#i wonder how ienzo feels about it…

[firestorm09890]

had a thought just now

what if one of the reasons why Ienzo is so jarringly chipper (and far more casual in speech, mannerisms, and posture than Zexion) in DDD and KH3 is because before, for basically all his life, he was vying for the attention of someone he looked up to (whether it be Ansem or Even or Xehanort/Xemnas) and competing with his peers, and made sure to act seriously and with the confidence you would expect of an experienced, aged veteran rather than someone his actual age (because you know how it is with adults and treating people younger than them as inferior)

but post-recompletion there's no one to compete with except himself and no mentor to impress until Ansem comes back

[chenoehi]

been thinking thoughts about KH3, MoM theories, etc a lot lately and this is my current brain rot:

All the Org XIII ancient keyblade wielders seem to treat Sora with either derision or kindness.

Eg. Marluxia and Luxord are friendly to Sora when they’re fading away. Marluxia thanks him and Luxord gives him a card to help him. Luxord was arguably never unkind to Sora prior but he was still antagonistic. Larxene isn’t kind per se but she shows a different side briefly and even smiles at him in the end, which for her actually seemed genuine.

Meanwhile you have Xigbar/Luxu and Demyx. Both of which are, frankly, bastards (affectionately! I love them your honor) to Sora in KH2, DDD, and KH3 even when they don’t need to be. Like, just thinking about Xigbar antagonizing the shit out of Sora in KH2/Radiant Garden and like Cardi B I’m wondering what was tf reason.

Based on what we know of him now, we can make educated guesses as to why he acts that way — his character file is illuminating and offers a lot of insight as to why he may feel differently about Sora, in addition to how nosey af we know Luxu is.

Demyx initially acts friendly but that’s really just him addressing Roxas imo which he makes pretty obvious by speaking directly to Roxas in KH2. And while he was objectively terrible to Roxas in terms of ditching him on missions in Days, he was never actually rude or unkind to him that I remember. For the most part he’s friendly with him both in game and in comics (that I know of). And he seemed alright with Xion.

Sora? Nah. He’s sarcastic as shit and while I love me some barbs, I tend to agree with the opinion that sarcasm is veiled contempt.

In fact contempt is the word I feel fits best for how both Xigbar and Demyx act/feel toward Sora.

But Riku? Demyx calls out to him in Remind and starts talking like they’re besties, he smiles at him softly — which is not at all weird or like his soft smile for Ienzo, no not similar in the slightest — and he gets up in his personal space, which, while not entirely unusual for Demyx, is in contrast to his interactions with Sora. It’s made a little creepy by the odd familiarity with which he’s treating someone he’s supposedly just met — and not even properly. (it’s actually crazy to me but rn I’m realizing the org members almost never introduce themselves to anyone lol Sora has no idea who these people are, like he literally doesn’t know what to call them so he just says “it’s org 13” bc names? what’s a name?)

And this single solitary interaction between Riku-Demyx for me is all just so strange because there’s few people on record in the games that Demyx is actually friendly toward. Xigbar, Ienzo, Roxas, maybe Xion, now Riku. That’s an ..interesting mix. I’m not counting Vexen because dude was finding every excuse to walk away from science boy in RG before getting sucked into the scheme via manipulation (and arguably his own ego, cause you know, he’s the only one who could pull it off bc no one would suspect him). He literally claims himself that he had no real friends outside of Xigbar and we know that association alone is 👀 At one point Axel speaks somewhat kindly of him, but then Demyx was saying how much quieter it was and how he’s glad the loudmouths were unalived in Castle Oblivion. Not very neighborly of him, but then again Axel and Zexion were friendly enough to bet on who’d die next only for Axel to axe (aheh) him so a lot of that backstabbing shit went on. So maybe he was cool with Axel but clearly not enough to be friends with him, even though he apparently wanted friends. (On another note, I still find it super odd Axel chose to defend Demyx to Roxas instead of piling on, we never even saw them interact. It’s weird.)

It’s unfortunate we don’t get to see Xigbar/Luxu interact with Riku on his own but, like with Demyx, I think he would be less bastardly than he is with Sora. Maybe it’s a keyblade master thing, maybe Riku’s just earned more respect, or maybe he just can’t stand that Sora is the ‘hero’ putting others (Riku et al) in danger constantly by needing to be rescued or protected — at least from Xigbar/Luxu’s perspective.

[briefobservationdreamer]

Missing Potential About Organisation XIII Members

Some things about Organisation XIII members that I thought was a shame we haven't seen (yet)

The events of Chain of Memories being touched on. Like, how do Lea and Riku interact with Aeleus, Ienzo and Even? What about Saïx’s involvement, how much of it was from Xemnas, Saïx or just Axel's initative? Imagine Sora dealing with Marluxia and Larxene in KH3 with their history remembered. And let's not forget Riku Replica.

Marluxia and Larxene actually share very little one-to-one screentime for two villains who are working together, they only have a single short scene in KH3 before other characters show up. What was their relationship as Nobodies like? How did they come to trust each other enough to try and orchestrate a coup together and be loyal enough to die fighting together twice? We know Marluxia didn’t remember his past, but what about Larxene? Does the history of their Somebodies still factor in, even though they might not even remember?

Seeing the Organisation’s earlier history. How and when did they claim the World That Never Was as their base of operations and start working on completing the artificial Kingdom Hearts? How did they all get their powers and weapons and learn how to use them? How was it run before Saïx became mission control, how did he get that job and what kind of training and missions were they assigned to turn it into the Organisation we see in Chain of Memories, Days and 2? What are the details of Axel and Saïx’s story, how they lost their hearts and plotted their coup, how Axel got his teardrop tattoos and how Saïx got that scar and got possessed. How did Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia and Larxene get recruited (twice)? The original Organisation XIII doesn’t actually get to be an organisation of 13 people for very long, if at all, and there is only a brief period at the beginning of Days where we have a chance to see all members interacting with each other. I know there were at least two coups being plotted but they are never seen acting collectively as a single unit.

Lea still keeps his affinity for fire magic since being recompleted, but what about the other recompleted members of the original Organisation? I’d have to assume that the others still keep their powers post-recompletion too, and if so it’s a shame we don’t get to see the Radiant Garden crew using their powers more. Or Aeleus and Dilan showing off their fighting skills in general (even in a war), they are castle guards after all.

The Radiant Garden crew adjusting back into society after all the human experiments they did, especially if they remain respected authority figures.

Lea losing much of his potential character development in KH3 - exploring what his keyblade and being a wielder means to him, making up for his mistakes and fighting to get his friends back and earning all of those things - in favour of ignoring a lot of the harmful things he did and turning him into comic relief who doesn’t contribute much to the war. He deserved better than that.

The whole possession thing is kind of glossed over in KH3, in that it doesn’t really seem to affect the Real Org members. The way Xigbar described it in DDD makes it sound like some kind of hive mind to me, so I wondered about Xehanort being able to completely control any of them at any time, all of them forced to share the same thoughts and feelings from Xehanort about what he wants them to desire (or even sharing or sensing each other’s thoughts and feelings?), and in the Keyblade Graveyard none of them are themselves at all until their deaths. There was a reason Xehanort did this after all, and it would not only keep the members trapped and make betrayal more difficult, but make it even more impressive that Saïx, Vexen and Demyx were able to pull it off despite this.  

The traitors in the new Org doing more than drop off a replica body at Radiant Garden right when it was needed. Maybe there could have been more communication between the traitors and the guardians to make cooperation easier and give the plan greater chances of success, maybe even pass along information about the organisation's plans and movements (easily done by Demyx if he was always sent on recon missions). This is really more of an idea I had.

Group dynamics in general. So many contrasting personalities and motivations with so much potential for interesting interactions just by putting some of these characters in the same room for a few minutes.

All the former Nobodies adjusting to having a heart again after being recompleted. Even though there would be a lot that's similar for them, I think each of them would experience it in their own way, with their own unique challenges, needs and coping methods about the process.

[leastrife]

Ansem TW doesn't deserve as much hate as he gets

This is following up to my previous post about how I don't think Ansem TW deserves as much hate as the fandom gives him and this kinda just me rambling about why I think he's a better character/person than people give him credit for.

If we start chronologically (which I'll be doing to keep this cohesive) we first see him at the end of BBS finding Terranort, who I will be refering to as Xehanort for the rest of this post, and bringing him to the castle. Now surely somewhere in this town there's a hospital, but instead of bringing Xehanort there Ansem takes him in (and I will be throwing 'he had to take him in for plot reasons' out the window) because Ansem is a good leader. I really want to believe there's a reason Ansem is the ruler of Radiant Garden and that that reason is that he's ultimately a good person. In KH1 all of the FF characters talk about how Ansem the Wise was a good leader and the only reason they went back on that later was bedcause of Ansem SoD. So because Ansem is a good person of course he's going to take Xehanort in himself to make sure he gets the care he receives because as far as Ansem would be aware Xehanort is one of his citizens, he's in Radiant Garden so this is someone Ansem is supposed to care for.

Going even further into this point another example of Ansem providing care for someone in need is Ienzo. Once again surely there's some sort of orphanage in Radiant Garden, now the circumstances of Ienzo's pseudo adoption by the apprentices and Ansem is vague but stay with me. Many of my previous points stand the same for Ienzo. Ansem sees a child in need and yes also potential for scientific genius, but even with that he still cares for Ienzo like a son seen through when we see Ansem and Ienzo walking through the halls and also Ienzo's reaction to seeing Ansem again in KH3 is not that of just a leader and apprentice. Ienzo has clearly seen Ansem as some sort of parental figure or a very significant role model in his life and that doesn't happen if Ansem didn't give him a reason for that.

What happens next is actually something I find really traumatic for Ansem. Given his relationship to Ienzo I can only imagine Ansem sees all the apprentices as his family, a family he's made for himself that he's always ready to expand, and they betray him. His family betrays him and pushes him away and he's left with darkness. He tells Xehanort to stop the experiments because if he does the world will be destroyed and Ansem is responsible for the well being of his citizens, and even after that not only is he betrayed by Xehanort he's also betrayed by his entire family. He's betrayed and then he looses his world. The hurt and feeling of failure he's feeling at this point is probably insane.

Now at this point Ansem is DiZ and this is the version of him people seem to focus on and hate because of his dehumanization of Nobodies and I will not be trying to argue he was in the right, but I think his reaction is completely understandable. He's betrayed and the next time he sees his family is as these Nobodies who are very differnet to the people he knew. Cruel, heartless (literally), and not even using the same names anymore. Of course he's not going to see his family and instead will just see these new creatures parading around as his family. They are different people at this point, and they do not have hearts as far as Ansem is concerned, no wonder he hates Nobodies. To him Nobodies took his family and are trying to pretend to be them now. This doesn't excuse how he treats Namine and Roxas, but doesn't make his behavior seem completley 1 dimensional.

At the end of KH2 he sacrifices himself and I understand people not caring much for this part, at this point (with how the games were released) we only know that Ansem used to rule Radiant Garden, he's DiZ, and DiZ treated Namine and Roxas horribly, and sacrificing yourself and the end of the story isn't good enough to make up for what you did wrong. I'm not a fan of a character being a horrible person all throughout the plot and then get a redemption through dying for someone, but in KH no one ever just dies and Ansem is given more backstory later on.

Finally arriving at KH3 despite not giving him a lot of screen time Ansem is given a proper start to his redemption arc. We see him in the realm of darkness and whenever anyone goes there we can almost always see a lot of contemplation going on within the characters there which makes sense since there's not much else to do. He's been given time to think and reflect and part of his reflection is realizing he hurt Namine and Roxas, and Riku to an extent as well, and he states he wants to make up for it. He wasn't given a whole lot of opportunity, but I hope in later games we continue to see the Radiant Garden family and that Ansem is begining to make up for his mistakes. I want to bring up Ienzo again too because if Ansem wasn't a good person I can't imagine Ienzo getting that emotional over seeing him again. ("Ienzo was a child and Ansem was an adult figure in his life of course he's emotional after seeing him") Yeah okay, but we also see Aeleus and Dilan getting emotional (as emotional as those two ever are) over seeing him again.

I doubt too many people will read this, but if you did thank you for going on with my ramblings. I really like Ansem the Wise and I wish more people did too because I think he's gone through a lot and deserves a good redemption. If your family betrayed you and got the world you're responsible for destroyed and then turn into Nobodies I'm sure you'd be upset too.

[mirror-to-the-past]

Hi. Boom. Here's long assorted sleep deprived thoughts I'm gonna be face palming at later about my current KH3 impressions.

Finished Olympus, Corona, now I'm on Toy Box.

PUNTING DONALD INTO ORBIT. And low key, Goofy, too. Like, on one hand, they're just Some Guys and also cartoon characters that make me giggle every cutscene they're in and they just try to lighten the mood or whatever. On the other hand, narratively, NOBODY is getting off Sora's case oh my god. Like, they've teased him before but it feels much more frequent and pointed this game towards the things Sora is insecure about. "Haha, you know Sora, our forgetful, stupid, careless, rash, powerless, weak, codependent idiot! We love him. <3" (exaggerated for comedy but they really don't stop with the punches and it's so uncalled for lol) And he either takes it or lightly goes "hey..." half the time. Donald keeps talking shit, Goofy just lets it happen and whenever there's actually disputes where Sora sasses back a 'lil then he steps in and it gives off vibes of "now don't make your mother angry." They're questionable guardian figures. Rehoming Sora to Supportive Dad Mickey Mouse real quick out of saltiness. That said, Goofy kind of laying a steadying hand on Sora on the Trinity Sled and when he was upset about Eugene's "death" in Corona is sweet.

The face of someone doing completely well who says "I can take it" twice in a row just to prove how well he's doing:

Bestie. You're fifteen years old and running around in a world where tripping acid on identity issues, amnesia, and listening to vague monologues from strange predatory darkness men is another Tuesday.

Sora keeps spacing out and giving thousand yard stares especially throughout this game, and when Ienzo told him "yeah, your heart's not entirely yours!" And Sora just stared blankly at the phone like "figures." I just laughed, lol. He's just constantly pivoting between being occupied by and amazed by the Wonder™ of the world/absorbed by the hype of meeting new people and the Horrors™ presented by the constant tumult of foreign emotions and memories running through his little head, clearly to such a degree that it's no surprise to be told that there's whole fuckin people within him. Teenage experience, honestly. Love coming of age narratives that are just crazy fucking magic bs manifesting in dissociation central. What a guy.

I was in tears laughing when Sora was hearing voices in Twilight Town and thought Hayner and co. were those same voices for a sec and very enthusiastically, as though to prove himself went: "See?? :DDD Voices!" SORA, HONEY.

In other news of AAA-

Way to the Dawn just fucking broke? Why was everyone so calm? Am I missing something? Riku's like "aha gives me an excuse to skill up and get a better one-" child, I am gripping you by the shoulders. This blade is manifested as an extension of your heart, they don't just BREAK. Should I be concerned about the integrity of your soul, brother?

THE SCENE WITH KAIRI AND LEA/AXEL WAS SO SWEET, I WANT MORE OF THEM. NEED MORE OF THEM, ACTUALLY. When Kairi was like ":3 hehe I'm gonna beat your ass in the ring," and when he started CRYING because he caught a glimpse of Xion in her. 😭 Her letter to Sora was so fucking sad I am heartbroken how she becomes more alienated from her friends as time goes on. She went from sending the letter as a waypoint in KH2, like "please come back, here I am" to "you know where I am, but I'm still here talking to myself anyway." I. 👏 NEED. 👏 CLOSURE. 👏 Preferably for Kairi with both Sora and Riku, but they'll probably do just Sora but I dunno I don't want to get my hopes up or down. I just... I dunno, even if things aren't necessarily the same with all of them, I'd just like there to be something affirming where they stand because like even though the care they have for each other is obviously there, you can see it with all three of them in KH1 and KH2 (drives me up the walls bonkers when Riku shielded her with his body and Sora caught her when they were flashbanged), it's also like that feeling of a dwindling group chat kind of scenario. "That's right, no more waiting for you to come back from your adventures..." Props to VA that line was delivered so laden with hollowness. I hold Kairi in hands. Devastated.

THE FOCUS ON SAVING ROXAS HAS ME EXCITED. THAT IS ALL. I WAS YELLING AT SCREEN FOR FOREVER LIKE "USE A REPLICA" and then Riku finally was like "🤔✨...Replica?" And I went and mentally hoisted him onto my shoulders for a little "hip hip hooray" because the dots are connecting with the characters, fellas. I might see at least one of my peoples, soon.

Riku's VA just sounds like he's given up for this game and it's killing me, lol. Voice direction just hasn't been in his favor so far.

Mickey Mouse and Riku bonding time in hell. Riku's like "wow, mouse dad, I feel less riddled with self doubt these days. It's pretty nice to feel like a go-getter, haha, wonder why tho?" And Mickey Mouse is like... "Well... 🏳️‍🌈...! :D" Riku goes: "🤔... 🏳️‍🌈👍." strength to protect what matters And then that's that. Back to reconnaissance mission for lost veteran. Cinematic perfection.

Sora is still a certified Disney princess, if anyone's curious. He got his dance number in for this game, and he had birds gently circle around him and land on his finger.

Marluxia: "Ah yes, we finally reunite." Sora: "who"

I still can't tell if anyone has debriefed Sora, Donald, and Goofy about what happened in Castle Oblivion yet in any way. I'm wondering why they're (writers) playing that particular plot line so close to their chest.

Adorable how well Sora and Rapunzel got along. While Sora is a friend to all and shit it's really sweet seeing how he still seems to have bonds where he personally clicks with some characters more than others. And all for good reasons- like matching with his traits. I imagine him, Rapunzel, Ariel, and Hercules get brunch at the Bistro now, and no one can take this from me. Also Hercules is such a Sora hypeman, cheering him on even when he's getting crushed by a building. He passes the vibe check 100%.

I manifested my gag attack concept from my BBS post halfway into being and I'm so happy about it, lol. Thank you Hercules from hit movie Hercules for swinging Sora around in a circle like a broadsword in your special attack. I think more people should use him as a broadsword for enrichment reasons.

THEY CUT OUT THE SNUGGLY DUCKLING FROM TANGLED. SO MUCH POTENTIAL HAS BEEN LOST FROM CANON. I WILL NEVER RECOVER.

"how do I get power of waking when it didn't work the normal way Hercules," "idk Sora maybe you've got to be in love like I am," "well shit. guess I should get me some of that love superpower. Oh btw how come happily married Mickey Mouse and my best friend Riku are the only dudes that have the power of waking I'm confused," "...idk Sora" "okay, bye herc" (can you see my sleep deprivation leaking yet, I'm connecting the dots though, I promise, trust my methods 🤣)

IT TOOK ME 7 TRIES TO CRACK A FUCKING EGG. Remy Ratatouille looks at me like a disappointed father

Weaponized amusement park ride powers are so badass actually. I love the teacups and wish I could inflict them on my enemies, too.

Sora now has GUN. "Shooting" Star, indeed.

Sora and Rapunzel splashing in da water. 💦🥰 So cute.

WHY DID THEY PUT THEIR WHOLE ASS INTO THE FAKE VIDEO GAME TRAILER IT LOOKED SO SICK. I was so confused though I saw the dude and was like... Riku?? Wtf you're HD, my guy! Wait, you've got heterochromia and are chasing after a girl, mistook you for someone else, my bad.

There is a dog on my gummi ship roof and he will stay there until I finish the game.

Twilight Town is gorgeous and I now know the answer for "if I could pick a video game place to live" that's not just Stardew or Pokemon or something.

"I can't computer so... do that." Me too, Sora. Helping him learn his phone by having him take a ton of pictures, though. I'd like to imagine he sends them to his buddies or is excited to show them later or something. That would be so <3

The Kingdom Hearts social media posts are so funny to me for some reason btw. You get surreal shit like Riku pain-posting "I wonder if I'm the reason Ansem looks the way he does :/" and. The sideway frown just sent me. No, I can't explain why. Just comedy gold. "Mfw when possession :/" "sometimes I think about when my friend was in a coma for a year :/" "y'know I wonder what my family felt when my home was overcome with darkness because of me. Did it hurt? Were they afraid? Well they're back now but I wonder that sometimes. :/"

Maleficent is me trying to track down Luxu and shake him for answers. I don't even care if it's bad she finds it, I need to know what's in the damn box.

Buzz Lightyear going "this plot sounds ridiculous and absurd. Of course you're acting like this is normal, pitiful JRPG character." Sora: ":'D"

GET IN THE ROBOT, SORA.

[nobodies-png]

i really love your young!ienzo x older sibling!reader reaction, and was wondering how KH3 Ienzo would reaction to seeing the reader again after all the years of him being a nobody?

this is starting to become a series lolol but I’m glad you like it !! I wrote his reaction and some other general headcanons for what would happen after their reunion

 here’s part one and part two for those who haven’t read them! 

The only reason Ienzo hasn’t left Radiant Garden to seek you out is entirely because of Aeleus and Dilan urging him to stay, to pick up the pieces after becoming whole again - and so, he stays to help Sora, comforted by the promise of your return. Still, he’s afraid that you might never come back or that you moved on without him, all while his head races with all the things he wants to share. Ienzo might’ve spent most of his life with the other apprentices, but you’re the one that raised and properly guided him all those years age. You are family. He holds you in extreme high regards.

His reaction to finally seeing you after all those years is ugly, unlike his brief reunion with Ansem the Wise. Ienzo has definitely spent nights writing down a proper and organized speech, he’s memorized it and practiced over and gone through it a dozen times with the others. But when he hears your voice? When he sees you standing righ there? Ienzo drops whatever he’s holding and practically throws himself into your arms. He hides his face in your shirt and starts blabbering nonsense through tears and sniffs.

Any attempts at showing you that he’s grown and matured are thrown out the window and it’s like you guys are children again. The only thing you can make out is his constant stream of "I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” and “Please, forgive me” - Ienzo apologizes for being part of Xehanort’s plan, for working under Xemnas, for pretty much existing as a Nobody when he should’ve disappeared instead. But you remind him that he was just a child when it all happened and that you’re just so happy to have your baby brother back.

That’s all Ienzo needs - it’s like you’ve granted him permission to cry. The transition from Nobody to... Well, himself, has been extremely hard on him. Getting used to feelings and how to process them when he was never taught how to in the first place is pretty fucking hard. You hold him until he stops crying, and then squeeze and sway him side to side, the same thing you used to do to get him to laugh as children.

He would still try to give you his speech a few days later, once he’s gotten over the initial excitement and emotion of having you back in his life. But for now, you’ll have to deal with a very excited Ienzo - he wants to know what you’ve been up to, if you’ve been okay, as well as explain his new plans for the gummiphone and all the way’s he’s been helping Sora and the rest. Ienzo doesn’t follow you around 24/7 like he used to (he actually runs off to find you so you can be the first one to learn about his breakthroughs or to act as his personal rubber duck buddy when he’s stuck) but whenever he walks with you, chances are he’ll still hold onto the hem of your shirt or sleeve.

Sometimes, Ienzo might slip and address you the same way he used to when he was young, with shortened versions of your name because he had trouble pronouncing the full thing - it’s very embarrassing for him, he’ll apologize and quickly move on, but please don’t point it out, especially if you want him to keep doing it because it’s very cute. If you point it out to him, he’ll stop and then everybody loses. Ienzo is trying so hard to not fall back to those childish habits of his </3 

It happens on reverse to, so to speak - there will be days when Ienzo might revert back to that cold, judgemental and quiet side from his days as a Nobody. You might even catch a glimpse of his snarky and downright cruel side, mostly when he goes days working on something without breaks (a nasty habit inherited from Even, deffo). This often causes a lot of arguments between you two, something he comes to regret almost immediately because he’s supposed to be one of the good guys now. He’s supposed to know better now. But when you come back hours later, either acting like nothing wrong happened or to talk things out, Ienzo is so relieved because yeah, this is what family does. Shit like this just happens all the time, it doesn’t mean the end of the world. 

[akashicmuses]

ROXAS TO SORA: ❛  why can't the past just die?  ❜

“Roxas…” Sora looks at Roxas with a little bit of a frown. He’d found his Nobody standing all by himself, away from some everyone else. Sora had noticed that Roxas seemed to do this often. It was like he didn’t feel welcome, or like he fit in…

Now, with most of their little group piled into the Radiant Garden Castle to peek at some data the Restoration Committee and that Ienzo guy had dug up, he’d noticed that Roxas hadn’t joined them. Sora had wandered down the halls, peeked into other doors, but no dice.

It was only when he’d found his way into the room that Sora paused. Everything looked so different with the huge portal dismantled and the pods removed, but Sora immediately knew where his feet had led him. This was where Sora had unknowingly created his Nobody.

A small sigh left Sora’s nose, and he steeled himself to start walking up the stairs.

And there Roxas was, standing alone in the middle of the room.

It had worried him, honestly, so he’d sped up his pace and waved to his Nobody to get his attention. “Hey, Roxas, what are you doing over here? I thought you wanted to hear about all that data stuff.”

Honestly, he felt a little bad missing out on it, but he was sure he could just get it out of Riku later.

Roxas didn’t reply. Not at first. Sora furrowed his brow and wondered if Roxas hadn’t heard him, or maybe—

“Why can’t the past just die?”

Which brings us to the here and now.

Sora crosses his arms and shifts his weight between his legs. It’s such a loaded question that he doesn’t even really know how to answer it. So, he just stands there with his eyes dimmed with concern, feeling worlds apart from someone who he’d spent so long wanting to meet.

“I don’t know,” Sora admits, letting his arms drop to his sides. “It really seems like…whenever we solve something, there’s always something else—something that got started so long ago. It’s like all we do is play catch up sometimes…”

“But, I’m not sure if that’s what’s bothering you about it.” Sora reaches up to start idly toying with one of the more pointed strands of his hair.

“You know, after I found out about you, I thought about you, a lot,” Sora says, dropping his arm to step a little closer to Roxas, leaning in front so he can actually look at him when he speaks. “I wondered what you used to think about, the things you liked to do…what kind of person you are. And, even though you’ve been inside of my heart, I don’t think I know any of those things.”

“So…what do you mean?”

Because Sora does want to talk with Roxas, a little desperately, even! But he also wants to make sure that Roxas knows it can be a two way street, that Roxas can talk to him, too.

[books-and-science]

Too Little Too Late Chapter 1

Pairings: Ienzo/Reader

Summary: You're the local Potion Master and Enchanter for Radiant Garden, after meeting and getting to know one of the local scientists, you've managed to fall head over heals for him. Little did you know your love for him would be your downfall, as an illness takes a hold of you causing you to cough up lilac petals. You could easily cure it by telling Ienzo how you feel, but you can't help but notice the new face around Radiant Garden and he seems very close to Ienzo. 

Rating: G but its got some swearing.

A/N: I know this chapter is short, but I found the flow to work better by cutting it where I cut it. This fic is going to be pretty angst, but with hurt comfort and I swear there is a happy ending. This fic also involves the hanahaki disease of the reader so have fun!

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

You couldn’t help the grin that spread across your face, “Ienzo, how are you?” you had a huge crush on him. Ever since you met him two years ago when Radiant Garden was coming back to life, you both became such good close friends. When you met him he was so fragile and emotionally unstable, he told you why and what had happened to him when he was a child, and how he had ended up in the organization. But, you convinced him to talk to someone, and you did your best to support him.

It was about a year into your friendship that you realized that you were interested in him, and from there it escalated and you found yourself in love with this man. But he had never shown interest in dating anyone, so you never tried to pursue it. You always hoped that one day he would make the first move, or at least he would find someone and you would be able to move on, but he was always around. You both spent so much time together, and the more he healed and worked on his guilt and pain, the more his personality started to shine through. So here you were, hopelessly in love with this wonderful science boy.

“I’m doing fine, but I’m hungry and I wanted to see if you would accompany me to get some lunch in town,” He was always so polite, and he’s so handsome. How could you say no.

“Where are we going?” you asked leaning over to set the potion in the crate with the others.

“I was in the mood for ramen, if I’m honest,” you could hear the rustling in the background of the video from his end.

“Ienzo,” you heard from the background, “You need to stop eating out all the time.”

Ienzo took in a deep breath and let it out before turning to Even, “Thank you for the advice, but I’m going to choose to ignore it.”

Even rolled his eyes at Ienzo, “Fine, but you need to think more about your health you know.”

“I’m going to continue my phone call now,” Ienzo concluded before turning back to the phone. “What do you think, [Y/N]?”

“Ramen sounds good to me, I’ll never get enough of it, honestly,” you could eat it everyday, “Want to meet there at like 12:15?”

“Sounds great,” he grinned, “I’ll see you then, oh could you bring some potions along? We need some for around the lab, I can send a list and bring the munny.”

“Abosolutely,” you gave him a thumbs up, “I’ll make sure to have it ready, I was just working on restocking so it should be no problem”

“Awesome, I’ll see you soon the-?” The new guy to Radiant Garden was in the frame throwing his arm around Ienzo’s shoulder.

You hadn’t realized that they had known each other, you noticed the new face a couple weeks ago, he must have been from a different world. You didn’t remember him from before the fall of Radiant Garden, maybe Ienzo met him before Radiant Garden was restored.

“Hey! Are you Y/N? The best friend?” He asked through the call, Ienzo gave a heavy sigh. It was nice that Ienzo talked about you.

“This is Myde, he’s living here in the castle for the time being,” Ienzo allowed him to wrap an arm around him. You were surprised, he didn’t let many people touch him, friendly or otherwise.

“Thanks for keeping this guy in check!” Myde pat his chest, Ienzo seemed fairly comfortable with him. “He’s not so great at taking care of himself.” Ienzo rolled his eyes at the comment.

“Oh yeah, I always make sure that he’s actually eating and taking breaks,” You laughed, Ienzo’s face was now a slight tint of pink. You didn’t know that Myde had worked in the castle with the others.

“You better get back to Even before he decides to make you a test subject,” Ienzo warned and at that Myde laughed awkwardly before running out of frame. “Sorry about that, I’m going to head out now so I’ll see you at the ramen place.”

“Of course,” you both said your goodbyes, and hung up. You decided to get a few more potions done before heading out, but you had this strange tickle in your throat. It started as a few coughs, you kept drinking water, but nothing seemed to help. “what the fuck?” you whispered to yourself.

Soon you were doubled over coughing, the longer it went on, the more terrified you were that you would suffocate. You felt something fluttering in your throat, your eyes were watering and you were on your knees on the floor unable to stand.

After what seemed like so long, you finally coughed up what ever was stuck in your throat. You looked down at your hand, flower petals? Lilac specifically. You glared at the lilac you had on your desk. You must have breathed in petals at one point and not noticed, well at least you were alive. You looked at the time, “shit!” You jumped up and quickly gathered the potions that Ienzo requested and quickly put up the closed sign and locked the door.

When you reached the Ramen shop Ienzo already got a table, “Sorry,” you immediately apologized, “I almost died.” you took a seat across from him.

He raised an eyebrow at you, “do you want to explain how you almost died?”

“I breathed in flower petals while I was working on potions,” you admitted. It was a bit embarrassing, but at least you had made it to the ramen shop, “which reminds me,” you placed the bag of potions on the table. “I believe these are for you.”

He laughed and took the potions, “I’m sorry for asking for something so deadly from you, but I appreciate your sacrifice for these potions,” he then reached into his own pocket and handed you a small bag, “Here is the compensation as well. But, do you feel better?”

“Yes,” you reached out and took the bag, your fingers brushing his, “I-I just didn’t realize what had happened and it hurt, but I think some warm ramen should do the trick.”

“Ramen makes most things better,” Ienzo agreed, when you two became friends, one of the first places you went to eat was this ramen shop. You had an idea that he associated the ramen shop and in turn, the actual bowl of ramen, with comfort and safety. It helped that the family that ran the shop were very kind and knew both of you by now. They always loved having you two in the shop.

“I have to agree with you,” You sighed happily settling into your seat, “it’s starting to get colder out, so I feel like we’re going to be coming here more often.”

“I will always agree to come here,” he grinned, “thank you for all of these potions though, Even will be very happy.”

“Glad to help,” you smiled.

“But I wonder if I should bring my supplies to your shop and keep watch on you.” You had to admit you were a little clumsy. He had witnessed quite a few unfortunate incidents; you tripping, you hitting your hips and arms off of railings and walls, as well as watching as things just dropped from your hands almost like a ghost had decided to knock it from your grip.

“I’ll live!” you waved him off, “I’ll keep you in mind when I almost die again.”

“You better!”

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

After lunch you went back to your shop and restocked, you were able to get caught up on all of your enchanting work, and the day was actually kind of slow. You were were thankful for it, and messaged Ienzo on your gummi phone.

[Y/N] 3:03 pm I literally ran out of things to do and I’m kind of glad I get to sit down and drink some tea.

[Ienzo] 3:09 pm That sounds lovely. Unfortunately, Even has me entering in data. I find that data entry can put me right to sleep.

[Y/N] 3:11 pm Sounds like you’ll need a nap after work today :P

[Ienzo] 3:16 pm What is :P ?

[Y/N] 3:17 pm It’s a face sticking its tongue out, Sora showed it to me :D <--- smiley face

[Ienzo] 3:20 pm I can see it :D <--- my face when I finally understood.

“OH NO!” you yelled out loud, thankfully no one was in the store to hear you. But, how could he do this to you!? He was so fucking cute!

[Ienzo] 3:21 pm :D <---- me when I eat ramen.

“He’s going to kill me!” you yelled out loud once more! you felt that weird tickle in your throat, like when you had that coughing fit from before. You coughed to try and make it go away, while trying to type back.

[Y/N] 3:22 pm :D <--- me watching you be excited over typed out faces.

Unfortunately, the cough came back at full force, you were soon doubled over the counter coughing into your arm. You didn’t want anyone to walk in on you like this, so you did your best to shuffle into the back taking your phone with you just in case you needed to call for help. Your eyes were watering and tears streamed down your face, it was awful. But, soon you were able to cough up whatever was stuck in your throat.

You pulled away from your arm and look down to see more lilac petals, but you weren’t even near the lilac this time. Maybe this needed more research. But first, you decided to look up a potion for coughing fits. Even if it didn’t stop them completely, it should help make it less terrible to experience. You wiped off your face and got up from the floor. You checked to see if Ienzo had messaged you back.

[Ienzo] 3:23 pm :D <--- me when I finish my data entry.

[Ienzo] 3:24 pm Oh no, Even saw me and yelled at me.

[Ienzo] 3:26 pm Wait I’m an adult. I can message whoever I want.

You took in some deep breaths and typed back.

[Y/N] 3:30 pm You are an adult!

[Ienzo] 3:32 pm Thank you :D

You smiled down at your phone and closed out of the messenger and went to the counter to clean the surface. Didn’t want to spread germs.

[smartzelda]

For the Shipping bingo card:

Sigurd/Riddle

Mikamatsu

Ienzo/Sephiroth

👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

You manufacture situations in which I can talk I love you

ㅤ

Sigurd/Riddle

An actual bingo for once??? Their POWER

So uh if you haven't read Undertaker Riddle yet and you don't want to be spoiled I heavily suggest you look away because there's no way to talk about them without spoilers

Anyways BY GOD

You wanna talk King and his knight? Try king and his most loyal secretary

French revolution came to town and on his way to hell Sigurd stopped his soul and was like "I see myself in you (affectionate derogatory)" and then gave Riddle his current name. Very "If you have nothing to live for then live for me" this whole situation kinda is for them

But oh god the DRAMA

Sigurd has been King for so long that he doesn't believe things can get better and that the human world just keeps going downhill, so because of his unique position of being so detached from so long he decides that the only way to fix everything is to shake things up

To which "shake things up" means use his power to swap the positions of the real world and hell

And so Riddle has past decided he'd do anything for him, HOWEVER

Sigurd instructs Riddle in the event that he fails, Riddle is to be the one to kill him so he can make sure his soul reincarnates so that Sigurd can have another chance. And YEAH Riddle does it! But by god does he have tangible feelings about it! All of the other undertakers who knew him at this time describe it as if Riddle was never really the same after that

Heck Riddle was so broken up after that that Roen ended up curating a seemingly onesided love where he wished to live domestically with Riddle and make him happy so he'd never look so sad again

Riddle is so devoted to Sigurd's plan that he plays the long game, and orchestrates practically everything, so he can tear Sigurd out of Hayato and see him again

And that whole event is a BUNDLE of devotion and betrayal and angst holy christ

Do you ever spend centuries following the person you care about most, even after they're dead, and everything goes perfectly except by the time you see him again you've also fallen for his reincarnation and his reincarnation's humanity so you have to be the one to end your beloved once more but you also betray your other beloved in the process because you feel as if you should be eternally punished?

God damn, Riddle

Anyways they're married they're divorced they're married again they're having sexual intimacy in secret they're best pals they're soulmates they have tension they have an unexplained scene in front of a mirror where they're hugging🙂

ㅤ

Ooooh haha Mikamatsu I never get to talk about them

Two in a row?? CRAZY

Okay I bet you're wondering how a certified rarepair could get so many squares

Well, let's begin with where this ship began for me

Anyone who knows me knows I used to end up with a lot of ships that center around the same person, but wouldn't include the third ship in what would make it a triangle (for example, like liking xxc x sl and xxc x xy, but not xy x xxc). Now, however I tend to be more open to that "secret third ship".

All this to say that I sorta entertained the idea when I was already shipping mikalight and matsulight

But anyways. One day I got to thinking about the death note ending (be aware that I wasn't aware at the time that the manga ending was different)

Or, more specifically, an au in which Mikami lived after yellow box (which I am aware now is canon). I had seen the manga panels of how Matsuda felt about Light after all this, so I thought about them both having feelings about Light.

And that created an angsty Mikamatsu au where Matsuda visits Mikami in prison to learn about what he knew about Light at first, so both of them learn about parts of Light they didn’t know through each other, bond over his death, kiss and yeah

That was the gateway, and now they're everything to me

They're perfect for angst, aus where they were roommates during the events in canon or met at the gym. They're perfect for child raising aus and bonding over the same guy

And yes, they would get sexually intimate with the same guy (Light) in my head

Everything I enjoy about them is made up but oh the what ifs oh the possibilities. Throwing Matsuda’s sweetness and Mikami’s devotion into everything

Also if you haven't already or I convinced you...read these fics

This one is Xion's. It's a fairy-tale au and I adore it:

And this one is just ah so so sweet man I love it:

ㅤ

And now for the one no one expected!

Ienzo/Xexion x Sephiroth

So you all might be sitting here wondering

Why

Why them? An utter crackship

Well, some of you are aware of a funky au I have that has leagues of lore and worldbuilding and only two fics, the most self indulgent au in my catalog.

That au, is the Twilight Prince au.

What I have learned through fandom is that if you make the situation in which the characters interact, you can make up almost any ship that no one would have thought up otherwise, and you can make it believable by giving them a dynamic.

So, in the business of maybe getting some of you to understand the why, I will explain a bit of the au that no one but my beloved best friend knows about

Now, the aus "Twilight Prince" in question, is Riku from Kingdom Hearts. I had to think up family structures for characters in this au, and so because I love dumb things like this, Xion and I came up with the idea of having the other Rikus as Riku's siblings, and Sephiroth as the current King of the Twilight.

So, yes. One of those "Sephiroth is Riku's dad" aus😂

The next family structure I had to think up was Kairi's. You see, Kairi kingdom hearts is the current young adult queen of Hyrule. She's trying to facilitate peace between Hyrule and the realm of twilight. In the renga fic for the au, I made references to their being war and tensions, so of course I had to figure out how that all came about.

Thus I decided that Ansem the Wise would be Kairi's grandfather, because I decided that, well, he would be my choice for making tensions and the war worse. Through this, I put some structure into the castle staff. Even is head royal scientist and has a secret but not so secret thing going on with Ansem tw. Kairi needed parents. Ienzo is practically the Ansem tw/Even adopted child in kh canon. Ansem tw practically pays high status women to sleep with him until he can produce an heir (Ienzo).

So, long story short. Kairi is Ienzo's test tube baby, Ansem tw is super controlling during Ienzo's short reign as King. Ienzo doesn't really love being King anyways and feels trapped. When Kairi comes of age and is decently prepared he fakes his death and passes the Kingdom on to her (she is aware of this btw)

And so, King Ienzo rebrands himself as Zexion, royal scientist (after splitting for a while and learning more before ending up working his way up through the castle of course).

Now, keep in mind. The people don't know he's the same guy. To most of the people, Zexion isn't incredibly well known. The castle family structure? They're aware by now, but they can't do anything about it. So, they allow Zexion to go on trips to the Twilight Realm on Royal business (or basically, Twili King Sephiroth and Queen Kairi both allow the other to handpick people to send across borders under supervision, and Zexion is there for scientific reasons).

Now, Sephiroth isn't stupid either. He knows Zexion is the presumed dead King Ienzo.

And pretty much what happens is they sorta end up in this will they won’t they relationship where they're passive aggressive to each other but also Sephiroth invites Ienzo to what's practically a private Twili spa and yeah tensions go up and things just...begin for them. Sephiroth is a bit hopelessly attracted, Ienzo is definitely ace and arospec

I love them

[daybreaktower]

MoD (long overdue) update

hi everyone, Mod Ienzo here. it's been. A while.

I'm sure you're all wondering where we've been, and the truth is... Well, anywhere but here. Mod Vani and I have both been busy with irl and neither of us had the time to update the blog.

To give you a quick rundown on important updates:

The sequel to Everything Has Its Price is on hold indefinitely, and so are Mod Vani's other AUs. Mod Vani has been busy with other projects that don't belong on this blog, and has had no time to work on their KH AUs.

I haven't been on tumblr a whole lot in general lately due to a lack of time, and while I do still check in occasionally, because of my absence I've been slacking on updating this blog. Also a combination of irl being irl and a lack of creative inspiration gave me the worst case of writer's block I've had in years, but I'm finally getting over that and slowly picking up writing again.

Speaking of, how are my own AUs doing? Well, they sure are doing! I'm reworking my previously established AUs, have started not one, not (Axel voice) two?!, but THREE! new AUs (Light help me I need to update the Floorplan and I don't even know what I'm doing with some of these AUs), and am juggling all of these as well as various oneshots and a few other projects at all times. I sure have been keeping busy!

Other projects? Yep, other projects. I can't reveal more about those yet, as they're still in development and I'm not quite ready to seriously start working on anything, but things are coming. Eventually. For the time being, I'm focusing on a few oneshots that I would like to finish and post sometime this year.

On behalf of Mod Vani and myself, I apologize again for the radio silence. We will most likely end up falling silent for an indefinite period of time again as we work on projects and sort out ideas, but we will be back eventually, we just can't promise when that will be. In the meantime, our askbox remains open, feel free to ask questions about our AUs, I check our askbox regularly.

-Mod Ienzo

[embraceyourdestiny]

Not necessarily about Sora's identity as much, but honestly the way that he and Roxas interact (and how the story sets it up) gives me big DID/OSDD vibes; while Roxas getting his own body is neat, I think it could also have been really cool if Roxas just stayed in Sora's body (which is HIS body too) and they both just share the body, taking turns for who gets to use it when, stuff like that. I think it would be neat if they approached it more like a system and such. But maybe that's my own wishful thinking, since I'm the host of an OSDD system and I tend to read into things a bit

Anyways to agree with that anon, yeah, Sora's definitely a heartless, isn't he. Recompletion never happens. That's a thing.

Someone else who has system thoughts of sora and his heart hotel bless I’ve thought about this so much

Intentional or not Sora’s heart situation is so similar to a system and it makes me feel so much. I hc that in irl aus sora has a dissociative disorder and i think about the roles his heartmates serve a lot.

Roxas and Sora are so interesting, to quote ienzo “no wonder someone as remarkable as you caught ansem the wise’s eye”

Slightly related bc I was watching ienzo cutscenes to find this quote but I’d love for ienzo to like. Rehabilitate sora and his heart mates. For him to take take lead on “operation heartwatch” or something for sora and his heart hotel. He’d be very considerate and equal parts respectful and direct and I think it would be interesting to see his personality through that and him grow closer to the heart mates

[nadziejastar]

So my sister and I kinda made this little theory that the reason vexens weapon is a shield is cause his parental role to zexion as a parents job is to protect their child, as vexen seems protective of him. Our reason was he stopped working on his research and left the safety of the castle during a monster crisis to find him without a second thought. I know it's kinda weak but I'd like to know you opinion

Ienzo wasn’t sure what either of them intended to do; all he knew was that he wanted to carry on the mission of his teacher, Ansem the Wise. Aeleus and Dilan were still here, but they weren’t apprentices. Even was, and as a researcher, he was a man worthy of great respect. To Ienzo, he was also like a father, as much as Ansem the Wise had been.

I completely agree with you and your sister's theory. Nobodies derive their weapons and abilities from memories of their human lives. Even was not a fighter. He was a scientist and father figure to Ienzo. He loved his surrogate son and wanted to protect him from Xehanort. And that's why his weapon was a shield.

“Zexion! Zexion!”

The man–Vexen, was calling out to Zexion.

“Right here! What is it?” Zexion answered coldly.

Zexion didn’t really like this man, who was at times loud and exaggerated. Liking and hating are emotions we lost when we became nobodies, but memories from our time as humans remain. Yes, since I was a human I’ve hated this man. But, because of his research, there is also reason for respect.

During the scene where Vexen was loudly calling him, Zexion sounded really annoyed and said that he hated Vexen ever since he was a human. He was remembering his childhood in that scene.

Ienzo's Story

Memories of Childhood

How many memories remain from my childhood, I wonder. When I think about hearts and memories, my thoughts always wander there. My memories from when I was very young are terribly vague.

“Ienzo, where are you? Answer me.”

I remember well, Even searching for me with his slightly shrill voice. Ansem the Wise was busy, so often it was Even who looked after me. I would get scolded for going on walks by myself all the time, but I think that came from a place of love.

The Character File story explains why Ienzo hated Even. He would reprimand him for making simple mistakes in his calculations. And he'd get scolded when he'd go on walks by himself. He didn't understand that it came from a place of love. Probably because Even is the intellectual type--he is not good with expressing affection.

“Where is Lord Xemnas?”

“His usual spot,” Zexion answered. Vexen frowned.

“The 'Chamber of Repose'” Vexen muttered irritably.

“Yes. Go and see for yourself.”

“That isn't funny,” Vexen snapped, and turned his back on Zexion. "I suppose I have no choice but to wait."

In that same KH2FM scene, Vexen refused to go down into the Chamber of Repose, even though he urgently needed to talk to Xemnas. He got very angry when Zexion said he should go down there. It indicated that he was haunted by memories of the experiments.

“But to be clear, I serve the Organization. I don’t share your need to please Xemnas. He’s good at wrapping you around his little finger��always has been.” This was true. Luxord didn’t share any special bond with Xemnas, Xehanort, or even Ansem the Wise. Though Vexen sneered, his explanation sounded as if he was trying to convince himself as much as Luxord. “All I desire is the freedom to continue my research. Ansem the Wise refused to nurture my talents. So I cast my lot with Xemnas—with Xehanort, rather. Simple as that.” “I see. And you don’t care how he uses your research?” “Not in the slightest. All that concerns me is that I complete the perfect human vessel,” Vexen declared.

In KH3, he obviously felt very guilty about his role in the experiments; so much so that he was bedridden after he was recompleted in KH3D. So, he was not a bad person as a human. I think after Ansem the Wise ceased his research on the heart, Even probably did feel angry that he refused to nurture his talents, and he might have been sympathetic to Xehanort's original disobedience. But I don't think he was so obsessed with his research that he'd start kidnapping and experimenting on innocent people, including kids. I think Luxord was right. Xemnas always had him wrapped around his little finger. Most likely because Xehanort threatened his beloved Ienzo.

[hawk-in-a-tree]

WIP Folder

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips.  I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? DnD campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!! ---- I was tagged by @laora-ryn. Not gonna be able to tag as manyWIPS as I got but hmmm @petite-neko @sapphireswimming @mirrorfalls feel free to do this if you want to :D

I got lots of WIPS tho usually I just vibe with ideas X)

Kingdom Hearts Kid Ienzo idea May his heart be your guiding Key The whiteness of falling snow will dissapear if it knows warmth Chapter 14 (atlantis 3) (These Streets)

Gundam 00 G00 playing d&d Genshin impact Genshin Pokemon AU Pmmm x GI (Although this world's distorted far beyond Repair) Rifthound!Albedo

Arknights I didn't want us to burnout - AK DCMK Somehow you lost your wonder Chapter 1 (OLD) (dcmk sdr2 crossover) V!Kaito AU DC BnHA BnhA Big 3 Hawks in OP Others Snippet prompts (several fandoms) UA and Fate AU (Umbrella academy & Fate) The Future came and went in the mildly discouraging way that futures do (Danganronpa 2)

[tiifalockhart]

Memory

Anonymous asked: May I get a Sora x female reader oneshot? One where the reader forgets about what they’ve done and their adventures. This hurts Sora because he loves the reader so much.

Pairing: Sora x Reader

Word count: 1k

Warnings: amnesia, mentions of anxiety, extreme measures, mentions manipulation

A/N: hellooo here’s another KH one shot for you!! I hope you enjoy reading it hehe 

Ao3 || Masterlist

It had been so long since you lost your memory.

It’s hard to watch someone you loved become a stranger from something out of your control. It was unexplainable, it seems like one day you just woke up without a single memory of what’s happened so far. After everything you’ve been through, after everything you all have been through, you couldn’t remember a single thing. It was... Devastating for some, it completely destroyed Sora though. 

The two of you went through everything together basically. You were his shoulder to cry on, and he was your shoulder to cry on. You both fought endlessly for this... This freedom, but you would never know how bittersweet it all was. Sora found himself wondering where it all went wrong. What happened to you? How did you lose your memories? The only person he could think to consult was Naminé, but she was still being restored in the labs of Radiant Garden. 

No one could really come up with an explanation for what happened. Even Ienzo and Ansem were at a loss. No one could wrap their mind around it. How did you suddenly lose all of your memories? 

Sora remembered the first instance when you seemed off. He, Donald and Goofy were joking around per usual. They were in the middle of musing about a past joke they came up with in the Toy Box when Sora turned to you. “You remember that, right?” He asked between joyous chatter and laughs. Your face remained blank for the most part, besides an awkward chuckle leaving your lips. 

“Oh... Yeah, I think so.” You replied, seeming to not find it as humorous as them. Sora grew concerned quickly. Had he done something to upset you? Maybe the joke wasn’t that funny... Ah, but you would at least try to laugh, right?

Since that day, Sora noticed how you became more and more like a stranger. It was hard to watch. Each memory mentioned around you was completely lost. He couldn’t bring himself to mention it anymore. Surely, he could just replace those old, lost memories into new ones, right?

In order for that to be possible, though, Sora had to be more than just a stranger. Unfortunately for the both of you, you hardly knew who Sora was. The last thing you remembered of him was meeting him for the first time, but in your mind, that was simply a small conversation. Your mind went blank after that. 

Sora found it hard to relate to you at all. There were no more inside jokes, there were no more mutual friends, there were no more mutual feelings. He missed the days where the two of you would lay together in endless fields of flowers, giggling and talking. He missed those days where you would share snacks from every kind of world, how you would wipe the crumbs off of his face. He missed fighting alongside you, no matter how scary the enemy was, you seemed completely fearless. 

He missed you. The old you. 

It nearly brought him to tears every night. He remembered everything. From when the two of you first met on the main island in Destiny Islands, to the life-threatening battle against the thirteen darknesses. Sora would do anything to bring you back, he was prepared to go anywhere to fix this, no matter what it took. 

Sora was at a loss, though. There was nothing he could think of that would help you. He tried showing you familiar objects to see if that would job your memory, but it was no dice. Everyone got in on it. They would all try showing you things, or talking about adventures or events, they would even take you to different worlds. Nothing seemed to have an effect on you. 

Eventually, a lot of them gave up with the idea of bringing back your old self, and simply decided to make new memories with you instead. Sora refused to give up, though. 

The moment Naminé’s restoration was complete, he fell on his knees before her and begged her to bring back your memories. If it was humiliating, Sora didn’t care. He’d do anything to bring you back. 

Naminé was reluctant at first. She didn’t necessarily enjoy forcefully manipulating memories. It made her feel guilty, it reminded her of what the Organization made her do... But Sora was so distressed. Had she not stepped up to do it, Sora could have gone even more extreme measures. Once she agreed, Sora could feel some of his anxiety become relieved. 

He waited patiently as the procedure was done. He paced back and forth outside of the room. Surely, this had to work. Why wouldn’t it? He knew Naminé could do it, she’s done it so many times now. When the door to the white room opened, he turned quickly and prepared for anything. 

“She’ll be alright. Just a little bit of rest, and her memories should be back in no time.” She explained softly, causing Sora to finally sigh in relief. Immediately, when he ran into the room, he saw you laying there, a peaceful expression on your features. He quietly took a seat next to you, prepared to wait as long as needed for you to wake up. 

It felt like days had passed since then. Sora ate and slept by your side, only leaving occasionally to stretch his legs a little bit. He refused to leave you until you woke up. 

When your eyes suddenly fluttered open, Sora’s heart began to pound in his chest. It was beating so hard, he could hear it in his ears. A shaky sigh left his lips as he reached out to take your hand. “H-Hey... Can you...?” His voice trailed off as he stared down at you, patiently waiting for some kind of reaction. 

Your expression held the same blank stare for what felt like the longest time. He felt himself growing more anxious as the second ticked by. A shaky sigh left his lips as he hesitantly reached out to take your hand. Once your hands touched, your eyes widened as if you were finally snapped out of a daze. You took in a sharp breath and sat up rather quickly, your breathing labored. As you looked over at him, you were overwhelmed by the emotions and memories flowing back into your mind. You grabbed onto him and embraced him, almost as if you were afraid to let go in case you would lose them again. “S-Sora... I’m so sorry.” You whispered between your sobs, causing a confused expression to form on Sora’s features.

“Sorry? For what?” He asked, his arms wrapping around you protectively. “There’s nothing to be sorry about... I missed you so much.” Sora whispered as he gently pressed a kiss to his forehead. A shaky sigh left your lips as you nodded quietly. 

“I... I don’t know what happened. I was afraid, I felt trapped inside myself.” You explained, your voice shaking as you tried to calm yourself. “I thought I was never going to come back.” You murmured, taking his hands gently. 

Sora allowed a weak smile to tug at his lips. “But you’re here now, right? Come on, I’m sure everyone misses you!” He cheered, pulling you along eagerly. You raised your brows in surprise as you followed him, trying to keep up. 

On the inside, deep down, Sora knew everything was going to be okay. He had to stay positive, and he did. You were back, everything was fine. It was perfect. You were perfect. He was glad to have you back. 

[maddrmatt]

A Beautiful Future: A Premonition or a Punishment?

New to this fanfic? Click here to properly begin!

Greetings, readers and fellow SoKai fans!

Time for a certain Princess of Heart to take the spotlight in this story!  

Fair bit of warning though, I sort of used this chapter to showcase a few headcanons and speculations regarding the future of the series.  

Also, there’s a little challenge within this chapter that you can take on if you wish.

Enjoy!

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 3: Writings of a Princess

Land of Departure

Dear Sora,

I know it’s been a while since I last wrote to you.  I haven’t really had anything really important to tell you since I came here.

Now something incredible has just happened and I had to tell you first before anyone else.  But before that, here’s a few updates on what’s been happening on this side of reality.

I’m still training hard.  No offense to Merlin, but I think I’m getting way better with my Keyblade training under Master Aqua than him.

My days here at the Land of Departure are filled with learning various fighting techniques or improving my magic skills.  And to test them, I often spar with Aqua, Terra or Ven.  One day, I might even get a perfect score against one of them in our matches.

All of three of them and Chirithy have been very good to me. They’ve really made me feel like part of their family.

But as great as it’s been with them, they’re no true replacement for everyone back home.  I miss everyone:  Mom, Dad, Selphie, Wakka, Tidus, Riku, and you.  Especially you.

Sorry, Sora.  It’s just so hard every day knowing that you’re trapped in that fictional world.  I really wish I could’ve gone there with Riku to save you.  But after being out of action for a year and the fact that I couldn’t even land a single blow on that memory of Xehanort, I knew it was the better choice to stay behind and train even if I didn’t like it.

I really hope Riku finds you soon.  We’re all so worried about both of you.  Since nobody really knows anything about this Quadratum place, we’ve all thought Riku was a little hasty in just taking off there alone.

We still haven’t heard anything from Mickey yet either. Hopefully, he’ll come back soon from Scala Ad Caelum, and he’ll have found something we can use to help you and Riku.  Until that happens, all the rest of us can do is wait.

Anyway, time to tell you the real reason for this latest letter, Sora. And you are not going to believe what it is.  I can hardly believe it myself.

Last night, I had a dream.  It was actually the first dream I’ve had since I came to the Land of Departure.

Not that I’ve minded not having dreams just in case they ended up being recreations of my worst memories.  I’ve already watched you vanish twice.  I don’t think I could bear to watch it happen again in my dreams.

But the dream I had was nothing like that at all.  It was of a wedding, Sora.  Our wedding.

It was an amazing sight.  It was in this gigantic chapel that looked like it was in Radiant Garden, and it was filled with all your friends from around the worlds.

Many of our fellow Guardians of Light and closest friends made up our wedding party.  It was hardly a surprise to see Selphie as my maid of honor or Riku as your best man.

You looked so handsome in the suit you were wearing.  And judging from the stunned look on your face when you saw me coming down the aisle, I must’ve looked pretty beautiful to you.

It was truly incredible, Sora.  It felt so real and so wonderful.  I wished it never ended.

But, unfortunately, as it is with dreams, we all have to wake up eventually.  And when I did, the happiness I felt ended up giving way to other emotions as I reflected on the dream.

First of all, I felt a little confused.  As good as that dream was, I couldn’t help but wonder why I had it at all.  I mean, wouldn’t you find a little strange to have a dream about a wedding especially since we haven’t even had our first kiss yet?  It’s kind of rushing things a little.  

But don’t get me wrong, Sora.  I know, deep down in my heart, how we truly feel about each other. I wouldn’t have shared that paopu fruit with you otherwise.  And when the time is right for it, the idea of getting married to you is something I will embrace wholeheartedly.

So, I thought more about the dream and believe it or not, I started to think that it was not merely just a dream.  I wonder if what I saw was our future.  It definitely did feel like that since there were so many unfamiliar parts in it.  

For example, I had no idea there was a tradition in Radiant Garden weddings for the bride and groom to crown each other with symbolic flowers.  Then again, I could have known that if the knowledge came from a memory from when I lived there.  Maybe I attended a wedding there when I was young.

But what really stood out to me and made me believe that this could be our future was the many unfamiliar guests.  I knew that because I’ve been studying the details of your last two journeys from Jiminy’s Journal and the Gummi Phone.  And even though the Journal of your first journey was erased (Naminè’s still really sorry about that), I still remember everything about it from being in your heart through it all.

So, I was able to recognize who you had met and who were strangers. They were far too numerous to mention. But here are some examples that really stood out to me.

A tall woman with long black hair wearing a tan colored dress and a beautiful turquoise necklace with a raccoon, a dog and I think I saw a hummingbird flittering around her.

A pair of robots, one yellow and box-shaped, the other white and cylindrical, who were holding hands.

A couple that consisted of a redhaired woman and blonde-haired man who appeared to have some kind of hairless rodent on his shoulder.

A teenage boy and girl along with a younger boy and a company of animals such as a bear with gray fur, a panther, an elephant with a tuft of brown hair and a quartet of vultures.

A large family that appeared to be a mix of humans and skeletons along with a very colorful winged dog and a giant winged cat.

A boy with red hair (whose head looked triangular) along with another boy with green hair and a bunch of other teenagers as well as some kind of strange teal animal that looked like a cross between a duck and a beaver and a man with brown hair, poor posture and wearing a lab coat (who wears that to a wedding?).

A princess dressed in a beautiful green gown accompanied by a prince in a green suit with a blonde woman dressed in pink, a short old woman dressed in white and wearing sunglasses and a snake around her shoulders as well as an alligator who was carrying a trumpet.

A very unusual group consisting of two men and a woman with blue skin and pointy ears along with a dog-sized dragon, a centaur, and a winged lionlike creature with horns and a scorpion’s tail.

A girl with bushy brown hair among what appeared to be a family of giant frogs.

A woman dressed like she was some kind of islander with a burly man with numerous tattoos (I think I saw one of them move) over his body along with a pig and a chicken that didn’t look very smart.

A family who seemed to be some kind of royalty consisting of a princess in a simple green dress with long curly red hair along with three identical boys with the same kind of hair, their big, strong father with a peg leg and their very elegant mother.

A boy and a girl who looked like they were twin siblings who were accompanied by a pair of old men who looked like twins as well.

A redhaired boy in the company of a group of what looked like various human-sized bugs.

There were so many more, but I think I’ll stop here.  With the large number of guests at this wedding, I could go on listing them for a long time.  But it does seem there’s a lot more friends for you in the future.

Unfortunately, while I was mulling over the dream further, a horrible thought came to me.  I started to wonder if the dream, as beautiful as it was, wasn’t meant to bring me happiness at all because it was actually showing the future that we could have had but now would never have.  And the true reason of it was to punish me for my failures in the fight against Xehanort.

I know you wouldn’t like to hear this, Sora.  But there are still days where I can’t help but feel responsible for your disappearance and think that if I had made some different choices, you’d still be here.

I know it was my choice to fight alongside you because I wanted to keep you safe the same way you’ve always done for me.  But looking back, I now see it was foolish to assume that my training alongside Axel would turn me into a Keyblade wielder on yours or Riku’s level. And it was probably an even worse idea for a wielder with very little actual battle experience to go from basic training to a high stakes battle with nothing in between.

We may have been desperate to stop Xehanort before he went after the New Seven Hearts especially since he had already assembled all his darknesses. But we probably could’ve and should’ve explored some other options instead of going to fight the Organization right away after you woke Ven.

Since Ienzo told us that they had a replica body ready before we even left for the Keyblade Graveyard, we could’ve gotten Roxas or maybe even Xion out of your heart before the fight.  In Axel’s words, they were the old hands when it came to Keyblades.

We also could have made a bigger effort to find and save Terra first even if our chances were pretty low.  That would not only have gotten us a more experienced wielder, but it would’ve also lowered Xehanort’s ranks by one.

Maybe if we had done things that way, we would’ve had more experienced Keyblade wielders to fill out the Seven Guardians of Light.  And even if it would be disappointing to be put in the reserves, it would’ve been worth it if it led to you being safe.

So, those are the reasons I believed that dream was a punishment. But you’ll be glad to know, Sora, that I only entertained those beliefs briefly.

After thinking it over some more, I decided that it didn’t matter what that dream’s purpose was.  Comfort or punishment, I’m going to actually use it to serve my own purposes instead.

I’m going to let it remind me of what my ultimate goal is and drive me to be the best Keyblade wielder I can be.  One that’s going to make the forces of darkness think twice before causing trouble and one that you and Riku will be proud to have fighting alongside you.  And hopefully, that will lead us to a future like the one in the dream or at least one that’s pretty close.

In fact, after seeing that dream, I think I may end up actually proposing a couple of ideas to Aqua and Master Yen Sid.  I’ve been thinking about them a lot and maybe now is the time to try to put them into action.

Since I need to get some real battle experience to become a stronger Keyblade wielder, I’d like to go on a journey throughout the worlds to gain some. Hopefully, Aqua will think it’s a good idea.  And even though there’s been little sign of the Heartless and Nobodies since Xehanort’s defeat, there is one thing I really wish to do.

I’d like to try to find and identify the remaining three of the New Seven Hearts.  After all, who’d better to find them than someone who’s part of the same group?  And if we knew who they were and what their home worlds were, we’d be in a better position to protect them if someone tried what Maleficent and Xehanort did.

Who knows?  Maybe all those unfamiliar faces at the wedding were not only friends you’ll make on future adventures, but ones I’ll make on my own adventures.  Maybe even the remaining New Seven Hearts were among them.

I also have an idea that may be able to help in the quest to bring you home. If Fairy Godmother could bring me back to the Final World, I could talk to that girl from Quadratum again.  She may not be able to remember certain things. But she might be able to tell us something about that world that could help.  

Naminè might even be able to help with this plan.  Even if you only met that girl briefly, that may be enough for her to be considered connected to you and therefore, Naminè’s memory powers can work on her.

Hopefully, the Masters will think that these are good plans.  I really want to do any part I can to not only help bring you and Riku home, but also to protect the worlds as both a Keyblade wielder and a Princess of Heart.  After all, with you two gone, someone’s got to pick up the slack.

Well, I think that’s enough for now.  It’s nearly time for breakfast and then it’s training until lunch.  But before I go, there’s just one final thing I’d like to say.

Whether that beautiful dream shows a wonderful future that is meant to be or not, it doesn’t matter.  Because the only kind of future I’ll ever wish for is one in which we’re safe, we’re happy, and we’re together.  That’s all I really need.

See you soon,

Kairi

________________________________________________________________

Much later, the training hall in the Land of Departure was filled with the sounds of clashing Keyblades and various shouts of magical invocation.  While those sounds were nothing uncommon in that location, there was an unusual intensity that day.

As Aqua, Ven and Chirithy watched, a heated sparring match was taking place between Kairi and Terra.  But much to their surprise, the more experienced Keyblade wielder was actually struggling as the young rookie was keeping him mostly on the defensive.

“Wow!  Kairi’s on fire today!” exclaimed Ven.

“She is, indeed,” concurred Chirithy.

“Well, she has improved a lot in her skills since she came here.  But you two are right.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this driven before,” said Aqua.

“You’ve got that right, Aqua.  If she lands one more hit on Terra, this’ll be the first time she’s won by a perfect score,” said Ven.

As the match went on, Terra blocked blow after blow from Kairi.  Then, strangely, she ceased her attack.

Terra saw his opportunity and charged toward her with a downward slash. The Princess dodged to the right narrowly avoiding the hit.

“Light!” she cried out as she fired a small but powerful Light spell at Terra’s side.  He grunted as the magic struck him and knocked him off his feet.

“Point to Kairi,” declared Aqua.

“That’s three to nothing!  Kairi wins!” exclaimed Ven as Chirithy clapped its paws together.

“Well done, Kairi,” said Aqua.

“Thank you, Master Aqua,” Kairi said as she walked over to Terra and helped him up.  

After exchanging bows with each other, the Princess of Heart said, “I hope that didn’t hurt you too badly, Terra.”

Terra chuckled.  “Not at all.  It helps that you’ve learned how to restrain your magic during training.  But I’ve got to say, Kairi that I am impressed. That’s the first time since you’ve come here that I’ve been unable to land a single hit on you.”

“You’ve certainly come a long way, Kairi.  Today, you showed some truly exceptional skill and strength.  You should be very proud of yourself,” said Aqua as she, Ven and Chirithy approached.

“Well, I’ve had a good teacher and some great sparring partners.  But I think it really helped that when I woke up today, I just felt a little extra drive,” said Kairi.

“Yes.  We noticed,” said Aqua.

“Why is that exactly?” asked Chirithy.

A certain smile came to Kairi’s face which caused her four friends to exchange knowing looks.  They had spent plenty of time with her by now to know what exactly brought out that special smile of hers: thoughts of a certain someone close to her heart.

“I had the most amazing dream.”

________________________________________________________________

Notes from the Mad Doctor:

I thought the best way for Kairi’s spotlight chapter would be to do in the style of one of her letters to Sora.  I’ve used it before as readers of my big fic Kairi’s Epic Journey would know.

So, in case it wasn’t obvious, the challenge I mentioned at the start is that list of unknown guests.  It was quite a challenge to write all those characters by description alone.  I hope you all will take a shot at identifying them. Some are pretty obvious, but some may be a little more difficult.

I hope I did a good job in trying not to make this chapter’s narrative too similar to the previous chapters.  I actually tried having Kairi leap to the punishment notion before the premonition notion.  But unfortunately, the flow didn’t work right.

Fortunately, the views on the punishment notion are a little different. Sora has absolutely no regrets for what he did and believes that he’s being unfairly punished for breaking rules he had no idea existed.  Kairi, however, believes her punishment is deserved since she blames herself for what happened to Sora.  Fortunately, both are able to use that dream to keep on fighting.

I hope you all aren’t put off that this is more like a series of one-shots centered around a certain plot device (the wedding dream) instead of a congruent storyline.  That was what this project ended up being.

I give my thanks to whoever reads this chapter.

I also give my special thanks to @fandomchanger, @flynn-science​, and @ladylucky​ for their likes on the previous chapters as well as @sokaiweek, @phoenix-downer, and @the-secret-place​ for reblogging the previous chapter.

Comments, likes and reblogs are much appreciated!  Stay tuned for what comes next because it’s going to be a real feel-good chapter!

________________________________________________________________

Onto the next chapter!

[imagine-organization-xiii]

the adult members with a SO who is a single parent

Always remember that there shouldn’t be a stigma around being a single parent and it is perfectly okay and it isn’t abnormal!!! Sometimes circumstances put us in weird and difficult situations and we have to make the best of them!!!

I skipped Zexion, Roxas, and Xion, just fyi

Xemnas

Honestly, your kids are kind of scared of Xemnas at first? And though he probably would never admit it, he’s kind of scared of hesitant around them, too. But then - THEN he realizes that… holy shit, not only does he have a partner in you, but the fact that you have a kid means that he can also have a little minion that he can teach and support to be a powerful and wonderful ally. If he ends up actually caring about your kids and looking out for their wellbeing, then you’ll just let it happen.

Xigbar

Xigbar doesn’t mind kids. Really, he doesn’t. But here’s the thing: if there are kids, that means that there’s an ex and he sure as hell doesn’t want to get involved in that shit, especially if it means that he’s just a rebound or something. Absolutely not. But…. your kids are too hilarious for him to stay away for long because damn your youngest is a mischievous little monster and Xigbar loves helping them bring a little chaos to the rest of the castle. It would be a damn shame if he missed out on the fun just because he was being a coward and anyway?? he could probably take your asshole ex any day

Xaldin

Listen. Xaldin likes kids. Really, he does. He had a dream, once, of a beautiful wedding with the love of his life and a bundle of joy, living happily ever after, but that was taken from him and he got his heart broken, so he’s hesitant to… get attached. Because he knows it would be easy to be attached and he falls hard and fast so he feels like it’s better to keep his distance at first. But your kids are fearless and they’re attracted by his giant stature and his braided hair and just… want to be near him? Which is wild and entertaining and damn he loves you and them so much and he’s so terrified that you’re going to disappear but he just can’t stay away

Vexen

He’s read parenting books and knows the science behind the behavior of adolescents, but nothing prepares him for actually dealing with a child under the age of five. “I helped raise Ienzo, it’s fine“ Sure, Vexen. Little does he realize that Ienzo was a saint compared to your two hellions, and if you come back after an hour to find him tied to his lab chair and his skin purple from colored markers, well, you have no qualms in saying “I told you so.“

Lexaeus

A BIG BEEFY DAD. Your kids are scared of Lexaeus for about 2 seconds before they’re obsessed with him. They like that he lets them climb all over him like he’s a jungle gym and he can lift them high - high enough to reach the cookie jar on the top shelf. He’s giant and warm and just their big teddy bear and my god, your youngest is so teeny tiny cradled in the crook of one of his arms that it literally melts your heart just to see your kids interact with him.

Saix

DUDE. Be prepared for your two kids to come back to you as if they were military commanders. They say please and thank you and are polite and kind, not because Saix was mean or anything and told them what to do, but it’s more along the lines of... there’s something about him that made them want to be good. You vow to let him babysit more often - and he agrees, if only because your kids beg to be around him so they can get his hard-earned approval.

Axel

Almost immediately becomes Uncle Axel but not really because him being their uncle while he’s dating you would be weird, but it’s the thought that counts. Your little beans are fascinated by his hair and his laugh and the way he treats them like they’re mini-adults and not just kids. You want to cause chaos? You want to nap on the sofa? You want to dress up in princess dresses and have a nice little tea party? Axel is HERE for it. Definitely their number one playmate.

Demyx

Your kids are going to be completely spoiled if they interact with Demyx for any length of time. He really likes kids and is somewhat a kid himself, but you know what??? Just put them all in front of the TV with some juice boxes and they’ll be good. Demyx is great at making sure that they don’t get into anything they aren’t supposed to be in, and they serve as distracting Demyx so that he doesn’t do anything foolish, so it’s a win-win situation.

Luxord

Look, okay, Luxord knows next to nothing about kids but your kids are absolutely fascinated by his accent. They could literally listen to him talk all day about absolutely nothing and they wouldn’t ever get bored. Don’t be surprised if your children start imitating him all the time just because they love his accent. Luxord is absolutely flattered and will absolutely offer to watch over your kids if you ever need a break. Gets pretty attached to them, but it takes a while. He’ll have to get over his complete confusion at dealing with them first.

Marluxia

You would never think that Marluxia is great at taking care of kids, but he goes from Refined Gay Wearing Gucci to Pre-School teacher. You come back to find them all sitting on the floor, your kids eating grapes and strawberries and drinking from juice boxes, absolutely enraptured as Marluxia goes over an alphabet book with them. They repeat his pronunciations, stay quiet when he starts to read, and holy shit you are so lucky to have him because he won’t do this for anyone else’s kids but yours

Larxene

Kids flock to Larxene even if she doesn’t particularly like children, but she knows that if she wants to be with you then she has to get used to being around them. She doesn’t think she’ll ever get used to being a ‘mom-like’ figure, but would she protect your kids with her life? Hell yeah. They’ll never want for anything when Larxene is around, so yeah, she might not really know how to interact with them, but she tries and she cares and that’s what matters