#The Unchosen One

[hollowwhisperings]

Kingdom Key & Kingdom Hearts: A SoRiku Theory

The Kingdom Hearts series (& its creators) actively emphasizes the ways that its primary protagonist, Sora, is a "normal, ordinary boy". Yet Sora wields the iconic Kingdom Key, the Ultima Keyblade & even a x-blade (as forged by Xehanort): Sora's Story has been that of a Chosen One, even as he fits the archetype of one "Unchosen".

This theory explores the nature of Choice within the KH series, specifically in the context of "Destiny" and prophecies. It employs the "Riku is The Light" & "Necklace" theories, as well as elements of "Sleeping Realm". It also casts Riku as one of those Strange Women in Ponds who Distribute Swords as a Basis of [Galactic World Order].

Sora's story seemingly begins as a Classic Hero's Journey only for such a reading to fall flat when Expectations such as "Getting The Girl" and "Becoming a Keyblade Master" pointedly do not happen.

The driving force of the KH series has always been Riku: Riku wished to see worlds beyond his home, knowing the truth of the KH Multiverse well before proof literally crashlanded in the form of Kairi (a literal shooting star).

It is Riku's Heart that drew the attention of the Worlds at large to the Destiny Islands: the brightness of his light lead Terra, Aqua & Xehanort to meeting Sora in the first place.

Terra chooses Riku as a future Keyblade Master.

Aqua chooses Sora for the sake of preserving Riku's Light, the events of BBS teaching her that the strongest lights cast the longest shadows.

Xehanort chooses Riku as a Dark Vessel, whispering to him & encouraging him to doubt, to mistrust.

It is assumed, by Sora and by Riku, that Riku was also the person responsible for "opening the door" to the Darkness that felled the Destiny Islands. Yet throughout his childhood, each attempt by Riku to open the mysterious door on the play island failed and, when Darkness Falls, it is Kairi who is found at its source (Kairi, who had been expelled from her home by a version of Xehanort & whose heart harboured yet another fragment of the Seeker of Darkness).

Regardless of whether he truly opened the Destiny Islands to Darkness, Riku believed it & through Darkness did he find "freedom" to explore the Worlds Beyond, just as he had always dreamed... except for one, rather significant detail becoming derailed: Sora's presence by Riku's Side.

The two were separated and Sora was almost lost: even with Darkness swallowing Riku whole, the light within his Heart acted in time to save Sora by entrusting to him 'Kingdom Key'. Riku's Keyblade. A physical manifestation of Riku's Heart.

(notably, the "Kingdom Key-D" found by King Mickey was found not too far from the scene where Kingdom Key manifested: it is plausible that this keyblade was also manifested by Riku's Heart, perhaps alongside its 'Light' counterpart - I'd need to check the timeline to see how such a theory holds up)

Kingdom Key was entrusted to Sora, a subconscious act of Riku's Heart that mirrored an earlier act of protection Riku gave to Sora: on the night where Kairi fell to the Destiny Islands, a young Sora felt frightened and a young Riku swore to protect his dearest friend. This oath was sworn in turn sworn by Sora to Riku. They sealed these oaths with tokens they held close: while Sora's charm gifted to Riku remains unknown, Riku entrusted Sora with a crown charm he had had since infancy.

When Riku was 5, Riku entrusted Sora with his Crown. Both boys swore to protect the other.

When Riku was 15, Riku's Heart entrusted itself to Sora in the form of 'Kingdom Key'.

When Riku was ~16, he subconsciously protected Sora by becoming the latter's Dreamel Eater. Within the same timeframe, Riku sacrificed himself entirely to save Sora at the Keyblade Graveyard (an act of sacrifice, an act of True Love).

At every instance where Riku has been at a crossroads, knowingly or not, his Heart has Chosen Sora's: Riku, presumed descendant of Ephemera and a child of the Destiny Islands, has always & continues to choose Sora.

When the pair were reunited in KH2 and confronted the threat of Xemnas, the two fought as one & passed their keyblades between each other intuitively

When the pair existed in parallel realms of Sleep, separated but connected, their heartbeasts joined to form a Waltzing variation of the melody 'Dearly Belove'. They then fought in sync with a Combined Blade, formed from the keyblades "Mirage Split" and "Nightmare's End", acting again as two halves of a whole.

When Riku was to meet his end in the Realm of Darkness, far within the abyss, Sora appeared to him and they once again wielded their Combined Blade. Beast had once reaponded to a 15 year old Riku's questioning of his impossible arrival to Hollow Bastion, where Beast's Beloved Belle was held hostage, that he had "simply believed": belief brought Sora to Riku in the Realm of Darkness, belief brought Sora to the Final World in the wake of Riku's Ultimate Sacrifice.

The premise of Kingdom Key & its counterpart, Kingdom Key-D, being Manifestations of Riku's Heart & indicative of Riku's being the "Child of Destiny" does run into some Logistical Obstacles.

One, if Riku's Keyblade is being wielded by Sora (& Mickey, assuming the two keys were originally one) then whose keyblade is Riku wielding?

Two, how can Riku's Heart manifest multiple keyblades? Posession by Ansem Seeker of Darkness explains 1 of the "extra" keyblades (the key of "all hearts"). The bequeathing ceremony by Terra could explain another. Kingdom Key-D is definitely connected to Kingdom Key yet never specifically associated with Riku, evem being wielded by King Mickey (a stranger to Riku, at that point).

To the first: if Riku's keyblade is being wielded by Sora (& its counterpart by King Mickey), how can Riku wield another keyblade in KH1 even before getting possessed?

There are several immediate & varyingly plausible explanations: Riku's nature as a "Child of Destiny" allowing his Heart to churn out keyblades on demand like some Fey Lady of Avalon; or the other keyblades were not actually manifested by Riku at all.

While I greatly enjoy the imagery of Riku playing the "Lady of the Lake" to Sora's "Arthur" in KH1, given Sora's opening dream sequence already set Riku as being stuck in a Body Of Water (which is additionally representative of Darkness), it is Stretching Things to assume all other Plot Focused keyblades were ALSO fished out from Riku's Heart.

Perhaps Riku's Heart simply conjured new keyblades in response to Sora's Heart taking in new quests: Riku's Heart supplying keys to the metaphoric doors of Sora's Heart Hotel.

It is more likely, however, that the "new" keyblade wielded by Riku (the one currently known as "Braveheart") is a manifestation of SORA'S Heart: Riku entrusted his crown & his heart to Sora, first on the night of the Meteor Shower & then on the night the Islands Fell; Sora, in turn, entrusted his sword & heart to Riku. It explains how each boy readily wields the keyblade of the other & fits within the theme of their hearts beating in sych.

Riku choosing Sora, Riku's entrusting his Heart (literally & figuratively) with Sora, resulted in Destiny Itself 'choosing' Sora: if Riku represents Kingdom Hearts, the subject of his love would naturally become beloved by the Worlds in turn.

Sora acting as "[the] One Sky, One Destiny" due to Sora having the 'Heart' of Destiny through its child (Riku)'s love.

Sora is not only Riku's Dearly Beloved, Sora is THE "Dearly Beloved": beloved by the Worlds, entrusted with their Hearts & appointed their Savior. And all because, dull and ordinary boy that he may be, it is Sora's naturally normal self that Riku fell in love with. Sora may not be any more innately special than anyone else but Sora is special to RIKU, the love between them (knowingly or not) serving as the driving force of their stories & of Destiny itself.

[grapecaseschoices]

The brainrotting is really braining. My Unchosens from @dakotawritesif's @/disenchantedif!

From Left to Right:

Aleena "Leena" Odeh: My angry cringefail sapphic who DEFINITELY does not enough sleep; part jerk-ass with murderous intent and part extroverted nephiim who MAYBE understands the words "loyalty" and "friendship". [She/her]

Richard Joly: My black men CAN wear frills and sparkles wanna be trophy wife; kind-hearted, anarchy-minded [and stressed!] banshee. [He/him]

Tristan "Tis" Terrell: Star devourer, book lover, reserved, liar liar pants on fire who is VERY Mature about things [arguably far more than xe should be]; beware the bite of the basilisk [Xe/xem]

Picrew here!

[anxietytwist]

𝐄𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞

“𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐲”

[ 𝟸𝟷 | 𝟻'𝟽" | Agender | Queer | 𝐕𝐢𝐤𝐭𝐨𝐫💗ɴʙ!𝐂𝐚𝐦 ]

⧼𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒔⧽

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⧼𝑭𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒐𝒏⧽

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⧼𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎⧽

Xyr's profile is unsurprisingly set to private Xe mainly posts about xyr partners/family/food/photography/nail art/things xe's drawn ... + LOTS of sharks

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⧼𝑷𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒔⧽

𝗘𝘆𝗲𝘀: 👁️ (eyeshine in low light) 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘀: 👂🏽 (𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴) 𝗧𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵: 👄 (xe keeps xyr mouth closed when smiling since xyr fangs make some people uncomfortable ... especially after xe was “𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐧”) 𝗚𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀: 🐠 (they flutter when xe's feeling highly emotional + are very touch sensitive) 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀: 🖐🏽 (with scales + webbed fingers, the same colour as xyr tail, when in water) 𝗧𝗮𝗶𝗹: 🧜🏽 (𝟻ft long with bioluminescent nubs)

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⧼𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔⧽

ᴘʀᴏɴᴏᴜɴꜱ➠ Xe/Xem ʙᴏᴅʏ ᴛʏᴘᴇ➠ 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪᴇꜱ➠ Siren ᴘʜᴏʙɪᴀꜱ➠ Hemophobia, ... ᴍᴀᴊᴏʀ➠ ... ᴇʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟᴛʏ➠ Leaning towards 🔥 (1: a Siren using fire is funny & 2: it's how xyr parents died 😈) ᴘʀᴇᴄᴏɢɴɪᴛɪᴠᴇ ꜱᴛᴀᴛᴜꜱ➠ ...

💔Ex-𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚

Xe LOVES sharks & the colour pink (xe has a 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘺) ❤︎🦈❤︎

Xe wears a binder when xe feels like it, otherwise, xe just wears a sports bra 🏳️‍⚧️

𝐄𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧'𝐬 hair is technically a 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵 & xe's very fond of it

The best way to ground 𝐄𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧 when xe's stressed is physical touch (even just holding xyr hand will work)

𝐄𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧 has nightmares about drowning a lot (despite being born with fully functional gills) 🌊

Post-breakup 𝐄𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧'𝐬 feelings towards 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚 are VERY negative (“𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.” ... 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚 has LOTS of work to do to even be considered a friend again 😔)

Xe HATES xyr “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐞” moniker, but rarely outwardly reacts when it's now thrown at xem ... 😑

When interacting with people xe's close with 𝐄𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧 has quite the sense of humour ... but with strangers xe is always on edge, just waiting for them to say something cruel/judgmental like most ppl do

Xe REALLY doesn't like crowds, even before the whole “𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐧” incident

𝐄𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧 views the 𝐎𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐯'𝐬 as xyr family (especially since they've all been explicitly supportive of 𝐄𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧, unlike xyr last “family” ... 𝐄𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧 @ 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥: 🅧 )

Xe honestly couldn't care less about where xe fits concerning the “gender binary” (so what if a doctor said xe was born “female”, it never really mattered much to xem 🤷🏽)

𝐄���𝐝𝐢𝐧 has great memory ... much to xyr detriment because of recent events 😵

...

⚠️ 𝗖𝗪/𝗧𝗪 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙙 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 ⚠️ Because of their hemophobia xe is VERY thankful for the fact that xyr current birth-control completely stopped xyr periods (it saved xem from having panic attacks for a week EVERY month)

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𝑰𝑭: @disenchantedif

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Picrew used:

❕️I'm doing my best to keep all of Eadin's pronouns as Xe/Xem, but my stupid braid keeps defaulting to They/Them (+ struggling to use proper grammar)...so apologies if anything is incorrect❕️

[joncronshawauthor]

Jon's Author Diary - August 11, 2023

Hello from sunny Morecambe! Another week, another set of chapters in the bag. I’ve been carrying on with my Substack series ‘Guild of Assassins,’ with two more chapters complete and ready for your eyes. In addition to that, I’ve started writing a new story—a follow-up to ‘Orphan Farm Boy of Destiny’ entitled ‘The Unchosen One.’ I’ll be releasing on my Substack every other Wednesday…for free.…

[solo-uso]

Take me back..

[lenatiarts]

Some Katniss doodles I’ve been sitting on for her birthday

[rotzaprachim]

me thinking about the fact that both nina zenik and cassian andor are almost lone survivors of systemic death camp projects who swim out of the water with only one other person and the fact they’re spies and the fact they’re killers whose societies and situations gave them no choice but to be anything else but their hearts are just so big and full of love but also dear gd what the FUCK. and how their entire stories, their arcs, are about the ways in which good people exist within the structures of war that take everthing from them, including moral autonomy, and also how their entire stories are about death. always were. and also how they are so pretty and bisexual and slutty and they have such big eyes 

[prompts-cemetery]

Unchosen one 01

The unchosen one discovers that their lack of powers or special abilities is actually a rare gift that allows them to navigate and manipulate the magical world in a way that nobody else can.

[baelavelaryon]

Jack and Kate being rude to Locke is gonna kill me

[lautjess]

The story continues

Aaron's decisions has led him to many places, one of them was Knox. But the battle of Wesninski still haunts him, and with that new horrors will follow.

Kingdoms have fallen and risen. Cursed and broken. And Kevin feels like he's the one responsible, it started with his mother and he has to be the one to end it for once and for all.

With Riko growing stronger the Foxes need to stand together, to gather allies for their cause. Someone is already on their way, someone none of them would have counted on, didn't know he existed.

Back in Palmetto the Foxes are all fighting on their own ways to regain their strength, to be ready for one more battle.

Will they be able to win this time?

[hollowwhisperings]

A Genuine Question for my Fellow Kingdom Hearts Nerds: are there ANY in-game examples of Riku and Kairi "being friends" outside their shared context of "this is Sora's [Other] Best Friend" or, in the case of Riku, "it's my fault you're in danger so I have to take responsibility and protect you"?

I'm talking actual, genuine moments of Spending Time Together, independently from Sora's presence and outside of Preventing Tragedies.

explanatory elaboration below cut + bonus "did Yen Sid actually do anything Wrong or is the Hate a projection of Sora's Masculine Insecurity in KH3?"

From what I can recall, Riku and Kairi have been Sora's Two Best Friends but THEY each share One Best Friend (Sora).

A LOT of the assumptions made about Kairi & her relationships with others seem to be Assumptions based in Kairi's Being Female: Kairi became the franchise's "Female Lead" by default of being the Only Plot-Adjacent Female in KH1, in addition to the assumption that "Kairi must be the Female Lead because Sora&Riku are Rivals & thus their rivalry must be over Her".

If we change the genders of Kairi or Riku, many Fan Assumptions on their relationship cease to be "logical": if Riku is Female, Kairi's closest female friend is still Selphie & Riku's closest female friend is NAMINÉ (Kairi only held that role in KH1 because, again, they share a best friend in Sora & thus share more onscreen Proximity); if Kairi is Male OR Riku is Female, Sora is both Best Friend and "closest male friend". Changing Kairi or Riku's assumed gender makes a resultant rivalry between the two for Sora's attention More Obvious, whereas Kairi existing as the "Token Female" creates Assumptions of Romantic Tension.

I have been struggling to draft a Theory/Analysis post on Kairi due to my feeling a need to replay every single KH game to REALLY look at the textual Kairi with those CompHet Shipping Goggles we get, as Members Of [This] Society, pointedly set aside.

(I also want to do a replay to just... actually note what Yen Sid CANONICALLY says and does? to figure out why the International Audience seems to hate him so much. he's a very reasonable authority figure, to me? i played BBS back on PSP & thus knew him prior to the "Story So Far" compilation & KH3. and, as far as "mentors in fantasy settings made in East Asia" go, Yen Sid is... pretty reasonable? especially since BBS puts him in "Competition" with Masters Eraqus of "murder for the greater good is fine, apparently" and Xehanort. Yen Sid making Mickey do Chores and Not Passing Sora for an Exam he couldn't actually take is... standard mentor stuff? Sora almost DIED in DDD: of course Yen Sid was strict about his involvement in an upcoming war. The title & subsequent responsibilities of being named a "Master" remains Unclear and Riku's receiving the Title was due to his Extraordinary Success with the Power of Waking. Yen Sid states both Sora & Riku have accomplished great things already, without being Masters & without formal instruction in the Ways of the Keyblade. There is also the Doylist explanation for Sora's Failure: Nomura never intended for Sora to pass the exam at all because Sora is supposed to be an [Unchosen One], someone ordinary who accomplishes extraordinary things BECAUSE he is "ordinary".)

[honestsister]

Realized I'm obsessed with protagonists who are The Unchosen one,

Sora who's told time and again that there are more qualified , more important, more talented people who are meant to save the day but picking himself up and fighting anyway

Luz who is told and reminded there are no chosen ones and deciding protect the Isles anyway once she sees them in danger.

[stahlfeder]

A Stahl-in-a-box!

This is a sticker I designed ages ago, to take advantage of a free sticker promotion. I absolutely love it, but there's not much market for a random person's fursona. So I've just given them to friends. It makes for a good profile picture though, and I'm really pleased with it overall.

Posted using PostyBirb

[futurefind]

//'explain tomas['s whole deal] w.o explaining tomas'

his personal theme would 1000% be Ghost Rule :'))) just. all of it. chefs kiss. chews on him like a chew toy

[thenopequeen]

Extremely unsexy of my brain to give me my wip a sentence or two at a time. A day at a time