#it's just a love letter to sokai

[matenr0u]

there’s so much angst potential in sokai and just sora losing his connection to kairi in general i need it

the way they mirror peter pan and wendy, with kairi staying behind on the islands and going to school, growing up. sora is off adventuring without her but she continues to outclass him in emotional maturity. now they’ve lived such radically different lives they can barely relate to each other anymore

she tries to change, she goes to find him because he doesn’t come home and when she does find sora he looks at her like that because she’s not how he’s been fantasizing her to be like. because he still doesn’t know how to love her like a person. because kairi is a girl, a princess, and boys save princesses. she wasn’t supposed to get her hands dirty, that’s not how this works

he barely gives her a thought in most of ddd/khiii but kairi is writing unsent letters, worrying if he’ll like her new haircut this time, trying so hard to mould herself, to ‘catch up’, only to fail miserably again and again and the poor girl never even liked sword fighting like sora and riku. she never wanted to fight

she finally gets to have a moment with him which riku helps orchestrate despite his own big messy feelings, but sora is busy looking out for his best friend instead of listening to her. Again

it’s too troublesome to articulate her feelings just to be brushed aside like usual, so even though the moment they’ve been waiting for all this time is kinda ruined now she still shares the paopu with him anyway. she needs to know her most precious person, her safety blanket, isn’t gonna leave her behind anymore. she’s tired of clinging so desperately to things that slip through her fingers so she risks it all on a superstition and some fruit.

and like always, one of her best friends disappears, and he takes the other with him, and she’s right back where she started

[ftpverse]

the DI Edits Changelog masterpost...?

ffn might be dying etc figured i’d rescue the all-in-one-place changelog from the final chapter and repost it somewhere else. also includes the 2022 edits and cleaned up some things that were vague for some reason

abbreviated, if you want more indepth changelog check out the “di edits” tag on my personal tumblr

---

OVERALL EDITS

KAIRI

- tweaking so that she is a character instead of a flat love interest, mostly in the form of having lingering bitterness about her friends seemingly abandoning her for part 1

SHADKAI

- their friendship is SO juicy... Kairi who keeps talking to him because she’s lonely... Shad who has found someone who can know him without having preconceived notions of him and wanting to relish in it... A friendship that hinges on Kairi never finding out who he is, but a friendship they both desperately are relying on in trying times... I think they are the juiciest relationship in the series and so I have gone thru DI several times to really do it justice

RIKU ADJACENT THINGS

- if physical touch borderline triggers him, then it should do that thru... the whole fic, and not just in the second half when I realized it would be a thing

SHIP THINGS

- I was so heavy handed on heteronormative nonsense for Namiku Sokai and Shadkai and so I’ve toned it down where I could, which was only so many places for Namiku since the story revolves around their fumbling romance, but I’m satisfied that Sokai came out more like best friends who love each other and that Shadkai is, well, not just “Shad has the hots for Kairi” because their relationship is SO juicy when you actually dig into it etc

OTHER??

- I wrote this when I was 13-14, so there was a lot of stuff that’s cringe in the unfun way, and I did my best to mitigate it whenever I could

- also, pacing, but I was under the constraint of I could not delete any chapters (I liveblogged my writing on tumblr after ch100!! That’s over 100 chapters with specific liveblog tags for each!!!! That’d be a nightmare to redo if the numbers got moved!!!!) so it’s not perfect but it’s better than the first draft

- continuity errors, fixing up char voice, etc

 SPECIFIC EDITS PER CHAPTER BELOW (ABBREVIATED)

(a more in depth changelog is on the di edits tag on my personal tumblr – tried to keep this a sentence or so per edit, so minor details got left out if a lot of things were going on in the chapter)

 Part 1

- Ch1 - made it a better first chapter, so anyone who skipped the Truth Hurts and Falling to Pieces wouldn't be totally lost. Also it's just, in general, a better First Chapter of anything.

- Ch2 - redid the Namine/Kairi scene so it made more sense (why would they ask each other if they missed the boys when they knew?). Added a Sora scene for more introduction to story vibes.

- Ch3 - shifted the Sora scene that was previously in ch2 here.

It happened over the course of a couple chapters, but I also removed the "Kairi forgot the events of Falling to Pieces, the book" because it seemed so dumb? So, she remembers that now. It's cool.

- Ch6 - tweaked the conversation about Deactivating Replicas because it was a little insensitive at first. This turned into talking a more about Replica lore (and Rewriting being a thing).

- Ch8 - the Kairi/Namine scene was edited, now ft a nightmare scene. Better framing of Kairi having mixed feelings about Sora etc and also probably some of that “I removed the Kairi forgetting things plotline, something ELSE has to go here”

- Ch10 - I wanted to pretend like Sora wasn't actually close friends with Namine in early FtPverse days for some reason and Heck To That, so now Sora telling Joseph about Namine actually reads like he knows her, because he does.

- Ch11 - made it clearer who Vexen was (i.e., from a goddamn parallel universe, Riku’s literal real creator) from the start, lol.

- Ch15 - the Kairi/Namine scene (about letters) was edited so it sounded more like it was actually Kairi speaking? The letter was also edited for this reason.

- Ch20 - edited the scene where 17 tries to kidnap Namine so that Kairi was there. Added Kairi's POV of the scene. Shifted the Namine arriving in C.O. scene from here to ch21.

- Ch21 - Sora spent a lot of this chapter thinking about how he was ~in the way~ of Riku and Namine and that? sucks? So I cut it and tweaked the chapter accordingly. Oh yeah, and now he's actually worried to receive the news that Namine collapsed.

- Ch22 - Namine now goes "WAIT A MINUTE I LEFT KAIRI BEHIND"; I cannot actually edit things so that Kairi makes it to C.O. in part 1, but I can at least edit it so that Namine doesn’t forget about her entirely, you know

- Ch24 - another discussion about Namine wanting to bring Kairi to C.O. Edited the Sora/Namine scene so it actually reads like they're friends, cut more of the ~in the way~ junk.

- Ch28 - edited the Xigbar scenes because what was originally there didn't make a lot of sense. / added yet another "okay I should get Kairi" "okay but please don't?" convo

- Ch30 - Brand new take on the Kairi/Selphie scene to cover Kairi being Really Mad she got left behind. I really really really love it. / The Riku/Namine scene at the end was edited as well to remove an unnecessary part of the conversation, and also start hinting at Alpha being, well, who he is (kind of a jerk).

- Ch31 - tweaked HB gang dynamics so they'd be more in line with how these characters actually act. Finally described Aerith's house from the get-go. It only took me five years.

- Ch34 - and again with the "I should get Kairi" convo. Now Riku provides the most legit excuse he's got (doesn’t want to drag her unnecessarily into things that “aren’t her problem” etc)

- Ch41 - a small tweak, but Leon is now dodgier than he was before when answering Sora's questions about Zack. The goal here is to show Aerith's not the only one coping with his loss.

- Ch45-47 - shuffled chapters around in here becuase the pacing was awkward, and it made more sense to me to put the two Shad chapters (Lurking Darkness, 44, and A Meeting, now 45) right next to each other instead of interrupt them with 900 words about Sora (What Darkness Can Do, now 46) which lead right into Running from a Memory, ch47, ANYWAY. makes mores sense if What Darkness Can Do goes straight into Running from a Memory rather than be interrupted by the ShadKai meeting, so.

- Ch45 - redid the scene where Shad and Kairi first meet for a lot of reasons, the main two being 1) to tone down Shad's crush so it wouldn't make me want to barf, 2) so that Kairi reacts like a normal person to meeting someone she can't see. Shad can have a crush on Kairi if he wants but it was such heteronormative nonsense in the 1.0 ver... I wanted to focus on their friendship without Shad’s feelings for Kairi boiling down to “he has the hots for her” because, well, that’s no fun. Him liking her because she’s the only person who sees him for himself instead of tied to Sora, however....

- Ch47 - edited the convo about Zack. Rewrote it entirely, to be honest, but all the content is Still There the dialogue was just fussed with so it'd be truer to the HB gang I'm familiar w/ now

- Ch48 - had to tweak Kairi's letter so she was Angry, and also so it fit more in line with her character. Because the letter was tweaked, Shad pondering on it also had to be tweaked.

- Ch50/51 - Minor edits to 50, tweaking the memory scene. 51, like 47, was rewritten to be truer to the HB gang I'm familiar with now. Main difference is Leon is a little more protective of Aerith because Siblings and also Shad takes a dig at Leon.

- Ch55 - the scene from ch56 where Riku and Namine talk about the Repair Program was moved to the end of this chapter to make room in 56 for another Shad/Kairi scene

- Ch56 - another rewritten Shad/Kairi scene, this time because the original talked about a lot of things that were unnecessary, also I wanted it from Kairi's POV. I just wanted to better dig into how juicy their relationship can be, is, etc. Was moved from 57 to 56 for pacing reasons.

- Ch57 - scenes from ch56 were moved here for pacing reasons. no other edits made.

- Ch63 - really just edits clarifying timeline things for HB gang and explaining why Yuffie doesn't know about Sephiroth.

- Ch66/67 - Edited the Cloud and Aerith thing so Cloud's A Little Mean, now. Mainly I just wanted to hint more explicitly at Zack. Also, Aerith actually heals Riku because I don't know why she didn't the first time around.

- Ch70/71 - rewrote these scenes almost completely. The basics of the original content are there still there, but... The memory in chapter 70 was changed, SoKai and Shadkai hints removed. Now we talk about Zack more, because why not. (Also, Tifa can see Shad now, and punches him in the gut. It's fun.)

- Ch73 - Tweaked the Riku and L scene so it's got bigger / more accurate hints at Riku's deal re: Larxene.

- Ch77 - I was convinced initially that even though 7 was a medic he wouldn't know how to use cure magic? By Nothing's Fair's rewrite I'd retconned this, but yanno, I might as well clean up my continuity. He has a better reason for not being able to do anything for Riku's hand now. And we bring up R because I love her.

- Ch79/81 - Continuity tweaks to healing Riku's hand in 79. In 81 Aerith actually heals the gash on Riku's side now because there's no reason she wouldn't. Riku gets a little twitchy, which plays into 117.

- Ch87 - rewrote the Kairi + her dad scene again, completely from scratch. Mostly it’s cleaning up their dynamic and adjusting Kairi from being oh sad depressed her friends are gone so sad poor Kairi but she’s fine really to FUCKING FURIOUS THAT THEY LEFT HER BEHIND. This is another one of the rewritten chapters that I think absolutely RULES.

- Ch90 - originally Amaryllis was frustrated and Alpha calmed him, but we all know it should have been the way around. So now it is.

- SWAPPED 96 AND 97, SO THAT 96 IS THE KAIRI SCENE, AND 97 IS START OF BEAST’S CASTLE. Seemed silly to start a Sora plot, interrupt it for Kairi fuckor, then get back to Sora plot...

- Ch96 - changed the Shad scene because Kairi actually doesn't have THAT much faith in Sora, so we had to account for that; now it's "I'll crush her tiny faith" vs "I'll completely make her lose faith". Put the rewritten Kairi scene here right after the Shad scene instead of cutting to Sora. Kairi scene edited for same reasons, also wanted it in Kairi's POV. Now features a really cool dream sequence.

- Ch97 - Sora stuff starts here now instead of starting in ch96 and getting interrupted

- Ch100 - another one of those "I technically rewrote the entire thing but all the content is still there". Mainly just needed to adjust for the fact that oops, Kairi actually is mad at Sora now, why is Shad acting like she's not. (This should have happened with Kairi batch 1 edits tbh but, it slipped under my radar.)

xxx

Part 2

- Ch104 - Kairi now shows up in this chapter instead of waiting until 107. Also, she's mad.

- Ch107 - Now Namine offers to take Kairi with her and they get on the road immediately instead of taking five chapters. Kairi leaves Shad a note so he knows she’s gone! Also there's a new scene with Kairi's dad!

- Ch108 - Changed the pacing / reasoning for why Sora stabs Riku (mainly just made it for ? reasons instead of "about Namine" because it being about Namine rankled of heteronormativity and its more fun imo if darkness is just a bitch...?)

- Ch109 - Namine still feels Riku get stabbed, but now they leave for HB literally immediately since they were already almost ready to go.

- Ch110 - a now-unnecessary Kairi scene got cut. Shad scene tweaked a bit so that he actually reacted to Sora vanishing because he barely reacted the first time around.

- Ch111-119 - all of these were completely rewritten. Everything is new. Everything was changed. (Except, uh, the Shad scene in 115 that one's basically the same). Mostly just wanted to clean up Kairi’s friendships with Riku and Namine and got myself the space to do that by deleting four chapters where the whole HB gang was yelling at each other for – I think Shad reasons, but come on, Shad’s a little distracted right now, he’s not going to be manipulating anybody. So with those gone I had real estate to cover Kairi friendships, Kairi char development, and also the consequences of Riku, you know, nearly dying. (And also Riku char beats.)

- Ch120 - Since as of 115 Sora has been on the run from Maleficent for a few chapters, this Agrabah chapter had to be edited to reflect that. The Shad scene also got edits for continuity reasons.

- Ch121 - Continuity edits on Sora's side. The Kairi scenes are brand new, followup on the 111-119 edits.

- Ch123 - Relatively minor edits to Kairi's inner monologue, generally cleaning up her voice and also adding a few other smaller touches (including: her being a lil nervous because there's A Lot going on between her and Sora that the initial narrative didn't allow room for.)

- Ch124 - Some continuity edits on Sora's side. Kairi scene edited to reflect the changes in her relationship with Shad. They’re friends, your honor.

- Ch125 - 124 got edited, so of course 125 did too. (Changes in the ShadKai dynamic, etc.)

- Ch127 - Continuity edits to reflect the fact Riku's been gone a few days and not just overnight.

- Ch128 - Continuity edits for the same reasons as 127, as well as toning down Riku's darkness... things a little bit. It might not seem like it, but trust me when I say I toned it down. / Changed the ending for largely self-indulgent reasons. Riku reacts differently to getting hit by lightning now.

- Ch129 - completely rewritten. All the content is still there, it's just a new take on the scene, ft knowledge about the subject that I have amassed over the past 5 years, and, yanno, written a little more sensitively.

- Ch130 - Riku was in a Bad Mood the first time around, but since he wasn't in a bad mood at the end of 129, there's no reason to put him back in a bad mood! Lot of continuity edits to make it so he's not in a bad mood, cut some things, rearranged some things, moved into the meltdown from a new direction.

- Ch132 - because Riku only talked about Larxene in 129 (as it should be) and didn't really mention the rest of the Organization, Namine couldn't vaguely think about how the Organization had affected Riku in this chapter! So we cut like five paragraphs of that, and lead into the Important Vexen Thoughts from another angle.

- Ch134 - small continuity edits and cleaning up Kairi's voice.

- Ch135-138 - edits to the R sequence in general, rewrote basically every chapter. Mainly just wanted to redo R's dialogue because I love her, and so this more true to her character, and her and 7's relationship is a little clearer. (They were major characters in NF rewrite, so continuity, etc.) Also now R explains what she did to herself and how it directly relates to Xion, which pisses 7 off. We also get hints at Riku's darkness Maybe Being A Problem as well as Riku's desire for revenge against Larxene. Most importantly, I swapped ch137 and ch138 so that there wasn't an awkward Namiku break before we finished resolving everything with R, which makes ch137 "tRying" instead of ch138. Whew, this is a lot.

- Ch139 - Rewrote to give Kairi a different nightmare, as well as change up her thoughts on Sora so they feel more accurate after other edits I'd done. So like, continuity largely that involved rewriting the entire chapter.

chapter rearranging crimes: moved 139 (art break 3) to 155, making hymn for the missing now chapter 139 and lining up the next sequence to be one on chapter 141 and two on chapter 142 etc etc and so on. (a discrepency that had bugged me for ten years now fixed).

- Ch159 - Namine whacked Riku over the head here and instead of just removing it I had them talk about why this is a bad thing,

- Ch173 - rewrote the ShadKai scene because I wanted them to actually talk to each other. The other scene was fine, but... it wasn’t them talking to each other.

- Ch175 - the original was good but I decided to add a couple hundred words where Riku reacts mmm more realistically to being offered a family, taking a while to be sure Aerith means this and also giving me the chance to really get into the nitty gritty of how much this means to him vs only spending like, a sentence on it.

- Ch188 - edits to Kairi's dialogue so she sounded more like her, as well as edits to her opinion / feelings towards Sora so that they were in line with previous edits.

- Ch189 - editing ch173 messed up the continuity of this chapter, and the whole “bound” thing was just there as a fallback if I chickened out of ch228. Now is Shad getting existential about his existence as he knows he sits in the twilight of it.

- Ch192 - same as previous. Near completely rewrote Kairi's message. Made her less terrified/upset/crying and more just "I miss you, and we're being dumb". Also had to edit Sora's reaction to it.

- Ch193 - minor edit that's just "Yuffie was complaining about Riku and no, please, she actually likes him."

- Ch196 - more edits of Kairi's thoughts to line up with 188/192, so, Continuity.

xxx

Part 3

- Ch215 - deleted a lot of unnecessary setup for Pacing reasons. Tweaked Kairi and Riku scene so it felt more like they're actually friends. Edited it so Sora found out about Namine sooner and also, so Sora and Namine felt more like friends.

- Ch216 - more pacing things. redid the starting conversation, so Kairi feels more worried about Namine. (As much as I loved her teasing Riku, it had to go. She should be taking this seriously.)

- Ch218 - I changed it in 216 so Riku actually knew where Namine was so, Roxas couldn't use that info to bribe Kairi in this chapter anymore. Tweaked the ending Roxas and Kairi convo a lot to accommodate that, as well as add in a few hints towards Nothing's Fair.

- Ch221 - it was silly to me that Joseph would insist Sora help them with rescuing Vexen, so now it's just "let's go to the surveillance room so I can tell you where Riku and Kairi are".

- Ch227 - edits to ShadKai dynamic that are largely just, continuity

- Ch229 - Sora brings up the fact Kairi and Shad were friends, now. May be clunky but I really wanted it there, thanks.

- Ch235 - tweaked convo to once again bring up the fact Kairi was friends with Shad

- Ch237 - ditto

- Ch240 - brought up some new ideas re: Memories, since I reread this and went "wait why didn't they talk about this thing." Also edited Kairi's reactions some.

- Ch241/242 - the original idea for fixing Namine was dumb. the binder plot was dumb. so instead NamiKai dances, which is, a thing they do.

- Ch243 - listen I just wanted to make Riku jump when Kairi grabbed him in the middle of this chapter

- Ch244 - Kairi didn't say anything to Namine initially? Idk how that happened but I fixed it.

- Ch245 - whack to me that I didn’t imply the kids took a nap after the hell of a “day” they just had, so I fixed it so they did. They deserve to crash in a cuddle puddle!!

- Ch246 - minor dialogue tweaks that were bugging me

[star-sworn]

it’s these two gifs for me

hhh gentle,,;; soft,,;

A CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT SOKAI? How you've blessed me on this day, @goldensunset!! This scene... is everything to me

The way Sora says her name, so full of wonder and joy, how it's hearing his voice that wakes her up...the way he’s reaching for her, and her for him, like he can’t get to her fast enough, can’t hold her soon enough…How he just throws his arms around her, they both do... the way they both close their eyes, like they're home, it's alright, it's over, she's okay again... How they're just cherishing holding each other in their arms... There's no need for any words... only their joy and love... also there's something so tender about him holding the back of her head? I know it's a little strange but I found it so comforting and protective. He's just cradling her.

Also, the way Sora is holding her reminded me of how Eugene holds Rapunzel after she saves him: one arm across the waist, the other holding her head. (side note: when I imagine a sokai reunion in kh4, this is the pose I imagine them in):

Totally not an intentional parallel, but this scene has so many parallels in its tenderness and joy. And Rapunzel sort of brought Eugene back in the same way Sora brought Kairi back. And it is one of the two scenes Sora flashes back to when he reunites with Kairi after the Guardians lose. It's when he realizes that holding onto him after death was Kairi's act of true love. They both take turns in this game bringing eachother back from the edge of life itself...

As I'm going through 3 for the first time, I feel like they made the intentional choice to make Sora and Kairi's scenes very simple and subtle. Besides their whole "light in the darkness" reunion, the paupo scene and this one have almost no words spoken between the two whatsoever: its all about facial expression, gesture, etc. I remember being a bit confused the first time I saw the paopu scene, because it wasn't as dramatic and flowery and gushing as I thought it was going to be: Sora seemed a little stiff and indifferent to me, but the more I watch it I think its more that he's just struck speechless, he's so moved by the profundity of the moment that he's sober but still tender. To me, this scene is similar, but perhaps better executed. What are your thoughts?

I also love how right after this, it's clear they have to fight yet another Nortgoat, and Sora just looks at her with this almost playful (flirty??) grin and says, "are you ready for this?" such a far cry from "you'd kind of be in my way" from kh1. Just like, of course you're fighting by my side, no question. Like they're on a date and about to go skydiving or something. Things to do with your bae: fight the demon lord in the sky. Oh and one more thing! Since you can't squint too closely at the plot of Re:mind or you'll have a stroke, I also think alot about how this is still "re:mind Sora" or "time traveling Sora." he's still just a heart, bending time and space with Friendship. So this meeting is physical as they embrace, but in a more metaphysical way, I also think of this as a reunion between their hearts. That when their hearts greet each other, its like this, passionate and joyous and loving. Their hearts are embracing, too.

Sorry you probably didn't expect (or want) a novel, but thanks so much for allowing me to gush about Sokai. hope your project went well today, too! :)

[phoenix-downer]

What got you into the sokai ship? Was there a particular moment that stood out to you that drew you in or was it something else?

Great question, and thank you for the ask!

Sora's sacrifice in KH1 and Kairi saving him in return is what made me fall in love with the ship. I was really moved by him basically dying for her with a smile on his face, and then when she saw past his Heartless form and wouldn't leave him even when they were being attacked and protected him instead? And how that act of love and selflessness turned him human again?

I didn't stand a chance lol. I just love that sort of dynamic, that mutual saving of each other and mutual support, and the childhood friends aspect of it was the icing on the cake.

(I also loved, loved, loved the mutual pining in KH2, how playfully he teases her at the beginning of the game, how desperately she wants to remember him, the way he gets on his hands and knees and begs to see her again, how her letter lights his way home, then those smiles at each other at the end, the happy tears in his eyes, the "you're home," the handhold and return of her lucky charm... it's all so, so good).

How about you, what got you into the ship?

[goldensunset]

So the more I’m thinking about it, I realized I love each member of the destiny trio individually, (and Sokai of course), but I feel like they're not really the best, most cohesive trio at the moment. I think maybe Wayfinder trio actually is the best, most cohesive, functional trio right now? Anyway.

I’m wondering if maybe the weirdness between the destiny trio in kh3 was intentional, and not the result of rushed development or something, as I keep assuming. Because they took the time to give every other trio special moments, but we didn’t get anything like that for SKR. Even the very last scene in the game mirrors the paopu scene: it’s sora and Kairi alone, and Riku separate from them. He's smiling, he's happy for them, but still, it's a clear separation of Sora and Kairi from everyone else, and Riku especially. I feel like remind could have been an opportunity for them to give even one memory or flashback or moment between the three if they wanted. It just feels like the devs only ever put sora and Riku together (like the ending of kh2, or ddd), or sora and Kairi (end of kh1, end of kh3/remind), but not all three anymore (secret ending of kh1 with the letter in the bottle). Sora vanishes sitting alone with kairi. At the end of the credits, the final image is the one of her and sora on the tree. Look at remind, it’s Kairi on the title screen. And like, if it were a fluke of 3’s development, why did it persist in Melody of memory? They could have had Yen Sid tell Kairi to stay home. The fact that it was riku just hurts so much more.

I don’t really have an answer but I just wanted your thoughts. Is this so they’ll reconcile later? Or as Nomura said in that interview:

"Nomura hopes its depiction of their bonds can offer a realistic sense of how friendships evolve and change over time. "{Kingdom Hearts is] not too realistic, but I do want my players to grasp a sense of reality from it as well," Nomura said. "For example, I'm sure you had friends when you were young, a good group of friends, but as you grow older things change and it doesn't always stay the same. I think all I can say is please play to the very end and see what happens. But I think [Kingdom Hearts 3] does depict how each character feels about each other in this new storyline."

It's intentionally vague, but like, does that mean the trio is coming apart? is it just sora and kairi getting closer from here on out? I just don’t know what the series looks like if they’re estranged from here on out. But to be honest, I sort of felt like sora and Riku weren’t even getting along that well in 3. It was weird almost bullying at times against sora. But they did have that “you don’t believe that” moment too, so idk man. Am I just reading way too much into this (probably)? Also, do you REALLY think they might be setting up a Kairi protag arc, or are we being set up to he let down again? I want her to be equal to/save her boys so bad, but it’s hard to hope for it after MoM…

sorry for this stupid long ask, but I would love to hear your thoughts :) also when you said "I risk my life every time I say it but riku's arc is done" I really felt that

*cracks knuckles* aight it’s time

*sniffles* so i didn’t know about that interview where nomura said that… *lies down definitely not crying* might explain a lot…

man i…i’m torn. like a part of me thinks kh should ultimately come back to the destiny trio as a group of friends because from the beginning they were established as the main characters. and to lose sight of that is to lose sight of kh’s heart. play up the nostalgia factor for the first game back when it was so simple and magical. something something disney magic power of friendship everything should work out in the end. it’s a feel-good fantasy where the power of love can always save everyone.

the other part of me…thinks exploring this concept of growing apart from old friends is very good. very painful, for sure. but who says disney should be all sunshine and smiles all the time? change and pain are part of life. and kids aren’t idiots. they’re no strangers to sadness. narratives that can handle this without making it awful and grim are very touching and valuable. but i would love for this specific type of pain to be addressed because it’s an issue very near and dear to my own heart.

my first ever friends that i knew and loved when we were toddlers are all gone from my life now. and from what i hear they’re completely different people now, people i would never want to be friends with. plenty more people have come and gone since, and i get debilitating anxiety about the relationships i still have, just in case i’m a hair’s breadth away from another fallout or distancing. the truth of it is that you can’t take anything for granted in life.

when you’re that close with someone, you think it’s gonna last forever. because you love them now, right? why would you ever stop? you want to live in the disney movie forever. you want the credits to roll and have everything freeze. when you get older, you want to live in the past because the past is comforting. but the truth of the matter is, it isn’t a reality anymore. and it hurts to open your eyes and acknowledge the evidence that things have changed.

as you’ve said, the destiny trio are certainly the least cohesive trio at the moment. i don’t think anyone can argue otherwise. which is ironic, given how in the past, they were the only ones who got to come back to each other, while the others were tragically separated. in and after kh3, the opposite happens. the wayfinder and sea salt trio reunite, while the destiny trio have drifted apart.

but the issue isn’t merely their physical separation. something has changed internally. too much has happened for them to go back to being the simple island kids they used to be. you could pluck sora out of quadratum tomorrow and give him right back to his friends but their reunion would mean next to nothing if the three of them didn’t do some soul searching individually.

which is why i’m hoping that they actually don’t rescue him right away. if he had to spend some time alone, and probably meet up with the new and strange folks in quadratum far away from anything or anyone familiar, he could reflect on his life and grow as a person. it’d be like in kh1 right after losing kairi riku and his home. sora was kinda mistreated in kh3 and made to feel like he was nothing on his own. the ‘my friends are my power’ thing really isn’t cute anymore if he’s saying it because he hates himself. our boy is strong and he deserves more respect!!!

like on the one hand if his friends came to rescue him it would be a nice demonstration of how much they care about him, esp after all he’s done for them. healers need healing too. on the other hand if he had to save himself he’d prove his worth once and for all and they couldn’t bully him by calling him useless on his own anymore (they never should’ve been doing that in the first place!!)

and it would be especially boring if it was literally just riku the hero saving him yet again. (*gets killed by majority of followers*) DDD already gave us ‘mister obsession and abandonment issues coolguy riku saves useless naïve clownboy sora’. i’ll put up with it once bc good for riku but i won’t put up with it again. it should be kairi, or riku and kairi, or the entire main cast. like maybe riku jumps in alone and kairi and/or the others have to jump in after him and have their moment to shine. at some point kairi’s like ‘ok now i REALLY have had enough of this’ and abandons her training to go after the boys (this is how kairi stans post-mom can still win-)

and if they all reunited after all this, having done some soul-searching? could they ever be the same? of course they could still be friends. but i really feel that we’ve crossed a point of no return for them. the other trios have changed as individual people, sure, but their group dynamic is the same as always. at this point, though, the destiny trio as we knew it in kh1 has all but dissolved. i wonder if any of them have started to think about this or not, to question what they still mean to each other in the context of their new lives and new friends. because when a relationship starts to dissolve, it might take a while to notice it, and a very long while to acknowledge it. and sometimes you can reform it into something new, but sometimes you have to let it go.

and i do think we’re moving towards sokai and i want that for them bc they deserve to be together at last but also like. having riku awkwardly third wheel is kinda?? i want to see him loving and being loved by sora and kairi too. he’s their best friend too. or at least he’s supposed to be. (truth is there was always tension in the group i think. oh the problems with a love triangle. they’ve kinda never really been a cohesive trio but that’s an essay for another day.) even if things aren’t the way things were when they were little anymore, there is absolutely no way riku can fade into irrelevance.

if i had to guess i’d say they’re probably gonna resolve this by writing naminé into a love interest for riku. which i wouldn’t mind if they like. did it really really well? they’d have to give her lots of great screentime first. but -understatement of the century incoming- it’s gonna make a lot of people really angry and i fear being on the internet that day lol. (plus there’s just the question of what group should naminé be a part of? should we really turn any trio into a quartet and alter the dynamic of the bonds that have been around for years? but she needs her own place to go and aaaahhhhh. girl has had so many different one-off 5-minute boyfriends lol)

this is a very long post uhhmm in conclusion:

they should all remain a part of each other’s lives forever in some way but it’s ok that things aren’t the way they used to be. the past is full of lovely memories but you can’t live in it forever. it hurts to think about but separation and/or change are part of life and i’d love to see them address the reality of this painful topic.

[noocturnalchild]

Come to Bed

Adam and reader get touchy feely in bed ^^ 

An Adam sackler one shot, Roommates to lovers AU. I just love roommates to lovers AU, ok? :p 

Also sleeping with any of adam’s characters is my absolute kink. 

Empty Gatorade bottles on the floor, piles of books in the corners, jars of dried milk and dust. That’s how Adam Sackler room looked like that late evening. You could’ve found it disgusting, in a bad way, if it wasn’t for the dusty orange light coming from the small window, just above a broken lampshade, that painted it with a strange melancholic glow. You smiled to the man laid on the center of a bed that had known better days. 

“Brought you soup”

You stretched an arm, displaying the package, and the smell of spice and tomatoes filled the small space.

“ Ahuh” He retorted, not looking at you.

You sighed. “ You’re welcome”

No reply. your roommate could be the first of jerks sometimes, especially the days you were extra nice to him.

You were heading to your room, leaving him to his bad mood when he suddenly called behind you;  

“ Hey kid, glass of water please !”

That was the final straw..

“ Adam !” you closed the space between you in furious strides;

“I don’t remember you buying me as your fucking slave. For god’s sake! you’re fully healed now, use your fucking leg !”

He laughed, that childish, giggly laugh, completely out of place laugh.

“ Jesus, easy, kid” he replied. His calm and composure only made you feel worse.

“ You look tired”

He sat up on his bed, looking at you strangely and your features softened despite your anger. 

“ Of course I’m tired, Adam, worked my ass off on that stupid project and they wanted me to send a draft in two fucking days, which I did,  just to toss it in the trash … they didn’t even read it-”

Tears were menacing to spill and you felt ridiculous for a second, so ridiculous, you covered your face with your hands.  

“ Need some sleep, kid”

You looked at him, confused, then you shrugged. Of course, why would you talk to him about problems he didn’t wanna hear ?

“ Yeah sure, of course you do”,  you were about to leave him alone for good when he called again.  

“ NO, y/n !”

“ What again ?”

Your tone was a bit harsher than you wanted it to be. But it didn’t seem to bother him.

“ You need sleep, come here”

What? You were certainly not going to share his bed for sleeping, or for anything anyway, but he was already extending his arm, grabbing the hem of your shirt as his eyes widened in a silent plea.

He didn’t wait for your answer though, and in a blink of an eye you found your self dragged in his sheets as his body shifted to make space.

“ What you need is sleep and nice human interactions” he breathed as he brough one big arm and leg to rest on your side, trapping you against him.

“ It’s freaking hot, Sackler”

“ Sokay, relax”

You tried to relax and ignore the fact that he was wearing almost nothing, his light blue short shorts leaving little to the imagination.

“You gonna relax, nice and good, and sleep right here, and tomorrow you gonna kick their ass, all of’em”

He continued babbling, voice low in your ear, and you closed your eyes, hoping to sleep but, expectedly, you couldn’t.

it wasn’t uncomfortable, it wasn’t a restless insomnia. It was like you were in a cradle, rocking gently in the safety of a deep soft cradle, as waves of heat lulled you but not to sleep.

At some point Adam stopped talking and started snoring, very softly, breath smelling slightly of orange Gatorade, and you smiled in your half slumber. All your limbs were slack and relaxed now, just as he wanted you, and you tried to move a bit in his arms.

You turned to face him and your mouth met something soft, softer than the rest of his skin. You kept your eyes shut, but you didn’t change your position as your lips grazed the very tender bud of his nipple. You felt him exhale deeply as his arms flexed naturally to wrap around you, seeking something to hold into.  

A sleepy hand slipped under your tee to hold on your side. But it didn’t stay there too long and descended unconsciously to seek a fresher place, just to be met by your shorts hem, then ventured a little further, grabbing gently your lower belly. You gasped, but didn’t move this time too. Despite the hot weather, and his weight and his closeness and the inappropriate position, you found yourself leaning into his touch, pushing your body closer to his.    

All night, you turned in his arms. You didn’t open your eyes once, mind floating in a delightful comfort. You wanted to push the morning away, reveling in each moment, each movement your sleepy bodies performed:

When he tangled his legs with yours and you felt the outline of his cock on your thigh, hot and rubbing gently.

When he moved a bit lower and buried his face in your cleavage, soft snoring fanning your skin through the light fabric of your tee.

When your fingers reached for his dark locks and threaded into their luxuriant thickness.

When his fingers brushed the swell of your breasts, and you heard him moan weakly against your neck.

When he turned his back to you, and when you followed and extended your hands so one was on his belly, tracing softly his happy trail, the other tucked under his arm.

When You searched for the dip between his shoulder blades and rested your face there, feeling the texture of his skin and inhaling the salty scent of his sweat.

All night long, your bodies melted into each other, rubbed against each other, hands wandering, discovering, seeking. You didn’t know if, just like you, he was awake, faking sleep, or if he was really asleep, deep into some good dream…

But the morning came, inevitably.  

You slept maybe one hour or two, and when you opened your eyes, his parted lips were the first thing you saw. You smiled, your hands were splayed on his chest, legs still entangled with his.

And you still didn’t bother move.

“ So, how was the sleep?”

His voice was deeper than ever. And you knew.

“ How was yours?”

“  sticky..” he emphasized each letter.

You narrowed your eyes, smiling some more before straddling his lap.

“ Maybe a stickier morning will make up for it?”

You both knew the answer.

[paintedwithapalette]

SoKai Week Day 4 - Together

Words: 3,545

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

Useless. 

Insignificant. 

Worthless. 

These were just a small portion of the words that ran through his mind as he trudged down the empty road with nothing and no one to keep him company aside from a backpack with water and a few of his favorite snacks. Sora stopped walking, planting his feet firmly in the middle of the asphalt road and the weight of his own loneliness truly settled in. 

This was it. He was going to go through with it. No backing out now. 

He tried, he really did. No one could say he didn’t. No one could say he didn’t train for days on end. No one could say he didn’t travel in hopes of looking for a cure that would bring an end to this horrible disease that plagued countless worlds. No one could say that he didn’t give it his best every single day and that he didn’t pour his own sweat, tears, and yes, sometimes even blood, into doing his absolute best to uphold the honor of being the chosen one. 

With his lifeless eyes, he summoned his Keyblade. Simple in its design but effective. A sentient Key that chose one person per generation to maintain order in the universe. To solve any problem that threatened the balance between light and darkness. Centuries of chosen wielders before him and only once had it chosen wrong. 

But as far as Sora was concerned, it chose wrong again. How was he supposed to live up to the legacy Zack Fair left behind? Sora couldn’t do anything on his own. Without Zack holding his hand, he was worthless. Maybe if he had developed any sort of competence in his months of training, he might have found a cure to resolve the geostigma crisis by now. Maybe he would’ve found a way to save the lives of thousands, no... millions... if he were someone else. Maybe if he were just a fragment of the man Zack was, he could’ve done something.  

And maybe, just maybe... he wouldn’t have let Eraqus die. 

Eraqus was counting on him to do something - to find a cure and bring him back to health. Sure, Sora was only sixteen and it was a lot of pressure to handle, but he had the Kingdom Key, so naturally that meant he was supposed to put the pieces of the puzzle together, right? 

Wrong. In the end, he was a failure who could only let down the people he cared about most. 

The boy chosen by the mysterious Kingdom Key. What a joke. 

As his eyes devoid of life wandered up and down the blade, he couldn’t help but wonder why. Why did the Keyblade choose him? It must have had its reason, it always did, but whatever reasons they were didn’t connect with him. All he wanted was a simple life where he could be a regular teenager, have fun with his friends, and just be normal. He didn’t ask for this. He didn’t ask for this responsibility. This pressure. The weight of the world sitting on his shoulders when he wasn’t even old enough to drink. None of it made any sense. 

It must’ve been a mistake. The fact that he let Eraqus die proved it was a mistake. Sora gripped the handle of his blade so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

“You were wrong!” Sora yelled as he tossed the Keyblade, sending it crashing into the pavement. Sora glared, as hard as he could before he settled into his prior look of indifference. He turned on his heel to leave the Kingdom Key in the middle of the road, hoping that it got run over by a car before he felt something pop back into his hand with an accompanied flash of light. Sure enough, when he looked down, it was the Kingdom Key refusing to leave his side. 

Clenching his teeth, Sora hurled the Keyblade once again. And like a broken record, he heard that familiar flash and the Keyblade return to his possession. With an agonized cry, Sora threw the Keyblade a number of times, his uncharacteristic sense of anger and resentment fueling every futile attempt at discarding himself of the burden the universe set on him. 

After a while, he hadn’t even noticed the fact that he threw his backpack aside and that dark sky was now dropping pellets of raint. His mind could only focus on trying his best to keep the Keyblade away and maybe eventually it would get the memo and just stop returning to him. But it never did. No matter how many times Sora pushed the Keyblade away, it kept stubbornly coming back. 

After his final attempt and the Keyblade returned once again, Sora stopped, his breathing heavy and dense. The rain continued to drench his clothes and slide down his brown spikes. When the dust cleared and his anger subsided and all that was left was... 

Sadness. 

It was the utmost level of dejection he had felt all day. It was clear that there was no way that the Kingdom Key would be leaving his side. But why? He was obviously no good. He was positive there was someone out there better than him to save all of the lives that were being ruined by this geostigma ordeal. 

That was why he had to kill himself. 

The Kingdom Key typically didn’t switch users until the current one was deceased. Then, and only then, would the Kingdom Key move on to the next suitor. Maybe if he was erased from the equation, the Kingdom Key would find someone strong, confident, and sure of themselves enough they would be able to locate some sort of remedy to this ever-growing dilemma affecting the worlds. Someone like Riku. His best friend. He always wanted to be the chosen one. Compared to Sora, he actually deserved it. 

Yes, it was the only way. He would go to the Play Island. Spend his final day appreciating all of the memories he and he friends had made during his sixteen years of existence, enjoy his final meal, write a letter to his friends saying how much he’ll miss them, how much he would miss her, and then… he’d plunge himself in the deepest, darkest depths of the sea and - 

“Sora!” 

He heard a voice. Her voice. 

Sora turned around and there she was; she looked like a ray of hope as she stood underneath the light of a street lamp - wet wrinkles drooping from her clothes and her hair drenched. A shivering sheen of liquid covered her eyes as her worried and gloomy expression told Sora everything he needed to know. 

Sora’s eyes still remained lifeless and that bothered Kairi even more. He couldn’t even look her in the face. Not if he wanted to suppress the tremendous guilt that came about over what he was about to do. They stood in silence, Kairi’s lips quivering. She’d never seen him like this - at his lowest. She barely recognized the person standing before her. This wasn’t the usual, upbeat, cheerful Sora she knew. 

But she was going to bring him back. 

“What are you doing here?” Sora asked. 

Kairi shook her head. “That doesn’t matter,” she answered. “I think the better question is what are you doing out here?” 

Sora opened his mouth but realized it wasn’t such a simple question with a simple answer. The layers to the situation were too vast for Kairi to understand. Even still, despite what he thought, Kairi had an inkling for why he was out there. His reaction back at the hospital gave her enough of a hint. 

“It’s not your fault,” was the first thing Kairi said after a stint of silence. 

“How can you say that?!” Sora asked, his frustration flaring. “How is it not my fault, Kairi?! I’m the one the Kingdom Key chose! I’m the one everyone expects to do something about this, and I just… I-I can’t, okay? I just can’t!” 

“But no one is putting this on you,” Kairi reminded. “This was just... an unfortunate incident that no one could have predicted. You can’t blame yourself for that.” 

“And why can’t I? I was the one everyone expected to do something about it. But I couldn’t. I can’t. And he’s dead.” 

Kairi didn’t say anything for a moment before she opened the gates of conversation once again. “Sora. Why are you out here?” she asked again. Like before, she received no answer. “Whatever is going on, we can figure it out. I’m here for you, Sora! I told you that I would be and I meant that.” 

Sora shut his eyes, holding back the tears he didn’t want Kairi to see. He really didn’t deserve her. And she deserved better than him. “Kairi... I’m sorry... I just can’t do this anymore...”

She was almost afraid to ask. “What... what do you mean by that?” 

Through the rain, he smiled. Though, clearly a sad one. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to deal with me anymore. Maybe... you’ll find someone better to worry over. You’re an amazing person, the way you look after your sister, Haru, me...” Sora’s eyes lowered. “I think I can truly say that I’ve never met someone like you before. I guess that’s why... I fell in love with you.” 

Kairi gasped, her eyes wide as saucers. He said it. He really said it. 

“I guess now at least... I won’t have any regrets,” Sora continued. “I wanted to at least tell you that, but I just couldn’t find the right time or place... but now, when you think of me, you’ll know. You’ll know how I feel. How I always felt.” 

“What are you talking about, you dummy?” Kairi asked, her voice choking as she used both arms to wipe away her tears like a child scolded by their parents. To see him acting so uncharacteristic hurt more than she ever anticipated. “Why are you saying these things, Sora?” 

“Please don’t cry,” Sora said gently. “I know it’s hard, but you’re strong Kairi. You’ll be okay. I know you will.” 

“What are you talking about?! Answer me, Sora!” 

“I know Riku has always liked you,” Sora continued, as if he weren’t even listening. “You know, he asked me once if I wanted to talk to you before he did. But I didn’t think I had a chance. Maybe I still don’t. So, I let him know that I wouldn’t take offense if he talked to you first. So, I guess I just thought it wouldn’t be right to tell you how I feel knowing how Riku felt. But it won’t matter now. Even still, I wanted to at least let you know...”

“Stop that!” Kairi cried out, clutching her chest as the pain in her heart swelled. She didn’t even bother trying to stop the stream of tears pouring from her eyes. “J-Just stop!” 

Sora sighed. He supposed the least she deserved was an explanation. “Don’t feel bad... I think I just realized that the Kingdom Key made a mistake. All I’m going to do is fix that mistake. I’ll make things right.” 

“You don’t really mean that...”

“If you, or Riku, Donald, Goofy, the King, Roxas, Naminé... you,” he almost stuttered. “If any of you got geostigma... what am I supposed to do then? I’m not going to sit here and watch as my friends die because I’m too weak to save any of you! I can’t do that, Kairi. That’s why...” he said, hesitating, “it’ll be best for everyone if I’m not here.” 

“Do you hear yourself right now?!” Kairi yelled. “You’re not even thinking about how much it’ll hurt the rest of us if something happened to you! How it’ll hurt me... doesn’t... doesn’t that matter to you?” 

Sora couldn’t look her in the eyes anymore. “You’ll be better off,” he stated bluntly. “Trust me.” 

“Sora, you’re not in your right mind! None of the previous chosen ones have been perfect. You can’t expect that of yourself. We’ll get you some help. I’ll help you! Let’s just go back to the hospital and figure this out! We can do it together!” 

When he found the willpower to look in her eyes, it was a face Kairi was certain she didn’t recognize. That droopy exterior of his only brought one word to mind for her. 

Loneliness. 

She could tell that her words weren’t getting through to him. No matter what kind of logic she mustered, it couldn’t connect. It looked like the Sora she knew was gone, but she refused to believe that. He must have been there... somewhere, deep inside. Kairi just had to pull that out. 

“Kairi... I’m sorry,” Sora said, breaking the silence. “I don’t want you to follow me. I don’t want you to see what’s about to happen... but just... I know what I’m doing. And this is the right thing to do.” 

“No, it isn’t!” 

“The Kingdom Key will move on to someone better. They’ll find a cure and maybe they’ll find a way to save all of the lives ruined by geostigma. Maybe it’ll be someone who wasn’t chosen by accident.” 

“Sora!” 

“You won’t be alone. Roxas, Naminé, Lea, Xion... Riku... they’ll be here for you.” 

“Sora, listen to me!” 

“And just know that to me, you were someone very special.” He smiled sadly. “From the moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were someone special. I think... leaving you is what’s going to hurt the most.” Sora felt some tears sneak up on him and he quickly wiped them away with the sleeve of his jacket. “But... this is what’s going to be for the best. For everybody. I know it won’t be easy, but just know that when I’m gone, I always appreciated you for the way you made me feel better even on my worst days. You always supported me through and through. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend…and the time we spent together...  will always be precious to me.” 

At this point, Kairi was bawling. Each and every word stung harder than the last. How could he be saying these things while knowing what he was about to do? She couldn’t make sense of it but she knew she wasn’t supposed to. She just wanted him to snap out of it, but how? 

Sora was such an amazing person. The way he lit up a room with just his presence. The way his smile made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. The way he brought people together. The way he cared for other people. That was why the Keyblade had chosen him. It wasn’t because he was the strongest, the fastest, the toughest... that wasn’t how the Keyblade went about its choosings. It was the kind of person he was. His compassion for others. His kindness. All of the good points. Why wasn’t he seeing that? 

Then again, she had dealt with someone with depression before. Naminé had been struggling with it for years, so this was just another case of that. But even Naminé had never been this severe. And Kairi was left unsure what to do. All she could do was cry and hope that her tears were enough to convince him that everything his brain was telling him was wrong. But it wasn’t that easy. 

The pain wouldn’t stop. It was welling up deep inside and was bursting at the seams. She clenched her fists and stopped listening to her head, but her heart. What was she supposed to do? She had to do whatever felt right in that moment. 

She didn’t have long to ponder, however, as Sora turned around. “Kairi... goodbye.”

“I LOVE YOU, TOO!” 

That’s when everything stopped. Sora whirled back around, his eyes wide and confused. He didn’t hear that, right? “What...?” 

“I love you, too,” she said softly. 

“No.” 

“No?” 

“No,” Sora affirmed. “You can’t do that. That’s not true. You like Riku, and you’ve always -” 

“Oh, so now you know how I feel?!” Kairi asked, her temper flaring up again. “It doesn’t work that way! Stop acting like you know everything and listen to me for once!” When he didn’t say anything, Kairi took that as her cue to continue. “I’m sorry, Sora, but you can’t speak on behalf of my feelings. And I’m not just saying this because I don’t want you to do anything stupid. I’m saying it because it’s true.” Her tears continued to flow freely. “I... I love you, too, Sora.” 

Sora stopped, letting the revelation process. “W-Why are you telling me this now?”

“I’m a coward too, sometimes.” She chuckled humorlessly. “But you deserve to know. You’re special to me, too. You made me realize that I do have more to offer to the world. You always make my day better. You’re always there for me and... I love you. I love you so, so much, Sora.”  

His mind was so foggy and cluttered that it didn’t even seem like a possibility. He thought he was nothing more than a friend she cared deeply for. Though, he supposed even if that were the case, she still wouldn’t be okay with his plans. 

Still, what was he supposed to do? Wasn’t he supposed to end things here and now, allowing the Keyblade to move on to a more suitable wielder? Sure, he could still do that, but knowing that Kairi returned his feelings, all this time... it definitely made it a bit harder for him to do that. 

“What am I supposed to do…?” Sora asked quietly to no one in particular. When Kairi didn’t have an answer, Sora’s conflicted emotions exploded in the form of a scream as he put his hands on his forehead. He fell to his knees, his hands still hovered over his ears. During his clouded thoughts convincing him that suicide was the only answer, he almost forgot about it. 

Love. 

Not just the love he had for others, but the fact that others loved him, too. 

And Kairi loved him in that way? He could hardly process it. 

Kairi raced towards him in a panic, her black and pink boots splashing in the murky puddles until she kneeled down to make sure he was okay. Sora found the strength to look up from his state of confusion. “You’re... not lying to me, are you? You’re not just saying that?” he asked. His voice almost sounded desperate. Kairi figured he was still dealing with the thoughts that convinced him he was being lied to. So, she figured the only way to prove it to him was to show him. 

And show him she did, as she pressed her lips against his. 

It caught him by surprise for a moment, but it didn’t take long for him to give in as he shut his eyes. The rain continued to pour during their moment that edged dangerously close to the margin of passion. It was a longing and need that hadn’t been quenched for either of them in what felt like so long. It took just about every fiber of strength in them both to break apart, as Kairi wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, pressing her forehead with his. 

“Do you believe me now?” Kairi asked. 

The question was enough to give Sora the ghost of a smile, but it didn’t take long before it returned to its prior frown. “I guess I just don’t know... if I’m someone worth loving.” 

“Stop that,” Kairi demanded. “You don’t get to decide how I feel. And this is what I feel. So, you’re just going to have to deal with it. I don’t care what you say.” 

Silent tears continued to fall from her eyes as she continued to hug him. Sora gradually went from standing on his knees to sitting cross-legged, but Kairi didn’t let go. She needed him to know that she wouldn’t let go. That he had someone there for him that would never let go. Their damp clothes and the fact that they were very likely to catch a serious cold didn’t matter... as long as they had each other. 

“Don’t you ever go doing something like that again, okay?” Kairi asked. “That’s not the Sora I fell in love with.” 

Sora felt his eyes beginning to well up. She was right. He couldn’t believe he was seriously considering that. So many people were counting on him. The Kingdom Key chose him for a reason, and while it may not have been a reason he understood, it knew what he was capable of inside. 

And, if nothing else, he had this amazing girl there to support him. To save him from himself. He forgot that his bonds with the people closest to him was what gave him strength. He had to be thankful for that. 

“I’m... so sorry, Kairi,” Sora said, choking up. 

“Don’t you ever do that again,” Kairi repeated. “Promise me.” 

She knew how seriously Sora took his promises. Once he made one, he would never, ever break it. “I promise.” 

Kairi mustered up a smile through her tears as she nuzzled into Sora’s soft hair. “It’s going to be okay,” she comforted. “We’ll figure this out. Together.” 

_______

Shoutout to my amazingly talented friend @blissfulnightrain​ for drawing this this page! You’ll be able to check out the full piece on her page! 

[oveliagirlhaditright]

What are your favorite KH headcanons? Just in general, nothing specific :)

It’s funny... I can think of headcanons when I’m writing or whatever--or just at the spur of the moment--but when asked for them, they all disappear from my mind. Uhh... let’s see what I can come up with.

Because Kairi has had a different hairstyle that every year that we see her, I headcanon that she changes her hair every year.

I also headcanon her birthday is September 17th (the day KH1 was released in the U.S. This is also SoKai Day), since Sora’s birthday is the day of the Japanese release and because it makes Kairi a Virgo. She somewhat reminds me of a Virgo. And apparently an Virgos and Aries (which Sora is) can be good together, so...

I imagine that Riku is rich, just because he has a balcony in the KH manga. So is Kairi, for being the adopted daughter of the mayor in my mind (I get into that just below). Sora, however, is probably middle class. For this reason, hangouts with the three usually happen at Kairi or Riku’s house. But sometimes Sora’s still... And these three totally snuck into each other’s houses after dark--through bedroom windows--all the time, and no one can tell me any differently.

And, like most of the fandom does, I headcanon that Destiny Islands’ mayor is Kairi’s adopted father... even though that’s never exactly said. It’s said that the girl who arrived during the meteor shower was at the mayor’s house, but that could have just been for the time and she eventually got relocated somewhere else. But nah. I also headcanon that the mayor adopted her.

I like my headcanon of Xion liking doilies for some reason.

And my one about Roxas being able to cook, too.

For some reason, I adore the idea that Riku can’t cook to save his life.

I also don’t think that Sora is dumb, and I’ll fight people on this. And at this point, I’m kind of stealing another’s headcanon... but I like the idea that Donald and Goofy teach Sora school things he’s missing on their travels together.

I can also get into the headcanon that Sora’s dad passed when he was young (sadly). Since we hear him mentioned in BbS, but don’t hear him calling Sora to dinner alongside Sora’s mother in KH1 or anything like that. 

I definitely headcanon that there are a few islands on Destiny Islands--since it’s Destiny Islands plural--but that they’re probably small, so that the kids still feel “trapped there”.

I imagine that Sora and Riku’s parents put up some of the Play Island stuff absent in Dark Road.

Until proven otherwise, because of the character files, I’m headcanoning that Roxas, Lea, Xion, Isa, and Naminé are all living together now (with Lea and Isa acting as their parents). Probably in the Old Mansion that they fixed up. But on the flip-side of that, I think that Sora and Kairi’s parents accepted their kids’ Nobodies and Replicas as their own, and they sometimes stay there.

I also want to pretend that Isa made a bigger effort to make things up to Roxas and Xion.

I actually don’t think Naminé would jump on the drawing train as most fans seem to think she would. Rather... since drawing is actually tied to traumatic memories for her, I think she’d want to get as far away from it as she could at first. And it would take her friends showing her that she could make good memories with it too, that would finally make her an artist.

Terra and Aqua came from other worlds than the Land of Departure (and how I wish we’d get information on that!). Right now--even though it’ll never happen in a million years, since this series isn’t even Disney--I’m writing that Aqua is originally from “Antar” from the Roswell series, but that’s more fanfiction territory. More likely than not, I want to believe that Terra and Aqua are from worlds that fit their names.

Strelitzia is bisexual. I don’t care that Player canonically is a guy at this point, thus probably making her het. Shh.

Speaking of bisexuality... I think that Sora is. I could maybe even headcanon Riku as that now.

Naminé would totally wear baby blue, if Nomura ever lets her get another outfit.

Xion probably eventually picks up some artsy thing that she can do too, to better fit in with Kairi, Naminé, and Aqua. In the novels, she wanted to make a lucky charm but didn’t know how to. So I can see it.

I don’t think this is a headcanon, so much as it is canon that we haven’t seen yet (since Nomura has slightly talked about this in interviews, even if he’s never going to do anything with it now). Rinoa exists in the KH universe. And it’s because something happened to her during the fall of Radiant Garden--that Leon really is beating himself up about--that he changed his name. And it’ll only seeing her alive and well again, that will get him to change his name back. And he eventually will (or maybe even has in my headcanon). And, yes: the letter he got in the KHII credits was totally from her, telling him that she was alright. Rinoa is also why he has wings on the back of his jacket.

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine aren’t actually tiny fairies, but Maleficent turned them into that... And this is so I can ship KH Tidus and Yuna, yeah. But I swear if you listen to one of Rikku’s lines, it sounds like she might be implying this.

While I think originally, it was Aerith that Cloud was trying to save in KH1 (...for some reason. Since she’s fine in the KH verse), fans have now convinced me that it was actually Zack, so I hope we eventually get the FFVII characters in KH’s story eventually resolved.

Some people argue that all of Traverse Town with the TWEWY characters was a dream--or maybe it’s that they argue Joshua saving his friends through Sora and Riku’s help was the dream--but in my book, it totally happened.

Naminé is an honorary member of the Destiny Trio and Sea Salt Trio.

Kairi and Naminé see each other as sisters, and Sora, Roxas, and Ventus (and Vanitas, if he ever comes back and is redeemed) see each other as brothers. But Sora and Roxas miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight slightly see themselves as more closely linked brothers, and same thing with Ventus and Vanitas.

I also see Xion as a third sister for Kairi and Naminé. Most of the fandom disagrees with this. And I understand why. Most of the fandom sees her as Sora’s sister (and maybe even then sistered to the other boys. And sometimes I now do this--sort of because of peer pressure--but I’ll also have her be a shared sister between the boys and Kairi and Naminé, even though Sora and Kairi themselves aren’t “related”. But I hate that when I do this, it ruins my RokuShi dreams. So it’s probably part of the reason that I usually don’t). But I still see Xion as closer to Kairi than Sora. I know she was supposed to be a Sora clone (but it didn’t really work and she was a failed clone of him), but she mostly defined by his memories of Kairi. And that’s who she chooses to be and how she sees herself. But people then argue that it’s Sora’s memories of Kairi, though, not Kairi herself. And I get that.... But I still think she’s closer to Kairi. Why? Because Sora was actively trying to make her Kairi. And I’m sure some of himself slipped into there, as parts of a writer--so to speak--shows up in all their work, whether they intended it or not. But for example... let’s say that Sora hates chocolate and Kairi loves it. Since he was trying to make Xion like Kairi, he would therefore have her like chocolate, even though he hated it. So that’s one more point for Xion moreso being like Kairi in my book. I also... when I first played Days, she reminded me a lot of Kairi, partly because of some of her snarky lines. It’s only recently that I’ve looked at Days and seen some Sora in her--and realized that also could have partly come from him--but I still stand by what I said.

And while we’re on the subject... after everyone got their own hearts and bodies at the end of KHIII, I don’t think pairings like RokuShi or RokuNami, or whatever else would be insert of self-cest at all. Really, I don’t ever think it was. Because KH rules state that it’s your heart and how you see yourself that governs everything around you... but especially not after KHIII resolved this. So it kind of ticks me off when people still bring up this argument.

Because this plot hole bothers me... Kairi totally remembered Merlin when she trained with him in KHIII.

Most the rest of these will probably be about Kairi. Since you all know she’s my girl, and I think about her a lot.

I pretend that Kairi did somewhat have an edgy stage, and still somewhat is. Maybe because I somehow combine that with tomboy in my head. IDK. Speaking of--though not that this is really “edgy”--I’ve written that Kairi likes Queen at least twice. Just pretend that Destiny Islands has Queen. Haha.

I also believe that even after Kairi became more girly in KHII, she still has some tomboy to her: like how even though she wears a dress in KHII, she still has sneakers on, and how her school bag isn’t decorated at all when Selphie’s is. She’s also a fighter, of course (not that that necessarily makes a girl a tomboy -looks at Buffy-). I imagine out of the three, Naminé is the girliest, Kairi is a mix of tomboy and girly-girl, and Xion is a tomboy. 

I think Kairi, Naminé, and Xion would all have great relationships with each other. Naminé and Xion, because they both know what it’s like to be “Nobodies” , told they shouldn’t exist, and forgotten (Kairi knows this, too), and have suffered (though Kairi has too, of course). They’re also both slightly shier. Kairi and Xion because they both can be snarky (though Xion not as much), are more outgoing and both fight, and are maybe pretty evenly matched right now (they’d probably spar a lot). And Kairi and Naminé, because they’re like the extroverted and introverted version of each other. And I imagine Kairi could convince Kairi to try things more, while Naminé would get her to chill the F out about things.

Kairi and Xion are probably both protective of Naminé, since she’s been so abused and they can fight and she can’t.

Sora, Roxas, and Ventus might be protective of Xion. But for me, Roxas is because of shipping reasons.

Back to the girly-girl Kairi thing... While pink probably is for sure her favorite color now, she still likes purple and other colors. And will use them.

I also just... don’t see her wearing makeup. I know other fans do, and that’s fine. But I don’t. Mainly because it doesn't look like she ever is in the game. I think that’s part of her tomboy coming through still. She cares about her hair, her clothes, perfume and whatever else, but she doesn’t care about makeup.

I used to headcanon that Aqua and Xion would become best friends--and they still could--but Melody of Memory maybe hinted at something else.

...I think this is everything right now.

Edit: And pretty much every headcanon that bluerosesburnblue comes up with for the KHUX world is right up my alley.

Edit 2: Destiny Islands maybe isn’t as technologically un-advanced as I and some had originally thought, but it’s still not modern day Shibuya or anything like that.

Edit 3: A lot of Destiny Islands’ culture is based on Japan.

Edit 4: This isn’t a “headcanon” at all. But I love to joke with the fandom, that Naminé and Xion might as well be Sora and Kairi’s daughters. LOL

Edit 5: And because of that one scene in KHII, where Kairi, arguably, hits Riku in the arm, if you look close enough--and that one translation of the KHII manga, where Kairi tells Riku not to be such sourpuss--I headcanon that these two somewhat play off just how much they mean to each other. But really, they love each other of course. I mean that platonically.

Edit 6: And I want to believe Minnie and Daisy could eventually go on an adventure with Kairi or something. I like the headcanon that Daisy’s a magician, too--since Minnie is strong with light magic--even though it’s not true. Haha.

Edit 7: Sora says Kairi’s name over and over again at the end of KHI and tells her “I love you” at the end of KHIII.

Edit 8: Riku is Sora’s best man at Sora and Kairi’s wedding. He’s also the “uncle” and godfather of their kids. 

Edit 9: Speaking of, Sora and Kairi have a daughter named “Sakura”. But it’s pronounced like how you would say “Sum” (but drop the “M”, of course) and then “Cora”. “Sumcora” (but without the “M”).

Edit 10: Kairi’s a Disney princess.

Edit 11: Max Goof exists in the KH universe, as do the Three Caballeros, who Donald is friends with.

Edit 12: Terra and Naminé are friends.

Edit 13: This is completely unoriginal--and just “Riku” backwards--but in fics, I often call Riku Replica “Ukir” (I pronounce it “You-Kai-Err”, because I’m too lazy to come up with anything else and don’t want to steal other people’s ideas. And Repliku probably did want to be the opposite of Riku, so... -shrugs-

[sourcherrybomb]

SoKai Week 2020 - Day 7 - Blue, Blue Sea of Home

Synopsis: In the calm of a starry night whilst thinking of home, Sora writes a letter to Kairi.

Sneak Peek: I’m definitely going to have tons of stories to tell you once I’m back on the islands with Riku. Different worlds mean different cultures, which means tons of different stories.

Tags: Light Romance, All Ages, F/M

Prompt for the Day: Down the Road

Words: Approx. 800

Fanart By: eclipsimart (Fiverr)

Dear Kairi,

I’ve been having a lot of weird thoughts lately. 

Makes sense considering there’s not much else to do out here in these fields besides daydream. Yeah, occasionally I’ll practice fighting with Donald and Goofy, but it never feels serious. More and more I’ve just been finding myself lost in thought more often than not.

For example, I’ve been thinking about the taste of Paopu Fruits. I remember asking my mom what it tasted like when she and my dad shared them. She told me it was pretty sweet, but my dad found it sickeningly sweet. I always reminded her of him, so she said that I might find the taste a bit unbearable too… 

I guess for now only time will tell. I hope you’ll be there to see my reaction.

Speaking of time, I can’t help but wonder about all that time you spent inside my heart. The entire time I was with Donald and Goofy, I kept on thinking about how it’d be great if you and Riku could have been alongside me… Although I guess you were the entire time. So, what did you think of our first adventure together? Any worlds you’d like to go back to, preferably in your own body? 

Still, I can’t help but think about how you might have felt all the negative emotions I had during the adventure. Sure, I had a lot of fun going from world to world like how we always wished. It’s just that there was a lot of bad stuff going on as well. All of the worlds getting destroyed, having to fight with Riku, all the times I nearly bit the dust… and the one time I did.

You’d think I’d have more nightmares when I sleep, but I don’t. Mom hung a dream eater over my bed when I was younger to eat my nightmares, maybe it’s like that? Although not like there’s much of anything in these fields to hang one above me… 

But sometimes there have been times where I can’t really dream. I usually wake up in the middle of the night whenever this happens. Donald and Goofy are usually fast asleep, so sometimes I’ll just walk around and stargaze like the two of us used to back on the island.

I’m still not too good with navigation with the stars. I’m definitely still a work in progress when it comes to that. More often than not, I’ll usually just look at the stars and constellations and think about all the stories I'd tell you. Coincidentally, the other night I ended up finding the stars from your favorite story, Vega and Altair! 

I can’t help but feel the irony of how similar I feel to Altair right now… isn’t that right, Vega?

Speaking of which, I’m definitely going to have tons of stories to tell you once I’m back on the islands with Riku. Different worlds mean different culture, which means tons of different stories. Who knows, there might be other legends like Vega and Altair, except with more of a happier ending!

Some days, it’s like the only thing moving me forward are these thoughts.

I’ll be honest with you: I’m sad I can’t be with you or Riku. I love the adventure, but when I close my eyes, all I see is the deep blue sea surrounding our small green island. I see myself with all of our friends playing around. I think about the smell of the sea and the feeling of shade the trees always gave us.

But out of everything, when I close my eyes and think about home, the first thing that always comes to my mind is you, Kairi. When I lie down to rest for the night, I dream about being back home with you more often than not. Sometimes the dreams feel so… real. I smell the sea, feel the sand, and taste the paopu fruit that we share. 

But then I wake up. I’m back in these fields, following a seemingly endless path. 

But Kairi, I want you to know that while I may be sad, I’m not in despair. The thoughts of being reunited back home with you and Riku is what keeps me going. The dreams I have of being with you on the islands make me believe in a future where everything will be okay!

That’s why I’m writing this letter to you, Kairi. I want you to know that even if I have my lows, I’ll always bounce back up! 

I don’t know whether or not I’ll send it or give it to you in person. What I do know is that down the road, I’ll make sure to hear your response in person when I’m back on the Islands with Riku.

- Sora

---

When it came to writing this, my idea was that all these oneshots were supposed to be separate dreams that Sora had, only to wake up and realize he’s still in those fields Post-KH1. I got the idea from the song “Green Green, Grass of Home,” a song about a man dreaming of home, only to wake up in a prison cell.

I decided to go with something a bit lighter, but still hurtful lol. 

Over time, that dream evolved into a letter from Sora to Kairi, one where he lays out his homesickness. I thought it made a good parallel to my Day 2 entry, which was a Diary written by Kairi that she would eventually share with Sora. It only felt fair that Sora got his own oneshot to himself since Kairi got one. 

Sadly I couldn’t fit Day 4 into this. AU Day didn’t really fit well into the sort of “canon” I’ve made for the oneshots, minus the mention of stars of Altair and Vega. To explain this, in each of my oneshots I tried to make small mentions of stargazing and storytelling between Sora and Kairi the best I could. I did this because I love it when seemingly disconnected stories are part of a much bigger one. It’s why I stayed as KH-Canon Compliant as possible (with the exception of Day 4/AU Day obviously), so my oneshots felt like they had a place within the story of the games and the narrative I tried making.

As mentioned, this is my entry for Day 7 of Sokai Week 2020! The theme was “Down the Road”!

Thank you to the Sokai: Destined Oath Discord server for being so welcoming to a person like me and introducing me to this fan event. 

Thank you to the three friends that have acted as my Beta Readers, Painted With a Palette, BlissfulNightRain, and Gee. Especially Gee, because holy crap she came in clutch, beta reading 5 of my 7 oneshots!

Thank you to the seven different artists that I commissioned and gave me permission to post their artwork on my own Social Media accounts.

And most of all, thank you to the people who have read my oneshots for the week. Even if you read one, or you read all seven, I’m glad you took the time out of your day this week to read my works.

[cutegirlmayra]

Sokai Prompt

I’ve only really written a one of these but have so many ideas for them! This is just one of many I hope to put out there :)b

Prompt:

After helping another set of colorful characters in their world, Sora sits down on at the gummy ship with his usual, childish energy and happily places his feet Indian-style under himself.

He pulls out a very special section of his notes, taking out a pen and begins to cheerfully move his head as he writes. Back and forth,... a goofy grin and then back and forth... before nodding and pulling the pen away.

“Done!” he exclaims, mostly to himself. However, this attracts the cartoony attention of Goofy and Donald, who immediately lean over on either side of his chair, inadvertently trapping Sora as he looks to each of them.

“What’cha got there, Sora?” Goofy asks, relatively in innocence and pure curiosity.

In a duck’s poor articulation, Donald also quacks up, “Yeah, is it a love letter?”

“Huh?!” Sora, surprised by their sudden interest, goes to move the notebook away but Goofy sticks his nose right inbetween it. “Ah!” Sora was looking at Donald when he abruptly tried to close the book and gasped when Goofy’s nose made a honking sound. “Oh! Sorry, Goofy. Donald-!”

“Got it!” swiping the notes from Sora’s hand, Donald began to move to the side of the pilot’s chair and flip through it.

Sora fought ‘valiantly’ to get it back but Goofy held him back with one hand, giggling into the other in his infamous laugh.

Sora struggled as he switched from Goofy’s arm to reaching out for Donald. “Hey, no fair..!”

“Huh?” Donald’s eyes quickly skimmed the notes as he ducked his head into the book, reading quickly and animatedly. “This doesn’t make any sense...”

“Well, why don’t’cha read it out loud, then? A-ya-huk!” Goofy suggested as Sora finally pounded lightly on his hand and he let go, having Sora blush and reach for Donald.

“Dooon’t-! Offph!” he fell short as Donald stuck out his wand to pin Sora back, then trip him up so he fell straight to the ground while attempting to lean against the wand.

“It says, ‘a wonderful ride, maybe try some singing’?”

“Ohh... that is strange.” Goofy placed a finger up to his mouth. “Maybe it’s out of context, try and... uh... read some more!”

“No!” Sora’s head zipped back up, now on all fours. He looked truly embarrassed.

“Quuaah... ‘True love’s kiss breaks the spell every time, but maybe... true love is just being close to that special someone you hold close to your heart, and showing how much you care about them.”

“Stooopp!!!” Sora plugged his ears, pulling his hair a bit down on its sides in the process.

“Gwosh, sounds like Sora’s been doing some research of his own in the ways of the heart!” Goofy kid.

“Yeah! With each note, there’s a world we’ve been too. Awhhh... Agrabah. New Orleans... Wah! Here’s one from Dumbo! ‘It’s not the power of your special ability, like a keyblade or feather, that helps one to achieve their potential. Sometimes, it’s always just been inside you. If I can tell her my true feelings, which have always been inside me, then maybe I don’t need a Paopu fruit. Though I hear they’re very tasty... I wanted to wait to share one with-EMMPH! Emm, uhmph!” Donald was immediately seized upon by Sora’s hands shutting his bill tight.

With a face as red as his, he looked away and didn’t make eye contact, but Donald, while struggling, narrowed his eyes in determination and threw the book to Goofy, muttering something that sounded kinda like, ‘What’s the big idea?! Goofy!’

Goofy fumbled in a comedic way to catch the journal, then opened it up and began to laugh to himself multiple times.

Finally, Donald stomped on Sora’s big foot, “Oww! Hey!” Sora let go to reach his foot up, rubbing it, before forcibly slamming it down and having sparks fly between him and Donald’s eyes, a clear battle about to ensue before Donald turned his attention back to Goofy.

With a mischevious intent, he waved a hand out to gesture to him, “Goofy! Read it out loud!” then turned to Sora, hands confidently to his sides. “It’s about time you came clean... this could help you admit your inner feelings-WAHH!! Wha-Wha-whaa!!!” In the duck’s infamous cry, he dodged Sora’s keyblade swipe and ran from him as he charged.

“Get back herrrreee!!!” Sora called, as they raced around the gummy ship.

Goofy took a moment, scratching his head as though remembering to read out loud, and carefully plotting to speak clearly and read the sentences a few times, then finally nodded. “Ohhh’kay! It says ‘ere... umm... Oh right, sorry.” he flipped the page and laughed, as though looking at a blank sheet of paper. His eyes skimmed just like Donalds, holding the book really close before pulling it far away. “Duhh... ‘Grandmother Willow said to listen with your heart, and you will understand. Princess’...uh... oh! That’s gotta be ‘Pocahontas’ Gee... is that how it looks?” he turned the book to the side and squinted, as though incredulous to the fact that those letters all put together made her name. “Well, anyway, ‘Princess Pocahontas used that to learn John’s language. I’ve heard the saying that love is a language all in itself. Is that how she was able to communicate with him? Or even with us? Will Kairi know what I’m saying without really saying it with my mouth... but with my heart?’ Ah-yah-huk! Well, ain’t that the cutest thing!” He hugged the book close, still having it open, and shaking his head to emphasize his adoration of what he just read. “Reminds me of my Maxie! And his first crush. Why, he went all the way to that there Powerline concert just to keep a promise to her. Ah... I miss my boy.” He wiped a large tear forming at the side of his eye.

Suddenly, a keyhole opened.

Sora and Donald, in the midst of an absolute wrestle war, suddenly stopped mid-attack--a silly jumble of themselves--to see it.

“Goofy...” Sora, forgetting himself for a moment, noticed the keyhole and realized Goofy really did miss his son. He stopped the brawling momentarily, putting Donald at ease, and walked over to him. “Goofy... would you like to go back to your world now? Just for a moment to... check things out?” He smiled.

Goofy was extremely touched. Smiling wide, he then remembered the book and held it out. “We’ve been to so many worlds... You even wrote just here that when we went back to the Lion King world, Kiara and Kovu reminded you of how you’re constantly separated from Kairi... I guess... Ohhh... Me and Donald are constantly separated from our loved ones too.”

Donald sighed, “Daisy...”

“That’s right.” Sora looked back to Donald, “You guys sacrifice just as much as I do to be doing what’s right...” there was a moment of empathy in Sora, and he didn’t feel the need to be embarrassed about missing Kairi anymore, or the fact that he was writing down not only romantic devices he had learned from other worlds, but also colllecting his thoughts together to understand his own feelings.

He scratched the back of his head, “I promise, I’m not just goofying around.” he joked.

Donald laughed, but Goofy just smiled, “So, how are you gonna woo Kairi?”

He suddenly flinched and Donald laughed even harder, pointing to him, slapping his knee, and clutching his stomach.

Sora found a new reason to want to fight again... but instead, he just stomped a foot toward Donald and held up a fist, “Ohh! Like you could do any better!”

“I could! And I would!” Donald spat out, sticking his tongue out to tease his sensitive side further.

As the three headed into Goofy’s world to meet his son, the lyrics ‘Eye to Eye’ were the next Sora began to write down about.

“If we listen to each other's heart! We'll find we're never too, far apart, and maybe love(!) is the reason why,... for the first time ever, we're seein' it eye to eye.” Sora sang as he tapped his hands to the rhythm on the side of his captain's seat.

Goofy suddenly giggled.

So did Donald.

“What now?” Sora turned around, “Ariel taught me to sing and Sabastian said I had good pitch- AH!” Sora noticed the notebook still in their hands and their sly expressions of contorted, cartoony pleasure as they prepared to state what they were thinking.

“You want to stop by and ask Tiny Chef..” Goofy twisted one of his ears around his finger...

“-to help you make some...  Spaghetti?” Donald sneered, snickering in his infamous duck laugh.

Sora almost flipped to reach the two of them and rip the notebook away. 

[jcmorrigan]

Kingdom Hearts III Fix Fic Masterpost

(Queueing because I wrote this up at late o’clock when I wasn’t likely to get traffic, so I’m setting it for a more reasonable time of evening)

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m disillusioned with Kingdom Hearts III, and I have at least two projects on my AO3 that take different approaches to FIXING IT. But I’ve also, on my journey, found several great fics NOT BY ME that improve upon canon so much and this really just warms my heart because it proves that this entire fanbase has such a good grasp on these characters and concepts that our homebrews end up being more satisfying than the real thing, and I’m proud of us for being such frickin’ good writers. Not all of these are finished, I’ll warn you.

Anyway, if you were personally victimized by Kingdom Hearts III, you might enjoy one or more of these titles:

Points of a Star by Beastrage is a time-travel AU where, after the events of KHIII make way for an apocalyptic future ravaged by the Foretellers, the most unlikely squad in the world (Skuld, Vanitas, Naminé, Repliku, and Demyx) travels back in time to KHIII in order to make sure things go better this time. Featuring beautiful magical imagery and worldbuilding, addressing of character themes that really should’ve been talked over in canon, and just about every subplot you can think of getting a wrap-up. If you like that, you may also enjoy Beastrage’s other KH writings. Moon Out of Phase is another time-travel AU that changes the timeline, but instead begins all the way back in 358/2 Days, and our time traveler is Isa, finding himself with his post-III memories but in the body of Saïx in the World That Never Was with no explanation. Beastrage’s latest endeavor, Tell Me That I’m Real, concerns a girl from our world coming into consciousness as the Riku Replica’s original personality, and changing the timeline as of Chain of Memories by refusing to let Vexen erase her mind from the Replica’s body and deciding to go off script.

With All of My Heart by greylina acts as a KHIII sequel. Ten years have passed, with little incident. Riku pines for the lost Sora and seeks him for ten years. Then, with the power of love combined with a little magic and a stroke of good luck, he manages to travel back to Scala ad Caelum...to find Sora, ten years wiser, leading a peaceful civilization of oddly familiar people. Largely a feel-good, though it contains some intrigue. VERY SoRiku, which you know is good in my book. Also takes a “Where are they now?” perspective at what the lives of the KH ensemble cast might be like ten years after the fact, and expect some really cute and not-so-predictable background ships! It has a sequel, In the Spaces You Left, that concerns Kairi’s history during Sora’s absence and follows her through graduating school, forming a sisterly bond with Naminé, and falling in love with an OC who would become her wife. This one spends more time on the ensemble cast as well, so get ready for some cool worldbuilding on the Land of Departure and Destiny Islands as well as catching up with the rest of the Keybearer crew.

Riku’s Disposition Has Changed To: by PuppyGuppy managed to figure out before canon did that Riku is still Sora’s Dream Eater and should be able to locate him easily. Riku goes on a poetic, imagery-filled quest through the Final World and the Realm of Darkness to find Sora’s soul and bring him home. Another SoRiku. Includes Riku gaining permanent monster features (including wings), Sora dealing with PTSD, and the cutest bonding scene to end on that you ever did see!

You can tell I’m a SoRiku shipper. But if you want to see how I think SoKai should be done, take a look at To All the Worlds I’ve Written Before by AppleSoda. This is the Kairi-centric fic you’ve been waiting for. As the main quest goes on in the background, Kairi and Lea find themselves on their own little adventure when Kairi’s letters accidentally get mailed and she realizes she has to intercept her love confession to Sora before he can read it. What started as trying to get her letter back turns into Kairi dueling Organization XIII, befriending a few Disney heroines, teaming up with Riku for the Maleficent showdown we needed, and actually explaining a logical way to bring Xion back. AppleSoda also has a SoRiku fic, The Keyblade Master’s Guide to Journaling, which isn’t very far in but has already given the Frozen plotline of KHIII a major facelift, and another Kairi-centric series, Data and Dreams, which concerns Kairi taking her Mark of Mastery DDD-style in order to gain the means to bring Sora back home after III and running into several members of the ensemble cast in the Sleeping Worlds.

Dolorem et Consolationem actually doesn’t count as a fix fic, strictly speaking, but I’m including it here because it entertained me far more than III despite being canon-compliant. This fic is pure, undiluted IsaLea shipfic, traveling from Lea’s suicidal feelings of regret to the moments of comfort and domesticity shared between the two after moving in together in Radiant Garden to their adoption of a Found Family of Roxas, Naminé, Xion, and a dog. Mostly just ship development, but a lot of the ensemble cast turns up, and there is an undercurrent of intrigue regarding a mission to the World That Never Was to tie up loose ends.

And I’ve saved the most esoteric for last. Yes, this person is my friend, but this fic is also really, really good...though it’s not strictly a Kingdom Hearts fic so much as a fic that uses Kingdom Hearts lore for a backdrop for multicrossover shenanigans. Quite a Glittering Assemblage by @gavillain is a Maleficent-centric fic that features our favorite spurned faery gathering a team of Disney villains, Marvel villains, and some villains who just fit the right aesthetic despite having no Disney association in order to create a team strong enough to bring down the Thirteen Vessels of Darkness before they even get the chance to start a Keyblade War, given that Xehanort really, really made Maleficent angry. Expect villain protags, squad goals, and black comedy. The first fic is the only one that really acts as a fixer for KH canon, but if you liked it and want to continue the adventure, GAvillain is currently on the third work in the Quite a Glittering Assemblage series! (Oh, and there’s enough background SoRiku that if you’re still here for that ship, you’ll be well-fed, but arguably more importantly, if you were sad that Hades and Maleficent didn’t get along in III, well, they’re a primary ship in this series, so rejoice!)

Anyway, hoping somebody finds something of interest here! Happy reading! And KH fans, let’s keep continuing to kick canon’s ass!

[minijenn]

And now, cause im bored, here's every chapter of Keys briefly summed up in just a few words each (possible spoilers ahead??)

Prologue: The Thirteen Keys: MoM fucks with his students, what else is new

Chapter 1: Remaining Recusant: Riku rescues his boyfriend through the power of Gay

Chapter 2: To Guard the Light: Bunch of boring lore but Sokai makes it worth it

Chapter 3: To Seek the Darkness: Organization shenanigans; Vanitas divorces his shitty, abusive not-dad

Chapter 4: Hero to Zero: Uhhhhh fuckin' Hercules or somethin idk

Chapter 5: Go the Distance: Rage Mode angst is Fun

Chapter 6: Wandering in the Dark: Riku gets a haircut in the Realm of Darkness and Sora really needs to stop lying to everyone

Chapter 7: Promising Beginnings: Kairi and Lea are forced to wear a "get along" shirt

Chapter 8: Lazy Afternoon Streets: Sora has an Identity Crisis part 1

Chapter 9: At Dusk: YA STUPID ORG XIII FUCKHEADS BEST LEAVE MY SON ALONE OR ELSE ILL THROW HANDS

Chapter 10: Sinister Whispers: ^^^ BASICALLY THAT AGAIN ONLY I MEAN IT THIS TIME

Chapter 11: You've Got a Friend in Me: Being a living toy has gotta create some sorta existential crisis, right?

Chapter 12: To Infinity and Beyond: JEN IS GONNA THROW HANDS WITH YOUNG XEHANORT I SWEAR TO GOD I AM

Chapter 13: Chase the Shadows: Detectives Mickey and Riku play a round of "Where's Terra?" And fail miserably

Chapter 14: Paradise Found: Fun with Balloons and Grumpy Geriatrics

Chapter 15: Adventure is Out There: Sora may or may not fall to his death from ridiculously high up in the air i dont fuckin know

Chapter 16: Unspoken, Unheard: Kairi writes Sora a bunch of letters cause she loves him so much but wont say it cause she shy ahah

Chapter 17: How Far I'll Go: MOANA AND SORA ARE MY NEW BROTP

Chapter 18: Know Who You Are: Vanitas gets yeeted by the Ocean cause he a naughty boyo

Chapter 19: The Streets of San Fransokyo: Sora doesnt understand how Technology works what else is new?

Chapter 20: Immortals: everything's all fun and games until Sora's dumbass self-sacrifical complex kicks in (again)

Chapter 21: Depths of Despair: LOOKS LIKE I GOTTA THROW HANDS WITH MALEFICENT NOW TOO

Chapter 22: Rise and Fall and Rise Again: Sora and Kairi hang out and DAMMIT JUST KISS ALREADY YOU DORKS

Chapter 23: The Lost Empire: Lingering Will pops in to say hi and also uhhhh whatever the fuck happens in Atlantis goes down idk

Chapter 24: Where the Dream Takes You: Sora may or may not have PTSD, boi should probs go see a therapist

Chapter 25: Drowning in Darkness: Aqua throws hands then proceeds to get Norted

Chapter 26: I See the Light: Basically KH3's take on Corona but things actually make sense this time

Chapter 27: What Once Was Mine: In which that bit from KH3 where Marluxia knocks Sora out actually leads to some legit payoff smh

Chapter 28: Firsthand Experience: Kairi and Lea take a trip to Disney World and yeet Vanitas (again) right the fuck outta there

Chapter 29: The World Es Mi Familia: Being an (unliving) skeleton also is bound to raise an existential crisis, right?

Chapter 30: Recuérdame: I cry while writing this chapter, both for my baby Xion and because Coco is just that damn tearjerking

Chapter 31: Destined Reunion: ALL THE POLY DESTINY TRIO FEELS

Chapter 32: Something There: At this point even Riku be lookin at Sora and Kairi and shouting "KISS ALREADY YOU ADORABLE DORKS"

Chapter 33: Tale as Old as Time: Sora commits an Actual Murder (am i kidding? Who knooooows)

Chapter 34: The Realm of Darkness: DARK AQUA CAN STEP ON MAH FACE IMO

Chapter 35: Rise to the Light: Great, now Aqua has PTSD too, thanks for nothin, Mickey

Chapter 36: Return to Depart: Sora has another Identity Crisis, part 2

Chapter 37: Broken Chains: Vanitas challenges Sora and Ven to a fight in the Denny's parking lot and fucking loses what else is new

Chapter 38: So This is Love: YES THEY FINALLY KISSED THOSE DORKS

Chapter 39: Almost There: Frogs and also like... Voodoo and so many BBS callbacks so damn many

Chapter 40: Dig a Little Deeper: Sora is too damn stubborn to admit he needs help what else is new

Chapter 41: Follow the Light: Wayfinder Family Reunion saves my life

Chapter 42: Solving Mysteries, Rewriting History: Sora and Goofy meet Donalds family (who then proceed to take the piss outta Donald cause this is Ducktales fam why wouldnt they)

Chapter 43: The Other Promise: Sora has yet another Identity Crisis, part 3

Chapter 44: Vector to the Heavens: Sora and Roxas drink their "Respect and Protect Xion" juice

Chapter 45: Another Arabian Night: Sora, Roxas, and Xion fuck around in a B-list Disney Direct to Video Sequel

Chapter 46: Out of Thin Air: GONNA THROW HANDS WITH XEHANORT HIMSELF THIS TIME AROUND GET AWAY FROM MY SON YA OLD FUCKHEAD

Chapter 47: Alone on the Run: Sora has a Bad Time, Riku and Kairi also have a Bad Time, generally everyone has a Bad Time

Chapter 48: Trust No One: Ven and Roxas add onto the never ending Twin Pile that apparently exists in Gravity Falls

Chapter 49: Not What He Seems: I KNOW ITS NOT UF BUT LOOKS LIKE I GOTTA THROW HANDS WITH BILL CIPHER ANYWAY SOMEHOW

Chapter 50: A Heart Torn Between: Vanitas learns that Girls exist while Sora continues to have a Very Bad Time

Chapter 51: Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride: Riku's goin on a twink hunt, and dont think he dont know how to weeeeed em out

Chapter 52: Aloha 'Oe: Sora and Riku get into a bit of a lover's spat dont worry about it its nothin serious dont worry about it

Chapter 53: Treasured Memories: Namine is the Very First Person Ever to tell Vanitas he has emotional issues, its about damn time

Chapter 54: Let It Go: KAIRI'S FUCKIN PISSED SHE GONNA BRING HER DAMN DUMBASS WAYWARD BOYFRIEND HOME ALREADY DAMN also Sora hangs out with Elsa i guess

Chapter 55: Love Will Thaw: KAIRI KICKS EVERYONES ASSES INCLUDING SORA'S CAUSE LIKE I SAID SHES FUCKIN PISSED

Chapter 56: Back Into the Fold: Sora doesnt have an Identity Crisis anymore but he sure as hell has Anxiety now, part 4

Chapter 57: Farewell to the Wood: Absolute tone whiplash, brought to you by Winnie the Pooh and Sora's ongoing Existential Crisis too

Chapter 58: Link to All: Everyone just cries a lot for an entire chapter cause they all know they boutta fuckin dieeeee

Chapter 59: Face My Fears: I systematically rip every single one of our protagonists hearts out and stomp on each of them with no remorse whatsoever

Chapter 60: Fragments of Light: The B-Squad saves the day

Chapter 61: The Thirteenth Vessel: Sora hangs out with his New Fam, otherwise known as Organization XIII, family fun ensues and it totally isnt a massive angstfest i dont know what you mean

Chapter 62: Key to the Heart: Riku and Kairi throw hands with their boyfriend while also trying to save their boyfriend it makes sense if ya dont think about it

Chapter 63: The Final World: Sora is McFuckin dead and chilling in heaven with a cute baby plushie cat (hey its not a spoiler if KH3 did it first)

Chapter 64: At Daybreak: "But Jen, if you hate KHX so much then why do you keep making so many references to it???" BECAUSE THATS WHY NOW SHUT UP

Chapter 65: The Keyblade War: Keyblade Fight Club, either you Die or you DIE

Chapter 66: Clash of Light and Darkness: Bunch of teenagers throw hands with some bald old fuckhead, but in the end nobody wins except me

Chapter 67: Kingdom Hearts: You know you're in for something fucking nuts when the chapter title is named after the entire series

Chapter 68: The King and the Crown: Jen pulls off a plot twist so mind blowingly ridiculous that it would probably make Tetsuya Nomura blush

Chapter 69: Reconnect: Everyone has a happy ending except no not really i lied

Chapter 70: Don't Think Twice: Oops I Lied again :)

Epilogue: Dearly Beloved: Fuck KH3's ending this is my new canon now

[xdestinykey]

Angry

KH3 Spoilers. Post-ending Sokai.

“I just like talking to Sora. Even if it’s on paper.”

Kairi writes letters as a way to cope with her grief. 

Sora,

I’ve heard that time is supposed to heal all wounds. But maybe there are just some wounds that cannot be healed. I think the wound from losing you is one of those.

In the time that has passed in your absence, I have felt tired, I have felt hurt, I have felt broken. I thought I had gone through every emotion one could possibly feel after losing someone.

But now, I feel angry.

I’m angry at myself.

I’m angry at the others.

I’m angry at the universe.

I’m angry at fate.

And I’m angry at you.

I’m angry that you believed my life was worth more than yours. I’m angry that you made the decision that I will have to live the rest of forever without you. I’m angry that you knew the consequences and the risks that came with saving me and you did it anyway. I’m angry at you for leaving. And I’m angry at you for not coming back.

I’m angry that my feelings for you are only intensifying the pain I feel without you. I’m angry that I love you and never told you. I’m angry I will never hear it back.

I’m angry that you will never know peace. I’m angry that you will never come home. I’m angry that you won’t grow old with Riku and I on the Islands like you wanted.

Most importantly, I’m angry that you deserved happiness more than anyone else and this is what you got instead.

Part 2 of the Series Saying Goodbye- Letters to Sora. Part 1.

[star-sworn]

they really didn’t have to go so far as to have Sora and Kairi’s matching angel wings display all the memories of precious moments between them that show their lifetime of love... but they did it anyway

[phoenix-downer]

Love Letter

2280 words. Contains spoilers for Melody of Memory. SoKai. Romance, Angst, Fluff, Pining, Mutual Pining, Valentine’s Day, Valentine’s Day Fluff. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! 

Successor of sorts to this story I wrote for Christmas.

The weeks flew by as Kairi’s training continued. Though it was halfway through February now, it was still very cold outside. Snow blanketed the ground, and Valentine’s Day was going to be chilly. Back home, Kairi would’ve made chocolates for her friends and family, so she took it upon herself to make some for Terra, Aqua, and Ven.

Chirithy, unfortunately, got no chocolates, as Kairi figured it wasn’t good for cats of any kind to be eating chocolate. But she made some nice treats for the little cat spirit to substitute. 

There was one more person Kairi wanted to make chocolates for. But would it make any sense? He couldn’t eat them, not where he was now… 

Maybe it was pointless. 

“No, it’s not pointless,” she muttered to herself. “The heart behind them is what counts.” She made those chocolates look as nice as possible and put heart and effort into every single one of them. Added little messages and hearts to them too. 

“Those for Sora?” Ven asked when he bopped into the kitchen to grab a snack. 

“How’d you guess?” she asked as she put the finishing touches on the last one. She was glad Ven didn’t question the logistics of how Sora would be eating these chocolates or judging her for making chocolates for her sort-of-dead boyfriend in the first place. 

“He’ll love them,” Ven said. “They look awesome.”

“Thanks.” 

Kairi was quite pleased with the result. She’d been making chocolates for years, and she’d gotten pretty good at it. 

Ven took a bite out of the sandwich in his hand. “You know what else you should do? Write him a letter.”

“Oh, I’ve written him lots of letters.”

“No, I mean… A love letter.”

Kairi flushed. “You really think so?”

“Trust me, he’ll love it. I was in his heart for years, remember? I got to hear aaaaaall about how much he wished you would do this and that for him.”

“O-Oh.” Kairi tried to avoid thinking about the full implications of that statement. “And love letters were high on the list?”

“Yep, especially after you wrote him that letter that brought him out of the Realm of Darkness. ‘Man Kairi is amazing, I really wish she’d write me more letters,’ Ven said in a pretty accurate imitation of Sora’s voice. “So yeah. He wants more letters from you.” 

She sighed sadly. “I should’ve sent him the ones I was writing to him during my training with Merlin. I kept them to myself instead, and I—”

“It’s okay. I’m sure he understands, and he’ll be happy to get a letter from you now.” 

Terra, Aqua, and Ven all knew about how she could contact Sora. And she was the only one who could do it, which led them to believe the legend of the paopu fruit was more than just a legend. Something had changed about reality that fateful day, like sharing the fruit had bound her and Sora together in more than just a metaphorical sense.

She thanked Ven for the suggestion and neatly packaged the chocolates in a little heart-shaped box. With that, she retreated to her room and closed the door. A quick spell ensured a nice fire was going in the fireplace in the corner, and she sat at the creaky desk and pulled out her stationary. 

“A love letter, huh? What exactly should I say?”

Sora, she began. “Ummm… What do I say next?” She got all flustered thinking about what to say. 

Happy Valentine’s Day! Roses are red, violets are blue,

“No, that’s so cliché!” She groaned and crumpled the letter up. “Here, let’s try this again.”

Sora, 

I wish I’d sent you those letters I wrote to you during my training with Merlin. I regret that I didn’t do that, so I’m writing you this letter now. 

A blush crept up her face as she thought about what to say. She didn’t want to sound sappy and corny, and in her earlier letters she was only able to be as open as she was because she didn’t send the letters to Sora. 

I like you, a lot. I think that’s pretty obvious. But I’ve never sat down and explained why, and you deserve to hear it. 

Ever since I first met you, I’ve been drawn to your smile. I always feel better when you smile. It doesn’t even have to be at me, you know? Just seeing your smile warms my heart.  

And I can’t mention your smile without mentioning your big heart. You’re so kind and caring, and if it weren’t for you, our friends wouldn’t be safe and whole. I wouldn’t be safe and whole. 

She stopped writing. Thinking about his sacrifice still made her emotional. 

Sora, thank you. 

You’re welcome. 

She gasped and dropped the pen. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, but it still took her by surprise. Sora possessing her body at random intervals because he wanted to talk to her, reassure her, protect her. 

When she’d collected herself, she brought the pen back to the paper. 

Hey, she wrote.

Hey, was the response scrawled on the paper when she let him take over. I know it’s not the same as me being here, but I wanted to wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. 

I made you chocolates. 

Really? Awesome! Can’t wait to eat them. 

I hope you like them!

I’m sure I will. Chocolates from Kairi? Dream come true.  

She knew her face must be turning bright red. The room felt warmer in a way that had nothing to do with the fire.

I’ve made you chocolates before, remember?

Nah, those were giri chocolates. You made those for everybody. These are different. 

Who says the chocolates I made you before were giri chocolates?

Oh, they weren’t? 

Uh-uh. You just thought they were :P 

Well, you gave them to everyone… 

But yours were always specially decorated, didn’t you notice? 

There was a long pause. Kairi was beginning to think that she’d lost the connection to Sora when at last he moved her hand again. 

I did. I just didn’t dare hope you felt differently about me. I wanted you to, but I was too scared to ask. 

We both were. Too shy, I mean. 

We’re not now, are we? I mean, we shared the paopu fruit. We’re finally on the same page about how we feel. 

She sighed and rested her hand on her cheek. Were they though? Sora’s actions proved how he felt, but Kairi couldn’t help but wonder if her feelings were enough. She also wondered if Sora’s feelings were a general “would’ve done this for anyone” or “would’ve done this only for you.”

Something’s on your mind. What’s up?

It’s silly. It’s not something I should be worrying about. 

Your feelings are never silly to me, I promise. 

I shouldn’t be insecure about this. 

About what? The paopu fruit? Kairi, I wanted to share it with you, trust me. I only hesitated because I knew how serious a commitment it would be, and I wanted to make sure I was ready. 

No, it’s not that, it’s more… I don’t feel like I’ve proven how much you mean to me. Not the same way you have.  

Do you have to? 

She sighed. He had a point there. No, it’s something I’ve put on myself. 

Why? 

I don’t know how else to show you how I feel. 

There are plenty of ways to do that. The chocolates, this letter… Trust me, I don’t want you dying on me, even if it is to save me. 

She bit her lip. She felt the same way, only it didn’t feel right to tell him she’d prefer him alive and whole. That would be a slap in the face after his sacrifice. 

Besides, you’ve already shown me, he continued. You brought me back from being a Heartless. You freed me from the Realm of Darkness. You kept me alive when I should’ve died at the Keyblade Graveyard.

If only I’d been strong enough to keep you from disappearing. 

There it was, all her grief and regret and self-loathing summed up in one single sentence. It blurred in front of her, and thick tears fell on the page. She just sat there and let the tears flow until she felt another tugging at her hand. Both her hands. Her right hand went to the paper, and her left hand gently wiped the tears away.

I won’t tell you not to cry. You have every reason to cry, Kairi. I just wish I was there to comfort you. 

You are comforting me. 

It’s not the same as holding you in my arms. 

Then you’ll just have to make up for it the next time we see each other. 

I can do that, and I’ll do you one better. When we see each other again, I swear, you’ll be crying tears of joy. 

I’ll hold you to that, Sora. 

Her hand trembled a little, and she realized she wasn’t the one who was shaking. Sora was nervous? Why?

Kairi, he finally wrote, and the letters were sloppier than normal, I know I show how I feel through my actions more than my words, and when I do say stuff, I tend to beat around the bush. I don’t wanna do that anymore. You deserve to know what I’m about to tell you. 

Her heart beat quickly, and she took back control. 

Tell me in person, then. I want to find out what you have to say when we see each other again. I want to hear the words from your mouth, from your heart, spoken with your voice. 

Whatever he had to say, it would be better if she could see his face, hear his voice, hold his hand. A letter was nice but it wouldn’t be the same. 

Okay, but I don’t know when I’ll be back. What if I can’t get out of here on my own?

Riku’s searching for you, and I’m training hard. One of us will figure something out. 

I don’t wanna wait, came the words so quickly Kairi could barely make them out. I want you to know. I can’t keep my feelings locked up anymore. Can’t keep them hidden or buried. They’re pounding inside my heart, tearing me open day by day, and it’s killing me. I can’t take this separation anymore.  

Then I’ll come for you. I’ll rescue you, and you can tell me then. I promise. 

That seemed to calm him down a little, but Kairi sensed he still needed comfort and reassurance. Time to do what she could. She turned her left hand over, palm facing up, and rested the pen on her skin. 

“Sora, hold out your palm too,” she said softly. Maybe this would work, maybe this wouldn’t. At the very least he’d be able to see it on her body, right? 

“I want you to wait to tell me how you feel about me because I want to hear your voice when you do,” she said. “But I never said I couldn’t tell you how I feel about you. You need this to keep you going. To give you the strength to face each day until I find you.”

Slowly, carefully, she wrote on her skin. When she reached the final word, her hands shook as the full meaning of her message sank in for Sora.

“There,” she said softly. “Whenever you’re feeling down, all you’ll have to do is look at the palm of your hand and remember how much you mean to me.” 

In that moment, Sora fully took control of her body. A wave of emotions washed over her that weren’t her own, and he brought her hand to her mouth and kissed it, the closest he could get to kissing her hand himself. She smiled, amazed that her message was enough to get him to react like this. She felt his heartbeat in her own, beating out a staccato as it raced and pounded and struggled to be contained. 

When he brought her hand to the paper again, it was to write one last simple message. 

Kairi, thank you. 

You’re welcome.

Till next time. 

Till next time. 

With that, he was gone. For now, anyway. He’d visit her again, Kairi knew he would. And she would bring him home herself, just like she’d promised. 

She set the chocolates on her bedside table. Time for dinner. 

Ven grinned when she strolled into the kitchen. “Look at that big smile. I’m guessing you took my advice?”

“Maybe,” she coyly said. 

Ven peered at her hand. “A-ha, what’s that you have written there? A love note?”

She quickly hid her hand. “None of your business.” But her lips were twitching and she knew Ven had probably seen at least part of the message. 

Oh well. It didn’t really matter, because the words had their full depth of meaning to her and Sora alone. That was the beauty of her feelings for him. She could express them in a way that only he would truly understand, and it made the message as beautiful as the meaning behind it. 

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

In a world without Kairi and a reality far from hers, Sora unfolded his hand. Written on his palm was a simple message, simple but heartfelt. It had worked. It had really worked. Kairi’s words were with him, had stayed with him despite the odds, and they made all his fears and doubts melt away.

He rested his hand over his heart and closed his eyes, a soft smile on his face. His voice was hoarse, but at last he could use it. 

“Kairi, thank you.”

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

A/N: This fic is dedicated to the lovely @angel-with-a-pipette​ for all her input, feedback, and suggestions! Thank you again for the help!

And a Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! Thank you for reading!

[silva-heart]

Sokai The Space Between Us AU

Chapter Two: Don’t Think Twice

"Aerith, I can't do it!" Ava sobbed, as horrible, burning tears spilled down her cheeks. She blinked profusely and scraped them away with the heels of her palms, repeatedly wiping her eyes on her already soaked pink sleeve. "I can't marry Eraqus, I just can't! I can't live like this. I'll die if I have to. What am I  gonna tell mother and father? What about the dandelions? What--"

"Ava." Aerith called, gently catching Ava's frantic fingers. Her voice was soft, but still demanded silence and attention.

Ava tried--hiccuping and shaking, blinking clouds from her vision. She was already developing a slight headache. Her wet sleeve clung to her wrist as tears dripped from her fingers.

"Ava, it's okay." Aerith promised, so sweet and genuine that Ava almost couldn't argue.

"W-what?" She asked, her voice weak from crying.

"Of course you can't marry him." Aerith said, as if it were the most natural and reasonable conclusion. "You don't love him--not romantically, anyway. You only just turned of age. You shouldn't be forced to get married at all."

Ava sniffled, and choked out another sob.

"But--But I'm the princess, Aerith." She said, head dropping in despair. "It doesn't matter if I don't love him. They'll make me, or they'll try to. They always do."

"They can't make you do anything." Aerith said, and for once, she sounded so defiant and angry. "You've done everything they've ever asked of you. If you don't want to marry him, you shouldn't have to. And if they try to make you, then you run."

Ava winced. Run...?

As in... Away?

Abandon her people and her parents... And just disappear?

But that was, was so selfish!

Could she be that selfish?

"I... I don't know if I can do that, Aerith." Ava said, crooking her finger and wiping away the last of her tears with her knuckle. She placed a hand over her heart and took a deep breath. "I could never see any of them again. Or you. I don't know if I could bare that either..."

Aerith shook her head. "You don't have to decide anything now. You have time, don't you?"

"Three days." Ava answered, shaking her head in denial. "Not much time at all."

"It's. Still. Time." Aerith insisted. "And it's yours. Your mother and father will understand."

Even if it meant they'd never see me again? Ava wondered.

"Thank you, but..." Ava began, the contents of Aerith's letter flashing behind her eyes, "...Is that all you called me out here for?"

"It's important." Aerith promised, playfully bumping their shoulders.

"Yeah, but... I feel like there's something else on your mind?" Ava probed, and she could've sworn Aerith's knees twitched--one of her tells, a sign she was keeping secrets.

Aerith paused, and smiled sheepishly.

"Childhood friends can be scary." She joked, and turned to draw circles in the fountain water with her finger. "But, you're right. There was another reason I wanted to see you."

Her tone had changed. She sounded exhilarated, but terrified.

 Aerith had always been beautiful in a quiet way. She didn't really show it off much, but her charming expressions, her sweet-but-somber personality, the way she always walked with a bounce in her step with her hair braid bobbing behind her--all her little traits and quirks just made her beauty more pronounced, more noticeable.

But now, she was especially pretty. With new light in her eyes, and a sweet smile set on her face, it was as if the quiet despair which had plagued her since long before she encountered Ava was gone, replaced with pure bliss.

She was positively glowing.

Ava's eyes zigzagged down her figure and landed on her belly...

...And noticed, finally, that it was a little rounder than usual.

Ava sighed in awe.

"Aerith, are you...?" She asked, prompting Aerith to turn and smile at her.

"Yes." She confirmed, placing a hand over her swollen belly. "Zack and I are expecting a child."

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