#we got a little bit of every Riku in here

[griffin-ktb]

KH Doodle Dump 🫶✨

I will never not be thinking of Soriku

[dreamsy990]

(video essayist voice) kingdom hearts is-

so, kh1. its been. a little while since i played. so forgive me if the game isnt exactly fresh in my mind. theres maybe gonna be errors so please bear with me im trying my best.

this is probably the kh game i have the least thoughts on, which feels weird considering its the first game in the series, but i just dont have a lot of strong opinions on it. its a pretty solid game!

starting where i normally do, the gameplay is probably the worst aspect of the game. they really thought platforming would be a fun thing in this game, but its just. not. the physics are so bad oh my god. if i ever have to jump in kh1 again itll be too soon. the difficulty is also a little bit all over the place. i played on standard (like i do with pretty much every game) and i would randomly jump from breezing through the game to trying a hundred times to fight one boss. most of the time its not the fun kind of difficult, just frustrating. the only time i can remember the difficulty being fun is the last riku fight in hollow bastion. i wish more of the game was the fun kind of hard. strangely enough, i know a lot of people struggled with the riku race and fight in the tutorial, but honestly those were easy for me? i got the fight first try, and the race second. idk, get on my level nerds i guess?

the worlds here are hit or miss. some of them (mostly the original ones, hollow bastion and traverse town specifically) are just amazing and i love them. others are. uh. lets say getting rid of the tarzan world was the best thing to come out of copyright law. also, this game is the only one where i skipped an entire world (sorry atlantica, you fucking suck). so theres that. the disney worlds are probably my least favorite aspect of the game

the story is alright! i dont have much to say about it other than i think that its mostly pretty good when i know whats going on, although both me AND one of my friends were so confused at the ending that we had to go call someone else to ask what the fuck happened and honestly i still dont really know? what the fuck is a kingdom hearts you ask? the world may never know.

this game and 2 are the only ones where maleficent is good. i miss when she was like a fun villain. she was just super into the housing market and i love that. what the fuck is she even doing in ddd? getting into bitcoin????

rikus great, i dont think i need to say that. hes such a freak and i love him. soras pretty good, shoutout to haley joel osman for doing a great job for being uh. 12??? at the time???????? hes great. i know a lot of people really like ansem sod but i just dont get the appeal? he never did anything for me. like hes fine i just didnt care about him whatsoever and anyone who says hes a better villain than like. xemnas. is wrong.

0/10 where is axel. ok but seriously uhhhhhh i give it a 7.7/10. its a solid, enjoyable game! not my favorite, but thats not to say i dislike it at all.

[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.

[wh3r3sth3l0ve]

Sora x Tifa

Part 27

Part 26 below

- Riku? What are you doing here?

Sora couldn't believe his eyes. More than five years passed but his friend looked exactly the way he remembered him - tall, long blueish hair, fit and handsome.

- It seems that the roles have reversed. This time I am the one looking for you.

Certain flashbacks showed before Sora's eyes. He remembered the time when he was going from one place to another, asking every single person about him.

- Aren't you happy to see me? - Riku smiled at him.

Sora went to his friend and hugged him.

- How did you find me?

- Unversed drew me here. My Keyblade opened the gate to this world.

- Got it. I wonder why they even appeared. It's very unusual.

- Especially since Vanitas is long gone but still that’s better than Heartless.

- Um, Sora? Could you introduce me?

Tifa approached them with a question on her face.

- Sure, sorry. Riku, this is Tifa, my girlfriend. Tifa, this is my best friend, Riku.

- Nice to meet you, Sora told me about you. - she leaned her hand.

- I hope those were only good things. - Riku shaked her hand.

He looked at his friend and said:

- Girlfriend, huh? - he had doubt written on his face.

- Yeah, I'm really happy to have her.

- Do we have to talk here? Let's go to the bar, I'll make us something to drink. - Tifa proposed.

In a couple of minutes they were back at 7th Heaven.

- What would you like? - she asked Riku.

- I dunno, same thing he likes. - he pointed at Sora.

- Right away.

Sora looked at his friend.

- So you were looking for me?

- Yeah, since the first day you left. What happened?

- Didn't she tell you? - he doubted that.

- Oh, Kairi told me what happened but I want to know your perspective.

Even though Tifa was preparing their drinks, she was listening carefully. Her heart started pounding nervously when she heard Kairi’s name.

- Well, long story short, I couldn't get over the words she said to me. I had to run as far from her as I could. Also it got me amnesia, I forgot everything from before the Keyblade War.

Riku was listening with his mouth open as Sora continued.

- I've been wandering from one place to another without any particular reason. Eventually I got here and met this beauty. - he pointed his chin at Tifa. - she helped me. No, she rescued me.

- What do you mean? - his eyes were getting wider with every sentence his friend said.

- He means - Tifa put their drinks in front of him and got into the conversation. - that what Kairi did to him threw him into a deep depression and gave him anxiety attacks.

She said that a little bit too harshly. Sora was clearly embarrassed, now looking blankly at his glass.

- It took some time, patience and a lot of kindness and affection to get him back. I was really scared when I first saw him falling into panic.

- I’m really sorry to hear that. - Riku said. - Still, I don’t think it was anybody's fault.

- I don’t blame her. - Sora said quietly. - But it hurt like nothing before. It still does.

He felt an almost painful thudding in his chest. He looked at Tifa and continued:

- Thanks to you I know how to smile again. - he moved his face to Riku. - I’ll never say that she was trying to hurt me on purpose, yet she did. If it wasn’t for Tifa, I don’t think I’d make it to this day.

He shaked his head and asked:

- Enough about me. What about you? It’s been more than five years.

[helshollowhalls]

Personal Rant about the current situation

I fucking hate it here. Not Depressed Nousagi remarking that the inclusion of Millie's and Enna's info in the document from Selen's lawyer might be hinting towards them being the bullies.

Obviously, I don't know Millie in person. And it's probably better that way to be completely real for a second.

But I only have four oshis - Zentreya, Vesper, Fulgur and Millie and Millie is my kamioshi.

Vesper graduated/presumably didn't sign another contract with Cover (that's fine he's still active online so idc), Fulgur and Millie are in Niji (which currently is the equivalent of having a fucking bomb chained to your damn foot) and Zen... Zen is the only one doing okay apart from probably being really sad and shaken by Yunii's upcoming graduation.

I just... I have trouble imagining Millie bullying anyone. From all that I have seen of her, she's such a kind and well-meaning person. I get the impression that she'd rather saw off her own arm than consciously hurt anyone else. A little bit unhinged sometimes and definitely in need of a good therapist, yes, but aren't we all?

Imagining Enna or Finana bullying someone? I hate to say it but not outside the realm of possibilities. But Millie? Please say sike.

I speak from personal experience that it's so easy to slip into becoming a bully once you're being bullied yourself... and judging from Millie talking about her childhood and experiences in school she definitely didn't get off the hook without any damages and scars, but I choose to believe that she's better than me in that regard. And if it turns out to be wrong, well then it's my fault for being a fucking dumbass and assuming things about people on the internet.

I don't even know what she would gain from bullying Selen. Favor with management? What's the point. Ethyria is the unloved and sidelined middle child of the family and Niji doesn't give a damn. LazuLight is the first wave, Obsydia had Selen, Ethyria... Exists... And then immediately there's the cash cow of the English branch, Luxiem.

Luxiem is the favorite child, LazuLight the first one so they get a little more attention and before Selen got terminated Obsydia had her going for them. As for Ethyria... Nina never compared to Selen in earnings, Reimu is left to rot in a ditch, Enna is used for song promotions and the likes because she has a good voice and it's convenient and Millie tries to make the best out of her situation.

And I personally think her defending the company is for one based on her relative inexperience in the corporate vtubing scene (she was an indie before. Niji is the only corpo she's experienced so she doesn't really have anything to compare it to besides shitty minimum wage retail jobs), her choosing to believe in the best in everyone and her frustrating lack of self-esteem (which can lead to allowing others to walk all over you). She does deserve to be supported and get opportunities just like anyone in Luxiem, hell like anyone in Hololive or VShojo. She's a talented entertainer and streamer and I wish her nothing but the best.

At the end of it all, she's entitled to her own opinion and I respect that, even if I don't think her truth is the end all be all and don't agree. But if management isn't outright pounding her into the ground every three to five business days as they did with so many other livers I'm glad. I doubt all managers in Niji are assholes. Some just try to make the best of a very fucked situation. But the fact that some livers get the bare fucking minimum when the bar is the ground and Riku "Yacht" Tazumi brought a damn excavator, doesn't mean that it's okay or god forbid, good. You should do better. You need to do better. No talent deserves this treatment.

At this point everything just feels like one menhera tattling on the other - Yes, news youtubers and even myself included. Depressed Nousagi isn't really hiding the fact that he's mentally ill. I'm not going to sugarcoat this, my mental health is down the drain as well and I'm living with the consequences. This entire situation is so messed up.

Please don't harrass any of the livers. Bullying and threats aren't going to get us anywhere and in the end all of them are at the mercy of the company in regards to what they can or can't do. And everyone's situation is different. Maybe Niji is the first time they ever had this much money or a semi-stable income at all. Maybe the only other option besides Niji when it comes to getting a job is a fucking gig at Target, Starbucks or Hollister. Or social security. Maybe graduation isn't an option because being out of a job might mean the immediate loss of home, access to insurance or vital medical care and mental health care or not being able to support family and/or pets anymore.

I wish every liver the best and hope that everyone gets the help they need. And most of all, I wish for Niji to fucking rethink and improve their marketing, overall internal structure and business decisions. For the love of God.

[system-of-a-feather]

Look I know DID doesn't give you super powers but I think it does and unlike other alters my heart is just built different (I'M JOKING)

But historically our system for the past 10 years has been like "yeah we aren't built for stamina and thats ok, Riku took a month or endurance training and could barely do 0.75 miles straight for at a rate of a 15 minute mile" and that persisted under Ray (the OG Gym nut that brought upon our Jock Days and my Personal Coach TM) with a slight but not drastic boost to stamina

And so over this past year whenever I've gone to the gym, I have this STUPID high stamina and can keep going - often far past we should when I'm on my pisser and in a rage fury, so Ray, Lucille, and Riku have hard rules to keep me in check to make sure I dont push the body too hard (rules with safety precautions, rules about regularly stopping every X time and if I want to push limits I have to regularly check my heart rate on a reliable checker to make sure I'm not going about 170 bpm, etc) and even if I am following all of those, if Riku's too close co-con they (who are the historical worst stamina main part in the system) get so spooked they annoy me into stopping far before I'm even challenged

And so today I went to the gym and like, we've been living at our parents for a bit and I'm a hyper independent "need my personal space" kind of person and so I havent had MY Personal Space beyond when I go to the gym and I was like "fuck it man, lets cancel muscle work out today and take up a fun challenge - can I take a fat SHIT on the claim that we aren't built for stamina and go for an hour straight without breaking any of the safety rules"

And god damn it man it wasn't even that hard. 1 Hour Straight, the Elliptical told me to Cool The FUCK down, a little over 5 miles, no stopping, heart rate maintained between 145-166 bpm the whole time and quickly returned to a 136 bpm about 10 seconds after stopping to just walk

Like I dunno man

DID doesn't give you super powers but god damn does dissociation do weird fucking shit cause god damn our system has *properly trained* in incremental increasing distance for stamina and endurance for months on months and at most could only do 1.5 miles in like 20 minutes before dying even at our previous peak

I'm over here easily knocking out 5 miles in an hour and still going "eh, i could have gone longer"

Idk man

IDK

You can tell the story here smh

^ This was when I started cooling down and also when I really wanted to make sure I got at least 5 miles cause 4.8 sounded lame af

[latremoille]

hey.... how y'all doing....

HSHQTASK059:

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

dec 2015 if my blog's archive is to be believed akjsdbgksjdgb CRAZY ABSOLUTELY CRAZY almost a full decade. jesus christ. the plotlines weren't big or that remarkable ( sry ). petty drama... THAT I LIVED FOR. i was in high school!!!! that's so crazy. now i've graduated (duh), worked, worked, worked, studied, studied, studied... my life's been really busy these past few years and it has definitely showed in my activity. i've wanted NOTHING as much as to enjoy these last moments of hshq ( bc lbr we all could feel the end coming ) but i just couldn't find the energy and i kept pushing it and now ! now hshq has closed and i have to accept that :(

which characters have you written over the years ?

gaia <3 my first baby. lykke / nike, bastiaan, gahye, iéna, sasha, calix, riku... i think someone else but i just cannot remember tbh i wouldn't have remembered riku if the blog didn't exist lmao

what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

i think vivi x lykke ? writing them taught me a lot. martha FORCED me to give my best with her amazing replies and i think i really improved a lot in a short amount of time. lykke, who was such a caricature, evolved into something slightly deeper. martha ily and you are so dear to me. i've written so much with you and you've always inspired me and helped to keep my muse up <3 there's a reason why i wanted to bring iéna and that reason was u, puss och kram but that's the nostalgia speaking. i have to mention joce and ani. the friendships gaia and lykke had with ani were so important to me. i don't think i ever wrote a friendship that compared to the ones i had written with you <3 but jo................. JO JO JO getting to write with you was such a privilege !!!!!!!!!!!!! i think i could have written lisaia forever and i still regret not getting to see where niray would have gone. you always had a little spark and i hope you recognize it in yourself <3 and evy.... bitch did you think i wouldn't put you and our crazy surprise pregnancy plot here. it was wild. especially at the time because i swear it was one of the first pregnancy plots i had ever seen in a rp. and i couldn't BELIEVE it when we actually got to write it from start to finish ??? retrospectively, 9 months is nothing at hshq but at the time ??? it ???? felt ??? like ??? an ??? accomplishment ????? my teen-almost-an-adult self was shocked E!!!!!!! something about your writing always made it sooooo easy to keep things organic. i think if i had to pick just ONE thread, olykke's first outing might be it. it started a huge mess and i enjoyed their adventure from start to finish. it stands out to me <3 jude, you and i were the flaky bitches, me more than you. but where the hell would lykke be if it wasn't for johanne ? where the hell would i be if it wasn't for your exciting little replies ??? i was sooo sad when you retired anton. he was the first piece to be lost. and now we're here. and i'm sad. and i'm glad we got to meet and write together. #teamwonderbrows i'm not ending this section without thanking XEE !!!! just thinking about layla makes me emo. i feel like i know you because i know layla. idk if that sounds weird and if my opinion is so wrong. but you were always so kind and helpful and i loved throwing lykke at layla <3333

what about other people's plotlines ?

sol maturing. i think it broke me a bit when i read a reply and i realized this character isn't a girl anymore. which naturally meant that none of us were girls anymore. i also loved frelucien. i don't know why they had me so hooked but i feel like i have to mention them since they were the first to pop into my mind.

if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

the 6 way thread joce mentioned skjdgbdskjgbs it was SO DUMB but i loved every second of it. a big group thread was a new concept back then so that added to the excitement. we were SOOO active, otherwise it wouldn't have worked. everyone wrote their reply in a matter of 4 hours or something. also i found it.

is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

i'd add to everything. i'd spend even more time on tumblr dot com and i'd make sure i would have zero regrets!!!!!

what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

hmm ? maybe some sort of an ending for bash and ariel ? idk where they would have ended up and i think i would have liked to know. but bc i hate planning and i love organic shit, i don't think i ever will skgbsdjkgb one last thread with vivi and lykke, the og lykke not the nike version. i think it would be a full circle and i would be able to get over hshq ending. or maybe i'd love to write a happy ending for lisaia. idk if it was only me but they were endgame and i would have liked to see it.

what is your favourite ooc memory ?

i cannot pinpoint one single time but i think what made hshq an absolute joy to be part of, was the rapid ims. i loved that plotting was so easy and that everyone was always so excited when there was a new idea or a new character or a new anything. i think it's exceptional that within hshq we could have INNER JOKES like loads of them. we could reference memorable one liners!!! that's brilliant and special!!!!! i rly loved chatting with you <3 i will miss it <3

where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

i'm already a stranger !

what else would you like to say ?

when i think of hshq, i think of the end of my teenage life and the beginning of my adult life. i've been here longer than i've been in any school. that's insane. i've had time to process this but it still feels very hard to just let hshq rest. i came and went. i was flaky towards the end ( sorry about that ), but it was so nice to know that whenever i'd get my shit together, i could just login, send a little message to the main and i'd be back to writing in a matter of hours. no one ever shamed me or made me feel bad about my poor activity and i am so thankful for that. we really grew up together and we spent so many years together crafting these amazing plotlines and touching stories. i hope all you continue writing because you all have a knack for it and the world deserves to read your writing <3 i really think my life would have been more boring without this silly little hobby. hshq was the CREAM CREAMMMM of rping. hshq helped me through a few lonely periods of my life as well when everything else but this corner of internet was changing and i wasn't keeping up with the times. hshq <3 anne 4ever thank you, and bye for now, i find it too hard to believe that we wouldn't talk again !!! i'll be checking my messages for a while so pls don't hesitate to message me <3 i'm still down to write something short if someone feels very inspired !!

[rosencrantzsguildenstern]

Character: Kujo Takamasa

First impression

since i first saw him in rikus fucking. 1st beat flashback. i knew that man was sus as hell amen! i was super curious since we got that bit of knowledge that tenn left with a random guy and basically had this prediction that he was AWFUL and the cause of all of tenns problems. in the first actual scene with him i was mostly like 'what a cool scene!' but as soon as we learn he's tenn AND AYA'S dad i was like. oh i bet he's why tenn works himself into the ground and has all these weird complexes and won't talk to riku i bet kujo’s this horrible abusive guy. i even wrote this little tenn&aya angst fic back in october when i was watching 2nd beat that holds up decently well (it was basically a sickfic where tenn was like ik im sick but I Have To Go To Work bc otherwise kujo’ll be pissed and aya was like My Mom Died Of Illness) but definitely has some inaccuracies and missed how interesting tenn and aya's characters and complexes are. anyway i hated that man!

Impression now

I LOVE THIS MAN!! he has every disease <3 <3 <3 i love his hair. i love his vibes. i love when he fails at life. he's still an awful parent who did/does definitely traumatize tenn but it's in a fun funky way. i love a man who goes insane with longing. i also just really like the little snippets we get of him existing. being himself. his personality entertains me. i like his dramatic monologues and i like that he’s goth

Favorite moment

oh my god. when the high school trio corner him in a hallway and he’s like “when did i start running a children’s counseling hotline” my friend. perhaps when you started using them as raw material for idols??? its so funny hes like. whats up with these kids ❓

Idea for a story

THIS IS SURPRISINGLY HARD bc i give him a lot of screentime in my stuff that ISNT centered around him but then with just him all im thinking of is easy little character studies where i wax poetic about zero. OH!! actually i’m always dreaming up dumb kujo family crackfic. they go to the grocery store. (i actually have snippets of this one thought up.) they go to a diner. they go on an overly long drive and hate it. haruka is always there causing drama. its a beautiful world

Unpopular opinion

ONE TIME I SAW A FIC MAKING HIM HOMOPHOBIC nah. hes gay. hes homophobic against haruki specifically. but in general taking an antagonist and making them do allllll the bad stuff is never my jam. also w that the idea/theory that he fucked over zero, like pressured him too much as a producer? i could see him being the reason zero disappeared, but i don’t think he could or did Manage zero— if he overwhelmed zero, it was probably with excessive love and devotion�� like i bring up in the favorite relationship section he’s the guy who says “this song is the most amazing thing in the world” and gets so excited about it he breaks your stuff!

Favorite relationship

i thought about this for a little but i think i gotta say him and haruki! apart from them being the choice with the most history, their dynamic is just fun— harukis a jokester. a free spirit. a silly guy if you will. and generally laid-back/unattached- while kujous very serious and singleminded. add in Beef and that they used to be really close and it’s so fun; i also think a lot about the flashback scene where haruki’s having kujo listen to his new song and kujo’s like THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER MADE!!!!!! what a hypeman :> and harukis like don’t break More of my glasses so that’s another fun touch of contrast in their dynamic

(and god. i’ll make this last forever kujou vs here for a good time not a long time haruki. what a pair to trap in endless grief)

i also actually really like his and gaku’s dynamic? all their scenes together are really strong, it’s really satisfying seeing gaku tell it like it is— with all this care for tenn and knowledge of tenn’s issues embedded— and having gaku play kujo in the zero musical also brings out ALLLL the similarities in the two characters (that are really quite different) and makes every kujo-gaku scene during that period extremely fun bc gakus doing CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Favorite headcanon

ough… ive talked about this before but i think aya buys him best dad merch, haruka buys him stuff that says “worst dad” and he ignores what all of it says and just like. wears/uses it.

also i like the idea of him being consciously goth/alt but in different styles since before zero disappeared

[ask-the-kh-crew]

Don't know if anyone asks this yet or not, but uh, Roxas, do you ever think you'll forgive Riku for what he did in the past to both you and Xion? Like maybe not even fully forgive him, just enough to tolerate being around him if that makes any sense. If not, do you think the two of you will just fight it out here and there out of spite?

Again sorry if I made no sense ^^'

Makes a lot of sense, actually. It's something I used to think about a lot.

It's difficult for me to imagine fully getting over what happened, having everything taken away from us. Even now that we're together again, it hurts to think about the time we spent apart. And when I think about that hurt, I think about Riku.

But I also think about Xehanort, and the way he ruined the lives of so many people aside from us. The more I learn about him from the others, the more I realise how we were all just puppets or pawns to him. It was all so much bigger than me, Xion and Riku. Both of them did what they did because of DiZ and Saïx, and they only did what they did because of Xemnas and the fake Ansem. And in the end, they're the fault of Xehanort, so it always comes back to him...

Plus, if I'm gonna stay mad at Riku for trying to sacrifice me and Xion for some guy I didn't even know, I'd have to blame Xion, too. And there's no way I'd ever do that, so whenever I blame Riku I feel kinda bad. He'd do anything for Sora, in the same way I'd do anything for Xion. Speaking of Sora: when I first disappeared inside Sora's heart, I could still feel and think a little bit, and all I felt was anger. Anger at Riku and this guy he sacrificed everything in my life for. But then, I got to know him a little more, and I saw just how much light was inside him. I accepted that it really had to be him, because he was the one that could bring everyone back. And after seeing him reunite all of us, I can't help but feel like Riku knew he was gonna do that all along. He trusted him, and now I do too. He makes a good other, after all.

Anyway, Xion told me her and Riku already talked about it some time ago: the conversation lasted about an hour, and apparently most of it was just Riku apologising to her over and over. But I didn't feel like talking about it (especially not for that long) and I think he knew that, because he didn't try to talk to me one-on-one for a while. Whenever it was just the two of us, there was just a long and awkward silence until one of our friends showed up again.

But then, a couple of weeks ago, he came to my room after visiting Naminé and asked if he could ask me something. He looked kinda nervous and so I assumed he was here to apologise, but then he... asked me if I could teach him how to skateboard.

Yeah, turns out he thinks it looks pretty rad when Sora does it and he wants to impress him, so he came to me for help. For the past couple of months we've been meeting up every Thurday to practice around Market Street, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't fun (although it'll take a while before he can do mid-air 360s: he's not exactly a natural).

I still don't know if I can ever truly forgive him, but I don't think Riku could ever truly forgive himself either. The least we can do is to try to make the best out of the awful situation we both found ourselves in. And if we still feel some resentment for each other after that, we'll just have to do what Hayner and I always do when we're mad at each other: have a Struggle match to swing the anger out of us and then have ice cream afterwards. Works every time.

(Xion keeps trying to take pictures of me and Riku together, sometimes without us knowing. I'm not sure why and it's kinda annoying but I just let it happen atp. No photos of us skateboarding tho because "Riku always looks a little like a dork when he does it" and I don't disagree lmao)

[forevermagik]

AtPverse Daily (ish)

TO THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED!

AtPverse daily (ish) sign up link >here<!

Drop an email so I know where to send the fics and maybe a name/url/handle/etc if it's different than the email.

The goal is to send out a chapter or two (no more than 5k words at a time) every few days or so, keeping largely to the schedule rar is keeping with theirs.

Though, to be clear, for those of you signing up for both AtPverse and FtPverse daily, we'd be alternating days so that you're not getting 10k in your inboxes all at once!

More info below the cut!

I gave more info on the individual fics in this post here.

Essentially, AtPverse started as one fic, "All the Pieces Lie Where They Fell" which was my "what I thought could happen in KH3." I started writing it in 2011. It then got VERY BIG! It ended up with two sequels, a prequel, and some bonus content.

Additionally, AtPverse became intrinsically linked with my sibling @rarmaster's FtPverse when we were jokingly talking about how my Namine was the Namine the Riku Replica remembered and thus my universe was the universe he left.

Canonically, AtPverse diverges before KH3D.

LOGISTICS

Email list was decided upon when rar was running logistics about the easiest way to send this stuff out and the Dracula Daily method turned out to be the best one!

Just AtPverse will net you ~3-5k in your inbox every few days or so. I've got about a million words (give or take) to send out so it'll take about 2 years. I say "a chapter or two" because early chapters were short. So some emails may be three? I haven't figured out my exact chapter groupings. But if I did a chapter at a time... we're looking at a 5 year commitment.

Signing up for the pair of AtPverse and FtPverse is a lot! But we'll be alternating days. There's some fun crossovers. That said, you don't have to do both.

You'll get a short little author's note at the beginning for ~connection~ but other than that, it's just fanfic delivered to your inbox! I'll be making a dreamwidth to back stuff up to for archival purposes. You can comment via the email, the dreamwidth, or on ao3, where every fic is also located. (Minus the complete version of Remnants, which I am still in the process of porting over.) (This also requires you to have an ao3 account because I turned off guest commenting.) (I think dreamwidth also requires an account though so...)

~

AtPverse is a story about wanting to live. About wanting to save your friends/save the world. It's about fighting to live.

But sometimes that's not easy.

CONTENT WARNINGS

Violence on the page. It's technically canon-typical violence for Kingdom Hearts, but I toe the line a bit to the darker side. There are fight scenes. There is death.

There is major character death in that villains die. Given how Kingdom Hearts and the Organization works, not everyone formerly in the Organization lives. I tried to give satisfying arcs.

Also, in the prequel, there are deaths that overlap with what happens in Final Fantasy games.

There is no rape or sexual assault/abuse. Honestly, as far as sexual content, there is about none of it. There's some kissing. It's written very PG in that regard.

SPOILERY CONTENT WARNINGS

Axel and Riku are both self-depricating but it's largely in line with what already existed in the KH-universe at the time.

There are many discussions of whether or not killing Xehanort also means killing Terra. The characters, while hoping they can do this in a way that means Terra lives, recognize that they might not get everything they want.

It is straight up mentioned that Larxene physically and emotionally abused the Riku Replica and some of the content that runs in both FtPverse and AtPverse deals with this. It is also shown on-screen in parts.

[popurikat]

back on my soriku train of thought I guess

I just finished watching a playthrough of kingdom hearts re:coded with my bestie here @skquill and when I saw this I thought, hey lets talk about yet another symbolism we find in the kh lore revolving these two boys. CAUSE I THINK WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT.

Though this series created virtual copies of our beloved characters who don’t have the memories of their counterparts, they still feel and react to the given circumstances and the events in Jiminy’s journal like they would if it was them. What caught me off guard in the beginning was that digital Riku was confirmed to be the keeper of the journal, the guardian angel if you will of the information and to an extent memories of everything real Sora has been through. 

It’s never explained why the journal takes the form of Riku, only that it simply exists as so. And though there is a sense of difference between data and real (Data is more soft spoken, apologizes frequently, and doesn’t want Data Sora to get hurt in ANY sense be it physical or emotional. Yet he still retains the sarcasm, calculative nature, and fondness for Sora as the real Riku would.) He’s also the main one in story to follow Data Sora into defeating all the “bugs” that are corrupting the journal as well as stopping Pete and Maleficent from doing further damage. I did quite enjoy this scene of Data Riku asking Sora to stay away when Pete corrupts him with said bugs:

Data Riku takes his role seriously, even if he knows they aren’t the real deal, he has the instinct of keeping the face of the one he cares about alive at all costs, even if it means he goes corrupted. Huh, kinda reminds me of KH2 when Riku is ashamed at the thought of his friends looking at his Ansem form when he assists in Sora’s awakening. And we see another parallel again of the extent of Riku’s sacrafice:

And what I absolutely adore is that Data Sora is always there to tell him he’s not alone, he has his support, and that self sacrifice is in vain if they don’t have each other or their friends. It grounds them, helps them get where they need to be and eventually helps them open up to each other a lot more easier. I joked in my watch through that “Oh, this Sora is the Chaotic good that we would’ve gotten if Sora never experienced Trauma and this Riku is the one that we would have gotten if he trusted in Sora and blocked out the control of Maleficent’s darkness!” But in reality, these two are the just purest essence of their true selves, its the sora and riku we should have ended with when all was said and done, just two people who look out for the other and confide about their fears, their strengths and weaknesses, and give each other the strength to move on.

I also would like to point out that with Riku’s more mellowed attitude in this version, Sora takes charge in bringing up his self esteem, and in turn comes off as though he has grown more mature with each world they pass. But really the only difference is that this Sora is taking every bit of advice he’s taken from his peers and rewording it to fit the situation at hand. Riku’s down? Use a friendship quote he picked up from Donald/Goofy. But he is also sincere with it, where he doesn’t boast about being right or tease Riku when he feels insecure about a statement made, he genuinely wants Riku to feel worth and understand theres no need to apologize as nothing is wrong and what matters now is how they move forward.

And after this set of pictures where Riku is about to send Sora to King Mickey to finalize their mission after they realize “uh oh, Sora’s heartless got illegally downloaded and is causing another virus!”, it brings us back to the top image...waaaaaay back in the beginning of this long post of a pretty little glass stained door. And BOY do I have thoughts on this sequence! Riku’s instinct is to summon a portal specifically for Sora, his priority is to keep him safe as usual. But out of all the doors hes created thus far in game, this one is the most detailed and symbolic. He MADE THE DETAILS INTO ROSES. A flower well known for its tie in with romance. And the colors? Blue, Red, Lilac, and purple; with a few accents of pink and lighter blues. Do you know why the colors matter? BECAUSE THEY ARENT FRIENDSHIP BASED. THEY ARE AS FOLLOWS:  - Red roses: passion, desire, romance, eternal love (also Sora’s color) - Blue roses: Mysterious, Extraordinary, Unattainable Love (also Riku’s color) -Lilac: A promise to a future together -Purple: love at first sight -Pink: Appreciation, Gratitude, Admiration, unconditional love/affection

See, personally if I would’ve wanted to express a “friendship” between the puppet apparatuses of “real” individuals who carry very similar ideas of their counters, I would have gone with maybe a design that looks less like overlapping rose petals that concave into a secret tunnel, and gone more with a design thats like a forget-me-knot and stuck with blue for it as it IS Riku’s doing in this situation. He’s opening an escape for Sora. We don’t see a special portal like that when he teleports Mickey and co out the second time, its just bright light. So why give such a great detail to supposed best friends? On top of the design, it looks like stained glass. You know, like the ones used in churches? Typically meaning hope, togetherness, and love? Not to mention that the structure of the portal looks like a wedding arch, you know, the ones where people stand under to say their vows? SPEAKING OF VOWS! Don’t Sora and Riku in DDD create a heart song literally called “Dearly Beloved”, you know, the phrase said before wedding vows, and coincidentally with these characters creating the same colors we see in the portal. Listen, I couldn’t make this up if I tried. But at this point I will yell at the skies that Sora and Riku love each other in every form they take and are quite frankly married. Sorry, don’t make the rules, but this is def. beyond friendship.

In conclusion, um...Riku and Sora? Yeah if their digital versions understood that they can be separated from their friends but live on in their memories as long as they have each other just through the sheer shared experience of a walk through memory line of Sora’s past....then what is stopping the real ones from realizing this? And the thing is again, we got something very close to this realization when real Sora and Riku were trapped in the darkness and just kinda kicking back contemplating life and how glad they have each other at least. But in this iteration, its a lot more than just giving in to the fact nothing else can be done, its honoring the adventure, the time spent, and the amount of growth they’ve gone through. This iteration understands their work is done and its okay to find solace in the other when all the rest of their memories from those not in the digital world will erase, yet never truly be gone because THOSE friends on the other side will always have them in their hearts. This was supposed to be how in my eyes KH3 ended and why after seeing this, I know that we need to get back to this point, because OUR story with OUR Sora and Riku has yet to aquire this level of understanding. I’m expecting a sorta, KH 3.5 in the future or some spinoff to tie their stories up and to have them be at peace that they probably will never return to the world they grew up in, but thats fine because they have each other and a whole new adventure. And thats what I enjoyed about this part of re:coded. In summary I guess, Sora and Riku are destined to end up in the same realm helping the other, thats their fate, reaching contentment in the others presence and to stop feeling like its their job to save everyone out of their reach. The heroes journey is over, its time to find the conclusion of their own inner turmoil and remember who was there since the start for them.

[fisherrprince]

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

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

aHAH, MY EXCUSE!!

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

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

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

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

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

So! Let’s go.

.

Standard (offensive)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

.

Standard (defensive)

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

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

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

you gotta dodge master Eraqus so mcuh

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

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

.

Sora, Xion, and Kairi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Roxas

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

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

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

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

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

.

Ventus

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

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

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

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

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

.

Axel

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

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

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

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

.

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

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

[sangorous]

AN INTERESTING THANKSGIVING

word count: 0.8k

genre/warning: idk?/homewrecking-ish?pettiness

miyuki kazuya x black fem!haitian!reader

show: ace of diamond

"Look at my baby," her mother smiled as Riku walked up to his grandma with a smile.

"Hi grandma," he giggled as she picked him up.

"How are you doing honey?" she placed small kisses on his cheek.

"Grandma," he whined with a laugh.

"Hi ma," she kissed her cheek and gave her a hug.

"Hi ma," Miyuki greeted her with a hug and peck on the cheek.

"Hello my darlings, I'm happy y'all made it," she smiled as [your name] placed the haitian macaroni on the table.

"I'm glad we made it here and safely as well, I was scared we were going to die on our way here the way [your name] was driving," Miyuki sighed as her mother began to laugh.

"Not only are you an amazing catcher, but you're a comedian as well I see," [your name] sarcastically replied as he snickered.

"Someone  sounds upset,"

"No, not at all," she gave him a fake smile as he continued to snicker.

When [your name] and Miyuki walked back to the dining room after washing their hands, they noticed that there was an empty seat with a purse on it next to her younger brother. She looked at the familiar purse and tried to figure out who it belonged to, and it hit her.

"Oh hell no," she muttered to herself as she watched her older sister take a seat in the chair.

"Ma, I thought you said she wasn't gonna make it tonight," she looked at her with a glare.

"I thought so too until she came knocking on my door this morning," her mother chuckled, taking her seat at the table.

"It's nice to see you too, little sister," her sister sarcastically replied, giving her a fake smile.

[your name] decided to ignore her as she grabbed Miyuki's hand and walked over to their spots at the table.

Rose-Marie also is known as [your name]'s older sister, she was someone she did not like at all. Despite them being family, [your name] did not care for her nor consider her to be her sister after what she tried to do two years ago. Two years ago when Rose-Marie didn't have anywhere to go after her breakup with her boyfriend, [your name] decided to be a good sister and let her crash at her place until she could land back on her feet. Unaware of her true intentions, [your name] thought she was doing something good. Slowly, she began to catch on to her sister. Her little flirtatious acts whenever Miyuki was around, asking him for help for things she clearly knew what to do, and unnecessarily touching him.

[your name] couldn't lie, every day she would try her best not to lose her cool. Miyuki would sometimes make fun of the situation stating that 'he's handsome, what would you think would happen?' and yes she would smack him in the back of his head because there was nothing funny about her sister trying to get with her husband.

But one day, she crossed the boundary when she purposely tried to seduce Miyuki who was trying his best to push her away from him. [your name] couldn't hold it in anymore, she got up from her chair and dragged her older sister by her hair while Miyuki quickly got up and followed her. He tried his best to pull her hand away, but her grip was too tight. [your name] kicked Rose-Marie out of her house and told her that she never wanted to see her again.

"I see some things never change," her brother hummed, grabbing his plate.

"This should be interesting," Miyuki whispered to him.

During the thanksgiving dinner, she noticed that her sister kept eyeing Miyuki and he felt a bit uncomfortable.

"I think some of us should keep our eyes on our plates, don't y'all think so?" she hummed, cutting the piece of turkey on her plate to hand over to her son.

"Why can't we observe what's on each other's plates? sometimes someone's plate has something packed in it," her sister retorted with a small smirk, eating the macaroni.

"I just find it funny how mama always has the same rat runnin' around her house every thanksgiving," she had a fake smile on her face.

"Funny how roaches love to pick on rats," her sister hummed, shaking her head.

"Funny how some people can't find their own man, so they choose to seduce a married man instead," she stabbed her fork into the turkey.

"Oops was that too obvious?" she looked at her with an innocent look as the table became quiet.

"Talk about a home run am I right?" Miyuki joked as [your name] glared at him.

"Relax, alright?" he whispered in her ear, placing his hand on her thigh and giving it a squeeze.

"What an interesting thanksgiving dinner," her younger brother cleared his throat while her mother smacked the back of his head.

[miss-tc-nova]

Weathering - Riku x Reader

Ah, you guys are a bunch of saps. Always looking for that happily ever after. No fun. 

Well, I put the offer out there so here goes. I’ve had this sitting in my WiP folder for way too long but I got a song in my KH Fic Spotify list that keeps reminding me this exists. So tadaaa! Also, this is one of my longer ones...by quite a bit which is also why the end is a bit sudden

Music Inspiration: Lie to Me by 12 Stones

~~~~~

              The rain is not kind to me. At least, it doesn’t make my day any easier as I trudge home.

              Simply put, today has been terrible. Work sucked, I left my wallet at home, I have almost no groceries, and, obviously, I’m walking home in the rain. All of this on top of my already strained relationship with my boyfriend.

              Our situation isn’t exactly easy. Because of recent adventures, Riku wasn’t comfortable leaving me on my own and insisted I stay with someone he trusted—only the Twilight Town gang was available for babysitting duty. They easily accepted me into their little group, stopping by my new apartment almost daily to check in. The adults became great pseudo-guardians and Xion is practically my little sister now. But Roxas—he’s my best friend, despite how much he dislikes Riku. We just instantly seemed to click and he’s kept me sane in this new world as I try to get by waiting for my boyfriend to return.

              I don’t entirely know what happened, but the hostility between the two is palpable. Roxas is very open about his disdain, and Riku ignored him at first, but I suspect the prolonged hostility is what caused him to finally snap back. And things only got worse.

              I still saw the whole group—including Roxas—but if Riku called and caught wind of my friend, he seethes up until the very last goodbye. Before long, the calls I got every few days dwindled to every few weeks, and then eventually, I’d be lucky to hear from him within the month, let alone physically seeing him. Even when I did receive a call or visit, they often ended in arguments. Still, I could never bring myself to end them on a sour note; so I always said what I had to in order to calm him down. The latest of these arguments, spurred by my desperation and loneliness, ended with a promise to put some space between me and Roxas.

              I couldn’t make myself a liar—not to Riku. I began denying invites to hang out, especially from Roxas, and I had to resist extending my own to him when I felt bored or lonely. Even if I did accept a visit with the others, I avoided him. It resulted in nagging from the blonde, but while I can’t lie to Riku, Roxas was another story. Tales of sicknesses and obligations got in the way of his plans because I just wasn’t going to tell him about Riku.

              And I’ve been miserable ever since.

              The door clicks shut behind me. In the dark, I melt against the door, the recent hell of my life infesting my heart. Tears meld into the water on my face and a shaky breath rattles my chest.

              The light flicks on. I let out a scream, pressing against the wall and jamming a hand into my pocket for my phone. Then I realize who’s sitting in the chair by the light switch.

              “Roxas?! What the hell are you doing here?!” I exclaim.

              With a scowl, he replies. “Haven’t seen my friend in several days; so we thought we’d come check on you.” The look in his eyes radiates a deeper meaning.

              “Wha-Wh-How did you get into my house?!”

              “You gave Isa a key for emergencies.”

              “What happened?! Did someone get hurt?!’

              “Oh, we can turn the lights on now?” From the kitchen, Xion pokes her head into the living room. She gives me an unwitting smile. “Hey! Welcome home!”

              Electing to avoid Roxas’s unspoken accusations, I follow Xion back into the kitchen. “Why were you guys sitting in the dark?”

              I find the young woman dumping popcorn into a popcorn maker. “Roxas said you wouldn’t come in if you saw the lights on.”

              “So instead you decide to give me a heart attack…”

              She giggles. “Sorry. We just wanted to surprise you. We brought snacks and a movie to watch.”

              I shove my hands through my hair. “I appreciate you guys coming to see me, but I’m really not feeling so great. Can we do this next week?”

              “Already trying to get rid of us?” A shiver shoots down my spine as I look back at Roxas leaning against the wall.

              “No. I mean, yes, technically, but I have things to do and I feel sick and I don’t want you guys to catch it.”

              “If you were that sick, you wouldn’t have gone to work.”

              My shoulders drop; I hate this.

              Suddenly, Xion ushers me into the hall. “We’re not worried about getting a little sick. I’ll even make you some soup. Now, go get cleaned up while we finish setting up.”

              “But-”

              “Go,” she insists, but it’s Roxas’s glare behind her back that encourages me to get away.

              Unfortunately for me, I can’t hide in the shower forever; I’ll have to face them eventually. As promised, Xion has a bowl of soup ready, however, in the living room, she forces me to sit near Roxas when she takes the recliner. I eat my soup in awkward silence despite the movie filling the room with noise.

              At least I’m able to somewhat distract myself with the movie. That is, until halfway through when Xion suddenly pauses it.

              “Hey, are you okay?”

              I glance between Xion’s genuine concern and Roxas’s glare before looking back down at the soup. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just a little tired, y’know. Work wasn’t so great and I forgot my wallet today. But it’s just one of those days.”

              There’s silence and I’m afraid to look up, but Xion presses. “And how are things with Riku?”

              “It’s…okay.” I can already feel the sadness seeping into my weary heart.

              This time, Roxas doesn’t hold back. “Yeah? Then why did he tell you to stop hanging out with me?”

              My tolerance for my own despair has grown tremendously in these past few months, but of course Roxas would know exactly which buttons to push to bring me crashing down.

              “You knew?” I mutter, barely holding back tears.

              “How the hell could I not? Why else would you avoid me?” he spits. The tears begin to drip. “You’ve been acting stupid for weeks so I knew that bastard probably said something to you.”

              “I…” My throat closes around the words and, pretty soon, they pour from my mouth in jagged breaths. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do. I haven’t spoken to Riku in three weeks and every time we do, we just end up fighting and I’m sad and scared and…I’m so lonely…I miss him. And…”

              That’s it for me. My bad day brought me low and Roxas dealt the final blow to my defenses.

              He sighs. “Come here.”

              Roxas slips an arm around my shoulder and pulls me against his chest. So sick of resisting my friend and desperate for the contact, I give in. Everything I’ve been holding in spills out as I cry and cry and cry until I reach that miserable gray area not far off sleep. And even though I’d been such a terrible friend, Roxas comforts me through it all.

~~~~~

              The slam ruins my dozing by aggravating my headache. My eyes burn but I manage to pry them open in time to see the back of a head of white hair enter the hall.

              Riku!

              Immediately, I spring off the sofa and rush after him. I catch the door just before it shuts and slip into the room with a light knock and a smile. Riku glances back and my heart skips; his teal eyes are sparking with anger.

              “Welcome back,” I say, trying my best to remain cheerful. “Did you find anything about Sora?”

              His jacket gets tossed into the corner. “No. Still no sign of him,” he answers curtly.

              “Oh…I’m sorry.” My gaze drops. I’m nervous about making things worse but I can’t do anything else. “I missed you.”

              His words shoot through my heart. “Did you really?”

              “Of course I did,” I reply instantly. “I—"

              “And that’s why you were cuddled up on the couch sleeping with Roxas?” he snaps.

              Of course that’s what this is about.

              “He’s my friend,” I say, feeling the water well in my eyes. “I’m sorry that I had a bad day and needed someone to comfort me.”

              “If that’s all you needed, all you had to do was call!”

              “If that’s all?! Riku, the last time I called you, you didn’t answer! You didn’t even try to call me back!”

              “If you’ve forgotten, I’ve been out looking for Sora!” he shouts. “He’s still missing if you haven’t noticed! And Kairi won’t stop sleeping until we find him!”

              That’s fair; it’s entirely fair that he wants to find his best friend and save the other from unending slumber, but he’s contradicting himself.

              “So then I just don’t matter anymore?!” I hate that I cry when I’m angry. “I only exist when the perfect trio is together?!”

              “So I’m just supposed to stop looking for my friend to give you attention?!”

              “I didn’t say that! I just wanted to know that you thought this relationship is still worth holding on to! A phone call, a message, something to let me know this is still important to you!”

              “I’ve been busy, okay?! I don’t always have time to message you when the Heartless are attacking or call when I’m chasing a lead!”

              “I only needed three words! Instead, I get attacked because relying on my best friend when you’re gone is inappropriate!”

              “I didn’t say you couldn’t—"

              “Anytime we talk anymore all we do is fight over it! It’s ridiculous!”

              Riku snarls back, “You don’t exactly help.”

              “Neither do you! We can’t even get through ten minutes without fighting! And I’m sick of it!”

              “If you didn’t—"

              “NO!” I scream. “I can’t keep doing this anymore! I can’t keep fighting you to keep my friend! I can’t keep fighting with you because I’m sick of being alone.” The trembling in my body ripples in my voice. “I can’t keep fighting for a relationship I can’t see a future in.”

              His voice, cold as ice, is the last straw. “If you’re so miserable, then just leave.”

              And I do.

~~~Riku POV~~~

              Riku watches as the person he loves most—the person he fought to survive for—walks out the front door of the apartment without another word. At the rate they were going, this fight was inevitable. He knew this was how it would end; even as he landed on Twilight Town, he knew there was a good chance this would be the last of their relationship.

              That didn’t stop it from breaking his heart.

              The complication pokes his head into view. “What the hell was that?!”

              Riku, still brimming with anguish, snarls at him. “That was the breakup you caused!”

              “Me?! You think I caused that?!”

              “Yes, you! I swear, every time I call, you’re all I hear about! ‘Roxas and I did this!’ ‘Me and Roxas did that!’ I know you hate me, but even you could’ve at least given me the courtesy of telling me you were ruining my life!”

              “Excuse me?! Ruin your life?! Ruin YOUR life?! Do you not remember what you did to me?! What you did to Xion?!”

              Riku grimaces.

              “You put us through hell but we still forgave you! We took in your significant other because you were afraid of losing them and you have the nerve to accuse me of ruining YOUR life?! You—” Realization seems to dawn in Roxas’s eyes until he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Oh my gods. You think we’re in love.”

              Regaining some of his spite, Riku says, “It’s pretty damn clear if you ask me.”

              “What could possibly make you jump to that stupid conclusion?”

              “Besides you constantly being together?! I was lied to! You’re not supposed to be here! But the fact that you are means you’re clearly more important than I am!”

              “I knew you and your stupid ego were the reason my best friend was avoiding me!”

              “Yeah, fine! I’m the asshole! I’m sorry I got between you and the person I’m dating!”

              Roxas drags his hands down his face. “You’re such a moron. Okay, let me ask you this: how would you feel if they made you choose between them and Sora and Kairi? How would you feel if you were alone and sad but you weren’t allowed to talk to anyone about it?”

              “I didn’t—"

              “Yes, you did!”

              “Well you seem to know a lot for someone who’s just a friend!”

              “You would know all this too if you would just get over yourself and look! But you’re so busy being pissy at me that you don’t even call anymore!”

              “I’m sorry I didn’t want to get in the way of your flirting!”

              “Oh my gods! I’M IN LOVE WITH XION, YOU ASSHOLE!”

              Riku hesitates, but a blushing Xion covers her mouth.

              “But I’ve been taking care of your partner so you could go look for Sora because if anyone’s gonna find him, it’s you! And I thought it’d be fine; we’ll take care of them for a few months and Sora will come back! I thought I was gonna hate them, but no, they’re amazing! And I don’t know how someone so sweet and fun could fall for a jerk like you, but that was none of my business! And yeah, I hate your guts, but I still thought you were smart enough not to neglect someone you love! They were so devoted to you that they were willing to cut me out of their life until I broke in here tonight! They are head-over-heels in love with you but all you’ve done lately is bully and berate them for just trying not to be alone!”

              An empty, sinking feeling begins to descend in Riku’s chest. He’s made a mistake—a very big mistake. Roxas was right about everything and Riku probably could’ve seen all the signs if he were around more often. But because he couldn’t be, all he could do was trust his lover and his anger had gotten in the way of that. The person he loved most had fled and it was his own fault.

              “So what am I supposed to do? What about Sora and Kairi? Am I supposed to just forget about them?!”

              “Sora and Kairi are important,” Xion says. “Nobody ever said they weren’t. But you can’t forget the people who are still here. You need to find a way to balance it all or we might lose you too.”

              “Me?”

              “If they’re so important to you that me stealing them away would ruin your life, then why has everything been about Sora and Kairi?” Roxas asks.

              The realization of his obsession—one born to distract him from his jealousy—hits.

              “I…I’m sorry.”

              The blonde frowns. “Oh fuck off. What are you still doing here?’

              Roxas’s words sound like insults, but it’s actually an order. Without wasting another second, Riku bolts out the door and down the street, hoping he can find his beloved before it’s too late.

~~~Reader POV~~~

              My feet slap against the stone paths, adding to the white noise of the rain. The cool air stings at my skin, but at least the downpour washes away the tears. I don’t know where I’m going and I don’t care; I just need to get away. If I stop moving, I’ll start thinking and if I start thinking, I’ll fall apart—and I’m not ready for that.

              Unfortunately, my lungs can only take so much sprinting before they force me to slow down. They burn in my chest as I gasp for air, though that’s nothing compared to the fog of despair catching up to me. An uneven stone catches my foot, putting an effective stop to my escape. The agony crashes down on me, bringing with it the revelation that my relationship is over.

              Just as the anguish begins to take hold, I hear my name—I hear my name in his voice.

              I can’t do it; I’m not ready to face him in any capacity. I struggle to get to my feet, his rapidly approaching steps fueling my panic. Still, even as I take the first few steps, I know that I’d never be able to outrun a Keyblade Master.

              “Wait!” His hand snatches my wrist.

              “Let go of me! Let go!” I scream. Of course there was no way I was breaking free from his grasp. My fist beats against his arm, all in vain as his grip holds. “I can’t do this anymore! Leave me alone! I said let go!”

              Riku simply stands there, holding me in place and letting me take out my frail frustrations on his arm. They continue to grow weaker and weaker as my shoddy resolve crumbles, until I end up on my knees, crying again.

              “What do you want from me?” I sniffle.

              “To tell you I’m sorry.” Another shaky breath rattles my chest. “You don’t have to take me back—you don’t even have to forgive me—I just want you to know I messed up and I know that.” Even his breath shudders as he kneels beside me. “You deserve someone who can always be there for you, and as much as I want to be that person, I can’t. But I held on anyway. I wanted to keep you, hoping that, once I found Sora and brought Kairi back, everything would be okay. But I never asked you. I just assumed you’d be okay waiting while I obsessively went looking. And I have no right to keep you from being friends with Roxas, especially when I haven’t answered your messages in months. I just…didn’t want to let go of the hope that, one day, everyone I love would be safe and together. And I’m sorry.”

              I don’t have any words for him, not in this state, but Riku pulls me into his arms, muttering apologies as I lament how far we’ve fallen.

              “I…I probably could’ve handled this better too,” I mutter into his soaked shoulder. “I should’ve told off Roxas and I should’ve just told you how I felt instead of implying it. And some of the things I said I knew were out of line…but I was hurt and…” My fists ball tightly around his jacket. “And these last few months really sucked.”

              “I know…”

              The patter of the rain and the numbing cold pull us into our own sullen world with a choice waiting at its end. While I’m afraid of that choice, eventually, I have to ask.

              “What do we do now?”

              He sighs. “I can’t stop looking for Sora and I can’t expect you to wait for me.” Leaning back, his crestfallen gaze meets mine. “So I guess what happens between us is up to you.”

              Our relationship has never been normal, which has certainly served to have its ups and downs. Riku used to disappear for weeks at a time, but when he would visit, those were my best days. And even after he had me relocated to Twilight Town, I figured that things between us would be the same. Even though I was wrong, I thought that this was the rough patch that all relationships inevitably go through and I loved him through every second of the hell. Just as he did, I clung to the hope that, no matter how much we suffered, we would make it to the other side and be stronger together for it.

              But the separation proved too much for both of us.

              “Take me with you.”

              Silver brows pop. “Wha-No. I’m not taking with me.”

              “Then you can’t leave.”

              Trying to find my rationalization, he rests a hand against my cheek. “I already told you, I have to go.”

              “Then take me with you.” My hand pulls his down and I look him dead in the eye. “Those are your choices.” His mouth opens to argue, but I speak over him. “Those are your choices.”

              “But—”

              My hands squish his face. “Those are your choices! I’m not done with you and we are not doing this again. I love you and I miss you and it sucks. So you can either stay or you can take me with you.” I lean in really close. “And I already know you can’t stay.”

              His eyes flicker between mine, looking for the hesitation. I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous. I have no idea what I’m getting into, but I know Riku’s job sometimes leads him into danger. And yet I don’t really care.

              His shoulders slump in defeat; even so, Riku smiles. “Well if those are my only options…”

              Hugging him tighter than I ever have, I feel like I could just cry again from all the relief, and I feel it in from him in return. For the first time in months—even though I’m soaking wet and barefoot, sitting in the middle of the road as the rain falls relentlessly on us—I’m happy.

~~~~~

Nova’s Kingdom Hearts Masterlist

[starcharmfunzies]

Can you rank the kh characters in terms of their voice acting?

Only main characters and based on their english voice acting 11. Aqua. I love Aqua with all my heart, but god does she sound bored and apathetic in most of her lines. I still find it so strange that Willa Holland, and actress, can't seem to show emotion in her voice. I'd like to blame the directing but Ven and Vanitas sounded just fine in BbS. 10. Terra. I had a tough time deciding whether Terra sounded better than Aqua, but I can at least give Terra some credit that in his emotionally powerful scenes he does deliver a little bit. The one I have in mind right now is during his fight with Xehanort at the end of BbS. Other than that, he's still not that great.

From here on out the difference in my ranking is much smaller. If from a scale of 1 to 10 Aqua and Terra are a 4, the rest of the characters go from 7 onwards. 9. Xion. Not bad, but I feel like her sad emotional deliveries rely a lot on making her voice raspy, which isn't quite as effective as actually sounding devastated. Her performance is decent. 8. Kairi. The only reason I'm placing Kairi above Xion is because of Hayden. I feel Hayden's performance was charming and really sold the role of a sweet tomboyish girl, but ever since she was replaced by Alysson Kairi just sounds like any other girl. The acting is not bad, but nothing memorable. 7. Naminé. Brittany Snow was good, but Meaghan took the cake for sure. Naminé has not been given a lot of powerful scenes but the ones she did have are great. I'm remembering the end of Re:CoM the few times she's screamed in despair (like that scene when she aks Repliku to stop), and you really do feel her distress and desperation. I really wish we could hear more of her. 6. Vanitas. You can just tell Haley is having fun with this role, and he's definitely at his best in BbS with that iconic laugh and the venom in his voice whenever he talks to Ven. Sadly in KH3 direction seemed to be off, because his performance isn't that consistent from scene to scene. In Monster's Inc. he sounds great while in the Keyblade Graveyard he sounds strangely raspy and a little high pitched. It was very noticeable the first time I played KH3. 5. Sora. Sora is a joy to listen to, I'm so thankful that Haley has continued to give Sora that cheerful and friendly lilt to his voice throughout the years, but sadly his good performances are not consistent in all the games. DDD in particular is pretty bad (which is a shame since his DDD lines are the ones reused the most). In KH3 he seemed to improve a bit, with some scenes better than others, but I am aware Haley is in his 30s and can only do a high pitched voice for so long without sounding off sometimes. 4. Riku. Like Sora Riku is pretty great, with his peak in KH1 imo, and although his performances decline a bit as the games progress I don't think it got as bad as Sora did in DDD. Nevertheless David really seems to still be passionate when working as Riku and stands out the most during emotional scenes. He is on thin ice tho, since in Re:Mind his dialogue sounded off (I want to blame the directing), but his battle quotes of KH3 (especially Repliku's) are perfectly fine. 3. Ven. I had a really hard time picking the top 3, but despite my bias I don't think I can give Ven the first place. Not that I got much to say really, since Jesse is consistently fantastic. I want to credit him particularly in the fact that when he first voiced Roxas he probably didn't think he'd be getting another character with the exact same voice but he still managed to find a way to make a distinction between them. 2. Axel. The thing about Axel is that because he started as a bad guy we got to listen to a lot of different and fun performances. He's cunning, deceiving, ruthless, but also kind and playful, and with every single range of emotion he's displayed Quinton has nailed it. 1. Roxas. When I think of powerful performances in KH I always think of that scene in the Days movie where Roxas confronts Axel for answers. He's angry, frustrated, betrayed, desperate, and you can hear it all in his voice. Jesse is fantastic, and I'm grateful he was the one that got to voice such a complex character as Roxas. Whenever Roxas is happy, or sad, or defeated, or furious, or relieved, you can hear everything. It's thanks to Jesse that Roxas' last line in the KH2 intro hurts so much, and it's so memorable I can still hear it in my head clearly. He's just amazing.

[aquafolia]

Sokai Day Fic 1: True Love’s Kiss(es)

So yes, I am a Classics/ancient history blog, and this is obviously super different from the content I normally post on this blog. Please forgive me, but I’ve recently become OBSESSED with Kingdom Hearts and I have nowhere else to post this stuff at the moment. So please forgive me, normal content will resume soon!

Anyway, as I said I just started playing the KH games for the first time this summer and it’s been so much fun. And seeing all the amazing stories and artwork in this fandom has inspired me to write some stuff too. Anyway, I’m Holly, and I hope y’all enjoy :)

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

True Love’s Kiss(es)

‘Ugh!’ Kairi groaned, unceremoniously setting down the basket she held in her hands. ‘I forgot that when you pick apples, you have to actually carry them all back, too!’

‘Your basket’s not even half full, Kairi,’ Sora remarked, ‘and we’ve only just started!’

She grinned. ‘Well then, it’s a good thing I have a strong, manly boyfriend to help me carry all of these.’

He could hardly argue with that. Sora feigned displeasure by rolling his eyes and letting out a dramatic groan, which made Kairi giggle. But then he walked over to her, grabbing one of the basket’s handles as she grabbed the other, and the pair made their way deeper down the rows of apple trees. They could hear the distant shouts and laughs of their friends echoing through the orchard as they went. Apparently, Twilight Town– a world basically in perpetual autumn–  was known for its fall festivities, including its legendary apple orchards. Once they’d visited the orchards, the gang hoped Remi would help them make apple pies, apple cider, and all sorts of goodies during their visit. To that end, the group had decided to break up into teams in order to pick as many apples as they could carry. Today, Sora and Kairi were paired up. But Sora knew that if they only returned with a measly half basket of apples, the others would surely tease them, accuse them of slacking off.

They wouldn’t be totally wrong, Sora thought with a grin. Sure, Kairi was determined to focus on their task: she was deep in concentration, examining each apple carefully before deciding to place it in her basket. Sora, on the other hand, was much more determined to get Kairi off task. It wasn’t that Sora didn’t want to help out, but this was an opportunity for him and Kairi to spend some time alone– that was a temptation greater than any fruit, in Sora’s world.

Kairi set her sights on a shiny red apple that hung high on a nearby tree. She stood up on her tiptoes, making adorable little noises as she tried to grab it. Sora was staring intently, but not at the apple: Kairi’s form was stretched out in front of him as she reached high over her head, accentuating her curves, and Sora was mesmerized. It was only when she said his name that he snapped out of his trance: ‘Sora,’ she called out, not taking her eyes off the fruit, ‘would you come over and help me with this one? You should be able to–’

Kairi shrieked as Sora, having silently moved behind her, wrapped his arms around her legs and hoisted her up onto his shoulder.

‘Tall enough now?’ he asked casually.

Her surprised squeak was the only reply Kairi could muster. Once she’d successfully picked the apple, Sora released her hips. He held her by the waist as her body slid down his until she landed gently on the ground. Even in the autumn chill, Sora could feel his cheeks burning.

Having regained some of her composure, with a giggle, Kairi said, ‘Guess we make a pretty good team, huh?’ before she turned to the next tree. Sora tried to hide it by replying with a level ‘Absolutely,’ but inside, he was beaming: watching the effect he had on Kairi just never got old for him– but given how hard he had to try to appear cool and unfazed, it wasn’t like he was much better than she was.

Now that he’d had his fun, Sora walked up next to Kairi to help out. The pair picked apples side by side, happily chatting and admiring each other's finds, and over time, their basket filled with bright red apples. While they worked, something about the orchard nagged at Sora’s mind, but he couldn't place it. As he studied a large, blood-red apple in his hands, it finally clicked.

‘All these apples remind me of Snow White,’ Sora remarked. ‘Aqua told me how Snow White’s evil stepmother tried to kill her by getting her to eat a poisoned apple. The dwarves thought she was dead, so they placed her in a beautiful glass casket,’ Sora recalled, his eyes still fixed on the apple. He found himself absentmindedly tracing the spot on his chest where a scar marred the skin over his heart: the permanent reminder of his sacrifice for Kairi– well, his first one, anyway.

‘But she wasn’t dead,’ Sora continued, thought bleeding into memory. ‘She was asleep, and she couldn’t wake up…’

‘Until her true love saved her.’

That broke Sora out of his reverie. He looked up to find Kairi already gazing at him, her eyes soft and sincere. Sora replied, ‘Yeah… Reminds me of another princess I know.’

Did she really mean…?  They’d talked about their first adventure numerous times before, but she’d never said it like that.

‘I would have killed for a nice bed to sleep on,’ she continued. ‘You and Riku took me on quite a journey– napping peacefully in a meadow sounds pretty good to me,’ Kairi said with a grin.

A breeze drifted through the orchard, rustling the leaves over their heads. ‘I remember your dad telling us all those old fairy tales when we were kids,’ Sora said. ‘After all the adventures we’ve had… it’s strange to think we sort of became one ourselves.’

‘They’re not always as fun to live as they are to hear…’ Kairi remarked, almost to herself, ‘when you don’t know if there’ll be a happy ending after all.’ Her eyes grew distant, drifting aimlessly down the row of apple trees.  ‘I… I still remember waking up at Hollow Bastion, seeing that Keyblade in your chest… And then how you–’ she started, but then faltered, unable to bring herself to say what came next.

Sora gently placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. She still seemed lost in thought, not meeting his eyes. ‘I know what you mean. But we did get one, didn’t we, Kairi? It took a while, and we’ve had to find each other again and again, but now you’re here. And thanks to you, I’m here. We’re finally together, and nothing is ever going to change that. That’s the best ‘happily ever after’ I could have wished for.’

The pair were alone, the trees standing sentry around them, but his voice grew softer all the same: these words were just for her. ‘All that doesn’t really matter anymore,’ Sora continued. ‘What I mean is… what matters is that we’re here now. That means it was all worth it.’ He took her hand, interlacing their fingers. ‘Back at Hollow Bastion, when I saw your eyes open just before mine closed, when I knew your heart was safe… it was worth it, Kairi.’

She finally looked up at him. Sora hoped his eyes conveyed the sincerity of his words: It had all been for her– and it had all been worth it, every moment. Every time Sora got to see her sweet smile, got to hear her lovely laugh, it was worth it. And now, he wasn’t just connected to her across the worlds by promises and oaths– if he wanted to find Kairi, all Sora had to do was reach for her hand. How was that not a dream come true?

A small smile forming on her lips, Kairi gave him a look of such love and gratitude that Sora knew she felt the same. ‘It just makes our time together now even more precious to me,’ she finally said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. ‘I’m never going to take this for granted.’

Sora decided then to gather her into his arms and bring her close, her head resting in the crook of his neck, his cheek on her soft hair. ‘You know,’ he started after a pause, ‘I have to admit, when I heard Snow White’s story, I got a bit jealous.’

Kairi pulled back just enough to shoot him a quizzical look. ‘Jealous?’

‘Yeah, of Prince Florian. All he had to do to wake up Snow White and save the day was kiss her– pretty nice deal, if you ask me,’ Sora explained. Kairi smiled, but her eyes were still a bit sad. So he continued, a grin spreading across his face, ‘Don’t know why I didn’t think to try that first…’

‘Oh, Sora!’ Kairi giggled, giving Sora a playful smack on his arm, her face brighter. ‘What, does that mean you thought about kissing Ven at some point, too?’ she countered.

‘I was getting so desperate to find the Power of Waking, I just might have!’ Sora replied, and they both laughed again. Keeping one arm around Kairi, he took a bite from the apple still in his hand. It was crisp and fresh, and amazingly sweet– it was just right, like everything else in this moment.

Suddenly, with a smirk on her face, Kairi plucked the half-eaten apple from Sora’s hand. She lifted the fruit to her lips, holding Sora’s gaze as she took a large bite next to where he’d just bitten, a small drop of juice running down her chin as she chewed. All Sora could do was watch her, hopelessly mesmerized. It was bold, yet playful– Kairi to a T. Before Sora’s brain could fully resume normal functioning, Kairi said, feigning innocence, ‘What? Isn’t sharing fruit kind of our thing? It’s no paopu fruit, but still…’

Staring into her eyes, the radiant sunset bathing them in soft, warm light, Sora grew bold himself: They’d spent so long in silence, so long apart, why waste any time? He’d fought so hard to find her, to come back to her, over and over again. She was right here– if he wanted to kiss her, what on earth was there to consider? Sora reached a hand forward to cup her cheek, wiping the juice from the corner of her lip with his thumb. Kairi let the gentle pull of his thumb part her lips. ‘It is pretty good,’ Sora said, ‘but… you definitely taste better.’ And with that, he lowered his head and kissed her. He heard the sound of the apple landing on the ground, utterly forgotten, as Kairi’s arms wound around his neck.

And Sora had to admit, kissing Kairi felt pretty magical– Maybe those fairytales were onto something after all.

But of course, the distant sound of Aqua, Ven, and Riku calling out in search of them forced the pair to break their kiss, albeit begrudgingly. Sora expected Kairi to step away, pick up her basket, maybe call out to their friends– but she didn’t. She stayed as she was in Sora’s arms, one hand resting on his shirt, over the scar. Sora could feel his heartbeat racing under her touch. When she looked up at him again, something in her eyes was different. Still happy, but mixed with something else– not just happiness, but a determination to be so.

‘This is a pretty large orchard,’ Kairi remarked, her eyes bright. ‘Our friends probably won’t find us for a little while longer…’

‘We’d better not make them wait too long, or Axel will use his chakrams to–’

Kairi grabbed Sora’s hoodie with both hands and pulled him back down to her lips. For a moment, Sora stood frozen, eyes wide with shock. But as she melted into him, his eyes fluttered closed and he wound his arms around her, each kiss between them less ‘Fairy Godmother Friendly’ than the last. Traditionally, in all those fairytales, the heroes only ever got one ‘True Love’s Kiss.’ Sora considered himself the luckiest prince of all time– he had a never ending supply.

Twilight Town was always just that– hanging in perpetual dusk. So Sora really didn’t know how long he and Kairi spent like that, lost in laughter and kisses and caresses beneath the trees. But once their friends’ voices grew dangerously close, Sora and Kairi managed to untangle themselves, wiping swollen lips, readjusting ruffled clothing, and fixing disheveled hair (not that Sora’s hair had been tidy in the first place– and Kairi burst out laughing when she realized her attempts to smooth it didn’t do much good, either). As Kairi called out to their friends, Sora picked up her basket, now full of delicious looking apples, and the pair began to head back toward the orchard entrance. They probably hadn’t gathered the most apples– and he was sure their friends would point that fact out–  but Sora didn’t care one bit. He wouldn’t have traded this day for anything.

‘Hey Kairi?’ Sora said as they walked, ‘For the record, if I’m ever in a fruit induced coma– or any other kind of coma, really– feel free to make out with me, in order to revive me. Thought I should say so, you know, just in case.’

‘Oh, really?’ She teased back. ‘I’ll make sure to tell Donald– you always complain he never uses Curaga when you need it.’

‘What? No! Ew, gross!’ Sora blanched as Kairi dissolved into laughter. But when his eyes found hers again, he couldn’t help but smile.

As her giggles died out, she replied, 'Okay, I’ll remember that… But that doesn’t mean you can go throw yourself into danger so I’ll kiss you better!’

‘I can’t help it– when you kiss me, I feel like I can do anything,’ Sora answered simply. Kairi’s eyes widened at his remark, and she ducked her head as her cheeks bloomed pink. Sora beamed. He may have been laying it on her thick, but Sora wasn’t lying: He had true love on his side– the most powerful magic of all.

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