#li plays kh3

[moeblob]

Demyx (my beloved)

[dreamsy990]

an idea for a scene from my au thats been sitting in my head for a while. im not gonna elaborate [please do not tag as ship!!]

bonus

progress

[thefreshprinceofjunes]

soriku endgame: an imagining

OKAY WELL HERE IT IS

TEN WHOLE PAGES OF HOW SORIKU ENDGAME MIGHT ACTUALLY PLAY OUT

i was rewatching vin play RE2 and fsr this invaded my thoughts and wouldnt leave

this is barely proofread and i reused a lot of the same words/phrases BUT its just meant to be an outline/abridged version so keep that in mind

(if i got any lore wrong tho pls let me know)

btw if you dont want to read this on tumblr for whatever reason, heres a link to the google doc

note: this is going off the assumption MoM saw everything (or at least everything soriku) through the gazing eye

scene is quadratum probably. master of masters (or whoever the bad guy in kh4 is) has sora and riku caught in a bad situation (for temporary visuals im picturing something similar to the dark guardian restraining aqua and ven in kh3)

sora and riku are struggling to break free, while the MoM just laughs. some kh dramatic banter occurs, before MoM changes the subject and starts monologuing (with sora and riku probably interjecting here and there)

MoM: [to sora] you still havent figured it out yet, have you?

MoM: dont you ever wonder why rikus heart holds as vast of a darkness as it does?

MoM: its not because of jealousy, or ansem, or even his desire for strength since you were children.

MoM: no, its much simpler than that.

MoM: remember that dream you had, sora? before the islands were destroyed?

MoM: there was a voice speaking to you, from deep within your heart:

MoM: 'the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.'

MoM: well, the road goes both ways, kid. the deepest of darknesses can only come from the brightest of lights.

sora: wh-what are you saying?

MoM: its been in front of all along, but you were too blind to see it.

cut to voiceless flashbacks of all the times sora encountered the brightest light: when receiving the keyblade, when almost pulled out of sleep by the memory of aqua on DI, during the dive to heart at the beginning of kh3 (assuming it really happened and wasnt just for gameplay purposes), and after using the power of waking at the KBG (the tunnel scene)

sora looks at riku, then back at MoM. riku is grimacing.

sora: that… that was… that was rikus light?

MoM: bingo!

MoM: but theres even more to it than that.

MoM: theres another force of power in this universe that keeps light and dark in harmony

sora: another…?

MoM: you feel an unfathomable depth of it in your heart for, well, pretty much everyone youve ever met.

MoM: what lies in rikus heart, however, comes from the same place, but is also very, very different. its something you claim to not understand, even though youve encountered it many times during your adventures.

rikus eyes widen and he tries to interject, but the MoM physically stops him; sora calls out for him

MoM: its more than just friendship. its hearts that are really, truly connected between two people.

MoM: think about it. think about all the times when everything seemed hopeless, but something, something, kept the bad guys from winning. it wasnt light.

cut to voiceless flashbacks between many of the disney couples sora has met: the beast arriving at hollow bastion out of sheer force of will in his search for belle, flynn sacrificing himself for rapunzel and her tears bringing him back to life (some shit with will/elizabeth and sam/quorra too maybe idk), and finally, herc gaining his strength back as he rescues megara from styx, followed by herc saying, 'people always do crazy things when theyre in love.'

sora stares ahead at nothing in particular, before wincing in pain; suddenly, a forgotten memory surfaces in his mind (if the convo with NS confirms he hasnt completely forgotten, then its the key details that have been missing):

rikus sacrifice in the KBG

riku calls out for him and struggles, but MoM just laughs so more.

MoM: there, now its coming back to you. and that wasnt the only time riku sacrificed everything for you, yknow, although it was probably the most heroic instance. remember him taking on ansems form to beat roxas? and his dive into your heart to wake you from slumber, despite the tremendous danger? you only met her briefly, but one of the princesses of heart experienced something very similar.

MoM: aurora. maleficent placed a curse on her when she was a baby, causing the princess and the rest of the kingdom to fall into a deep sleep on her 16th birthday. but the heir to a nearby kingdom, prince phillip, valiantly fought his way to the castle, and woke up the sleeping beauty– through a kiss. a kiss, of true… 

MoM trails off and looks at riku, then back at sora, expectantly. riku is still struggling to free himself before the truth is revealed, but its no use.

sora stares off again, before looking MoM in the eyes.

sora: … love…?

MoM does jazz hands and poses.

MoM: ding ding ding ding! we have a winner! it only took you, what, 12, 13 years to figure it out? honestly, i just couldnt stand watching it go on for any longer.

MoM: but, hey, i still have my honor. if im wrong, im more than happy to apologize.

MoM turns to riku then.

MoM: well? am i wrong, riku?

riku doesnt respond, and MoM sighs dramatically.

MoM: still no answer? okay, guess well have to do this the hard way.

MoM starts hurting sora, causing him to cry out in pain while riku watches helplessly 

MoM: come on, riku! do it! use your true strength! unleash the power hidden within your heart!

sora gasps and winces, barely getting out rikus name 

suddenly, theres a bright flash of pink energy (maybe rikus eyes also turn dream eater pink too?)

(if the power of love is too cheesy even for kh, then maybe its a black and white darkness/light combo attack)

riku breaks free of whatever MoM did to him, and then channels the energy through his arm, blasting it through soras restraints.

unfortunately, sora was being held in the air, and starts to fall– but in the blink of eye, riku is there to catch him in his arms.

MoM laughs in triumph and draws back slightly.

MoM: there we go!

MoM then shrugs.

MoM: well, this was fun, but ive got places to be. and im sure you two have a lot to talk about. toodles!

MoM disappears, leaving sora and riku in stunned silence.

after a moment, riku sets sora down and turns away from him, avoiding soras gaze.

sora meanwhile takes a second to catch his breath, before staring at riku with wide eyes.

sora: r… riku… is… is that...? is that really… how you feel?

riku clenches his fists at his sides and stays turned away. after a pause, he responds.

riku: … even if it is, it doesnt matter.

sora: what do you mean?

riku: i know… im not the one for you.

riku takes a deep breath.

riku: … when you were put to sleep for a year to fix your memories, some of them found their way into xion. they happened to be your most important memories– the ones you couldnt wake up without.

riku: those… were your memories of kairi. and xion took on her appearance because of them.

sora is stunned, only having been vaguely made aware of what happened in that year.

sora: k… kairi?

riku nods solemnly.

riku: yeah. and the only reason your memories got messed with in the first place is because the organization forced namine to make herself the person most important to you, instead of kairi.

sora pauses.

sora: you mean… castle oblivion.

riku nods again.

sora watches, before feeling a pain in his heart and grabbing at his chest instinctively.

underneath his hand, he can feel the cold metal of his crown necklace.

and thats when it finally clicks.

everything blurs, and theres a sudden rush of memories.

(maybe a memory sequence that you actually play through?)

sora, holding kairis wayfinder in castle oblivion. suddenly, the memory gets static-y, like during soras memory restoration.

cut to namine confessing to sora shes not the girl he cares about– but every time the word is feminine, its distorted by video static. (this is how we fix the aitsu thing)

"no. the g̸͓̦͙̫̮̦̠͗͐͗̊͑̕͝i̷͖̝̝̱̐ͅͅŗ̸̄̆̓̆̊̄̿l̶̮͉̦͓͔̹̀̂͗͝ͅ you care about...the one who was always with you... its not me. its ḧ̴̳͔̻̾̇e̵͚͂̀r̸̺̣̠̓̂̀̚."

cut to namine speaking to sora before he goes to sleep.

“but theres another promise you made—a promise to someone you could never replace. s̵̹̀͗͜h̷͇͇͌̆̐e̷̡̛̱'̷̦̆s̵̫͖̦̄̈̄ your light. the light within the darkness. if you can remember h̷̼̼̜͚͒e̸̢̡̤̹̬͖͐̒͒̾r̸͓̣̜̼̜̠͚͂̋̃...all the memories lost in the shadows of your heart will come into the light."

cut to a flashback of repliku talking about their shared promise. again, the feminine words are indecipherable.

"there was a meteor shower one night when s̶̳̄͑̆̅̆͗h̴͍̞͖͙͑̔̋̈́̎̈̾ę̷̧̰̰̖̝͆̆̕̚ and i were little... n̸̨̙̼͑̽ả̴̗͕̮́͊͝m̴̻̳͚̒i̸̳̟͑n̶̡̥̋̑̌é̸͍̦͑͐͋́ got scared and said, what if a shooting star hits the islands? so i told ḧ̷̡̬̽̅͆̊ė̸̙̩̠̥̿̃̚͠r̶̛̥̻̖̉̾̽͝, if a shooting star comes this way, ill protect you! and then—"

cut back to the memory pod.

"look at the g̴̬͛̄̚͘ŏ̴̞̙̰̍͂̀ö̴̘̥̗̱̐͋͆ͅď̷̨͙̙̩̓́͝ ̸̢̋̈́̂̚ļ̷̯̥̲̪̐̋͌̾̚ṵ̵̼̥̥͖̎c̸̱̟̹̚ķ̸̭̱̖̓̇ͅ ̷͇̳̃̑́͑͐͜ͅc̸̢̤̈̈́̊̚̕h̵̙̗̓͊̾ͅą̷̣̮̞̾̈́r̶̜̜͓̥̀́͋͝m̸̺̖͈̖͓̊̀̕. i changed its shape when i changed your memory. but when you thought of ẖ̴͚̙̆ȅ̴̡̛̞̲̥̼̋͐r̸̹̱̐, it went back to the way it was."

finally, a few more lines from namine.

"remembering one thing leads to remembering another, and then another... your memories are connected, like links in a chain. those same chains are what anchor us all together. i dont destroy memories. i just take apart the links and rearrange them. you still have all your memories."

cut back to sora in the real world. everything is still blurry, but now rikus voice can be heard in the background calling for him, distorted.

and then, a flash of light.

nighttime. its still. everything is quiet and peaceful.

young sora and riku are walking back from the beach.

suddenly, theres a bright streak across the sky. 

sora and riku both gasp.

then, another. and another. and another.

the night of the meteor shower.

riku watches the sky in amazement– until he feels a tug on his arm.

he glances at his side and sees sora, utterly terrified and clinging on to him for dear life.

sora: wahhhh!! r-r-riku, the sky is falling!!

riku laughs.

riku: no, those are shooting stars. theyre way up high in the sky.

sora however is not convinced, and keeps shaking as tears start to well up in his eyes.

sora: b-but…! theres so many of them. and theyre so fast!! what if a shooting star hits the islands?!

the reality of soras mood finally sets in, and riku is left staring as he tries to think of what to do.

hanging from his pocket is his wooden sword.

the words of the man with the real sword echo in his mind:

“no more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love."

riku grabs his sword then and holds it up to the sky as he looks at sora, courage glinting in his eyes.

riku: if a shooting star comes this way, ill protect you! ill hit it right back into outer space!

sora sniffles as he watches riku swing the sword around.

sora: r-really?

riku nods his head confidently.

riku: i will. i promise!

after a moment of thought, riku reaches into his pocket and pulls out a silver chain with a crown dangling from the end.

riku: here. take this. i found it the other day.

with the magic of cutscene, riku somehow turns the chain into a necklace, and then reaches over to hang it around soras neck.

riku: whenever you get scared, all you have to do is look at this, and remember that ill always be there to protect you. no matter what.

tears run down soras face as he looks at the necklace.

the voice of the strange girl theyd met before rings through his mind:

"so then if something happens, and riku is about to get lost—or say, he starts wandering down a dark path alone—you make sure to stay with him and keep him safe. thats your job, sora, and im counting on you to do it, okay?"

sora gulps and then reaches out to grab rikus free hand in both of his own. riku is surprised by this.

sora: ill… ill protect you too! i-i know im not as strong as you, but ill… ill try! i promise!

riku is taken aback for a moment, before he smiles gently at sora.

riku: … thanks, sora.

afterward, a multitude of quick flashbacks to all the times sora and riku protected each other, culminating in seeing the KBG sacrifice one more time.

fade to back.

in a hotel room (or smth similar), sora suddenly sits up straight in a bed, heart beating rapidly.

sora: riku!

(paralleling when riku called out for him after waking up from the dive into his heart in ddd)

riku has been seated at the edge of the bed, waiting and worrying. when he realizes soras awake, he scoots down the bed towards him.

riku: sora! youre okay!

after catching his breath, sora looks around the room, confused.

sora: … what… happened?

riku: you passed out, so i brought you here. how are you feeling?

sora puts a hand to his head, grimacing slightly at his pulsing headache. but that doesnt matter right now.

sora: im… im fine. listen, riku… i saw… i saw some of the things that happened at CO.

rikus eyes widen.

riku: you did?

sora: yeah. i saw you… well, a version of you. and namine. namine…

sora looks into rikus eyes.

sora: she… she was wrong. or… maybe i was wrong, and she just played along for my sake…

riku: huh? what are you talking about?

sora swallows as his voice starts shaking, just a little.

sora: kairi… kairi wasnt the one most special to me. you were. i remember… i remember the night of the meteor shower.

sora clutches at the crown necklace.

sora: all this time, id thought id remembered everything important… but i forgot about it. [sighs] im sorry, riku

riku stays quiet for a moment, before putting on a forced smile.

riku: its fine, sora. we were little kids.

sora frowns.

sora: but… you never forgot, did you?

riku shrugs, and theres a moment of silence between them, before riku speaks again.

riku: maybe i was the one most important to you back then, but its not the same now. thats alright. im just happy to be your friend. i know how you feel about kai-

sora suddenly moves forward, closer to riku, now yelling as he cuts him off.

sora: i get to decide how i feel, riku! its my heart!

riku is taken aback at the shouting, and stares in shock. sora realizes hes gotten loud, and takes a moment to calm down.

dearly beloved starts to play in the bg

sora: i… i know now. maybe it took me a long time, but… i figured it out. the person most important to me… all along, its been you.

riku freezes up in pure shock. he cant believe what hes hearing. hed talked himself out of hoping for this day long ago.

sora finally smiles again.

sora: youre the one i love.

(paralleling prince eric with ariel)

BOOM FIREWORKS MAGIC SORIKU ENDGAME

riku is absolutely speechless, staring at sora with his mouth agape.

sora gives riku a sheepish grin, now growing nervous at the lack of a response.

sora: and… im the one you love… right?

after a second, riku returns soras smile– and, for the very first time in the series, starts crying.

he nods, shakily.

riku: … yeah. yeah, i do. i always have.

riku wipes at his eyes to stop crying, but its futile. the tears flow even harder.

sora feels himself start crying, too, but hes laughing at the same time.

he pulls riku into a hug, grabbing his upper back tightly.

without any hesitation whatsover, riku returns the embrace, holding onto sora in the same way.

(like so [sora in orange, riku in teal])

fade to black.

then they kill the MoM, get married, and live happily ever after. the end. :)

love balancing light and dark is largely taken from these tags by @osrinlore on this video of mine btw:

[gulava]

Sora may have opened the door in KH1

This isn’t to say Riku didn’t do wrong in KH1. He did. But, as far as the door and Destiny Islands is concerned, I think we’ve been getting hints for 20 years that it was Sora and Riku just got blamed for it on top of what he DID do.

How did Riku leave the islands? He disappeared into darkness and woke up at Hollow Bastion. You’ll recall Alice Lidell did the same. A disappearing act, so to speak. Data Riku and Xehanort leave through a dark corridor as well.

In the film, Alice cried tears and floated into Wonderland. Water plus sadness equals DARKNESS, my friends. She never opened the door.

Whether KH2 First Visit Belle is a Riku or Sora parallel in this particular scene is in the eye of the beholder. She’s a Disney character in a relationship so she’s one of the characters that it switches depending on the circumstance to create a balance in the relationship that is Sora and Riku but...

The 3D scene in the dream had me very...curious as to what was going on because we didn’t see Ansem SOD in the original version and sleep holds our memories they say which is why Roxas was able to access Xion’s memories and tell Axel something only Xion would know. That he’d always be there to bring them back. I don’t want to imply Ansem SOD possessed Sora in this moment but it’s plausible since...they met earlier. It always came off as odd to me that Ansem SOD would even speak to Sora if he wasn’t about to use him.

YMX says that Ansem SOD possessed Riku and saw his experiences in real time which...okay, then why wasn’t he with Riku here...? He doesn’t follow Riku when he runs to the inlet. He doesn’t follow him in the dark corridor either. We don’t even see Ansem SOD again until Hollow Bastion way later on when we KNOW he actually does possess Riku. Riku doesn’t know him in the COM Novel when he meets him on the islands during Departure. HE DOESN’T KNOW HIM. Sora does. Isn’t that...suspicious? All Ansem SOD says is that the door will open soon and Riku goes off to find Sora. He doesn’t open a door!

He doesn’t remember Ansem SOD being there.

But he was following him.

Right before this scene, Data Riku states something very interesting after Data Sora accuses him of causing the bugs (the cause being Sora’s shadow). He says: “This world has been connected. Memory and reality now stand tied. It’s time for you to learn the truth.” Ansem the Wise states that data is a clue. The Datascape is shown again in Re:Mind to “remind” us that the future is already written and to go back and revisit the game known as Coded. But I recommend ALL the games on top of that so you can put the pieces together like I have. This is what Remy from Ratatouille was trying to tell Sora and co. about the fruit that he was gathering. (Essentially Nomura trying to hint to the audience that the answers are all THERE if you do enough digging.) He was trying to take the pieces and make it into a dish. In each game, therein lies another hint. Another piece of the puzzle. This is how I work out my theories. I treat each game as apart of each other without the assumption that nothing was planned. This is how Riku laughing like Namine did in COM WORKS even if it’s only finally shown in 3D and KH3. Writing evolves over time and so do characters.

“On the road ahead, more than one truth will come to light.”

What strikes me as even odd is that what they use to put Sora in a deeper sleep in 3D is things that happened back when the Islands fell but one of them wasn’t Riku holding out his hand or Kairi being swept away from darkness. It was something we never saw. It’s Ansem SOD coming up close to Sora while he’s either sitting or lying down. Perhaps...before he took a nap at the start of the game even. Hopefully, you’ve read my meta on how Replica Riku has some of Sora’s memories. Horrifying really as he’s used to play on Sora’s guilt as a way to get him further into the castle. But there’s one line in particular that bothered me to no end in the COM novel.

Ventus didn’t remember what happened to Strelitzia nor taking the book for himself. Baldr didn’t initially remember what happened to Hoder. It’s not that hard to grasp Sora might...not correctly remember a good chunk of things. Especially with how vaguely he describes his KH1 hurt in KH3. I imagine a person whose eyes cannot lie like Master of Masters...might educate him on the truth and it will probably be very ugly. My understanding is Sora’s true darkness will involve remembering. Yes, forgetting can hurt but knowing the truth will hurt you even more. I think remembering everything will be what breaks Sora. It certainly didn’t have a good reaction on Ventus or Baldr, now did it?

A very small bonus. Yuffie, a memorable “thief”, opens a door and hurts Donald in the process in the world right after the door opens and the darkness carries Kairi away so...there’s that. Sora is shown running through it also.

TLDR; check out the rest of this scene from KHUX below.

Alice is on trial for opening the door to Wonderland and she didn’t do it but is found guilty despite the lack of evidence against her. Hm...but how did Player get into Wonderland, I wonder? Ever consider that?

*glances at Sora*

[valorxdrive]

I've been having some thoughts.

Mainly wanting to play around with the whole KH3 downfall, defiance of death perspective.

Outside of Sora's personal journey, I want still that failure to be a thing to surpass as fate was against them then. Despite their battle with Xehanort, the influence of the 13 Primal Darknesses could be exerting their influence on this event.

In fact, I want to actually incorporate the Lich as an arbiter of their creation, a force that was made in response to the current rebellion of modern day Keyblade wielders. How actually recognized Sora's 'threat' in Hollow Bastion, in how his heart, and the Heart of the Guardians had to be personally handled.

The 'Time travel' in this sense would be a false paradise. The ancient 13 would be using these gifted Guardians as batteries, a generator of conflict and additional darkness.

However, the way they shattered that narrative through the 'Forbidden means' is what would awaken them in that particular dark realm, requiring a big break out and a return from that clasp and back to their reality.

Xehanort had succeeded in his ascension to a 'False god' of Kingdom Hearts. The true door to light, even then, wasn't able to be discovered yet it does give him dominion of the generated shadow of Kingdom Hearts, which would be a massive boon to the primal 13. Yet this just means that hell would reign in the KH cosmos until it either dies or a strike to the balance occurs.

And this is just as means of a beginning.

______

I really want this thing to hit home in how with that 'Time travel' the most horrific truth is what would spark them awake. Everyone they've known, everyone they've thought they save in there would actually be 'Timeline alternates', which would be the central horror to break their hearts from that chained illusion. Since even if it's all there, that reality that their folks on Destiny Island died at a point, that they're accepting images that mean well but aren't real could make for a wicked storytelling scope.

WHICH, I could play for the Dream Drop journey which I'd also want to play around with. Mainly, how it's through the realm/road of Dreams that the nebulous nature of reality could be better explored.

Also? Taking the Primal 13 and have them be the true inheritors of that power of Death that lies beyond sleep's border. How in a twist of irony, Kingdom Hearts was their own unmaking that was created as a beautiful price.

[unbreakableknight]

Muse Info

Name: Riku Age: 19 Birthday: November 11th Gender: Cismale Pronouns: he/him Sexuality: Bisexual disaster

Pictures:

Sora and Riku

Appearance Headcanons:

⚝ The boy has gotten tall. He had quite the growth spurt, so he's shot up from his KH3 height of 5'10 to a quite lofty 6'3". ⚝ He's also put on quite a bit of muscle. He's spent a lot of time training in the past two years, so his arms are quite beefy and his stomach is noticeably cut. ⚝ He hasn't cut his hair in the past two years, so it's gotten very long, all the way down to mid back. He's only cut his bangs when needed to keep seeing, so they're also rather long and not quite even. ⚝ Riku has a noticeable scar on the outside of his left wrist where his barrier broke and he took most of the damage from Roxas's keyblade. ⚝ He also has a quite noticeable scar on the left side of his midback going around his left hip from where Xemnas hit him so hard with a laser sword he bent into a c shape. ⚝ Riku does have a slightly stiff way of walking due to the above injury, but finds it easier to move if he just takes the time to do stretches and warmups before he heads out.

General Headcanons:

⚝ Riku has a small bit of dysmorphia from having been Ansem for a bit. His body just doesn't quite feel right, like it doesn't fully belong to him. This has lessened as he's gotten older and taller, but it's brought with it new issues. He doesn't like that there's a resemblance between himself and Ansem, or at least he feels that there is. ⚝ His favourite food of all time is fish. Any kind of fish. Baked fish, fried fish, fish roasted on a stick over a bonfire at the beach... He could eat his body weight in fish and still find room for more. ⚝ He has a bit of a sweet tooth, but when he was younger he tried to act cooler and more mature than he was, leading to him claiming that he hated anything sweet. He's too embarrassed now to say he lied, so he still tries to hide his sweet tooth from others. ⚝ A lot of people think he likes spicy food, but his tolerance for spice is lower than you would think. He just suffered through it because he needed to seem tough. ⚝ His father was a fisherman who was lost at sea when he was young, before the events of Birth By Sleep, leaving himself and his mother behind. This is why it's Sora's dad who rows him and Sora out to the play island and not his own dad. ⚝ On the same note of parents, his mother became emotionally distant and even neglectful at times, focusing all of herself into her work as a ballet instructor. The only time she seemed to really pay Riku attention was when teaching, so he did several years of ballet training under her. ⚝ This is why he latched onto Maleficent as a mother figure and trusted her so much, and this is also why he later latched onto King Mickey as a father figure. ⚝ Not so much a headcanon as actual canon, but Riku is immune to the corrupting power of darkness now. ⚝ He taught himself to cook and is pretty good at the basics, though don't expect anything too fancy.

Relationship Headcanons:

⚝ Riku grew very protective of Sora as a child after losing his father and having his mother begin to grow distant, as Sora was his "last important person left". ⚝ This bloomed into a crush, though he wasn't sure what it was. When Kairi arrived on the islands he began to have similar feelings for her, which just confused Riku all the more. ⚝ He grew jealous of both Sora and Kairi for the same reasons, that he felt both were taking the other away from him, that he was somehow being pushed out. It hurt him far more that it felt like he was losing Sora, however, so he got a lot more upset and violent when anything had to do with Sora. ⚝ During his time in the old mansion while wearing Ansem's face Riku decided to take on a more supportive role from the background, and essentially became the biggest Sorkai shipper as a result. He was going to be a supportive big brother, dammit! ⚝ His feelings for Sora began growing stronger, while his ones for Kairi faded to more sibling-like thoughts, but the boy is in deep denial at the moment. ⚝ He went just a little overboard trying to protect Kairi and Naminé while Sora was missing. He couldn't lose anyone else important after all, and he had made the other him a promise.

[empyreasheart]

facts about my kh oc if anyone is curious 💖

she loves science! though her favorite is biology and other life sciences, she is also fairly educated on geology, given that her kingdom is known for producing and trading crystals

she has a childhood fear of witches - old hags that curse princesses - that still lingers in her adulthood. she is initially scared of naminé before elise meets her and realizes that she's only a child

along with a cat, she has a pegasus named nimbus. she's afraid of heights, though, so she tends to stay on the ground.

being a princess, shes been taught many different skills, and has been musically trained. music isnt a huge hobby of hers, but instruments she can play include the piano, violin, and the flute. she also enjoys singing, having been trained in that as well.

along with music, her education has made her an avid reader, and shes multilingual, though she is more proficient in reading and writing in other languages than she is speaking and listening. the other languages she knows are those of neighboring nations of empyrea - thus this skill doesnt have much use outside of her world

during her childhood and adolescence, elise used her free time for art - drawing, painting, embroidery. when she was little, she enjoyed helping in the palace's kitchen, and she still stops by to help with baking or cooking from time to time.

out of all her hobbies, reading is elise's #1 past time. when she travels to different worlds, she finds herself drawn to the fantasy genre - it reminds her of home.

(after kh3) lea's apartment is full of cute little pink trinkets and knick knacks elise has found throughout their travels. even though theyre not really his style, he likes being reminded of her when she's away.

shes never used the internet before so she doesnt know whats funny or trending. all this to say, she unironically sends her boyfriend and her friends lolcats "can i haz cheezburger" memes on her gummiphone

addendum to internet usage she loves looking things up and being able to learn on the internet but shes also gullible about it. she doesnt understand why someone would go on the internet and tell lies :(

[nadziejastar]

I’ve been playing the Kingdom Hearts series for the first time. I’ve been familiar with the lore for awhile since my little brothers have been longtime fans. I know about the retcons about Xehanort and the Ansems, and the bullcrap behind Xehanort’s plans.

Just yesterday I finished Hollow Bastion and read most of Ansem’s Reports. Reading them makes me a bit upset that Ansem SoD was retconned into being Xehanort’s Heartless. I think the original concept behind Ansem added some juicy nuance and intrigue to his schemes. I wish they stuck with it. Also, imo Ansem SoD’s inclusion in KH1 feels haphazard. Do we even know his connection with Maleficent and her council?

"Behold, the endless abyss! Within it lies the heart of all worlds—Kingdom Hearts! Look as hard as you are able. You’ll not find a single speck of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born—even yours!"

Regarding his connection to Maleficent, we do get some backstory on that in BBS. Xehanort's original human self is the one who told her about Kingdom Hearts and set her on her path of collecting the seven princesses. As for the rest of your point, I agree that OG Ansem was quite interesting and the KH1 Ansem Reports do give a lot of nuance to his schemes. He was researching Kingdom Hearts, which was the origin of life as well as the place where hearts go when people die. And he was convinced it was all darkness. Even back then he came across like he had lost all hope, which is consistent with his KH3 self. That's why I think Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless could have still been interesting even with the retcons. If they actually delved into his past properly.

[cthoniccompanion]

also I don't have a screenshot but that scene where sora wants to go into the realm of darkness and riku's like "hey if everything goes to shit you can come get us, okay?" with the hand on his shoulder?

gay

[twilightknight17]

To paraphrase a conversation on Discord earlier:

“I have been waiting for this game for literally half my life. I have been waiting for this game since [16-year-old friend] was three. I have been waiting for this game for longer than Homestuck has existed.”

I am so happy. I’m kind of crying.

If you want to see me yelling, playthrough posts will be tagged “Li plays KH3″ and will be under readmores to avoid spoiling anything.

The Playstation update is done now and I’m gonna go.

<3

[minijenn]

Awwwwww yeah boiiis its time for an epic guardian teamup battle boiiiiiiis

[lombax-lombardi]

A Reunion Long Coming~

Summary: She sensed it. In the air. In her heart. She cried.

Genre:HUGS AND KISSES NEEDED

She startled the others when she rose from her chair, cloudy blue eyes narrowed.

“M-Maddi?” The somewhat breathy voice of Aerith called out to her but it seemed she ignored her.

All her senses, smell, touch, taste, sight and sound were all focused on what she just felt.

Sensed it thanks to the ruby in her chest.

She could feel him in her skin.

Taste him on her lips.

Hear old whispers inside her head.

That’s when the tears slowly trickled down her face. That’s when she realised, they were saved.

They were coming back to her.

But they don’t know of her change?

What if they cast her away?

How would she explain it to them?

That she was barely the Maddi they remember?

She felt her heart, what was left of it, shrink in slight despair. sinking back into her chair, pressing her hands against the large jewel that rested atop her breast.

Aerith squeaked somewhat, hand shaking slightly. “Maddi? Your....Y-Your eyes..!!!!!!!”

Confused, the woman grabbed a nearby hand mirror, pressing her hands against her cheeks, the cloudy blue pallor that once covered them, the white of her hair also slowly changed to brown.

“M-Merlin!” She cried for the elderly wizard, he came down the stairs, obviously surprised as much as the others. After stroking his beard for a moment or two, he gave a smile.

“My dear, it seems your ruby is giving you a chance to explain. I sensed them two, those kids. They missed you”

“B-But how? I only managed to manifest a proper physical form only a few moons ago and-”

“Ours is not to question my dear. I sense they will be at this very door soon. Including someone who you gave your heart too so long ago...”

The female looked back at the mirror she held in her hands. She looked just like she used to, brown eyes, brown hair.

Well except for that giant ruby but she will explain that.

Tears started to fall again, dropping the mirror from her hands, burying her face into her arms.

“H-He did it....H-He did it....I...” she could barely get anymore words out.

The once emotionless spirit, could cry freely now, without feeling that she didn’t need to.

There was a knock on the wood of the door, her heart rose inside her chest. Good thing she changed from that old dress into something more current for herself.

Her body started to shake.

“I-I’m not-” She felt the old wizard put a hand on her shoulder, turning her head she saw him give a smile. “You deserve this my child. You deserve to see them again.”

She looked down at her hands, the ruby on her front glowed slightly.

“O-Okay....okay okay....I believe I am....ready...”

She hoped anyway.

[theeverbloomingdarkness]

Mood

[sayonarashadow]

hi i screamed/cried/laughed in joy at the new life is strange announcement

[goldensunset]

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

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

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

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

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

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

*cracks knuckles* aight it’s time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

this is a very long post uhhmm in conclusion:

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

[valorxdrive]

Battle with Self-Esteem.

I’ve touched upon this facet of Sora throughout many post of headcanons and metas in general. Throughout the Xehanort saga and especially with the means used by enemy factions, to allies (Riku in KH1) that were swept up by the malicious claw of darkness once upon a time succeeded in putting a heavy dent in this aspect of himself.

Through the Radiant Garden chapter to the endgame events of KH3, despite how Sora presents himself, never held the highest regard when it comes to what he gives to the worlds and his standing.

Yet that’s where the disassociation factor comes into play. Sora holds a myriad of moments where it doesn’t look like he’d ever hide from such problems. Due to his carefree style, a new adventure in a new world, meeting newly beloved companions, it settles Sora into an element of comfort where he’d be perfectly find trucking on in a form of self he’s comfortable with. The key to tapping upon those more stubbornly hidden thoughts depend on the location and the company surrounding him.

His fault upon this matter is that he never really confronts it until there’s no choice but to forcefully have him look at it. From teasing from Pete in KH3 about his weakness, genuinely feeling as such due to his heart almost getting lost in KH DDD, it leaves him in a weird limbo where improvement is key, but he doesn’t want to confront what really dug it’s claws into him on the matter to begin with.

It highlights the importance of his breakdown that becomes essential in 3 to confront this. To have someone see this raw wound that Sora allowed to fester, never doing a good job in allowing it to heal, rather to keep it contained. It’s through that traumatic experience, hearing the important people in his life talk to him, to have strangers face him while in this raw state of feeling so bare does he begin to truly gain perspective. Sora’s circumstances allowed for him to truly see his greatest fears in the eye on top of seeing how much he’s amounted to across the series so far.

The Sora that bravely takes action and the Sora fearful of his own thoughts needed to form that bridge to properly co-existence as aspects of himself.

For all this inner strength he carried, out of everyone, he’s the most blind to it until this point. Even the saga’s antagonistic figure Xehanort recognized that there was great potential that slept inside of him, how he tore away from the mold of Keyblade society into a path entirely of his own accord.

Within his personal life there’s so much that he’ll need time to proceed sorting out. Pain from the Keyblade War, truly looking at past instances and refining his inner strength, coming to truly learn of the cruelty of his foes and convincing his emotions above all else that these were lies meant to break him down. At the same time, along with this path of realizations, he’s finally stepping to a plateau of being a lot more comfortable of being within the more difficult aspects of the heart and skin he’s in. That despite being a small part of a bigger chain of events, he’s still Sora, he’s someone who can truly reach out with strength and kindness of his own in order to enact change.

To embrace a touch of selfishness to know your self importance isn’t bad, in fact, this was an important part for him to embrace with all his heart. Selfishness while a charitable aspect, can become self-destructive if there’s little care and concern to the life you carry.

So it gives me the idea that with future parts of the saga, bit by bit Sora will get the gist of how half-compromising with sacrifices is still a role etched with sorrow.

There’s no shame in wanting to take victory into your own hands.