#it's just true. he cares about roxas and feels bad about the situation that him and roxas both were put in.

[storm-driver]

from here

[currantlee]

Language: English Rating: General Audiences (G) / P6 Warnings: - Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Genre: Slice of Life Characters: Roxas, Kairi Relationships: Roxas & Kairi Words: 5,118 Chapter: 1/1 Beta: No beta, I’ll die like Ven (didn’t in KHUX) Notes: I apologize if there are any vocab / grammar errors as English is not my first language. I hope you enjoy it regardless 😊

Roxas blocked the strike just in time. He had thought Kairi was aiming for his hands in order to knock the struggle bat out of his hand, but as it turned out, she had aimed for his legs instead.

He staggered backwards. Her strikes weren’t exactly powerful – she wasn’t the strongest fighter in general, neither on offense nor on defense. A single well-placed hit could render her incapable of going on in a serious fight. But Kairi was quick enough to avoid most if not all of these, and her impossibly high stamina was giving Roxas a hard time actually securing any kind of hit in their current sparring session. He knew he was running out of strength, and the hot, humid air of Destiny Islands wasn’t doing him any favor either. If he didn’t manage to land a hit soon…

Another strike followed swiftly, but this time, he didn’t manage to block it – she hit his arm full-force. Which, considering that it was Kairi, wasn’t much. But even with just a Struggle bat as a weapon, it was enough for Roxas to drop one of his bats.

She didn’t give him any chance to recover, let alone counter. At least Roxas was able to block the next strike this time, even though he already missed the bat he’d dropped. He really was better off dual-wielding.

Kairi aimed for his legs once more – no, wait, she was aiming for his flank! He managed to jump out of the way just on time, but still…

Roxas gritted his teeth. He needed to get back on the offense.

Another strike almost hit his other arm. She knew she had her chance, and she wasn’t going to miss out on it. knew that it was only a matter of time until she secured her victory in this match. He hadn’t been quick enough landing his hits on her – if she didn’t get cocky and gave him another opening, this was a loss.

Maybe he could…

Roxas smirked and took a small step forward, despite the fact that she was obviously going for another attack.

Kairi stopped her attack and withdrew immediately. She changed into a more defensive stance, obviously thinking that she had given him an opening, and prepared to block his incoming strike – one that would not come yet. Kairi lowered her bat in confusion.

There was his chance.

She let out a yelp of surprise as she staggered backwards. She obviously hadn’t taken the possibility of a bluff into account. Then again, Roxas didn’t use the tactic very often.

But Kairi wasn’t finished yet.

Just as Roxas wanted to take this opportunity and go for another strike, she dropped her bat and charged towards him, tackling him with her entire weight. He yelped as he dropped his other bat, both in surprise and an attempt to catch her, lost his balance and fell onto his back. Good thing the sand of the beach was so soft.

Kairi, who was slumped right across his upper body, rested her head on her hands and grinned at him over her shoulder. “Do I win?”

He might have lost both of his bats and Kairi had more stamina than him, but that didn’t mean Roxas wasn’t able to fight anymore. She let out a squeak when he suddenly flipped their positions. Now she had her back on the ground, and he was on top.

Roxas grinned. “Not so fast.”

“Aw, come on,” Kairi protested with a fake pout. “I had you!”

“Had,” he countered. “Because now I have you.”

She smirked. “You sure about that?”

Roxas could tell she was up to something. She always had that mischievous smirk on her face whenever she was about to make a rather dark-natured joke or planning something. She probably had another surprise move in stock… Should he put a little more of his weight onto her? He didn’t want to hu-…

Something started tickling on his flank.

“Hey, that’s unfair!”, he yelped. He couldn’t help but start giggling immediately afterwards though. He pressed his eyes shut out of a reflex. He had to laugh so hard that he could barely breathe, and it was hard to control the rest of his body.

“I thought the bad guys don’t care about honor and rules,” Kairi said, and Roxas could almost hear the smirk in her voice. “So why should I?”

“Stop!”, Roxas laughed instead.

“Only if you admit that I win.”

“Never!”

“Hm. That’s truly unfortunate.” Kairi managed to sit up somehow, even though she push him off her entirely. She smiled mischievously. “I guess I have to keep tickling you until you finally admit to your loss…”

In moments like these, Roxas wondered whether she truly was a Princess of Heart. Weren’t they supposed to be pure light and good? Well, Kairi surely had a devilish streak. “Fine! Let’s call it a draw,” he giggled. He knew that despite her claims, she wouldn’t keep this up forever, but he didn’t know whether he could hold out until then.

“… Okay.”

And finally, the tickling stopped. Roxas took a deep, relieved breath.

“A draw it is then,” Kairi smiled.

For a moment, time seemed to stop. Suddenly, he could hear the chirping of the insects, the birds singing, the roaring of the sea and the waves crashing at the shore – all those things that had been there all the time, but he seemed to have forgotten or simply not perceived them.

Then, he realized he was laying right on Kairi’s lap.

If he could have, Roxas would have blushed now. He could almost feel his vascular liquid flowing into his cheeks, and the characteristic cackling of a slightly embarrassed Nobody escaped his throat.

“You know,” Kairi smiled, “it’s a real shame you can’t blush. I bet it would look cute on you.”

“I could put some rouge on if you want to see what it would look like on me,” Roxas offered. It wouldn’t be the first time he did this, although he had to admit that the thought of wearing it because Kairi wanted to see how a blush would look like on him was much more pleasant than wearing it in order to hide that he was a Nobody. Not all worlds were as accepting of them as Destiny Islands and Radiant Garden were.

“Aw, that’s sweet! You don’t have to though,” Kairi quickly dismissed the offer. Maybe she thought that he minded wearing makeup – which Roxas did, but it was more because he minded having to hide who he was than the makeup itself. Therefore he was glad that he didn’t have to do that in most worlds.

“You’d like it though,” Roxas pointed out.

The always-present peach flush on Kairi’s cheeks intensified – she was blushing. Heh. He had caught her. Roxas smirked. “Well, look who’s blushing now.” It made her look very cute.

Kairi giggled softly. “Okay, you win this round.”

It was like someone had wiped all of the mischief off of her. If Roxas hadn’t known her as well as he did, he wouldn’t have believed that the girl who had tickled him until he admitted that he hadn’t won their sparring match earlier and this girl who giggled while admitting that he got her were the same person. But they were one and the same person. It was incredible how Kairi could be impossibly cute in one second and incredibly mischievous in the other, and one of the many things he liked about her.

Kairi was just overall a very likable person, Roxas thought. She was a great friend who always looked out for others, even though she could be mischievous at times. She was always so patient and never got annoyed with his or Naminé’s incompetence when it came to everyday stuff, instead trying to understand their situation as best as she could. She was dedicated to whatever she set her mind on, something that Roxas found admirable, especially when it came to fighting. It clearly wasn’t her strongest suit, but despite that, she kept trying her best at over and over again.

“I gotta say though, you are improving,” Roxas smiled while sitting up. “When it comes to sparring I mean.” He didn’t think anyone could match her when it came to wits – or at least Roxas hadn’t met anyone yet.

“You think so?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I really had a hard time against you today.”

She blushed again, and even turned away. “I got lucky,” she tried to brush it off.

Roxas shook his head. If she had just gotten lucky this once, he wouldn’t have struggled as much against her. “There’s always a little bit of luck involved in a fight,” he argued. “But I don’t think it’s just that, Kairi.” There was no reason for her to be humble about her growing skill, so he wouldn’t accept it.

“Are you sure about that?”

Roxas smiled and nodded. “You still aren’t the best fighter, that’s true.” He wanted to be honest with her. “But you don’t have to be. You have other qualities that are far more important than that.”

Kairi smiled. “Thank you for saying that, Roxas.” She was still averting her gaze. “You’re so sweet.”

Another cackle escaped him at that. He didn’t want to address it any further though, so he just shrugged while he stood up and patted the sand off his swimming trunks. They were at the beach, so he had figured it would be a good opportunity to finally wear them, even if he didn’t go into the water. “I’m just telling you how I see it, that’s all.” He held out his hand to her in order to help her up. “Wanna go for another round?”

“Maybe later,” Kairi answered as she gently took his hand and stood up as well. Roxas noticed that she was trying to do most of the work by herself. “I could really use some cooling off right now, and you look like you could too.”

She was right. He was still sweaty, and while the climate on Destiny Islands wasn’t searingly hot, it was fairly humid. Roxas didn’t hate it, in fact he even liked being on Destiny Islands, but he preferred Radiant Garden when it came to the climate, especially when it came to physically demanding activities like sparring.

“Would you mind if we go into the water for a bit?”, she asked.

Roxas gulped. Yes. Yes, he did. To be fair, he should have known that training on the beach would lead to that sooner or later, but…

The warm feeling of Kairi’s hand on his shoulder interrupted any more incoming thoughts. She looked at him with a concerned and slightly serious expression. “It’s okay if you don’t want to,” she said. “I know even the thought of setting a foot into the water scares you. But the sea is quite calm today. It’s completely save.”

It didn’t look that way to him. The sea looked dark and deep – how deep, he had no idea. Maybe Kairi knew. Besides, the water was moving. Sure, the waves weren’t as strong as they were on most other days he had seen, but they were still there. Could the force of a single one be enough to knock him over?

Roxas sighed. He knew that he couldn’t avoid any water that wasn’t rain, from a shower, in the sink or for drinking forever. Besides, Kairi was here. She had saved him once already. If he was save near water with anyone, it was her. He had to start somewhere.

So he nodded. “I’ll try.” His voice came out a lot more quiet and squeaky than usually.

A wide smile spread across Kairi’s face. “Okay. Shall I go up ahead?”

“That would be fine with me,” he said. “Just… Don’t go too far away, please?” Roxas felt silly saying this, but he also didn’t want to be alone out there.

“Alright.”

She didn’t waste a single second. While Roxas still fiddled with his shirt, admittedly dawdling, she already made her way to the shore and walked into the waves. She was wearing one of those water shirts alongside her bikini panties, and had already discarded her shorts before they started sparring.

Roxas sighed again after he had finally pulled his t-shirt over his head, and bashfully scratched his arm. He felt so stupid… Like he was overreacting. Rationally, Roxas knew that back when he had almost drowned, it had been because he had been wearing a heavy, black coat and been thrown into the water by complete surprise, without even knowing that he would have to keep himself afloat. Rationally he knew that now, this wasn’t the case. But it didn’t feel that way. It still felt dangerous and like something he’d rather not do because he wanted to live a while longer. And while Roxas knew by now that emotions and rational thinking didn’t work in the same way, it still confused him whenever his heart and mind weren’t just slightly off-tune, but directly opposing each other.

Well, there was no way around this anymore – he had already agreed to going into the water with her. Roxas sighed once more and finally followed her slowly. He absolutely didn’t feel like running towards the shore, it was not like he was looking forward to this. Sure, he was sweating as well, but still…

He stopped. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea at all.

A rather large wave came and reached his feet. It wettened the sand underneath his soles, and washed around his feet. Roxas was surprised to find that it was cooler than the humid air around him, but not unpleasantly cold. Maybe he should go in, just a little bit? But then again, what if the water pulled him downwards again, under its surface? If he couldn’t breathe again? Then he would…

Roxas gritted his teeth and pressed his eyes shut. ‘Maybe as long as my feet stay on the ground, I should be safe.’ The last time, his feet hadn’t been on the ground… It had been too deep down for him to stand. But as long as he could, everything should be okay, right?

He took a few steps forward, until the water reached his ankles. The sand beneath his feet was surprisingly soft, and not hot like on the beach at all. Maybe it was the water since it was cooler. He took another step. This really wasn’t so bad…

Roxas opened his eyes, only to see Kairi floating in the water with her face up and her eyes closed.

No… No, no, no, no, no! This wasn’t good… This couldn’t be good! Was she unconscious? Had something happened to her? Why had this to happen now? What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t swim!

“Kairi!”

She wasn’t too far away from him. Roxas remembered the promise they had made to each other, that if one of them were to come into a life-threatening situation, the other was not going to sacrifice themselves. But he had to try and do something! Maybe his feet would still reach the ground where she was now…

Disregarding the fact that he was in the water, Roxas walked over to her as fast as he could. It made every single step harder, and not just because he felt like he was risking his life. It slowed him down significantly, as if it was pushing against him. The waves didn’t help either.

He didn’t want another person who was important to him to die… He had lost too many of them already. Losing her too… He couldn’t bear the thought of it. Fortunately, Kairi was drifting not too far off.

Surprisingly, the water wasn’t too deep – it barely reached his hips when a wave rolled around, so it had to be shallow enough for her to be able to stand without problems as well. What had happened?

It didn’t matter now. He needed to get her out of the danger first… If he could. Roxas tried to remember how Kairi had done it back when she had rescued him from drowning, but the memory was foggy. He knew that she had pulled one of his arms onto his back, was he supposed to do that too? Wouldn’t that hurt her? He knew his arm, especially the wrist, had stung afterwards, although a simple healing spell had quickly fixed that.

He decided to go for the option that seemed like the most comfortable one to him: to simply grab her under the arms and try to pull her out of the water.

Kairi let out a tiny scream. With a movement that was a lot swifter than Roxas would have predicted, especially considering how much harder the water had made reaching her, she was back on her feet and turned around. Roxas almost expected her to summon her Keyblade as well – if she wasn’t who she was, she probably would have, judging by her expression. Fighting was usually Kairi’s last resort if everything else failed.

“Roxas? Sheesh, don’t give me a scare like that…”

He raised his hands in defense. “Sorry,” he murmured. “It’s just… You were drifting motionlessly and I thought…”

‘I thought I was going to lose you too.’ He didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to even think about it. That meant thinking about the people whom he had lost already. Thinking about that time he almost lost his own life. Thinking about the possibility that it might happen again. Thinking about how he didn’t want to lose her in particular… And forgetting about the bliss that was not thinking too much.

“Oh.” Kairi bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I should have considered that…”

Roxas shook his head. “It’s fine,” he said. “You can’t take everything into account. Besides, you just gave me a scare, that’s all.” He was pretty sure that wouldn’t happen again. Next time, she’d probably warn him or something – that was just how Kairi was. Snarky and mischievous, yes, but also kind and considerate.

“Oh, okay. I guess we’re even then.” She sighed in relief and let herself fall onto her back again. Roxas was surprised to see that she stayed on the surface of the water – despite her feet not touching the ground.

There was a strange beauty to Kairi floating in the water like this, he thought. Her hair was open today, and right now, it flowed around her head like gravity wasn’t a thing anymore. Her entire being seemed to be weightless, but especially her hair. It was long, and floated around her head in three-dimensional waves and swirls, creating unique and fleeting patterns. It was actually darker than its usual maroon whenever it was wet – Roxas liked to compare the color to chili chocolate. But when the sun was shining on it, the red came out even more. But the water seemed to distort some of the light, and those distorted reflexes just added even more depth to those patterns.

She seemed to be completely in her element, and she made it look so easy… But he knew the dangers of the water. He had almost fallen victim to them himself before. Seeing Kairi float like this, even when he was right there and had already overreacted… It made him feel even more uneasy than he already was.

Roxas swallowed. “Why are you doing this?”

She opened her eyes a bit. “Because I find it relaxing,” she replied. “Trust me, the water isn’t as scary once you know how to move and to keep yourself afloat properly. It can even be your friend.”

That sounded like the complete opposite of Roxas’ experience with this element – the last time his feet hadn’t touched the ground of a stretch of water, he had felt like something was pulling him under the surface of the water constantly, and he hadn’t been able to breathe, let alone cry for help.

“I can show you what I mean if you want to.”

He had to admit, he was curious.

“Does it involve going into the water any deeper or… You know…” He took a deep breath. It was getting ridiculous at this point – he couldn’t even say one single word. Roxas gulped. “D-Diving?”

Kairi shook her head. “Nothing like that,” she said. “I just thought about carrying you around a bit.”

“You mean a piggyback ride?” They had done that before, although he had been the one carrying her. Roxas wondered how that was supposed to show him that water wasn’t scary.

“I mean bridal style.”

Oh. So she was talking about carrying him in front of her, in her arms. Roxas had to admit that he kinda liked the idea,  but at the same time he couldn’t help but think about how she was going to manage that. The one time he had carried Kairi before had been extremely exhausting, and he was probably a bit heavier than her. Plus, even though Roxas admired her seemingly limitless stamina, she wasn’t exactly physically strong.

Besides, there was the issue with the water. It had pulled him down last time, why should this time be any different? Could she really withstand that pull downwards?

“I don’t know…”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Kairi said. “It’s just a suggestion.”

“I might be too heavy for you,” Roxas pointed out. “No offense, Kairi, but… You aren’t exactly the strongest…”

“True,” she nodded. “The water will carry a lot of your weight for me though.”

That sounded like the opposite of Roxas’ previous experiences with water… But he also knew Kairi wouldn’t suggest this if she wasn’t absolutely sure. If he had to entrust his existence – his life – to somebody, it would be her. It wasn’t like she hadn’t already saved him from drowning once, and Roxas had no doubt that she would do it again if she had to.

He didn’t want to bring her into the situation again, but the fact was just… She knew better than him with his fear of deeper stretches of water and little life experience. If she deemed it safe, then perhaps it was a lot safer than he thought.

Roxas slowly took a few more steps into the water, closing the distance between them. By the time he stood in front of her, he was deep enough for the waves to cover the scar on his abdomen.

Kairi waited for him patiently. Since she was smaller than him, the water reached up to her ribcage.

Roxas swallowed. “How do you suggest we do this?”

Kairi smiled, hearing that he really wanted to do this. “However you feel the most comfortable,” she said warmly, and that alone made Roxas feel a little bit more secure. “We can go a bit closer to the shore if you feel more comfortable with that, or…”

“Can I just hold on to you?”, he interrupted her. He didn’t know where that came from – he just felt a lot safer with her.

Kairi shrugged. “Whatever you feel most comfortable with.”

If she wanted to carry him bridal style, he couldn’t just hug her, Roxas realized. So he put his arms around her neck instead.

Kairi wrapped one of her arms around his torso. “Ready when you are.”

Roxas nodded. “Okay.”

He actually didn’t like the thought of his feet leaving the sandy ground of the ocean at all, even with Kairi holding him… Didn’t that mean he brought her into danger too? Since he couldn’t swim… What if he panicked in her arms? Would she be able to handle that?

Roxas didn’t remember that time when he almost drowned too well. He only remembered not being able to breathe and the feeling of being dragged down. The way Donald and Goofy had described it in their retelling of the events however, it sounded like he had been panicking back then too though. Kairi had been able to save him despite that. She knew what she was doing… But also, Roxas didn’t want to bring her into this situation again.

… Fine. He just had to not panic then.

Roxas lifted one of his feet up. He immediately felt the waves stronger than before, like they were trying to push him off balance – would he fall? Was this it? He pressed his eyes shut and gasped for air. Maybe he could…

“Easy,” Kairi said, and he felt her other arm in his kneecap, realizing that she kept him from sinking. “One step at a time.”

He opened his eyes again. Kairi looked completely calm – not scared in the slightest. Somehow, that made him feel a bit calmer as well.

Roxas knew from experience that fear rarely got better from waiting too long. If he left his other foot on the ground for too long, it would eventually take over once more, and they would get nowhere from there… And he had come this far. Roxas grit his teeth as he took another breath, then pushed himself off the ground.

There was the fear again.

He gasped for air once more.

‘Don’t panic.’

Now that both of his feet weren’t on the ground anymore, he just waited for the water to pull him downwards once more.

‘Don’t panic!’

Or a for a wave to wash both him and Kairi away. He just hoped she would be able to come out of this unharmed…

‘Don’t panic!!!’

This had definitely been a bad idea… A thousand things could go wrong…

But nothing happened.

Roxas opened his eyes again – he hadn’t even noticed that he has pressed them shut this time around.

The first thing he saw was Kairi’s face. She was smiling at him, with a sense of pride in her expression. “You did it.”

For a short, weird moment, Roxas wanted to argue. He hadn’t really done anything, except successfully suppressing a panic attack, but before he could say that, he realized something way more important: he wasn’t sinking. Despite the fact that his feet didn’t touch the ground anymore, the water didn’t pull him under the surface. Sure, Kairi was there holding him too, but for some reason, Roxas didn’t get the feeling that she was fighting to keep him afloat. It was almost as if she didn’t have to carry the entirety of his weight – as if the water was helping her.

“How are you doing that?”, Roxas asked. “Are you using magic or…”

Kairi laughed. “Actually, I’m not doing much,” she confessed. “The water keeps you afloat on its own. It’s just what it does.”

“But…” The last time it hadn’t done that. “How?”

Kairi laughed. “I don’t know if I’m good at explaining this, but it’s basically because water is part of what your body is made of.”

That couldn’t be right. Ansem had explained Roxas how a body worked in detail when he had first nursed him back to health after…

“It’s made of cells,” he corrected her. “And I think those are made of various carbon compounds, not water.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Kairi shrugged. “Still, your body contains lots of water too, but a lot less salt than the sea does. Salty water is heavier than sweet water is, so you float on the surface.”

Huh. That sounded logical. Still… “The water was salty too last time though.”

“But you weren’t wearing swimming trunks back then,” Kairi pointed out. “Clothes tend to drag you down when they get wet.”

That made sense to him as well. “Fair point,” Roxas admitted. Maybe this was a lot safer than he had initially thought… He even relaxed a little.

Up until now, Roxas hadn’t realized how tense he had been – he had been clinging to Kairi’s neck like his life depended on it. To be honest, that was how he had felt. But after all, it didn’t feel all that dangerous. Even if Kairi wasn’t able to hold him anymore, he could simply put his feet back onto the floor of the ocean.

“Hey, would you mind if I go in a little deeper?”, Kairi asked. “I think that would make it a bit easier for me to carry you.”

Roxas didn’t know how he felt about that… Did deeper water mean greater danger?

Kairi smirked in that mischievous way she always did whenever she was up to something. “I promise I will never let you drown.”

Somehow, the joke did its job – it managed to get a small, albeit nervous laugh out of him. “Good one!”

Roxas knew that Kairi would never expose him to danger on purpose. He trusted her. Besides, if it was too much, he could always back out. She would never force him to face his fears, even though she sometimes gave him the motivation he desperately needed. Besides, he really wasn’t a good judge when it came to water.

So he nodded. “Alright.”

Kairi smiled. “Tell me when to stop, okay?”

“Okay.” He didn’t plan to though. He wanted to push his own limits a bit, and how to do this better than together with someone he trusted, who also knew the thing he was afraid of a lot better than he did?

It was still good to know that he had the option though – even if he didn’t plan on using it now.

Kairi walked deeper into the water slowly. To Roxas’ surprise, he barely noticed it. Either Kairi was lifting him up higher by herself, or the water was – most likely a bit of both though.

She stopped once the water reached her chest. “Is this okay?”

Roxas nodded. “It’s fine.”

He relaxed some more, this time his entire body. Now that he did, he suddenly felt how tired his muscles were, and not just from the training earlier. A general wave of sleepiness washed across him. Must be the adrenaline rush wearing off…

Roxas leaned back so the back of his head was against the water. For some reason, he didn’t mind the water flowing into his ears anymore, nor did he mind the muffling of all the sounds he had heard before. Instead, he could hear a light, quiet crackling. Kairi was right… He had done it. And he would do the rest that it took to learn how to swim as well… Maybe not today, but this was certainly a beginning. But he couldn’t have done this without her.

He lifted his head a bit and smiled at her. “Thank you.”

Kairi smiled back. “You’re welcome, I’m glad I could help a bit.”

Roxas sighed as he leaned back once more. “You know, Kairi… As long as you’re with me, I know I’m safe.”

[minijenn]

Keys to the Kingdom Preview

Hhhhh hilarious how I’m stalling resolving that damn cliffhanger by starting this chapter off with stuff not even really related to it. Anyway Riku and Kairi need to interact more, they’re both worried about their Mutual Idiot Boyfriend. Oh and Axel’s there too, third wheelin, I guess lol:

Riku takes another lengthy pause, seemingly ignoring the annoyed sigh Kairi lets out over his continued silence. Mostly since he needs to take his time in trying to piece this peculiar mystery together, in trying to figure out where Sora might have gone and why. “Ven said Donald and Goofy were with him when he left that world?” he finally asks, what feels like a lifetime later to Kairi. 

“Yes,” Kairi nods affirmatively. 

“Where did Ven say they were going?”

“He told us they were going to try and get the Key back they’d lost to Luxord,” Kairi explains, reiterating an excuse she still doesn’t necessarily believe. “But… I guess they got sidetracked with looking for the Key to Return Hearts? Ugh,” she groans, running a hand through her hair and not even caring about how she might be disheveling it in the process. “None of this makes any sense!”

“No, it doesn’t…” Riku agrees, a hand perched against his chin. “Did anything else strange happen while you guys were in that world? Stranger than usual, I mean.”

“No, not that I--wait,” Kairi stops herself short. Her eyes widen as a crucial detail, largely lost in the shuffle of everything else, finally lands at the forefront of her mind once more. “Luxord said something to me and Aqua, something that bothered me so much that I called Sora about it right after. H-he said… he said that ‘Xehanort’s been keeping a close eye on Sora’.”

“What?!” Riku instantly bolts upright in his seat. Somewhere in the background of the call, Kairi can hear Mickey curiously call his name from elsewhere in the cockpit. Riku largely ignores the king however, in favor of focusing on the incredibly alarming statement he’d just heard. “What else did he say?” he demands, his former calm composure completely gone now. 

“That was it,”  Kairi admits, hating how intentionally vague the gambler had been. He’d given her just enough to fear, both then, and now, for something so concerning, yet something so unclear all at once. “Like I said, I called Sora right after, and he said it was nothing to worry about, but… now I’m not so sure. Riku, what if… w-what if something bad is happening to him? Something neither of us even know about…?”

Riku closes his eyes, forcing his racing thoughts to slow, his rising dread to fall back under the surface. He’s fallen prey to thinking in terms of the worst case scenario before, his pessimism a longtime trait he’s been trying to work on reigning in. Worrying over something that might not even be true won’t get them anywhere, he knows that, especially with as little evidence as a mere foreboding statement from a single Organization member to go off of. And yet… after the promise he’d gotten, not once, but twice that Sora would be honest, that he’d tell him the truth if anything was even remotely wrong... “Sora, I swear, you’ll be luckier if Xehanort himself finds you before I do…” he mutters, so quietly that Kairi can’t even really make out what he’s saying. He pauses for another beat or two, pinching the bridge of his nose as he lets out a long, exasperated sigh before addressing Kairi once more. “Ok, let’s… not jump to any conclusions here,” he tells himself more than her. “As long as he’s still with Donald and Goofy, then I’m sure he’s safe. But before we do anything else, we need to find him.”

“Right,” Kairi soundly agrees. “That’s why I’m here. As soon as I meet up with Axel, we’ll-”

“You called?” Kairi let out a surprised squeal as someone suddenly taps her shoulder. She quickly eases up upon spinning around to find Axel standing behind her, offering her a wry grin of greeting. 

“Hey there, former fellow classmate,” he says casually. “You get enough sleep last night? ‘Cause you look like you’re just a little bit on edge today.”

“You have no idea,” Kairi sighs, sending him a small smile all the same. 

“Kairi?” Riku speaks up over the phone. 

“Oh! Sorry, Riku,” she quickly glances back at the device. “Axel just got here, so we should probably get going-”

“Right, y-yes,” Riku interrupts. Kairi frowns when she hears his tone waver, something so slight and small that  certainly no one else would have been able to notice. No one, save for someone who’s such a long time at his side like she has. She doesn’t even have to wonder if the stress of this situation is already starting to get to him like it’s reached her; she can tell, just from the shadows cast over his usually bright eyes, the tension drawn up in his shoulders. She’d hug him if she were on that Gummi Ship, hug him and hope that she alone could even come close to being enough to fill the void of the one they’re both missing. “The two of you look around there. I’ll fill Mickey in on what’s happening and we’ll see if we can find any sign of them in any other worlds we come across, just in case they might have left Twilight Town already.”

“Ok, we’ll call you as soon as we find anything out,” Kairi assures. She stifles a smile when he lets out a small sigh of relief. “But… here’s hoping Sora is the one to call either of us first.”

“I feel like that might be a bit too much to hope for at this point…” Riku half-jokes. “Be careful out there, Kairi. The last thing I want is you going missing on me too.”

“Hey!” Kairi protests in faux offense. 

“Don’t worry,” Axel cuts in with a playful smile. “I’ll make sure to keep an eye on her.”

“Hmph, more like I’ll be the one keeping an eye on you,” Kairi shoots back, lightly elbowing him in the side.

“Well, as long as you’re both looking out for each other, that’s what really counts,” Riku chuckles, amused. “Good luck out here. I’ll talk to you both later.”

“Bye, Riku,” Kairi returns warmly as Axel waves his own farewell. After the call comes to an end, he’s the first one to speak to their new shared mission.

“Sooo,” he begins, leaning up against a nearby building. “What’s the plan?”

Kairi bites her lip, glancing away apprehensively. “I… was sort of hoping you had one.”

“You came all this way hoping I had a plan to find your missing boyfriend?” Axel arcs an eyebrow at this. “You know I’m already here looking for a way to help Roxas and Naminé, right? Last thing I need is to be tracking down a third kid on top of those two.”

“I know…” Kairi sighs, rubbing her arm. “I’m sorry for coming here to distract you; I want to help Roxas and Naminé too, but… I just… can’t shake the feeling that Sora might need my help right now too…”

Axel properly stands, genuine concern filling his features as he looks his former classmate over. “Is it the same feeling you had when he was captured by Maleficent?” he asks, his tone more serious than before. 

“It’s… sort of like that…” Kairi lightly skims her heart with her fingertips. “But it's nowhere near as strong as it was back then. It’s almost like… his heart is still calling out to mine, but it’s getting fainter… like it's harder for me to hear his voice. Like the connection between his heart and mine… is fading…”

“Tch, I find that hard to believe,” Axel notes with a smile. “The connection between the two of you seems like it’s stronger than ever, especially what happened at the ball.”

“I thought it would be stronger after that too, but… our hearts don’t lie,” Kairi shakes her head, her gaze set on the ground. “Something’s wrong, something Sora isn’t telling me about. And I need to figure out what that something is.”

[imagine-organization-xiii]

How DTF they are at any given moment? (Minus babies or course)

Sam is just on a roll lately in the middle of everything else she has to do, so give her a big round of applause

-

Xemnas - He’s not opposed to the sex, but if it is an inopportune time, he will NOT engage. Sadly, evil schemes against magic teenagers come first. 3/10

Xigbar - Listen, we all know he’s a hoe. Doesn’t matter where he is. He could be in the middle of the fight of his life, but if you are willing, he’ll still pull you into a closet for a quickie. Finding obscure places to screw and not get caught has even become a sort of hobby to him. 10/10

Xaldin - Xaldin is… hard. His DTF level is directly related to how much he trusts and is connected to you. If you are just a fling, he probably won’t engage until an opportune time. BUT if he is close with you, he is more likely to.. Bend the rules and be with you if need be. 6/10

Vexen - HA. No. If he’s busy, Vexen is BUSY. You could be the love of his life, but you will always be second to his true love, SCIENCE. On top of that, sex really isn’t a huge priority to him, though he does get needs every once in a while. 2/10

Lexaeus - He will NEVER admit it, but Lexaeus definitely has needs more than he lets on. But of course, he definitely gets too flustered to act on it in most situations, or even admit it! But if you really begged him, he probably would cave in and be DTF 7/10

Zexion - While you would think that he would be shy or embarrassed about his sex life, Zexion actually sports a sense of rebellion that he never quite grew out of. He is not always down , of course, but he is more likely to be down than some of his colleagues. 6/10

Saix - During a work day, Saix wants nothing more than to focus on his work. He is mild mannered and very focused on his tasks at hand. 4/10 But of course, there are outliers. And that is over the 3 nights where the moon is the most full every night. Those days? All you need to do is give him a look and he is READY 9.5/10

Axel - He’s cheeky, and a little but snarky, but given he isn’t somewhere IMPORTANT, Axel is usually down to clown. THE ONLY EXCEPTION is if he is with either Roxas or Xion, because he feels bad ditching them to get laid. Anyone else though? Dropped like a sack of potatoes 8/10

Demyx - Well in most opportunities, if you are trying to be sneaky and vaguely proposition him for sex, he will probably not understand what you’re saying . And when you do explain to him, he is going to get VERY flustered. So if either his confusion or embarrassment doesn’t deter him, and it is promised to be less work than he currently is doing, he might just be down. 5/10

Luxord - Oh man. You are implying sex around Luxord? Doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing. He is 100% interested. And if you can make the sex into some sort of game? Oh it’s over for you. Most often, his favorite game is Teasing you so that you are dying to make noises but knowing that you can’t or you can get caught, and you returning the favor. 10/10

Marluxia - Marluxia isn’t one to be in need of affections often, but he loves indulging his S/O when they are in need. It just gives him a sick delight in seeing how desperate his beloved is for him, so much so that he often is willing to take care of them. 7/10

Larxene - If she isn’t in the mood or you aren’t crying in desperation for her, she probably isn’t going to be DTF. It just seems like a lot of work and she doesn’t want to go through it all right now. Like, how is she going to peg you in the Starbucks bathroom on the fly? Not happening. 4/10

[blackasteriia]

A List of Reasons Why I Hate the ‘Sea Salt Family’

AKA It’s Sunday Tuesday and I’m back at it again at Krispie-Kremes

(Abuse tw; violence tw; salt tw; suicide tw)

I have mentioned, in passing, my problems with the prevalence of the Sea Salt Family in fandom and my problems with it. I’ve never written a comprehensive post on it before. It’s Sunday though, I have the salt, so let’s do it. 

The Sea Salt Family is roughly presented, but not explicitly laid-out, in canon. At the end of KH3, Xion, Roxas, Lea, and Isa are shown sharing ice cream on the clock tower together. Since the introduction of Xion and Roxas’ character, ‘sharing ice cream’ has been a declarative statement of friendship and camaraderie. It was the origin of their friendship. Thus, the inclusion of Isa is a signal of his admittance into the reformed friend group. The intention of this scene was to show the reconciliation and unification of these characters. To cement this, it seems that Nomura has bundled Roxas, Xion, Lea, Isa, and the Twilight Trio, into a shared plot. They are mentioned in Re:Mind, by Riku, as searching for Sora through Roxas and Xion’s memories.  

Common fandom interpretation takes this one step farther. The assumption is that Lea and Isa have adopted Xion and Roxas. This puts Lea and Isa in a parental role over the kids. Often times, this is done in a shipping context for Lea and Isa. Sometimes Lea and Isa have a good relationship, with two lovingly adopted children. Other times Xion and Roxas become contention points for the main ship-- Isa’s punishment for being a jerk is taking care of the kids. 

Fandom does take into account that the canon scene itself in KH3 is flawed. Lets overview Lea and Isa’s relationship, with both of the kids. 

Roxas spent the majority of 358/2 Days oblivious to the machinations going on around him. However, he identified a rift between Axel and Xion that developed in the midpoint of the year. He recognized that Axel had done something to estrange her and by the end of the game, blamed him for it. He was also angry at him for attacking Xion the first time. When Xion ran away for the second time, Roxas confronted Axel and forced the truth. Axel had been lying about Xion --sometimes intentionally to assuage Roxas’ concerns-- and then attempted to justify his actions to Roxas.The revelations of Axel’s lies --and outright manipulation, diverting Roxas from finding the truth-- causes Roxas to leave the Organization. Axel later attacks Roxas (twice) when Xemnas orders him to do so. At this point, Axel makes no attempt to find an alternate solution. Axel is enraged at Roxas for leaving and even forgetting him (which is a weird thing for an adult man to feel about a child, I might add). He is mocking of Roxas’ confusion in the data Twilight Town. Axel then attacks Roxas with the implicit intention to kill Roxas. Thus, we see that Axel’s relationship to Roxas is manipulative and built on lies, instead of trust. Axel also shows little regard for Roxas’ autonomy (”You’re coming with me, conscious or not.”). Roxas knows that Axel will lie to him. Roxas knows that Axel will assault him. If Roxas enters the post-KH3 relationship with no reservations then he is an oblivious moron. 

When it comes to Xion I do not give Axel the benefit of the doubt. Axel is introduced to Xion, by Roxas. At the beginning of their friendship he does not see her face. He becomes aware that she is a replica but decides to give her a fair shake, due to his experience with Repliku. Eventually, he does see her face. They seem to get along for the first part of the game. However, when Xion goes to Castle Oblivion to learn the truth about herself-- Axel moves to block her. He gaslights her (’there’s nothing to see here’) and grabs her to stop her (a violation of her physical autonomy btw). She goes on into the castle and Axel does not mention the incident to Roxas (a lack of transparency and honesty in relationships). Xion is missing for almost a month. She returns, speaks with Roxas (who also grabs her and violates her physical autonomy smh), and is then attacked by Axel. Axel kidnaps Xion and returns her to the Organization against her will. Xion did not want to return to the Organization. Roxas requests that she return with him and she moves away from him. Before Axel attacked her she was going to leave. (Later, Nomura attempts to feebly justify Axel’s behavior by saying Xion is glad he did this. We’ll call that Xion attempting to assuage Roxas’ worries). Xion later goes to Axel for advice about what to do. Axel implies that she’s ‘stealing more than her share’ from Roxas. We are, as a reminder, talking about Xion killing herself here. Later, Axel lets her leave, and then still follows Xemnas’ order to attack her and kidnap her again. I do not believe there is any love loss between Axel and Xion. He betrayed her, gaslit her, attacked and assaulted her, kidnapped her (twice), and showed a cruel disregard for her autonomy. There is no reason for her to trust, or even like him. Their ‘friendship’ ended around day 255 in Castle Oblivion, and any attempt for Nomura to convince you otherwise is deliberate attempt to write over the real trauma that Axel caused her. 

Saïx and Roxas have few interactions. However, I read Roxas and Xion as child soldiers. They are slaves, they are working for no payment. Saïx is the man in charge of them. He hands out the missions. We are shown that Saïx primary concern is their efficiency in collecting hearts. Roxas and Saïx interactions include Saïx telling him what his mission is, and how to prepare. Saïx, however, outright pits Roxas and Xion against each other. Even at one point, attempting to have them murder each other. (If you read the manga, and want to consider it for analysis, Saïx even attacks Roxas). Their relationship is cold, hostile, and interlaced with the knowledge of Saïx obvious emotional abuse of Xion. No reason for Roxas to trust, or even like, Saïx. 

Take everything above about Saïx and double it for Xion. The profesional and cold demeanor of Saïx is stripped away to reveal an openly hostile, cruel personality. Saïx insults and degrades Xion (”You were a mistake we never should have made”.) Xion refers to him with fear and wariness, often fearing his retribution for failures. He misgenders her and disregards her personhood. He does this out of a self-stated jealousy. He sees Axel growing close to the kids and then lashes out at the easy targets. Saïx outright abuses Xion, and the threat of harm is as effective as the actual action of doing harm. Saïx wanted Xion dead, and as best as I can tell, she knew it. I have no reason to believe that his opinion of her would change from 358 to KH3. It does not make sense that Saïx after KH2 would attempt to ‘save’ Xion. He doesn’t remember her and he wouldn’t remember her all the way until the Keyblade Graveyard. Vexen’s notes would not include Xion’s personality or any of her relationships, she was, at best, two weeks old when he left for Castle Oblivion. Saïx is not shown interacting with Xion in any manner in KH3. In fact, the ‘Xion’ introduced in the Keyblade Graveyard is not Xion. Xion is in Sora’s heart. So, not only is their relationship confusing in KH3, it’s also not meaningful. Vexen mentioned Saïx wished to ‘atone’ but we never hear Saïx true intentions from the horse’s mouth. Or, if he just did it to make nice with Lea. He still refers to the kids as ‘Lea’s friends.’There is no established development between Xion and Saïx proper. Xion would have no reason to believe that Isa no longer wants to kill her, and Isa would have no reason to no longer want to kill Xion. 

Despite all of this, Nomura wants us to believe that all of these characters are reconciled. The text offers little to believe that this is the case. There is not a single scene where any of Isa and Lea’s past behavior is addressed, or an apology made. Nomura’s reading of his own text fails to recognize the abuse and trauma that he wrote Xion and Roxas’ experiencing. He has a fundamental lack of understanding of the consequences and psychology of his own characters. Furthermore, he believes that the friendship they built in the Organization stands on its own. Even though Axel: gaslit, assaulted, kidnapped, and manipulated both. For example, Nomura reads his threat to Xion (”No matter what, I’ll always bring you back.” = ”I will always return your to your abusers, regardless of your wishes, even if I have to assault you to do so.”) as a promise and declaration of friendship. Why else would Xion tell Roxas that Axel kidnapping her is a good thing? Nomura believes that the Organization -- even though we’re talking about the group of people who abused, enslaved, and murdered them-- is good for Xion and Roxas. Why else would the ‘symbol of their friendship’ be the Recusant Symbol in Re: Mind? Thus, their friendship with Axel is good for them. Why else is it romanticized in KH3? Therefore, there is no reason to confront or discuss previous acts of abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, or assault. 

The story of 358/2 Days is not a story of two children shaking free of the shackles of their abusers and oppressors as they grow into their own, independent, unique personalities. It is a story of two children who are abused and manipulated by the adults in their lives. Who are then murdered and discarded as soon as they hold no use for the plot. Xion’s entire character is written with the intention to motivate Roxas to leave the Organization. That is why 358/2 Days was created as a game. That is why her character was introduced. The systematic stripping of her autonomy and personhood is present in the text itself, and the meta-text. She is fridged, and then that death is milked for man pain of Roxas and Axel. Nomura’s own sexism created and destroyed her character. So, much to the point that when fan consensus demanded she be brought back: he gave her no lines and no personality. He couldn’t even muster the spine to give her an original moveset for her Re:Mind data fight-- she’s just a copy of Roxas. That’s all she is to him and that is all she will ever be to him. 

And the fandom seems, for the most part, to be in concurrence with Nomura. We have asked Xion and Roxas to be in a healthy relationship with the two adults who have overtly abused them. The problem is not the writing of the Sea Salt Family. That trope, on its own, is fine. The true problem is the fandom’s failure to address the abuse in the Kingdom Hearts story. 

 Saïx actions, as poignant as they may or may not be in the rescue of Xion and Roxas, do not absolve him. Saïx used his position of authority and power over them to cause them tangible harm. Emotional abuse hurts as much as physical abuse and the effects are long lasting. Especially, when we know that Xion and Roxas were completely subject to Saïx. As far as Xion was aware, if she disobeyed or failed him-- her life was forfeit. What Saïx did in KH3 was take the first step of reconciliation. He fixed his most obvious mistake which included being complicit in the murder of children. Good for him. Now, he has to make tangible changes in his behavior. He must make apologies that shows he understands what and how he was wrong. This apology should be voluntary and not forced by Lea, or whittled out of him by the kids. He must take responsibility for his actions and preform further restitution. He can’t shove blame on the kids, he can’t say ‘Xemnas made me do it.’ No, Saïx caused them harm, and he has to be responsible. Anything less is in an incomplete, false apology that does not match the severity of his actions. And even if he executes a perfect apology, guess what?

 Xion and Roxas do not have to feel grateful to Saïx. They do not have to forgive him. They do not owe him anything. He was their abuser. If they do not feel ready to forgive, they don’t have to. Furthermore, forgiveness and healing is a process. One and done will not realistically fix the level of trauma that these children have experienced. I have seen the expressed attitude that of course Xion and Roxas would forgive Isa. They’re good kids! To which I ask, would bad kids not forgive their abuser? Xion and Roxas would still be good kids, even if they don’t forgive the man who abused them. That’s not how this works. They are the victims here, they have been done harm, and they deserve the space to heal. If they do not want Isa in that space, then that is their right. Maybe, Roxas and Xion decide to forgive Isa, maybe it takes time, maybe they never do. It depends on how they work through their pain and trauma. Of course, repeat all this with Lea. Because as much as the fandom likes to give him a free pass for his ‘good intentions.’ Those ‘good intentions’ still hurt Roxas and Xion. You could say his actions are justified given his circumstances. That does not change their impact. Xion and Roxas know --based on Axel’s own behavior-- that he will throw them under the bus if it’s convenient. They have not met Lea. They do not know him. They have no reason to trust him. It is Lea who must do the work to fix that. Not Xion, not Roxas, it is Lea who has to prove himself trustworthy again. 

It’s alright to draw Xion, Roxas, Isa, and Lea having ice cream together, or living a happy life. However, it is also necessary to address the problems. How does Xion feel living with Isa, who misgendered and emotionally abused her? Does Roxas feel at all threatened by Lea, knowing that he once attacked him? How did Lea and Isa work to address their mistakes, and reconcile with the kids? How are they addressing the real trauma that Xion and Roxas have experienced, especially the stuff at their own hands? Most depictions of ‘The Sea Salt Family’ skip past all the hard work and jump to the fun part. We’re shown Lea ‘forgiving’ Isa, when it is not Lea’s place to do so. We’re shown Lea bringing Isa, Roxas, and Xion, into his home, with little regard for how this may affect the kids. I feel as though in most depictions, Xion and Roxas are accessories to Isa and Lea’s romantic relationship. Another point of conflict or a source of fluff. This ignores the autonomy of Xion and Roxas, it ignores their struggles and character. Worse yet, it echoes Nomura’s own erasure of their trauma. Don’t write Lea and Isa adopting Xion and Roxas if you’re not prepared to talk about everything that comes with it. 

Also consider that Xion and Roxas are extremely vulnerable. They have between them, total, two whole years of experience. They have never gone to school. They have never had friends outside of the Organization. (The Data Twilight Trio are not their actual ‘friends’ and Nomura makes no sense, I’ll die on that hill). I cannot state how easy it would be for Lea or Isa to continue a pattern of abuse with them. You say, Lea and Isa would never do that! To which I say, they have done that, and we have little canon proof that they wouldn’t do that. 

Are you catching my problem here? 

Do you see why having Roxas and Xion get a happily ever after with their two abusers is not a good idea? Because Nomura did not write a true redemption arc for either Isa or Lea, we do not see any fundamental changes in their character. Axel has been showing willing to commit cold blooded murder. Can you show me how he is now prepared to take care of two extremely vulnerable, traumatized, and abused children? Maybe, in your own writing you don’t think Lea is prepared to take care fo the kids. Okay, that’s fine, there’s some nuance-- but do you still write him taking care of them? Why do you think that is the best situation for Xion and Roxas? Because they have nowhere else to go. How is that acceptable? Knowing that the two children who have been abused have so few resources available to them that they have no choice but to stay with their abusers? Maybe, as a fandom, we need to stop caring so much about Isa and Lea’s feelings, and start caring about their victims. 

I don’t want my reader to leave this essay and think, ‘I can’t write Sea Salt Family.’

You can write Sea Salt Family, but you have to order some nuance. 

Think about the best Redemption Arc in living memory: Zuko. Zuko was shown kidnapping and attacking Katara in Season 1. Yet, I am perfectly fine with Zutara as a ship, why? 

1. Katara is shown capable of standing-up to Zuko, defending herself, and challenging him. In Siege of the North Part 1, she is shown equal to, if not superior to, him in skill and power. Katara can kick Zuko’s ass and he knows it. By the end of Season 1, there is no longer a power imbalance between them. Abuse requires a power imbalance and Katara and Zuko are shown standing on equal footing.

2. Zuko and Katara then have a change in their relationship. Zuko has his change of heart in Ba Sing Se. In the crystal catacombs he shows empathy to Katara that she responds to. He even takes this point to issue his first apology. However, he betrays this budding trust by following Azula in attacking Aang. 

3. Zuko reconciles with Katara and builds a friendship with her. This includes Zuko apologizing for his past actions. But also doing what he can to fix his mistakes. He works to understand and listen to her anger and pain. He helps her find the man who killed her mother, on her request. He allows her to take the space and time she needed to address her trauma. Not just what he did to her, but what the fire nation did to her. He shows a clear change of behavior and remorse for his past actions. Katara and Zuko, by the end of the series are friends who trust each other. I can believe it because of the intentional work and time the show put into the relationship. 

Now look at the above. You tell me where Isa and Lea did all that in canon?  Think about point 1, Katara and Zuko are pretty much the same age, as two years of difference between adolescents is not a significant age gap. Xion and Roxas, are literal toddlers, and Lea and Isa are in their late-twenties. There is a natural power imbalance between these characters caused by age and experience. Which means it’s even more on Lea and Isa to take responsibility. Furthermore, what about point 1 or 2? Xion barely has any lines in KH 3. We do not hear her story, we do not hear her experience, and we do not hear her accepting the apology Lea did not make. Canon is flawed in its execution of the Sea Salt Family. Fandom has a real chance to step-in where Nomura failed and succeeded. Yet, over a year since KH3′s release, I have seen few attempts to do so. 

Abuse in relationships can be addressed. Abusers can take responsibility, apologize, and make amends for their actions. I do believe that Xion and Roxas can forgive Lea and Isa, if and only if, Lea and Isa earn that forgiveness. I believe that in theory the Sea Salt Family could be a wonderful example of found family, forgiveness, love, and healing in media. However, in practice, most examples of it fall short. The challenge there-in, is to write and portray the nuance, complexity, and triumph of a real relationship. Not a superfluous, weak, or shallow one, that looks pretty and is heartwarming, but instead a deep story, that is deserving of the characters it attempts to represents. 

[snowflake-of-destruction]

For the “send me a ship meme.” I have two. Akuriku and RikuRoku

 I’m  going to do these in two individual posts because I am a wordy person who gets carried away. Akuriku first and Rikuroku later or tomorrow.

1. How do much do I ship it?: Never heard of it/ Notp / Dislike / used to ship / maybe / ship it / aww / otp / IS IT CANON YET

Big surprise. Everything I am sent is going to be "ship it" even if it wasn't already once I have to concentrate on it.

2. What non sexual activities do they like to do together?

Video Games

Hikes. Axel's hesitance toward strenuous physical activity going out the window when Riku suggests paths that end in scenic overlooks. We know Axel is all about climbing to high places with nice views.

Philosophical debates and deep talks. They both seemed inclined and would appreciate someone wanting to dig into the mysteries of or deeper issues with life and daily living with them. I see them on the same level. "I never thought much about that" is not an answer either of them would utter, both because it's generally not true since both spend a lot of time thinking, and, because, if it is something they hadn't considered or don't know much about, they can both quickly make it up. On the other end of the spectrum, neither is so intellectual or psuedo-intellectual as to leave the other behind. 

Naps. Riku cannot stand even the idea of naps initially, much less the idea of taking one himself, then Axel just pulls him into/back into bed or tricks him there to koala/cobra wrap around him and refuse to let him leave because Axel is a big fan of sleep, and if anyone needs more sleep it's Riku. Riku has a slow breakdown of admitting things in stages. I like that you can overpower me (though mainly because Riku has too much worry about hurting him to use all his strength, because Axel is taller and he is lean muscle not twig, but Riku is still the beef in this stroganoff and Axel the noodle)---> I like being the little spoon DON'T LAUGH--> this napping thing isn't so bad.

Comparing and contrasting Sora and Roxas. Take this however you want.

3. Who does chores around the house?

Riku. He likes an orderly house. He won't nag outright and Axel doesn't fall for the same kinds of taunts/manipulation as Sora would so at first he just doesn't know how to deal with Axel not putting in the same effort he does. Plus, he doesn't mind doing everything that much. When he begins minding, they have an honest, open talk because, though it took awhile to get there, Riku is good at those. Axel earnestly promises to do his share...and then does it terribly so Riku doesn't ask again. If Riku ever shows real stress though, Axel feels so bad he....tricks someone else into doing everything for both of them. Haha, you thought he would do it? No.

4. Who’s the better cook?

Self-sufficient Riku, though Axel is the more creative chef that tries new dishes, so it depends on how quickly one gets tired of the meals Riku has mastered and considers adequate enough in fulfilling the need for variety. 

5. Who’s the funniest drunk?

Riku. Axel argues Riku is only the funny drunk, whereas, he's hilarious all the time. Once more, it comes down to the principle that when you care less what you say or do sober, your drunk self isn't that different. Riku is a craps shoot when drunk though. Just as often as Funny Riku you get Depressive Riku that needs to be treated very gently.

6. Do they have kids?

One day. I don't have particularly strong feelings about it, but instinctually I feel both are the type to want kids eventually.

7.  Do they have any traditions?

Light left on whenever one isn't home. 

Watching the sunrise together. Axel whines about lack of sleep/goes back to sleep after, but he loves his red and orange skies and Riku refuses to "share" a tradition. 

Celebrating rebirth days as well as birhtdays. This is when Riku broke free of Ansem for Riku and Axel's recompletion for him. Dinner in complete darkness that is then broken by a fire spell lighting cake candles. That specific tradition lasts one rebirth day because Riku stabs himself repeatedly with a fork in the dark and then Axel sets the whole table on fire. Afterwards, they still do the symbolic darkness into light thing, but do it with Riku's old blindfold, putting on the blindfold early and being led around obstacles until they get to a "surprise" party and are "freed from darkness."

8. What do they fight about?

Their sacrificial streaks and trying to protect each other mostly. Sometimes about how Axel will not do any housework.

9. What would they do if they found their paring tag on tumblr? (If they have one)

 Laugh. Riku would get embarrassed. Axel would propose acting out any fanfiction they come across.

10. Who cried at the end of Marley and me?

Riku. Axel took advantage of cuddle time.

11. Who always wins at Mario kart?

Axel and it drive Riku up a wall.

12. One thing I like about this ship?

Well, I just love the characters so much I am tempted to just say anything that includes them is good. I guess Riku being with someone he doesn't have a built in need to be the strong one for--more than his baseline I mean--and, on the same track, both of them getting the chance to be with someone who they can just build a more naturally paced relationship with not having to start out with the intensity and baggage of "everything I was for awhile was because of you/for you" or "I went to hell in back and/or died for you" that hangs over Soriku, Rikai, Akuroku, Leaisa, etc. 

13. One thing I don’t like about the ship?

It's not Akuroku. A flaw many Kingdom Hearts ships share.

But if Axel and Riku then....no Akuroku or Soriku or Rikai in this story? Like a zero amount? Or it's only in the past? Or it breaks them up? I...can't compute this. None at all? What about a little, as a treat? (This ignores a polycule situation, but I'm trying to be funny.) 

14. The song I would say fits them?

There is going to be the reoccurring answer of "I do not have a song for them. I never thought about it." Copy and paste everywhere because I hardly ever do this even with the major ones. The Grass is Greener Vanikai was a fluke. 

15. Another headcanon about the paring? (Free space)

Axel gets Riku to move in with him like he's slowly adopting a stray cat, buying and leaving out things he'd like both food and decor wise and making a comfortable space until Riku spends more and more time around.

[mastrechef]

More Kingdom Hearts stuff just because I feel like it.

“I feel like I should know, that there should still be a connection that I could trace. But there’s nothing there.” Roxas growled and ruffled his hair in frustration. “Dammit, there has to be more I can do besides sit here and feel fucking useless.”

Sitting next to him, Ventus hummed in agreement. “I understand how you feel. I was with him for more than a decade. Sometimes I feel like I know him better than I know myself. Yet when I reach out to find his light...I can’t sense anything.”

For a while after that, the two sat in silence, watching the sunset from the top of Twilight Town’s clock tower. Things had been awkward between them at first, what with being near identical at first glance. There were differences, but they were subtle: the shape of the jaw, the placement of the cheekbones, and Roxas’ eyes were a lighter sapphire to Ven’s royal blue. They probably said no more than three words to each other before returning to their own respective worlds. That changed after Kairi returned and Sora did not, and Ven began to seek out Roxas and Xion as the other two who had once resided in Sora’s heart. All three shared a unique pain at the loss of the boy who had gifted them with a second chance at life; the same boy whom none of them had truly had a chance to speak with.

“You two aren’t still brooding, are you?” The silence was broken by the arrival of Xion, three bars of ice cream in hand.

After a quiet thanks for the ice cream, Roxas smirked at Xion. “Nah, that’s strictly my job. Ven’s not the type to brood.”

“Well what type am I then?”

“You’re the sunshine and rainbows kinda guy. Nothing gets you down for long.”

“That’s not even remotely true,” protested Ven.

“No, I see what Roxas is getting at. If you’re upset about something, you seek out other people to talk to rather than hiding away and isolating yourself.” Xion turned to Ven with a sad smile. “That’s why you came to us in the first place, right?”

The playful atmosphere evaporated and turned pensive. Nothing about their situation was particularly normal, their bond even more so. Before all this, Xion and Roxas had at least been friends, with Ven as the outlier. Yet somehow, the trio fit together like long lost siblings. Now all that was needed was to return their missing brother.

“He’s out there somewhere, I know it. We’ll find him.” Her determination blazed as bright as the sun. Both boys could do nothing less than put all their faith in Xion’s words. So long as there was hope, they wouldn’t give up on the boy who saved them all.

...

There was something strange in the ease with which Yozora found him. Hiding from him was about as easy as trying to hide from a bloodhound. Despite hiding in the upper branches of a haphazardly chosen tree or losing himself amid the maze of clothing racks in some random department store, sure enough, Yozora was there. It was maddening. The only upside to this situation was that Sora felt no need to sleep, so at least he didn’t have to deal with being startled awake only to see Yozora looming over him. Getting knocked out by the guy on a regular basis was bad enough.

Of course there were also the nightmares that had plagued him since the botched Mark of Mastery exam. For a while he’d even been afraid to go to sleep, terrified that Xehanort would be there waiting and trap him again. He had pushed his concerns to the side in favor of more important things. There had been a lot to do to prepare for the final battle and no time to dwell on personal demons.

Being in this realm only allowed him to further ignore those particular demons.

Time passed strangely in this place. It could be hours or days between his meetings with Yozora, but it was impossible to tell for sure, and not just because it was perpetually nighttime. Anytime Sora lost focus or zoned out, he had this sense that time somehow sped up. Yet, whenever he returned to consciousness after a round with Yozora he felt as though no time at all had passed. Was this how Aqua felt stuck in the Realm of Darkness all those years?

There was nothing to do but think and wait for Yozora. He found himself pondering about the other boy’s words. What did he mean by ‘I was told to save Sora’ and what was he supposed to be saving Sora from? It couldn’t be from whatever this place was, since it seemed Yozora was the one ensuring he stayed stuck here. From death? Sora’s already saved himself from that fate once, even if the circumstances were different.

Sora was startled out of his musings by a familiar voice. “Aren’t you looking pathetic.”

He lurched in alarm, flailing his arms as he tried to keep himself from tipping over the edge of the roof he was perched on. He regained his balance and twisted around to see an unexpected figure. “Wha—Vanitas?”

“Did all your ‘friends’ ditch you?” Despite the harsh words, the usual arrogance and anger were absent and instead he just seemed...resigned. All the same, Sora would be on his guard; it was too soon to tell what Vanitas planned to do.

Sora shook his head vehemently. “My friends wouldn’t do that,” he insisted. None of them were the type to do that. (He carefully didn’t think about that brief time he had lost the keyblade in Hollow Bastion. And Riku leaving him behind when he gave in to the darkness didn’t count.) He eyed Vanitas in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

The question got him a bitter laugh. “Did you think I had gone for good? You can’t destroy darkness. It will always be there so long as there is darkness in people’s hearts.”

“I get that.” And he truly did. For all that he fought the darkness, he had come to understand that light could not exist without dark. They were counterpoints meant to balance each other. Just like there was no way to be happy all the time, to eliminate all negative emotions, but those happy moments were made all the more precious by the presence of the downs—so too must light and dark exist in equal measure. Besides, he was no stranger to the reality of the saying ‘bright lights cast deep shadows.’ (Distorted flashes of clawstearrendhungerRAGE came to mind.) “But what I meant was how are you here? This place...it’s...” He trailed off, not really sure what to say. This strange city was a complete unknown, seemingly unconnected to any other world that Sora had visited, except perhaps the Final World; but even so it wasn’t clear how he got from there to here.

“I told you before, didn’t I? I’m your shadow, so of course I’d be drawn to where you are.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. If you were able to find me, shouldn’t the others be able to as well?” There was certainly no shortage of people connected to Sora’s heart, although all his attempts to trace the connection back to them resulted in failure. But if Vanitas could reach him, then maybe it was only his end that was having trouble. Who knew how these things worked when you were technically supposed to be dead.

“If they can’t find you, that’s their problem. Hasn’t got shit to do with me,” he replied, face twisting in a sneer. Apparently fed up with their all too brief interaction, Vanitas started walking away.

“Wait! Vanitas!” A dark corridor appeared and he was gone. Sora slumped back. He wondered if Vanitas was able to leave this place, if he himself was the only one stuck here struggling to escape. He flopped onto his back with a groan. Back to waiting in boredom it was. Funnily enough, he actually wished heartless would show up here; that would at least give him something to do.

Some time later his question was answered in such a way that he almost had a heart attack. Evidently, his concerns about waking up to see Yozora looming over him were the least of his concerns, because waking up to see Vanitas looming over him was much more alarming. Eyes blown wide and heart fluttering like a caged bird, Sora scrambled back to put a little distance between them.

Vanitas only continued to frown at him, brows pinched together.

“You’re still here?” Sora asked after getting himself into some semblance of control.

“I should be asking you that.”

“I can’t leave yet.” Something instinctive told him that leaving wouldn’t be possible until he managed to beat Yozora. So soon after his latest loss, it wasn’t something he cared to think about. Might as well make the most of the other boy’s presence. “Can I ask you something?” A noncommittal grunt was his answer. “Why'd you want to join with Ventus so bad? You and he are two separate people now.”

The look Vanitas gave him openly conveyed his low opinion of Sora’s intelligence. Rude, thought Sora. “I’m nothing more than Ventus’ negative emotions that were pulled out of him. I was never meant to exist to begin with.”

“Yeah, well, neither were nobodies, but that doesn’t make Roxas any less real. He’s not just a part of me—he’s his own person with his own heart. And I don’t believe that you’re nothing but darkness and negativity. Even the deepest darkness has a light that never goes out.”

Vanitas scoffed. “You expect me to listen to your light-side bullshit?”

“I’m not just light, you know,” he snapped, suddenly irritated. “I’ve got my own darkness, same as everybody else. I fought on the light side, yes, but I was just doing what I thought was right. Light and dark...they’re not the same as good and evil—things aren’t so clear cut. Riku’s proof of that. Xehanort was wrong to do what he did, so I stopped him. Simple as that.”

An unreadable look overtook Vanitas’ face. Without a word, he disappeared again.

[darkheartedprince]

VERSE ADDITION: BLUE EYES AND BLACK JEANS

Primarily exists for promisedsanctum, waywardhearts, and lightheartedwarrior but anyone can interact with him in this verse.

In a world without far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells and princes in disguise, Riku continued to grow up in his normal life. Now in his last year of high school, Riku is arguably the coolest kid in school -- not that he sees it that way. He’s dating Sora, who’s brother Roxas couldn’t be less excited about but Riku doesn’t care because he loves Sora to the end of the universe and back. His blue eyes shine against his black leather jacket, black jeans, and classic converse sneakers as he patiently waits to graduate high school. 

Riku drives a black and silver Harley Davidson motorcycle as well as a red and blue pan chopper motorcycle to and from school. He loves both of them more than life itself. He doesn’t let anyone ride them unless he really likes you or he really trusts you. Don’t worry, he practices safety with fingerless leather gloves, a helmet, and a  black leather jacket. Motorcycles are pictured HERE.

His entire left arm is a sleeve of tattoos that tell the story of daring adventures into the unknown complete with stars, planets, and oceans and new horizons. His Dream Eater tattoo is on his back, but he just thinks it’s a cool symbol he saw in a book once. His right bicep has a band of crossing lines that look like they form loose hearts. 

Riku has facial piercings. He has a lip piercing on the left side of his bottom lip, an eyebrow piercing on his left eyebrow, both of his ears pierced in the lobes and his right ear also has an industrial piercing.

Riku is always seen with over-the-ear headphones around his neck. He’s never without his music, it’s how he drowns out the world. He also does this because any time he has a song he wants to show someone {usually Sora or Kairi} Riku can just put his headphones on them and make them listen. 

Black skinny jeans, black leather jackets, and converse high tops that are black and white or all black are Riku’s entire fashion aesthetic. V-neck t-shirts or long sleeves with the sleeves rolled, a chain always hangs attached to his back belt loop and latches onto the front belt loop on his right hip, beanies, the black leather cuffs and bracelets on either of his wrists, chokers and necklaces, band t-shirts, etc. All of those things and more create Riku’s day to day style. 

TW:SMOKING. A lighter can always be found on Riku because he smokes cigarettes, but he never does it around people in case they have a problem with it.  He will always walk away to smoke or distance himself from people until he is done before returning to them.  

Sora is one hundred percent the strawberry to Riku’s cigarette and the candy to his lighter. They are opposites, and while he knows that people talk about them because they don’t seem like a likely pair Riku doesn’t care because he absolutely loves Sora inside and out. 

On the opposite, Riku hates Sora’s brother Roxas because he and Roxas constantly fight one another. It’s argument after argument that never stop. Passive-aggressive dinners, jabs at one another at school, the whole nine yards. It is rare that these two are never fighting. 

Speaking of fighting, Riku gets into fights at school. Often. Whether it’s because people are ragging on Sora, people are being terrible, people are making fun of him, or all of the above, Riku has a reputation for beating up people who say anything bad against the things in his life.

Despite how it might appear, however, Riku is at the top of his class for his grades. He takes his academics very seriously. Every assignment is done with precision and very thoroughly so that he can have the best marks amongst his peers. 

In the good old war of Playstation versus Xbox, Riku prefers the Playstation. He has a PS4 and, when it comes out, he plans to save up to get a PS5. 

Riku definitely picks out the colour of Sora’s braces rubber bands every time that Sora asks. Without fail, Riku always chooses bright aquamarine blue so that they match his eyes and so that every time Sora looks in a mirror and smiles he thinks of him. 

He’s known as the strong, silent, mysterious crown prince of his school, but this holds true no matter what verse he is in. 

His hobbies include drawing, listening to music, reading, writing poetry, taking walks along the beach, and playing video games. He likes hobbies that allow him to drown out the world and go other places for a short while. 

Some of Riku’s favourite bands and music artists include {but are not limited to}: Disturbed, The Beatles, Lewis Capaldi, All Time Low, 5 Seconds of Summer, My Chemical Romance, Counting Crows, Bowling for Soup, Neon Trees, Cinema Bizarre, Tycho, Chris Young, Never Shout Never, Augustana, Queen, Bullet For My Valentine, Framing Hanley, Elvis Presley, Landon Pigg, The Higher, Keane, The Killers, AFI, Troye Sivan, Simon Curtis, Point North, Halsey, Gabbie Hanna, Breaking Benjamin, Secondhand Serenade, Marilyn Manson, and Hollywood Undead.

Because Riku loves music so much, he always sends people songs to listen to. These songs don’t always have to relate to their relationship {whatever that may be}. Sometimes, he just sends them songs because he thinks that they’ll like them but other times he’ll send songs because they fit a certain situation or feeling. After all, music speaks when words fail. 

Nail polish? Definitely. Riku’s nails are always painted solid black or dark blue to match the night sky. He paints them himself.

Riku doesn’t care for junk food much, but sometimes he helps himself to Oreos, cookies and cream ice cream, cheese and pineapple pizza, or some cool ranch Doritos. He prefers savoury to sweet, as a whole when it comes to his snacking habits.

All of the furniture in his room is black. The walls that are painted white are covered from top to bottom in vintage movie posters, album artwork from vinyl records, video game posters, band posters, you name it. His bedding is dark indigo blue with black, grey and white plaid accents. He has a bookshelf filled from top to bottom with his favourite vintage cds, video games, books, and a picture of him, his mom, and his dad from when he was five. His window has indigo blue curtains that have plaid details just like his bedding. His backpack resides on a hook near his bedroom door. 

Riku has a beta fish that is black and blue that he has named Ansem because he reminds him of a ghostly spirit. Ansem sits in a fishbowl on Riku’s desk. 

He absolutely loves movies, especially older movies. He loves classic things as a whole.  His favourite movies include {but are not limited to by any means}: Jaws, Titanic, The Ring, Grease, West Side Story, The Breakfast Club, and {though it’s not completely vintage} Star Wars. He also likes movies that take places from vintage eras even if they aren’t filmed in that era like, Call Me By Your Name, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Love Simon, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and Across the Universe. He doesn’t have one specific movie type that he goes to more than others, but he is always drawn to movies based on books.

**Headcanons can be found HERE. As always, they will constantly be added to.

[ravenaveira]

Just wanna clarify a few things after my long review/rant at the end for KH3 Re:Mind

My comments about the Sokai stuff I stand by, but I wanna be clear because I see Sokai shippers claiming antis complained about the lack of Sokai for it to be a believable relationship and now that Sokai has more moments we’re complaining about them shoving Sokai down our throats.

I cant speak for all antis on this, so I’ll be strictly speaking for myself on this issue and anyone else who feels similar to me. Warning it gets long again so be ready.

Yes Im one of those antis who complained about the lack of Sokai which made it underdeveloped and unbelievable, and yes I am also complaining about them now shoving Sokai down our throats.

Why? because Kingdom hearts is not a romance, and throughout every single game so far romance has taken a severe back seat and handled very subtely. For example Sora’s drawing in the cave of him giving Kairi the Paopu fruit, Riku teasing him about wanting to give one to Kairi, Sora saying hes always with her and promising to come back for her, Roxas calling Kairi ‘the girl he likes’ etc

All these moments were very short, subtle, and to the point. It was not a primary focus nor was it blatantly shoved in your face like

I mean in almost EVERY shot they were together Sora was holding her hand, which isnt something he usually does? keep in mind Sora and Kairi’s feelings have been known to eachother since KH2 and Sora still didnt behave the way he is now. He was always very awkward and uncomfortable/shy when it came to romance.

In KH2 Sora didnt hug Kairi, nor did he hold her hand, it was KAIRI who initiated the hug out of relief and happiness to see Sora again and that hes ok. Sora did not show the same sentiment and treated her like he always has, just casually walking up to her and just nonchalantly saying ‘You are different Kairi, but Im just glad your here’ as if she wasnt kidnapped and being held hostage this entire time. He should have showed the same concern for her as he did for Riku and Kairi for him but he did not, he just said that and then turned away and apologized.

But in KH3 Sora/Nomura pull a complete 180, Sora hugs Kairi to shield her from Terranort with his body instead of pulling out his keyblade and blocking his attack. Him hugging Kairi there was not only stupid, but it doesnt even defend her, Terranort will just kill Kairi AND him now. That was just a forced out of place Sokai moment for the sake of shoving a Sokai moment that was completely unnessecary and could of easily had the same impact by having Sora do the common sense thing and BLOCK with his keyblade like he did for Riku when they were in THE EXACT SAME SITUATION.

See the difference? good, then I need say no more.

This is only one of many situations where they would shoehorn in a Sokai moment that was completely out of place, didnt make any sense, or just forced in trying way too hard to convince you how much Sora cares for Kairi and how much they love and want to be together forever etc etc

Another example being when everybody ‘dies’ in the keyblade graveyard being swept away by heartless. Sora only loses his mind and breaks down emotionally after Kairi is the last one swept away, he then says the most inconsiderate line he could have ever said.

He says this while RIKU IS RIGHT THERE BESIDE HIM, even if you were arguing he was just speaking figuratively thats still no excuse, he was NOT alone but at that moment he just completely disregarded Riku as if his presence there was the same as being alone.

Not only that but seconds later he does one of the most out of character things for him.

Sora just WATCHES Riku risk his life holding back the heartless to protect him and Sora just WATCHES him fighting off this huge horde of heartless BY HIMSELF and not ONCE does Sora make ANY attempt to get up and help Riku despite knowing his life is at risk trying to hold them back alone.

Even if you wanna argue Sora was in shock, when has that ever stopped him before!? when have you EVER known Sora to just sit back and watch his friends put their lives in danger and NOT help them?

What makes this worse is thats not even the first time he does it, he sits back and watches AGAIN as Axel gets bodied right infront of him just to have him exhausted next to Kairi because you know, Sora’s never fought strong opponents and gotten right back up to protect his friends before.

Remember Terranort? Sora was overpowered by him and still made the effort to run over and hug Kairi to shield her from his attack, but Axel and Riku? nah just gonna chill and watch. This is BEYOND out of character for Sora.

When Axel told Sora to hurry and save Kairi, who was being held hostage by the organization and was in danger, Sora refused to leave him and stayed behind to help him fight. Sora chose helping Axel over Kairi, he put saving his enemy before his own friend/love interest.

When Neku betrayed him, Sora still helped and protected him when he was in danger

When Riku stole his keyblade and Donald and Goofy followed him and left Sora behind, yes Sora was discouraged but when he saw Beasts determination to save Belle no matter what, it encouraged Sora to do the same for the people he cared about

I could go on but you get my point, Sora saw Riku risking his life, literally dying and he did NOTHING, try to justify that all you want but that was incredibly out of character and was obviously put there to show how losing Kairi broke him.

I know your probably gonna argue it wasnt just Kairi it was everybody, and to that I say this, if it wasnt just about Kairi why didnt Sora snap when Ven and Axel got bodied? he froze for a few seconds but then snapped out of it thanks to Riku. After that everybody gets swept away, but the game made sure to put EXTRA emphasis, slow motion and all, to Kairi and Sora reaching out to eachother and then Kairi being swept away by the tide.

THATS when he snaps, if it truly werent just about Kairi they wouldnt have made sure to put emphasis on her being swept away, EVERYONE would have gotten the same treatment if it were truly their deaths also that made Sora fall apart. Im not saying he wasnt upset or heartbroken over them, Im pointing out how they made sure to single out Kairi as the most DEVASTATING loss out of all of them.

Yet again, he has Riku one of his closest bonds if not the closest right beside him yet he doesnt even acknowledge him? he says hes alone even though Rikus right there? you cannot justify that as anything other than downplaying Riku to boost Kairi up.

You do not see the other trios treated this way, every trio has equal focus for ALL of them and even the romantic hints for some of them [Roxas/Xion, Terra/Aqua, technically Namine/Repliku] have all been treated equally and did not feel forced or out of place but very natural and they still made sure to focus on the friendship bond between them overall.

Axel doesnt get played down in importance to Roxas just to boost Xion up, their friendship and bond with eachother are equally important to one another despite whatever ‘romance’ there might be. Same applies to Terra and Aqua, Ven is not played down in importance to them. As for Namine and Repliku they arent a trio but their romance was still handled well and it didnt overshadow their platonic bond or attempt to play down the real Riku or vice versa to boost the other, Namine was equally important to both of them.

So balancing romance and friendship CAN be done in their trio, but for some reason Nomura insists on pitting one against the other and playing down one over the other, in Sokai’s case thats Riku, which is an insult to his and Sora’s bond. The same way Sokai shippers felt the over-focus on Sorikus bond was a disservice to Sora and Kairi’s bond, its the same issue.

But lets get back to Re:mind because besides a few bad moments, overall KH3 was atleast passable with the Sokai nonsense. Then comes Re:Mind and oh boy...the damage control was strong in this one.

Again as I said earlier the Sokai moments in this game were very forced and out of place and in many ways out of character for Sora.

For starters the excessive hand holding, why? to convince us their a thing? but Sora suggests otherwise

Even after all the excessive hand holding, the hugs, the forced moments etc, in the end Sora still calls Kairi a friend. After aaaaall the forced Sokai bs they shoved down our throats Sora still friendzones her, which is it Nomura? you either want them together or you dont, stop playing games and pick a side already.

Dont get me wrong Im glad he hasnt made it official yet but after all this its like enough is enough, either follow through or cut this shit out and go back to being subtle like before.

Another huge insult was Sora constantly saying how his journey started with Kairi, since when? I remember Sora losing Kairi AND Riku that day not just her. I recall Sora not going back to Destiny Islands with Kairi BECAUSE he wanted to continue his journey to find Riku, but apparently in Re:mind it was just all about Kairi, nothing about his journey involved Riku no it was only Kairi that was his main motivation, gtf outta here man.

You can say something over and over but that doesnt make it true, Sora’s journey started with BOTH of them, lets stop playing down Riku’s importance to once again boost Kairi up.

That hug when Sora finally reunited with Kairi after restoring her was so obviously trying to make up for all the years of people complaining about Sora’s lack of reaction to Kairi in KH2 in comparison to Riku, so having him hold her for several seconds floating in the sky should rectify that right? you believe he cares about her now right? fuck off man. If your gonna do damage control than atleast dont make it so obvious that thats what your doing because then it comes off disingenuous, forced, and fake.

But my biggest issue is the ending where they really shoehorned Sokai where it didnt belong, literally stalking everyone else with the exception of returning Namines heart and Sora helping to reunite Chirithy with Ventus. But in Twilight town, why were Sora and Kairi there? they werent with Roxas but just sitting above them

Why were they at Mickeys castle? again their just in the background sight seeing.

These scenes were completely unnessecary and completely out of place and made the ending WORSE rather than better. Why? because these are Sora’s final hours ALIVE whether you argue only for a day or a couple days, in all of these ending scenes only one thing matters to Sora and thats Kairi.

Before we assumed everything that was shown all happened the same exact day and we didnt see Sora with any of them. But now we have confirmation Sora WAS there yet he only spent his last remaining time with Kairi in the background while quietly stalking everyone else? even if he didnt spend time with anyone else, he should have spent his last remaining time with Kairi AND Riku, after all hes his best friend and would like to spend what little time he may have with Sora too but we dont see any of that. Hell this contradicts Soras own danm words to Chirithy prior to this.

Instead of just shoehorning a bunch of Sokai in the background why not show the three of them FINALLY all together again like the old days? this is wtf Im talking about. We saw ALL the other trios together but the Destiny trio? hell naw fuck Riku lets have Sora spend all his remaining time with Kairi, thats the only one who REALLY matters here. After being separated from eachother constantly, now they finally have the chance to be together again and spend time together as friends and they DONT.

Instead Sora decides to take Kairi around the worlds hes visited, something he said he wanted to do with Riku as well, and just spend all his remaining time with her, even though in the base game before the final battle Sora was concerned why Riku was all alone and not spending time with them together. But here? nah fuck Riku. I remembered how important it is to share moments with friends only applied to Kairi.

So personally idc that theres more Sokai moments, my problem is the execution. It doesnt feel genuine, it feels forced and awkward and just doing damage control to pander to the rabid fanbase thats been screaming for this type of content for years, well congrats, you got it.

My problem is Kingdom Hearts was never about romance, it was always subtle and not shoved in your face, it felt natural and not forced and like there was atleast SOME heart behind it, but this? just felt hollow and forced.

Just stop, Im glad in the end Kairi just sleeps for a whole year and probably still will be sleeping when the next game comes out and the focus will shift to Riku and his search for Sora along with the other keyblade wielders doing their part as well.

So Im thankful it seems like we’re done with this crap and getting back to what ACTUALLY matters and what people really wanna see from this series.

Notice how nothing in either of my posts had to do with Soriku as a couple but about their bond as friends, enough said.

So dont try to twist this into just being about pairings because its not, its about what this series has always been about being forgotten for the sake of a fucking trash ship that nobody cares about besides rabid shippers and Sora’s bonds with his other friends being completely thrown out the fucking window to shorehorn in a bunch of unnessecary Sokai moments as a desperate attempt to convince people that these two love eachother which at this point if you have to try so hard to CONVINCE people of your pairing its obvious your doing a very shitty job at it.

Im done, this is my last long post about this for a while but I really needed to get that all out there since nobody else seems to be calling it out for what it is. My anger and frustration is still very fresh and it shows so I really need to stop talking about it because at this point? Re:Mind just ReMinded me why the Destiny trio is the worst out of them all, it is the most unbalanced and quite frankly feels more like Riku is a third wheel at this point and not even a part of the trio anymore. Before Kairi, it was always Sora and RIku yet hes the one whos being pushed aside and forgotten about in all this. That pisses me off.

So Im done with this topic, I need to cool off for the next couple of years till the next game comes out where hopefully Kairi stays asleep the entire time and NOT ruin another game.

[nadziejastar]

Thoughts on Project Xehanort?

Well, I have mixed feelings about this new game, but I will say that I am interested in it. Most likely, I’ll play it. I’m very interested in Xehanort’s character. 

First reservation is about the platform. I actually think that smaller KH games can be better in many ways. Days had so much character development because it didn’t have to follow the console KH formula. It could do something different and offer a “slice of life” feel that wouldn’t be possible in a regular KH game. The characters benefited tremendously from this. Especially Axel. It’s why he’s my favorite.

In many ways, KH3 was a victim of its enormous budget and its need to appeal to everyone, even the most casual of KH fans who don’t care about the intricacies of the story and characters. So, a smaller release like Project Xehanort may have more creative freedom. It might be just the game Xehanort needs to flesh out his character. But like with Union X, tying so much essential backstory to a mobile game can be a problem in the future. And then there’s the focus on micro transactions, which sets mobile games apart from PSP or DS games.

Presently there are 4 main untold stories to consider: “the period of the King’s absence”, “the period of Riku’s absence”, “Roxas’s time in Organization XIII” and “Xehanort’s past”. In this case, the story of “the period of the King’s absence” is set in the realm of darkness. I am examining a way to tell these 4 stories so I might be able to find a way to tell them soon.

At the same time, I have to look at this game for what it is. Xehanort’s past was one of the blank periods Nomura wanted to cover. No doubt, this was going to be covered in BBSV2.

—In KH BbS, Master Xehanort’s goal behind opening Kingdom Hearts was to “create a new world.” But in this game, he says it is to “reset the world.” Why the difference?

What was revealed in this game was another piece of the truth: his goal was “this world is no longer any good, and we have to recreate it from scratch.”

—We are interested in why Xehanort would come to such a conclusion.

At first, I did want to use a next game to dig down into how Xehanort went from that simple boy playing the chess-like game to an admirer of the darkness. But, if I do that, then the Dark Seeker Chronicle wouldn’t have ended with KH3 after all (laughs.) Some ideas had solidified to a degree, but it’s shelved for now.

After that was canceled, Nomura didn’t think he’d get the chance to cover Xehanort’s past at all, because the Dark Seeker Saga was supposed to be over. IMO, we’re lucky to even get this game. And it shows just how badly Nomura wanted to show Xehanort’s past.

So, I am interested in this game and unless it’s just absolutely terrible, I will play it. But at the same time, since it’s coming out in 2020 instead of 2011, I don’t think it’s going to be the same backstory we were originally supposed to get for Xehnaort. Like KH3 itself, ten years ago, this game would have been a lot different.

I mean, Look at Lea and Isa. I am 99.9% sure that their original backstory was that they were test subjects in the experiments on the darkness of the heart. They were so obviously set up for that role. Around 2010/2011 BBSV2 gets cancelled. The leftover plot threads get repurposed to fit a new story arc. Suddenly Lea and Isa are no longer former test subjects. Oh, no. They were just friends with a girl who was a human test subject. In other words, their backstory was repurposed to fit the change in direction. If KH3 came out in 2014/2015, there’s not a doubt in my mind that Lea and Isa would have still been test subjects (I wish they were getting the Xehanort Project treatment, too).

And that is no doubt going to be the same situation with Xehanort’s backstory. I’m sure there will be many elements that are going to be the same, and that is the main reason I’m excited for this game. It’s a rare opportunity to get some cancelled scraps from the ill-fated Xehanort Saga and KH0.5. I’m very excited to see Xehanort and Eraqus’s past together, if that gets shown in detail. But is it going to be the exact same backstory as it was originally conceived before the story got butchered? No. It’s too late for that, unfortunately.

This game is going most likely to be half-Xehanort Saga and half-New Arc. IMO, we should have already learned more about those black things from Scala ad Caelum before the end of KH3. These are the Dark Seekers. These dudes are the true nature of “Replicas,” including Xion. The Xehanort Saga was obviously NOT READY TO BE FINISHED when KH3 released, since we never even leaned what the fuck those guys were.

“Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts. And yet they know not the true power of what they hold. The rage of the Keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free…until they weave together to form Kingdom Hearts. And when that time comes at last, we can truly exist.”

He almost sounded as though he were reciting an incantation.

From what I can gather of the original story, Xehanort—or the entity possessing him, No Heart–needed 13 empty vessels so that each one of those black replica clone guys could have a body as a host. Those beings wanted to truly, finally exist, and that’s why they wanted KH to be completed so badly. Xehanort himself was just a pawn to them and was not entirely human by the time the story began. Saix was also NOT HUMAN. He was Isa’s empty vessel inhabited with one of those horned replica guys. That’s why he was so fucking creepy and it sounded like he was reciting an incantation when he said the above quote. They were going somewhere with all of this.

Portals from the corridors rippled and opened atop the chairs of the Round Room, like candles lighting in negative, and a few members of the Organization appeared in their black cloaks. Numbers 1 through 7 took their seats—Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, and Saïx.

“Why are we allowing a novice to attend?” Vexen complained.

The aforementioned “novice”—Saïx, the lowest ranked of those present—didn’t even glance up from the dais.

The whole goal of Organization XIII was to bring those black horned dudes into the Realm of Light. That’s why the organization felt like a satanic cult with the black robes and “candles”. They all gathered around the Nobody symbol in a circle. The Demon Tide was a harbinger of something bad happening. Honestly, I just want that story to be finished. KH morphed into something unrecognizable over the long wait for KH3. It’ll never really be the same as it used to.

[square-enix-headcanons]

How about a child nobody s/o (I suppose that a child CAN become a Nobody, like Ienzo/Zexion) is found by a member of the Organization XIII and the kid, looking at them, calls them "mom/dad"? What is their reaction? (Hope I was clear ;;w;;)

Yep, it was clear! ^^ (Though I’m still not used to seeing S/O used in a non-romantic context, but I’ll get used to it at some point xD)

Xemnas

When the news about a new Nobody reached him, Xemnas decided to go himself

He tried to explain the Organization in simpler words, and the kid just looked up at him and said “Okay dad.”

Xemnas was stunned for a moment, then decided, all right, that works

So he picks up the kid and teleports back to the Castle

He thinks that he shouldn’t care about the kid; he’s not supposed to have feelings, and even his memories are hazy at best

And yet

There’s just something that makes Xemnas care

The child is allowed to just barge into Xemnas’s room without getting into trouble, and they use that privilege, a lot

Xemnas doesn’t actively go to spend time with the kid, but well, the two still end up spending a lot of time together

Since the kid isn’t sent on missions, they usually sit on Xemnas’s lap while he works

Xigbar

He sees the kid while he’s out on a mission, and pretty quickly figures out they’re a Nobody

So he takes care of the mission first, then comes back for the kid

This wasn’t part of any plan, as far as he’s aware, but oh well. More Nobodies for the Organization can’t be too bad, worst case scenario he has to take them back

Xigbar gives the kid a quick rundown of the situation - They’re a Nobody now, which means they have no Heart and no feelings, Xigbar’s the same, and he’ll take them to a place for Nobodies - then picks the kid up and RTC’s

Right as he the portal opens, the kid says “Thanks Dad”

!!!!!!

Something just clicks, and Xigbar is instantly way more protective; this kid’s not just gonna be dropped off afterwards

Outwardly, he doesn’t show it; just chuckles and says “Heh, you could do better than me, kiddo.”

Internally, very flattered tbh

He goes immediately to Xemnas’s room with them, and quickly explains why he brought a kid

Xemnas decides that if Xigbar thinks the kid might turn out to be useful, they can stay for now; however, if it turns out they aren’t, XIgbar will have to take them back to their world

Xaldin

Xaldin was taking one last look around after a mission when a kid tugs at his coat and asks, very puzzled, “Dad?”

At first, Xaldin is pretty abrasive. “I’m not your father, child.”

But then he looks down at the kid who looks completely lost

Fine then; he finished more quickly than expected, anyway, so he might as well help.

The kid pretty much follows him around town, but none of the people there seem to be his parents

But during their time together, Xaldin starts noticing signs about the kid being a Nobody

After a while, Xaldin starts asking questions to confirm his suspicion, and yep, kid seems to be Nobody

He thinks for a while, then decides that a random child having a Heart strong enough to end up as a Nobody - And one like him, too, not just a Dusk! - is something special

So he decides to take them with him to the Organization, where he explains to Xemnas why he decided to do so

Xemnas listens, then agrees that this would be a rare occurence; the child is allowed to stay

Xaldin shows the kid around, but doesn’t really plan on being around them much

However, the kid very much plans on being around Xaldin

He just… Accepts that, and ends up spending quite a bit of time with the kid

Vexen

He heard some rumors about a weird child and went to investigate, since it sounded like the kid might be a Nobody

After all, Vexen knows what Zexion was like as a kid Nobody, so it’s easy for him to figure it out, especially once he sees the kid

He’s curious about whether Nobody kids grow up as differently as Somebody kids; he’s talked about it with Xemnas beforehand, and Xemnas allowed him to take the kid with him should they truly be a Nobody

Under the condition that Vexen is the one to take care of them, of course

He may have experience with kids, but Vexen is still kinda awkward with them tbh

The kid doesn’t care; they just hug Vexen and ask “Can we go home, dad?”

Vexen is stunned for a second, then just says yes and takes the kid to the castle

He finds himself unable to treat them as just a research object, though; he knows he shouldn’t care about them - No feelings and all that - but somehow he does

And it’s not like anyone’s checking what exactly he’s doing anyway, so he’s free to treat the kid however he likes

Vexen likes to get the kid science book. He may even allow the kid to “help” in some very simple experiments; they’re not quite as interested in it as Ienzo was, but it’s still kinda fun for them

(Also, it’s one of the rather few ways Vexen knows how to be affectionate)

The kid being there also helps Vexen figure out that Nobodies can, in fact, have feelings

It may go againt what he thought was true, but Vexen is a scientist, and that’s the only explanation that makes sense

Lexaeus

Lexaeus was just finishing up with a different mission when he noticed the kid, and immediately noticed that something was off about them

Didn’t take him long to figure out the kid was a Nobody

Now, technically, their Organization was only supposed to have 13 members - But that was broken anyway with Xion

Still, Lex first tries to find out if the kid has any caregivers, figuring it’d be safer if he just left the kid with them

But the kid says they don’t

And, well, Lex isn’t about to abandon a little kid, so he takes them to the Castle

He immediately goes to report to Xemnas, and asks for the child to be allowed to stay

Xemnas agrees; if nothing else, it’d be interesting to see whether they’ll develop similarly to Zexion

One day, when Lex was just about to leave for a mission, the kid hangs on to his sleeve

“Please don’t go, dad!”

Lexaues stops dead in his tracks cause?? Dad??

He gently explains the child that he has to leave, but that he’ll be back soon. Until then, Uncle Xaldin will take care of them

The child (and Xaldin) isn’t too happy with it, but accepts it

They call Lex “Dad” more often after that, and it makes Lexaeus feel all warm and fuzzy every time

Zexion

Zexion notices the child on a mission; he normally wouldn’t care about them, but he could instantly sense that they were lacking a Heart

As cynical as he might be now, he’s still very curious, so he decides to watch them for a bit

And in a way, Zexion also wonders if they’ll react like he did; he is the only one he knows who turned into a Nobody that young, after all. Roxas and Xion might also be kids, but they’re far older than Zexion was when he lost his Heart. The kid is around the same age he was.

He doesn’t plan on talking to them; after watching them for a while, Zexion finishes his mission and just reports the kid to Xemnas, asking for permission to continue watching them

However, it doesn’t take long until the kid notices him and asks what he’s doing

Zexion explains the whole thing. About Nobodies, Hearts, etc.

The kid suggests that Zexion could just spend time with him. They’re kind of bored, and it’d be much easier to collect data that way.

It doesn’t take long before Zexion grows fond of the kid. He likes to bring along some books, and either read them together or just hand some of them to the kid and talk about them later on

At some point, the kid actually asks Zexion “Hi Dad, did you bring any more books?”

Zexion freezes for a moment because. He? A father??

He tries to just shrug it off and continue hanging out with the kid the same way he did before

However, he does end up telling Lexaeus about it in the evening, still a bit bewildered by the idea

Lex offers to tell him what he knows about child rearing, but Zexion declines

Saix

He was sent to take a look at the rumors surrounding a suspected child Nobody

The kid’s world isn’t in such a great stat tbh, thanks to the Heartless, but as the kid just turned into a Nobody and thus has no regrown Heart, they leave them alone

With that proof, Saix just takes the kid and brings them back to the castle; kid doesn’t even know what’s going on until they’re there

Saix starts out pretty strict with the kid; pretty much how he treats most people in the Organization. The child doesn’t go on missions, but they do get chores inside the castle

At some point, the kid gets somewhat annoyed with it, rolls their eyes and says something like “Yeah yeah, whatever you say dad.”

Saix is just… Kinda startled

And due to that, forgets to give the kid the rest of the chores they were supposed to do today

Because? Dad??

Axel is the one for picking up stray puppies!

Plus, for some reason, it actually bothers Saix that the kid is annoyed by him. It shouldn’t, Demyx is always annoyed too, but it kinda does

Saix gets a bit less harsh with the kid - Not even planned, he barely even notices

The kid still has to do chores, but as time goes on, Saix gets less and less strict, and instead starts spending some leisure time with the kid

Axel kinda mocks him about it, considering Saix criticized him for being like that with Roxas and Xion

Axel

Axel sees the kid sit in a corner just staring into space

He hesitates, then goes up to ask what’s wrong. He can’t just leave the kid there

From what the kid says, he figures out they’ve ended up a Nobody, and Axel decides to take them to the Castle. It’s the place for Nobodies anyway, right?

Saix sees him come back with the child and does a double take

Axel just says the kid is gonna live here now. He doesn’t ask, it’s just a statement

He doesn’t even go to report it to the Superior, though he might include it in the mission report, like “Also, I found a kid Nobody and took them with me.”

A few days later, the kid comes up to Axel to ask him a question, and calls him dad

Error: Axel.exe has stopped responding

He just stares for a moment, and the kid actually has to repeat their question before Axel answers

Internally, Axel has decided that this kid is precious and that he will not let ANY harm come to them. Which naturally means they’ll have to stay in the Castle, because else who’s gonna watch over them?

He completely ignores Saix when he tries to reason with him

“Dammit Axel stop picking up stray puppies”

Demyx

The kid came up to him while Demyx was slacking off taking a break during a mission and playing his sitar

It takes Demyx quite a bit to even notice the kid, since he’s so caught up in his music

So afterwards he’s like “???? Who’re you? When did you get here?”

Kid just shrugs. “I dunno. Just followed the music.”

They pretty much just hang out for a while before Demyx remembers that maybe he should take care of his mission at some point

The kid hangs on to his sleeve “Don’t leave me alone, dad”

“WHAT?!”

Demyx pretty much jumps back, might even fall to the ground out of sheer surprise

He gets up pretty quickly though. “Uhm, uh, sure. I’ll, uh, okay I need to finish something, and then I‘ll come back, okay?”

He’s very distracted during the missions because? Can he take the kid with him?? Will Saix and Xemnas get mad?? What do???

He was not trained for this!

He pretty much ends up trying to hide the kid in his room so none of the others notice them

You know those movies where kids try to hide a dog or a cat from their parents? Yeah, like that.

It works for about two days

Demyx gets scolded viciously by Saix, and then he and the kid are taken to Xemnas

Xemnas is the one to notice that, surprise, the kid is a Nobody!

“Soooo, if they’re a Nobody, that means they get to stay, riiight?”

Saix talks about it with Xemnas, and they suggest a deal: The kid gets to stay if Demyx slacks off at least 50% less

Demyx isn’t happy about it, but he actually manages to do so, at least for long enough that the other members have grown fond of the kid, too

Luxord

Luxord finds the kid in the middle of a mission, fighting against Heartless

And he’s at first just very confused, cause, why isn’t the child running away?

He takes care of the Heartless in the vicinity before turning to the kid and asking exactly that

Kid shrugs. “I wasn’t scared.” Then tilts his head to the side and looks up at Luxord. “Dad, why wasn’t I scared?”

(Kid looks even more confused afterwards, they didn’t plan on calling Luxord Dad, but oh well)

Luxord asks a few more questions - Some of the black monsters attacked, and then their parents were gone and they were left

It doesn’t take him long to figure out that the child’s a Nobody

The odds would be against the kid if he left them here, so he decides to take them in, if the Organization allows it

He explains it to Saix, who doesn’t look too thrilled, but accepts Luxord’s explanation: People with such strong Hearts are exceedingly rare, and the child may eventually turn out to be an asset for the Organization

He teaches the kid loads of games, especially ones with cards or dice. Easy ones like Yahtzee and Mau-Mau first, more complicated ones like Rummy or Poker later on

Marluxia

He’s tending to his garden when he notices a kid in there, looking at the flowers

He considers just leaving them there, but… Somehow, he can’t

The kid was looking at a strelitzia plant. Might have had something to do with it; not that Marly knows

So he just watches the kid for a while. It takes him some time to notice that something’s off about them, but he does

Curious, he decides to go and talk to the kid. After all, they’re in his garden

And once they talk, it’s pretty obvious to him that the kid is a Nobody

He thinks about telling the Superior, but decides against it. If anything, a new Nobody they know nothing about could be an asset for his coup

He tells the kid to come back tomorrow, and he’ll tell them some more about the flowers; their names, what they mean, what they’re used for, etc

The next day, the kid just points at one of them and asks “Hey, Dad, what kind of flower is that?”

Marluxia is less taken aback than he’d have expected; if anything, he’s surprised by his lack of surprise

He and the kid spend quite a bit of time together in the garden, and the kid continues calling him dad

Marly kind of wonders why taking care of a kid feels so vaguely familiar

Larxene

Larxene was directly sent to pick the kid up, since the Organization found out about a child Nobody

She pretty much just grabs them, picks them up, and brings them back

But when she tries to leave them with Saix, the kid hugs her and says “Stay here mommy!”

Aw hell no

She just got out of babysitting Roxas!

But somehow, she can’t bring herself to just pry off the kid’s arms, either. “Fine.”

For a while, Larxene tries to stay as far away from the kid as possible, while the kid tries to spend as much time with Larxene as possible

Then she tries to basically hand them over to Marluxia, but the kid is having none of that (And Marluxia just chuckles and leaves Larxene to it)

She does warm up to them over time though

After a few weeks, Larxene actually goes to check up on the kid every now and then. She still has no idea how to actually handle a child, but she kinda likes them

She definitely gives everyone who’s mean to the kid at least a verbal, possibly also a phyiscal beatdown

Roxas

Roxas was just about to RTC when a kid tugs at his sleeve

The kid says they’re lost, and ask if Roxas can help them find back home

Roxas knows he isn’t supposed to be talking to people, but now the kid is talking to him anyway, so it should be fine, right?

He tries to get some more info, but the kid has no idea how they ended up there. One moment, they were playing in the garden when suddenly some black things showed up, the next they wake up in front of some weird mansion

Roxas is probably just as confused as the kid

“Uhhh… Wait here for a moment.”

He goes to get Axel, and Axel pretty quickly figures out the kid’s a Nobody

The kid grabs Roxas’s hand. “If you can’t take me to my home, can you take me to yours, dad?”

Axel starts laughing about it

Roxas is just ??????

Axel decides, sure, they can see whether the Organization can use another Nobody

Roxas with the kid looks adorable tbh, cause the height different between them and Roxas is smaller than the one between Roxas and most of the other members

Axel has to do a lot of convincing, but he manages well enough that the kid is allowed to stay

They don’t go on missions, but when Roxas is in the Castle, they pretty much follow him around like a puppy

Xion

Xion was just waiting up on the clock tower; she finished early with her mission, but Axel and Roxas weren’t done yet

And the kid comes up and just sits down next to her

Xion is… Surprised. And asks the kid what they’re doing there

The kid shrugs and answers “What are you doing here?”

They kinda end up talking a bit until Roxas and Axel come along

They’re surprised by the random kid, but accept them being there

Afterwards, Axel tells Xion the kid is probably a Nobody; he says they could take them to the Organization, but the trio decides against it, since the kid seems to have a home of some sort in Twilight Town

Xion starts visiting the kid from time to time, and brings them seashells; at some point, the kid takes them with a “Thanks mom!”

Xion is a bit confused, but just giggles. “I don’t think I’m old enough to be your mom.”

She does, however, ends up as the kids honorary big sister, and they tend to ask her for help with basically everything from bullies to homework

Especially in the case of homework, Xion usually goes to get Axel. She’s never had any schooling, she doesn’t exactly know how to help with homework!

[phoenix-downer]

Free

For the KH3 Countdown Challenge.

Day 20 - Confession

Kairi normally tried to give people the benefit of the doubt, but something about the man in front of her told her that was a bad idea.

Maybe it was his snide smile or his cruel sneer. Maybe it was his black coat or the way he towered over her.

Or maybe… maybe it was because he had yellow eyes and pointy ears. Not even his flowing pink hair could disguise that fact.

Her hand twitched, and a moment later, Destiny’s Embrace answered her call.

“Who are you, and what do you want with me?” she demanded. No more kidnappings. No one else was ever gonna take her again, not without a fight.

The man summoned a scythe and lazily swung it behind his shoulder. “I came to see you because I have a message for Naminé.”

“Naminé?”

Kairi glanced behind her, and sure enough, her Nobody had appeared, looking even more like a ghost than she had the last time she’d seen her. She met Kairi’s eyes, and that was when Kairi knew.

She stepped in front of Naminé and held her Keyblade out. “You’re Marluxia! You’re the man who kept Naminé imprisoned!”

Marluxia smiled. “Very good, Kairi. Naminé must have shown you her memories.” He glanced past Kairi. “You did show her everything, didn’t you?”

Kairi didn’t like the way Marluxia had just said “everything.” She kept her Keyblade drawn but stole a glance back at Naminé, who was clutching her arm and staring at the white ground beneath her feet. Kairi recognized this place from Naminé’s memories, though she had never been there herself.

Castle Oblivion. Marluxia had ties to this place, too.

“Oh, you haven’t told her, have you?” he said, his voice making Kairi’s skin crawl.

“Told me what?” she said, her heart pounding as her gaze went from Naminé to him back to Naminé.

“Tell her, Naminé. She deserves to know the truth. Whose fault is it that she forgot about Sora? Whose fault is it that Sora forgot about her?”

Kairi lowered her Keyblade. “Naminé, what is he saying?”  

Naminé hesitated.

“Tell her!”

Naminé winced. “I— Kairi, it was me.”

“That’s right, it was all her fault!”

Kairi whirled around to face him again. “What? That’s crazy, Naminé would never—”

“No, he’s right,” came Naminé’s voice, low but firm, and Kairi had no choice but to face her. “I was the one who tampered with Sora’s memories. I was the one who made him forget you. I replaced all of his memories of you with me. And because of that, you forgot about him, too.”

Kairi couldn’t believe her ears. All this time, she’d thought it was her fault that she’d forgotten Sora. She’d blamed herself for what had happened. Only to find out that… Naminé was the one who had tampered with his memories as well as hers? Her kind Nobody who had done nothing but look out for her?

A gutted feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. “But why? Why would you do that?”

“She was jealous of you,” Marluxia said. “She wanted Sora to look at her the way he looks at you.”

“You were… jealous of me?”

Naminé’s lower lip trembled as tears filled her eyes. “Kairi, I’m so sorry. I wish I’d never made him forget you.”

Kairi’s heart pounded in her chest. Was it really true? Was it really Naminé’s fault she had forgotten Sora? Had Sora really forgotten her, too?

Well, even if it was true, something wasn’t adding up here. The gleam in Marluxia’s eyes hinted that there was more to the story. Eyes narrowing, she regarded him with a cold glare and pointed her Keyblade right at his heart.

“You. Get out of my heart. Whatever this is about, Naminé and I will figure it out together.”

Kairi sent a blast of light in his direction, and he disappeared from the dream. Good riddance. Satisfied that he was gone, Kairi let her weapon disappear and took Naminé’s hands in hers.

“Naminé, tell me what happened. I promise… no matter how bad it is… I’ll listen.”

Naminé nodded. “I should have told you long ago. The truth is, Kairi… I was lonely the moment I was born. I wanted someone to care about me. I can see Sora’s memories, and… I saw the way he looks at you. I wanted what you two share for myself. It wasn’t until later that I realized… the more I tampered with his memories, the stronger his feelings for you became. I could never replace you in his heart, no matter how hard I tried.”

Kairi was silent, not really sure what to say to this. It was a lot to take in. After a few moments of silence, she gave Naminé’s hand a reassuring squeeze, and Naminé continued.

“Marluxia kept me at Castle Oblivion, like I showed you before. He told me he’d keep me locked in the castle forever if I didn’t obey him. My powers over memory were the key to his plan. He wanted to catch Sora and bring him under his control because he wanted the power of the Keyblade for himself. He thought that if I rewrote enough of Sora’s memories, Sora would become his slave.”

As Kairi had suspected. There was more to the story than Marluxia had let on.

“He manipulated and used you, Naminé. What happened isn’t your fault.”

Naminé’s eyebrows furrowed as her eyes searched Kairi’s. “You don’t… blame me? Even though I knew what I was doing was wrong? Even though I wanted Sora for myself?”

Kairi couldn’t help but smile at that. “Any girl would want Sora for herself. I can hardly blame you for that.”

Naminé returned the smile, but there was something a little bittersweet about it. “He only has eyes for you, you know.”

Kairi’s cheeks got a little warmer at Naminé’s words, and there was a knowing twinkle in Naminé’s eyes as she continued.

“Eventually, I couldn’t go against my conscience anymore. I stopped tampering with Sora’s memories, and I told him the truth. Then I promised to make things right. It was the least I could do after all the trouble I caused him. So I told him I would put his memories back together, but there was a catch. He could either remember me, or remember you, but not both of us. And he chose you, Kairi.”

Kairi’s heart thudded in her chest. It was so loud, in this faded memory of a stark white castle that she’d never been to.

“He chose me?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes. Even though I had unchained his memories of you, he still wanted you. He wanted what was real, not a fake like me.”

Kairi brought her hand to Naminé’s face, and it was solid and real beneath her touch. “Oh, Naminé. You’re many things, but you’re not a fake. Your heart is as real as mine is.”

Naminé smiled at that. “Thank you, Kairi.”

Kairi let her hand fall to her side as another thought occurred to her. “But does that mean… he doesn’t remember you? He doesn’t remember that you helped him get all his memories of me back?”

Naminé shook her head. “All he knows is that he’s supposed to thank me.”

Something stirred inside Kairi.  “Naminé, we have to help him remember you! He’d be so upset if he realized—” She froze, all thoughts and plans fleeing her head at the sight of the tears shining in Naminé’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“You really are too kind,” Naminé said, wiping her eyes. “I was afraid to tell you, and here you are, trying to think of ways for Sora to remember me.”

Kairi’s hand found its way to her necklace. “Well… don’t get me wrong. I’m not happy that you made him forget about me. We can’t ever get back the year we lost, and I’d be lying if I said that doesn’t make me sad. And… I guess… if I’m being completely honest… a little jealous, too.”

It was hard to admit these things to herself, let alone another person. But Kairi knew it was true. The thought of Sora showing interest in another girl made this uneasy feeling settle over her stomach, and she knew what that feeling was.

“But I can’t hold it against you, Naminé. You were in a bad situation and Marluxia was using you as much as he was using Sora. You’re as much a victim as he is.”

Naminé nodded. “It’s true. But not any longer.”

“No, of course not. You’ve done nothing but help him and help me since then. You’re a good person, Naminé. I’m glad you’re my Nobody.” She paused and corrected herself. “No, not my Nobody, my friend.”

“I’m glad you’re my friend, too.”

Kairi smiled and found Naminé’s hands again. “And that means I want Sora to remember you, too. And not just that. You deserve to exist on your own. You have your own memories, your own feelings. And that means you have your own heart, too. I promise, Namine, I’ll find a way to bring you back. You and Roxas both. I know Sora feels the same way. We promised we’d be together so you two could be together, but that isn’t good enough anymore. I want the two of you to be free so you can be together any time you want.”

Naminé smiled again, and this time, there was no trace of sadness in her smile. “Thank you, Kairi.”

As the dream faded away into morning, Kairi couldn’t wait to tell Sora about her new promise. Someday, she would meet Naminé again, face-to-face. Sora would see Roxas face-to-face. He would remember Naminé, and she could introduce herself to Roxas properly, too.

The four of them would be friends, she just knew it.

And until that day came, she would never give up on finding a way for Naminé to be free.

Today’s prompt is dedicated to @anheiressofasoldier and @dusky-dancing :) Months and months ago we had a discussion about what might happen if Kairi and Naminé talked about what happened in Chain of Memories, and I’d been meaning to write something based on those ideas for ages. Well, today was the day and I finally got around to doing it. Thank you for the inspiration, you two, and I hope you enjoyed it!

[kh-akira]

If you're still taking prompts, what about #13 "a sorry kiss"? For Lea and Akira

Sure do! You guys can actually always sent me prompts from different lists ( #prompt list ) or your own when you have ideas.

This was an interesting scenario, since the idea came right into my mind, tho I couldn’t decide at first who should get which role. Because both could easily switch those. Went with Lea because Lea he simply the more likely candidate to cause hurt at the time. 

PS: After finishing I realized that this is more a combination of scared and sorry kiss, so uhhh. Hope that’s okay. xD

A Sorry Kiss

Word count: 1074

When was the last time Akira had been so angry with him?

Lea couldn’t really remember.

But he knew that usually fists would fly.

It was only thanks to his already bad shape and the presence of Roxas and Xion that Akira just glared at him.

The teenager looked between their two friends, worry clear on their faces. 

“Please Akira. It really was not Lea’s fault,” Xion pleaded and Roxas nodded, putting his hand on his chest.

“She is right. If anybody is at fault, it’s us!”

They stepped closer to Akira in their attempt to calm her down. But Lea noticed how she tensed up and raised his voice.

“Xion, Roxas. It’s okay.”

Confused they looked over to him. He gave them an reassuring smile.

“I can deal with this. You two better go now.”

“Are you…sure?” Roxas asked and Lea just nodded.

Xion looked a last time between him and Akira, before she took her friend’s hand.

“Let’s leave them alone Roxas.”

Stil a bit unsure about the situation, Roxas finally nodded and let Xion lead him out of the hospital room.

When Lea looked back at Akira, she had crossed her arms in a very defensive way and cast her eyes down.

How did he always get himself in those situations?

Roxas, Xion and him had been on such a simple mission off-world. Something they had done a dozen times by now. They had fought Heartless and local monsters, nothing out of the ordinary. Yet here he was, sitting in a hospital bed, his head, arms and chest bandaged and with the order not to get out of said bed for a week.

He tried to think of something to lighten up the mood or even better to apologize, when she suddenly broke the silence.

“You promised it.”

It was barely more than a whisper, but the anger and hurt was clear.

Guilt tightened his throat and he couldn’t get out the words he actually wanted to say, looking down ashamed.

“I know…,”

Silence fell over them again. 

Saying Sorry sounded so shallow to him. For one he had said it way too often by now and for another…it wasn’t the first time he broke this promise. So he didn’t blame her a bit for being angry with him, despite his only intention had been to protect Roxas and Xion.

Quiet sobs caught his attention. 

When he looked up he noticed just how tense Akira had become. She practically clawed her fingers into her upper arms and her shoulders were raised up to her ears. Her whole figure was shaking from her weak attempt to keep herself together. 

This sight hurt him more than any pain he felt the moment he got up from the bed to walk over to her. 

The moment he took her in an embrace, her tightly shut eyes opened and looked at him. They were filled with unshed tears. 

“You could be dead now.”

The anger from before was replaced with plain fear now. 

“But I’m not,” he said and hugged her closer, ignoring the protest from his body. “And…I really try not to. It’s just…,” 

“…You just want to keep them save,” she finished for him, when Lea struggled to find a good explanation for his action.

“Yeah…”

While Akira didn’t returned the hug, he could feel how she relaxed now in his arms, which relieved him. He gave her forehead a kiss.

“I’m…so sorry Aki,” he finally got the words out. “The last thing I want is to make you worry or hurt you.”

“I know that,” she said after a moment and took in a deep, shaky breath. “And…it wasn’t really fair from me to react like this. It’s not like I would have done it any different. Sorry.” 

“Hey, you’re the last one who needs to apologize,” he tried to soothe her, gently cupping her face to make her look up at him again. Tears were now running down her face and he wiped them away with his thumbs. 

“I’m just…so afraid,” Akira sniffed “I don’t know if I could bare it to loose you. Not again.”

Lea sighed and gave her a sympathetically look. 

He knew exactly how she felt. But he couldn’t bring himself to repeat the promise, that nothing would happen to him. He didn’t want to lie to her.

Leaning forward he tenderly pressed his lips against hers, trying to calm her down and to punctuate his next words. 

“All I can do is to promise that I’ll try to be more careful.” He said after they parted and pressed his forehead against hers. “No guarantees. Just…that I try.”

They stared in each others eyes for a moment, before Akira took in another breath. 

“Fine…Knowing you…it should be more than enough.” 

Her arms finally found their way around his body. Despite her careful hug, it still caused him pain. But he kept quiet about it. 

“It’s frustrating…But I understand.” She smiled at him, a sight that was very soothing for his heart. “We are both very reckless, so I shouldn’t complain.”

He chuckled at this.

“True. Maybe if you’d come with us, you could help me keep the kids save, while we also keep each other save?” he suggested with a slight grin.

Akira had to hiccup from the mix of lingering tears and laughter.

“You really don’t give up on that, do you?”

“Never!” he now grinned widely. “It’s just half the fun without you.”

“Yeah, I see what fun that is,” she chuckled. “Maybe we really should stick together as team. At least then there will be less casualties.”

“See? Only advantages when you come along. And I’m sure you still can do your job here.”

“We will see,” she hummed and then took a step away from him, a slight frown on her face. “But for now, you go back to your bed. You shouldn’t even be up in the first place.”

“Can’t just sit tight when my better half needs some good hugging,” he said with a charming smile, but the exhausting became quickly clear on his face. “Tho I’m glad you point that out, because I think my legs are giving out any second.”

Before he even finished his sentence, Akira let him lean on her and helped him getting back to the bed. 

He listened to her scolding with a smile, just being glad she wasn’t angry and sad anymore. 

[dewprisms]

ok so, it’s been a day, i think i’m ready to collect my thoughts on KH3

where to begin....the plot I guess?

So what....even happened. like, Xehanort seems to have done a change on why he’s doing all this, but i’ve seen examples that it’s not far-fetched but idk it just seems like poor writing if “i love darkness” xehanort was really trying to bring back the light...there’s stuff that never got explained with so many characters too so i’ll just

sora: him hiding his pain was always implied but a lot of people really are too dumb to realize that and called him OoC in this game, like Coded and DDD were leading up to all this. I joked that he died but then it turns out he really did fucking die. and then he died again to bring back kairi. and now he’s in shibuya??? do i gotta play twewy now cause i dont care about that game

riku: why did they not let him interact with kairi. why. their relationship got shafted hard. its like, are they even really friends anyway? or just with sora? the soriku in this game was strong af despite being the one where sokai was made canon

kairi: GOD WHERE DO I BEGIN Kairi I’m so fucking sorry Nomura did all this shit to you. Hype you up with keyblade training. helping with the final battle. then what happened? needing rescue, everyone getting hurt because you need saving. getting your ass beat by xion (at least in my game, jfc she died faster than donald ever did), getting kidnapped immediately after, again. then GETTING KILLED BY XEHANORT SO SORA CAN HAVE HIS MAN PAIN then having Sora die so he could bring Kairi back so she can cry about being lonely. why the FUCK isn’t she the one looking for him, why are they having Riku do it? why does nomura fucking hate her. she deserves better than this. i’ll never be over this even if Kairi gets redeemed in every subsequent game. they fucked up real bad with her and I’m so fucking pissed off.

roxas: my boy. where is the convo about him and ven. we just saw them notice each other but no words exchanged. this is the guy who’s been having an identity crisis since he was born. and nothing at all? come on.

xion: my girl her new outfit is so gosh darn  f r e s h like damn son. but, why is she back? why was she with the orgxiii? how did they even get her when she was inside sora’s heart???

lea: i still dont like him. he kidnapped kairi and hurt her friends and he makes kairi call him axel, the name he had when he did all that, so he could project his faded memories of xion onto her. he was abusive to xion and roxas, i knew they were gonna reunite because they’re friends but he NEEDS to apologize for what he did to them, the constant lying, attacking xion because she ran away from her abusive situation because he didn’t want to be lonely, and the writers turned his threat into a heartwarming scene? no fuck that. everyone forgave him for everything far too easily.

isa: APOLOGIZE TO ROXAS AND XION TOO YOU FUCK. especially xion. now he’s suddenly friends with them? fuck that. he needs to make up for how he treated them.

x: it would’ve been great if they had brought her up in days, it just comes so out of left field that isa and lea were trying to find and save some girl who’s name they dont even know. why the fuck is Skuld even in the present, cause that’s likely who she is. more forced ties to the money hungry gacha game i can’t bear myself to leave.

ven: my son, i have nothing bad to say about him

terra: my son, i’m surprised the guardian = terra’s heartless theory was true, and like damn, he got messed up so bad his heart, body AND soul/mind got split? but, where was his interactions with riku. he did bequeath his keyblade to him. but nothing is said between them, they don’t even interact outside of a small race in the ending.

aqua: why do people say they wrote her bad? i mean yeah she just immediately gave up against the heartless swarm instead of fighting it but she was trapped in the realm of darkness and taken over by the darkness for 10 years like just a few hours before hand.....she still got off pretty good in the end.

namine: i swear i was worried they forgot about her, she helped LW find terranort which brought terra back, and she came back. that ending? she and xion are def dating.

replica riku: replinami is fucking canon i dont care what you say. im still sad, he could’ve had the replica body anyway, it was implied there were many more, and even could’ve just made more. roxas and ven, and kairi/namine/xion can exist despite being identical, why can’t he and riku?

demyx: what the hell even happened to him? he dropped off the replica body and ansem the wise then disappeared from the rest of the game. we legit have no clue what happened to him. all we know is that he got benched from the nort 13, then xemnas confirmed he was also a keykid in the age of fairytales, but even khux hasn’t revealed that yet, larxene just got revealed like 2 months ago. i feel like him being revealed as a keykid should have jossed the theory of him being the master of masters but people still going at it. then again....(far below)

luxord: also a keykid even though he looks too old (prob the beard), his characterization seems to be in line with days, how he resigned to his fate that he was just gonna serve the org til the end because he had nothing left. also what the hell was that “wild card” he gave to sora, it never got brought up again.

marluxia: he also forgot his past like them all too, only remembering when sora beat him. i’m guessing he’ll never find strelitzia, she was in the final world too so she’s def dead. although namine was there too.....

larxene: god i love this absolute bitch. saying “ugh xemnas” to his face is such bad bitch energy. all of her scenes were so good. she only went along because of marluxia though....and yet neither of them remembered their past as keykids but stuck together anyway. they’re canon hush.

ienzo: what a good boy. he’s really trying hard to atone.

vexen: i’ll admit i didn’t trust him, but he was sincere in wanting to repent.

aeleus/dilan: lmao the former got like 1 line and the latter got like 1 grunt and nothing else. they were just kinda there. weird considering what Xaldin was like in 2/days.

ansem sod: uh.....what was with the attempted redemption in his defeat, literally nothing ever implied he was wanting to quit because he suddenly always knew they would fail

xemnas: same as ansem, literally nothing implied he was sad over being lonely because nobody actually liked him or his authority

young xehanort: imagined getting burned by freakin woody of all people. also what was his deal. he’s like the only one who didn’t get some kind of sad or redeeming cutscene. and he was the one who implied sora would die if he abused the power of waking outta nowhere. idk, something about him seemed off compared to like. every other nort.

donald and goofy: donald straight up decimated Terranort in the first/failure timeline, like dude literally died from zettaflare

Mickey: I wish he had died instead of Kairi :/ just because she was already being treated like shit

Eraqus: He apologized to Aqua and Ven but not Terra :/ at least he’s with his boyfriend in the afterlife

Xehanort: All the fights were easy as shit and the finale was anticlimatic. I actually like him less because of the fucking Kairi bullshit. Also his new VA just doesn’t work. He suddenly has an accent, his voice is nowhere near as deep and he lacks emotion in most of his lines. And people thought Terra and Aqua’s voices were emotionless? At least Xehaqus is canon ig

braig/xigbar/luxu’s getting his own post

[multiimuse]

Hmm.... 1-10 odds for Dilan, 10-20 odds for Isa, 20-30 odds for Riku!

Dilan

1.)Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

Dilan’s family is, and has been for a very long time, made up entirely of the other guards, the apprentices, and to an extent Ansem himself (as the king was his liege, however, that made the relationship somewhat different for Dilan than what he held with the others). Barring Ienzo, most of them were more or less within his own age group, give or take a handful of years. As for being closer to one over all others? He connected with each of the in different ways, but more or less equally... That being said, Aeleus is the only one to know the full details of what happened in his long ago-soured relationship, and the only one he ever felt able to talk to about what he lost. So perhaps, if one must be chosen... 

3.) What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

Dilan’s father was... strict. He had expectations for his son and how a young man should behave - expectations that were hard to meet - and a temper to rival Dilan’s own. There was love, there, but neither one really knew how to show it and their tempers often got in the way. He died when Dilan was just shy of adulthood, so he never really got to know the man on a more equal footing.

5.) On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

A handful of munny, a spare hair tie, a small bag of trail mix (that is mostly banana chips), a pocket knife, and a piece of a torn and faded photograph that never sees the light of day.

7.) Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

Betrayal by those he cares for, failure to stay true to both his oaths and his heart, and many, many kinds of loss. Next question.

9.) Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

Not all that different, really - his is a military family, with dedicated service and honor a key part of their background. Being a member of Ansem’s personal guard is something of a step up, but not a particularly dramatic one.

Isa

11.) In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

When he and Lea broke into the castle that final time, and when Lea was killed in front of him. There is and was literally nothing scarier than being dragged away from his best friend while he was dying.

13.) Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

A little! Growing up, it always made him feel a little sick to his stomach - that’s something that’s supposed to stay inside you, not end up on the outside - but it was really only large amounts of blood that bothered him. (Well, and nosebleeds, but that’s just because nosebleeds are disgusting.) It doesn’t frighten him or anything, just makes him nauseous and it’s relatively easy to ignore.

15.) Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

Not really! The things he enjoyed the most in his life had nothing to do with munny, or at least were cheap enough that he could usually afford them even on a teenager’s allowance. Isa was more  about experiences and learning and uncovering mysteries than he was about anything material.

17.) What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

As a small child, he had a plush rabbit with floppy ears that he adored very much. He insisted that he didn’t care about it any more once he grew old enough for admitting it to be embarrassing, but the truth was he never stopped loving it and just kept it hidden inside his pillowcase.

19.) What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

Isa has a jealous, possessive streak. Before losing his heart, it was relatively mild but would occasionally flare up whenever Lea met someone new. He had the sense not to act on it, most of the time, because he knew Lea would never actually leave him or replace him. Then he lost his heart, and as Saix, the only lingering remnants of his former self were those negative traits - the dark places and things that he never wanted to admit he had. Eventually, it drove Axel away, toward Roxas and Xi - (someone else???) toward Roxas.

Riku

21.) If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

The answer to this question has shifted somewhat over time. Before the door, before leaving the Islands, Riku would have been quick to find another cause to blame. Not necessarily a person, but he wouldn’t blame himself  - he was stronger, and better, and destined for great things, so of course it couldn’t have been his fault. After darkness took root in his heart, however, after he saw the mistakes he had made and what he, without question, had done, he swung sharply in the other direction, and will blame himself first without fail. He’s... he’s working on that, now, trying not to default to either extreme, because neither one is usually true. But it’s difficult, and he has to stop and catch himself before his thoughts begin to spiral.

23.) What does your character dislike in other people?

Manipulative tendencies. Arrogance. The lack of ability to see how your actions affect others - and simple selfishness. ...Yes, he’s aware most of these apply to himself at a certain point in his life. This is why he’s working on things. (Besides, just because he struggled with a lot of these doesn’t make them any less worth disliking.)

25.) How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

Riku is a pretty cautious individual, really. It’s not easy for him to open his heart up and trust people, even when they do seem to mean well. But he tries to give people the benefit of the doubt, so long as he doesn’t notice any warning flags in their behavior. This doesn’t change too much whether he’s close to a person or not; he wants to believe the best, but there’s always going to be a part of him that holds back, always alert for manipulation and betrayal. There are, of course, certain people that are almost entirely exempt from this rule, but at the moment that’s only his family, Sora, Kairi, Mickey - and Lea is starting to get there, too.

27.) How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

That depends on the nature of the confrontation! Riku is perfectly willing to step in and fight for his friends, or someone who looks frightened or seems targeted. He won’t jump straight into a fight, but he’ll get involved. He may try to defuse or redirect the situation, but if it comes down to it, he’s not afraid to argue or fight. When it comes to himself, however... he’s slower to act. He’s working on this, too, and is getting much, much better at not simply taking abuse because he feels like he deserves it, because yes, he knows that he’s made mistakes - but they’re not all he is, and he doesn’t need to roll over out of guilt or shame or anything like that. He’s still a person with a right to defend himself, and he will. It just might take him a minute or two to remember that, on bad days.

29.) What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

He dreamed of leaving the Islands, of course! And meeting the strange but fascinating man who came to him, who told him he could and would. As for it coming true? Half of it has - maybe not in the way he expected, and definitely not in the way he wishes it had gone, but it did. As for finding the one who inspired him back then... that hasn’t come true, yet, but he’s still holding onto that hope.

[oathkeptroxas]

SorikuWeek2017; Day One; Reunion.

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Relationships: Riku/Sora, Riku & Roxas Characters: Riku, Roxas Additional Tags: Implied/Off-Screen Soriku, Angst, Character Study, Riku-centric, SorikuWeek2017, Redemption, Insecurity

Summary: What's that? Angsty, plot-less character study that only vaguely relates to the prompt? Did you mean: My whole aesthetic?

"No one loves him like I do, no one else even knows what they’re missing."

Read on ao3 here. Or read in full below the cut.

Take care of her,

Riku remembered speaking the words so vividly, as if no time had passed at all. He remembered how soft it sounded, surprising himself with the gentle tone. There was so much more he’d wanted to say, so much he couldn’t hope to articulate.

Take care of her, he’d said, but it had meant so much more. Take care of yourself. Go home. I’m sorry for everything, I’m sorry you have to clean up after me. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough.

I’ll be strong enough next time. I promise.

I know you will.

He remembered closing the door, watching his entire world get shut out. He didn’t know how or if he’d make it back, but that didn’t matter. He needed to end it, this was his penance. He needed to make sure this was done. He would earn the right to once again walk in the light.

“Take care of her,” he’d said. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.

Riku would make it home. He would right his wrongs and return to the boy he loved. He would make sure he was worthy to stand at Sora’s side. The reunion could wait until the very moment that he earned it, not a second sooner.

He wanted to look in Sora’s eyes and know that there was nothing stuck between them. No more resentment and hurt, no more secrets, no more darkness.

Every time he saw Sora’s sleeping form in that pod, it cut him deeper. Sora was so full of life, boundless in energy and an undying light in the lives of those who knew him. Seeing him so still, so quiet, so not Sora was painful. Knowing that everyone who was supposed to love Sora had been forced to forget him, put things in a different kind of perspective. He needs me, Riku thought to himself, staring longing at Sora’s sleeping face, No one loves him like I do, no one else even knows what they’re missing. Riku vowed to help in anyway possible, to gather the pieces up, to put Sora back together. Good as new.

Roxas, DiZ had said. They needed to find Roxas, to stop him. Before it was too late, they needed to capture Roxas, he was going to do something reckless. He was going to get himself killed.

Riku had been reluctant. But, DiZ had said it was for Sora. They needed Roxas. Riku would do anything for Sora. He tracked down and confronted the boy, prepared to fight with all he was worth if he had to. He didn’t know the true ins and outs of the situation, but he didn’t need to. He was already all in.

But, the boy, Roxas wasn’t anything like Riku had expected. He was seething. Bitter resentment rolled off of him in waves, his fists were clenched tight around the keyblades he could wield in each hand. Riku would’ve taken a moment to marvel at that, had it not been for the look in the boy’s eyes. Roxas was sad, the desperate, grief-stricken, longing kind of heartbreak.

Nobodies didn’t have hearts, DiZ had said, they only pretended. But there was no mistaking the torrent of emotion that Roxas was displaying. And Riku couldn’t fathom any part of Sora ever looking quite so murderous. Riku faltered, couldn’t reconcile the boy before him with the boy he loved. They were like two separate entities not just in physical form, but in essence, in spirit, in demeanor. Maybe DiZ had been wrong.

I thought I would feel something, he thought to himself, I thought I would feel Sora, that I would know any part of him like I know myself

There was a stinging clench in Riku’s chest as he and Roxas continued to face-off.

“What is going on?” The boy cried, and Riku would’ve liked the answer to that one himself.

The confusion, the truly mystified frustration in Roxas’ voice was unmistakable. Riku felt a pang of guilt at that. He couldn’t give Roxas the information he wanted, he didn’t even have all the answers. He just knew that Roxas was volatile, and powerful, and if anything happened to him then Sora would be lost forever. He needed to be reigned in. Any sympathy Riku may have felt towards the boy evaporated immediately with the reminder that Sora’s heart lay in the balance.

Riku had known it wouldn’t be easy, he’d found out early on that Roxas was a force to be reckoned with, that he wasn’t going down without a fight. Riku couldn’t afford to lose this battle, there was too much at stake.

“C’mon, Sora, I thought you were stronger than that,” Riku drawled, riling up his opponent may not have been the smartest move, but he needed to know, needed to see for himself that what DiZ had told him was true.

Roxas had looked mystified for a second, and seemingly without his consent “Get real! Look which one of us is winning!” fell from his lips.

Riku couldn’t help the smile that formed, the warmth that flooded his insides. Sora was here. Sora had reacted to him, remembered him, come forth with very little coaxing. Riku couldn’t help the gloating, so relieved to know that this wasn’t in vain, and as soon as this was over Riku would be one step closer to getting Sora back.

“I am me, nobody else!” Roxas seethed, before launching into another attack, but Riku was becoming accustomed to his opponent's moves.

Everything would be so much easier, so much less painful, if that were true, Riku couldn’t help but think in response. This wasn’t Roxas’ fault. Everyone involved here deserved better. But Riku couldn’t afford to dwell on that, couldn’t let himself think of Roxas as anything more than a hinderance. If he allowed himself to feel for the boy, to view him as a person, it would be far more difficult to complete his task. Roxas was a puzzle piece, nothing more.

No matter how long he’d spent fighting it, denying it, running from it, Riku knew now that the darkness would always be a part of him. He needed it, it was a necessary evil. It was for Sora. He had vowed when that door had closed that he would do better, that he would never let Sora down again. He would be the darkness if he had to. He would do anything, be anything that Sora needed. It was a price he was willing to pay.

A shameful new form took shape, a disguise Riku had no choice but to bare, a reflection of his greatest weakness. He would do, he would be what he had to. As he lifted Roxas from the ground and crushed the strength from him, he steeled himself against the feelings that stirred within him, and the voice inside his head - suspiciously like Sora’s - that whispered this wasn’t right, wasn’t fair. Roxas was Riku’s victim. Roxas had been a speedbump on Riku’s way to getting the most important person in his life back.

Half of Sora, Namine had said. That’s what Roxas was, an empty husk left behind when Sora’s heart had been freed. Riku stared down at the boy’s unconscious body, his face lax and peaceful, and he almost wished the boy looked more like Sora - would’ve loved the words he’d spoken to be in Sora’s voice, coming from Sora’s mouth - couldn’t understand why he didn’t.

The brief interaction he’d had with Sora - though indirect and via Roxas - was enough to remind Riku to fight. It wasn’t the reunion he’d been hoping for. He’d pondered and day-dreamed so many times of finishing the job, of slaying their enemies and going home to the island. He imagined the setting sun shining red on Sora’s hair, the fading light sparkling in his eyes. He imagined being cleansed of all the bad he’d done. He’d dreamt of redemption, of Sora’s forgiveness. He’d imagined so many times the perfect moment, knowing that he would see Sora again when he was ready, when he was purged, when the worlds were at peace.

I’ll see him again when I deserve it.