect with other hearts... real and not, all to the greater ascention of one chessmaster. 

(That’s not even mentioning how I have a personal reason to dislike it as it reminds me of an old theory that the KH plot was actually SRK imagining it all up in their childhood games or to put a darker twist on that idea, Sora dreaming it all up in a coma or while dying. I hated reading those ideas when I was younger and still do.)

I’m gonna sympathize hard with this. I hate ‘it was all just a dream’ theories. They are cheap and they trivialize the journey. That is not what this theory is saying. There is a higher reality in this concept and that is used as a proxy for our relationship with the series. The imagery of dreams is only a small facet of the reality/unreality theme so there is no ‘waking up’ or ‘end of story, goodbye’ attitude. The commentary is broader and it can potentially speak on the power of dreams and reality. The ‘realness’ of fake things. I’m sort of calling out KH for what it is: an imaginative story that expands upon what it means to truly experience stories.  Anyway, I rambled more than I thought. I haven’t written anything about KH in months so this was a little caffine shot for me. I’m not gonna be too stuck in the details and nor do I care exactly. I’m a story teller first and I just so happened to have predicted some things not so much because of the hints being dropped but because I understand some of the thematic intent behind the lore and certain narrative beats. The rest is just me having fun and finding the best reading. Sometimes I’m right.