#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 some 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:

[itsmahblebaby]

KH BBS initial conclusion thoughts. Spoilers for the full game ahead!

Of course, Terranort on the final episode was difficult until I remembered the bad RPG trick: just level grind, stupid. Strategy means nothing in a bad game. Only numbers matter.

First off, Kingdom Hearts should've ended with Days. I won't say the Xehanort half of the series holds no value. But I am thinking it. And I don't care how Nomura tries to justify it; this and Ansem completely separate stories.

Glad to finally play as a gal. Exceptionally nice, even. Really enjoyed playing as Aqua, even if you can tell a lot of the writers were men. Olympus and Neverland in particular are very obviously written by men. Was generally surprisingly not sexist, though. Gonna miss her in 3D, even if I do get Riku.

That said, Aqua does feel like the weakest character, story-wise. About on par with Sora, which...okay, yeah. Misogyny. Ironically, she's the only one who drives the villains' power the most, by making them feel like threats in ways the boys were too powerful to.

Aqua on critical is easier than Terra on proud, especially early game and the final boss. Despite Terranort being the worst singular fight by a longshot Vanitas is the worst opponent in the game because of the frequency at which he's fought. Making him *even worse* in two final boss fights is not a good call.

Ironically, the secret episode boss was easy. Just needed to shotlock once and lay mines where I could. The levels probably did most of the work, though.

Yoko Shimamura is the best composer.

In hindsight, Exp Zero might've done the trick. But maybe not, at level 24.

Terra was mostly wasted potential, with any corruption not really having room to breathe properly. He would've benefitted most from having a full game to himself, where he was meant to be less likeable. It feels like he fell to the darkness because of reasons outside his control, as the game was written.

Xehanort's lies were right.

Ventus was mostly a setup for the rest of the Xehanort arc, and by extension all KH3 elements I dislike that aren't "what if we did KH2 again?". I feel he could've been cut and had his screentime given to Terra and Aqua and nothing of value would be lost. If anything, the game would've been better by giving more meat to them.

Ventus was mostly here because Nomura wanted a shocking twist in the KH2 secret ending by having a Roxas-like.

I feel the intended order of gameplay is to do a ring of worlds as each character > Radiant Garden > other ring > Neverland > cutscene break > Keyblade Graveyard. Not completing one character at a time then moving onto the next.

Gameplay is fun, up until the dogshit bosses. The revenge value system was right there; why do we need to have wholly random counters? I'm not gonna try the bonus bosses. I beat the game on Critical; I get the secret route for free.

Why is there always Some Guy in disney movies?

Not sure how I feel about the secret episode. It got me emotional, seeing a universe where Terra and Ven were okay. So I am clearly invested. But it's just sequel bait to something I know I don't like.

I remember kid me being really excited about Another Side, Another Story. Then being whatever on BBS' movie in KH2. Probably why I didn't play it until now, despite having access to it since 2019.

I need more time to ruminate on this. My opinions are too tainted by the terrible bosses. But I do know that the game is full of wasted potential.

Total time was 31:40:31. Proud/Proud/Critical V/T/A.

...I think I'll play 0.2 next. I want to play as Aqua more. I do find myself liking her, though I don't know why.

I wish I could play as her or Kairi in III. Or any gal in any KH game.

Maybe I should just play a different game with a female protagonist. ...how many of those do I have, that isn't just playing as a mute self-insert with the personality of a wooden chair? How many don't have a superior male co-protag so that misogynists will still buy the game?

...

...

[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.

[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.

[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 :(

[currantlee]

What would KH4 have to do to get your excited?

Hey Anon, first of all, sorry that I kept you waiting for this long! It's a good question, and I needed some time to gather my thoughts on the subject, because honestly... I'm gonna have to answer with: I really can't give you a concrete answer 😅 And I think that's because at the end of the day, it's not as simple as saying "oh, I want this and that specific thing to happen." It goes a lot... Diffuser than that for me.

… But that's a pretty dissatisfying answer, isn't it?

Well, at least I thought so and decided to think about it on a bit of a deeper level. Again, sorry for keeping you waiting for some time. Anyway, long post ahead.

So, I will admit it: I kind of lied? There are some cool story events I could think of for KH4, such as the MoM being this world-famous author in Quadratum (yes, he writes a book series called Kingdom Hearts), who also runs a really big company that sells both mystery boxes as a subscription service and security cameras, and he obviously employs Yozora and possibly Sora too (I mean, he's gotta pay rent for that apartment somehow).

Here's the thing though: as cool as these ideas are (in my opinion) – they're also fundamentally mine. A lot of the time when I have these ideas, I'm happy just imagining them. If I really want to see them live and in color, I can make them myself. I think that is true to most people, really. Humans are both fundamentally creative and social creatures, and art, in my opinion, is a vehicle for socialization. Both because people can discuss it and connect over it, and because art is made because someone is expressing themselves. This about the last time you saw someone get really excited about something. It's infectious. Unfortunately, the same thing can be said about all emotions, including the negative ones. This is where this sort of becomes a real-life want versus need-conflict, because what we want (or say we want) from art is rarely what we actually need. As a result, it leaves all of us dissatisfied and unhappy, because what we get didn't really spark something with whoever was making it, and we as the audience can feel that on the other end. At least, that's how I figure this goes.

So anyway, when I engage with someone else's creative work, then I don't wanna see my own ideas, I wanna see theirs. Specifically because it's stuff I could never come up with, so it's exciting and gives me something to reflect on. I might even learn something about other people or myself! But... That usually only happens if what I'm looking at is something that is made as a genuine expression of something raw and human, rather than a corporate product that is made because there is a "demand" (there may be, in an economic sense, but due to my previous want versus need-argument, it doesn't really apply when it comes to art and socialization in general).

I could go into my frustrations around this issue deeper, but I feel like in regards to your actual question, I've pretty much said everything I needed to in order to answer it.

So let me start off my answer with giving an idea of what I want KH4 to be:

I want to feel that the people involved with making this game actually wanted to make it when I play it, and didn't just make it because people "want" KH4

I want it to feel like those same people actually wanted to make a Kingdom Hearts game, not something else reskinned as a KH game (e.g. Versus XIII)

I want this game to be raw and human with edges instead of sanitized, soft and corporate, and to have confidence in itself. That doesn’t necessarily mean dark, just not artificial in the way KH3 and some of the previous games turned out

Unfortunately, given Squenix's and Disney's – especially Disney's! – more recent track record, I'm not very confident the latter won't be the case. In addition, a pretty important person for the creative direction behind the series – a.k.a. lead writer, character designer and director Tetsuya Nomura – doesn't seem very excited to be working on the series anymore, and hasn't for a very long time. Honestly, I can't blame the guy after everything that happened with VersusXIII (from what we know), and I wish him all the best. All of those are just personal impressions though.

So to give my final answer – what KH4 would need to do in order to get me excited is to give me something to believe that it is not a prodcut that was made for someone, but that someone really, really wanted to make it for whatever reason.

Thanks you for the ask!

[meiloorun-notthefruit]

These were going to be tags but like damn in KH3 Sora technically dies twice; Riku and Kairi made sure he gets to the Final World so he’s not completely gone from the universe, but he watches everyone around him get wiped from existence, experiences a breakdown, and then watches his best friend Riku take the last hit for him in a sacrifice play that he doesn’t quite understand. It’s only then he is taken to the Final World, where he puts himself back together. But Sora (and the player) are told that it’s only the outside — his body — that is pieced back into place. He is given no time to process what just happened. It’s just straight back into the fight.

He watches Riku die a second time. That light in the tunnel… it’s him and it tells him something. But we never know what it tells Sora…

He finds Riku.

He find the other guardians. Then Sora’s told in San Fransokyo by Young Xehanort that because he’s using the method he’s using — a method that is his only resort, mind you, because no one has taught him HOW to restore a heart so he came up with using the power of waking — he’s condemned himself now and “his heart lies at the bottom of the darkest abyss”. There is no saving Sora from this point on. But his friends are here. They’re all back. That’s what matters to Sora. There is no time for anything else but a sigh of relief, a smile, and his getting back into the battle stance.

Then we haven’t even gotten to the part where he totally and completely wrecks any chance of making it out of the abyss when he decides to save Kairi from death. His choice, of course he would do it, but he uses the same method again and it was already told to him that he’s been damned so of course this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. He saves Kairi, does it alone, because he doesn’t want to put anybody else in danger, he knows his time is up and if any body comes with him, they’ll know to. Maybe at this point, Sora didn’t want to be saved. Just accepted that he played his role and his number was being called.

Sora in KH2 talks to Riku about not going at it alone, that he has friends to help him whenever, but KH3 Sora is going through a similar moment of self doubt and grief and all the negative emotions of what has transpired in the past few hours, but he covers it all up with a smile, with a motivating speech about how he HAS to do this. Nobody stops him. Nobody steps in or realizes what he’s going to do- what it’s going to take. How can they, Sora has been acting normal, has told no one of what Young Xehanort told him. He’s not going to. He can handle it. He has to.

He does it wholeheartedly and Kairi comes back. Sora doesn’t.

Sora wakes up in the afterlife. Alone.

Except for the darkness that followed him through. His darkness taken form perhaps? Either way, Sora goes straight back into the fight. He’s died twice. No rest to be seen. I hope Quadratum is good to him but I fear he’s got a lot of thinking to do instead and he’s all alone.

Thinking about Sora stocking up on potions and rings and earrings to stay alive in KH1 and not knowing if it’ll be enough to get him through a fight. Multiple fights. Thinking about KH1 Sora literally having a panic button (press triangle) to call for Donald and Goofy for if he needed help/felt overwhelmed. Means they worked out a system- of course they did, cause Goofy taught Sora how to dodge roll and Donald taught him to how to cast fire, before all three of them left Traverse Town for the first time. Thinking about how that option doesn’t exist after KH1, from what I’ve seen. Could be because Sora grew up too fast/grew skilled enough that it wasn’t necessary anymore. He’s got summons. He got keychains. He’s got Strength, Magic, and AP Ups. He’s leveled up. But it could also be because after KH1, Sora has experienced being abandoned, left defenseless and on his own when he wasn’t seen as useful or chosen. He doesn’t think he can really call on them to protect him like that anymore. Maybe he doesn’t even realize that he’s thinking that. Maybe he does. Does Sora ever look at the stock of his supplies, so plentiful, made up of the dropped loot picked up by a desperate boy fighting to live another day. The keyblade and destiny didn’t pick him but he answered the call all the same. He must be tired.

He’s still tired, even after he’s died. He’s all alone again. But this time there might be no possible way back. He has to basically start over. Did he lose his power again… Sora doesn’t know Riku went looking for him; does he expect anybody to come looking for him.

Oh Sora…

[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.

[ultraericthered]

Merry Kairistmas! ^^

@clankythecranky:

#thank you for explaining this and I’m very happy that kh momemory adresses this trauma with Kairi more directly

That one scene from little Kairi's POV where she's running around Radiant Garden, there are Heartless appearing everywhere, and then Xehanort walks up and grabs her is legit the only competently done cutscene to come out of MoM in terms of visual storytelling and creating the mood Kairi felt that explains so much about what she'd been surpressing back in KH1. Which makes it all the more a damn shame that Nomura ruined it with the following scene inside the pod where Xehanort starts talking to Kairi and it just gets nonsensical.

#I know that Nomura was very disappointed that he couldn’t expand on Kairi for the longest time and have her be more involved

If at any point Nomura said this, he was straight up lying. Following KH2, he gained full unlimited power over the story in the games: there's no way he "couldn't" expand on Kairi in all that time, as all he had to do was choose to write Kairi into the plot he'd come up with, make her get more involved, and expand on her backstory. So it's not that he couldn't expand on Kairi, but that he wouldn't. Because he does not care one iota about the character of Kairi. KH3 and MoM made this unmistakable, so please don't go clinging to any idea that Nomura actually really cares or one day will start caring more and deliver for Kairi fans. He won't: you can do better than false hope.

@cosmic-art:

#my only criticism is that a lot of this about kairi's supposed arc is extremely lowkey#she is physically absent 90% of the game so its very easy to forget about tiny moments of her being anxious and what not#yeah i wouldnt even say kairi has much of an arc; its entirely subtext#none of this is going to land playing the game once or even twice and then some

Yes, therein lies the rub: Kairi in KH1 arc does have an arc, it's just a lowkey, down-to-earth "human character arc" conveyed mainly from subtextual details during the 90% of the game she's within Sora's heart, and in visuals like the ending cutscene animation. It's more akin to how Xehanort's arc in the game is entirely textual in the Ansem Reports rather than on-screen (same goes for the real Ansem in KH2, though we get to see the end of his development on-screen), but not like the visible on-screen character arcs we see from Sora and Riku, and Donald and Goofy to a lesser extent. And I think it's very mistaken to say "none of this is going to land playing the game once or even twice and then some", because if so, this post doesn't even exist. The real truth is that it will land only with players who actually pay close attention to all details and take their time with the game early on when still on Destiny Islands, the phase of the story where Kairi gets the most screentime and character establishment, and during that phase she gets 22 lines of voice acted dialogue before she goes poof through the darkness and into Sora's heart. The player controlling Sora needs to interact with Kairi via text dialogue in order to better know her and get a read on her character, regardless of whether they're endeared to it or not. Following that, there's the matter of how Kairi as a character "is physically absent for 90% of the game", making her come off more forgettable to some compared to the more present, more talky characters of later games. And I think what might've not helped here was the game's cover art:

It can be taken as false advertising, as it suggests that Sora, Kairi, Donald and Goofy all on an adventure together, with Riku very meaningfully being the only character facing the other direction, away from the other four, to foreshadow his turn. And the game give us exactly that...except Kairi's experiencing the whole thing as an unseen, mostly silent, stationary and incapacitated heart residing within Sora's own rather than being physically there. So it's more like:

And that will naturally let some people down if they were wanting to see the female lead be more present and active in the story, all the more so if they're unable to read into the subtext or even realize basic stuff like how Kairi sometimes breaks through the barrier of Sora's heart and communicates with him, and how Sora experiences that (he's never "hallucinating" her, and his out of body vision of Kairi's grandmother telling child Kairi that fairy tale was instigated by Kairi herself from within), and that her heart = her very self, and that it residing safely inside of Sora's heart outside of her empty body makes this a more complex scenario than simply "she's in a coma."

Last thing I can note is that while Kairi did not have an arc in KH2, she did get an advancement of her overall character development and story within the games to that point, as did Riku. But three of the problems her character was saddled with in KH1 unfortunately carried over into that game too: the "our princess is in another castle" nature of Sora's search for her which now gets played straight as a "damsel in distress" situation rather than a subversion thereof, being absent for 90% of the game except for a period of time where much of her character is conveyed through optional text dialogue (this time the end section rather than the beginning), and at some point a lot of her spoken dialogue becomes either generic statements or "Sora!" and "Riku!", which is sort of a sad waste of Hayden Panettiere.

Untitled Kairi Post

Y'know what? In a way, Kairi was tragically doomed as a character from the very beginning.

"Oh, because she was a love interest and damsel in distress!"

No. Myths, fairy tales and, well, Disney movies have used those tropes for ages, and if you're doing a story where a huge point is the influence of those things, it's kind of a given that the leading lady be a love interest and damsel in distress. And the writing is smart enough to put a twist on the trope given that Kairi's distress is much less than it appeared to be because she's Sora's love interest and he's her's, and after Sora saves her she saves him right back.

"Oh, because she wasn't a playable character or party member!"

No. It would have been nice to have the playable puzzle solving-based Kairi sequence they initially planned at Hollow Bastion, but I can understand why it was removed given how it would slow down the pace following what is perhaps the signature sequence of the game. And in any case it doesn't have any bearing on how things went for the rest of the series, given that Riku also was not a playable character or party member (he just had a crappy AI when pretending to help you fight Parasite Cage all so that he could kidnap Pinocchio).

"Oh, because she was stuck in a coma the whole game!"

NO! God damn it, how much must the game beat the point into your stupid head!?

And who could forget?

Stop laughing right now.

Kairi. Not just "her heart". KAIRI. Since the heart = the person.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it exposes some serious sexism if one goes with the "Kairi was in a coma" line for KH1 and yet says "Ventus was inside of Sora" post BBS, since it's literally the exact same situation except that Kairi was always awake within Sora's heart as opposed to Ventus only waking up at the end of 3D. It's why Sora felt things regarding Hollow Bastion, why he experienced the memory of Kairi and her grandfather, and why he saw and heard Kairi multiple times. He wasn't hallucinating; that was always really her.

So, enough beating around the bush. What did I actually mean, then?

Well....let's start at the beginning.

Kairi's arc in the original Kingdom Hearts is not just told through the writing. Utilizing a video game as a visual/audible medium, it is also told through animation, voicework and music. During her introductory cutscene, we see Kairi asked by Sora if she remembers the world she was born in before being sent to Destiny Islands. "I told you before. I don't remember." She answers this sincerely. "Nothing at all?" Sora responds. That's when we see this detail.

"Nothing." Kairi is lying. She doesn't remember everything given the trauma caused by being forced out of her old home, but she does remember just enough to understand why it was traumatic. She had a comfortable life there, and a family. She was happy. And then it was all gone in an instant. Now, on Destiny Islands, she is similarly content ("Well, I'm happy here.") and fears risking that same loss. And yet a small part of her still yearns for the past. She loved what she can recall of her past, as she loves her present. She fears only the future.

Riku's fixation on his existential woes and the mysteries of the universe, while also putting her up on some sort of pedestal like she's something special, is not helping at all. Something about it feels wrong to Kairi...wrong and uncomfortably familiar. It's making her very anxious.

But Kairi has someone to lean on and help her keep up an optimistic, cheerful front, perhaps enough to talk herself into believing it: Sora. And during this scene, we hear the track "Kairi I":

This track reflects Kairi's character in this moment. While there is a subtle undercurrent of worry, her heart is strong enough to not let it get to her and look on the bright side as she looks out to the sun setting over the ocean. With Sora's reassurance, she is able to feel as though her home and friends won't change or go away no matter what happens on her, Sora and Riku's planned voyage, which allows her to feel anticipation for it. All finally feels right.

Of course, things were not right, and Kairi ended up in heart form as her body and soul were lost to darkness along with Destiny Islands. From Kairi's POV, she is now in the Station of Awakening (aka Dive to the Heart) and can do little but watch Sora's adventures as she can see them through his eyes, not fully putting it together why she can and where she truly is.

In the scene at Merlin's House, we get to hear "Kairi II".

While it's similar to "Kairi I", there is now a more somber and mysterious feel to it given the present circumstances. While she doesn't know if Sora can hear her, Kairi wistfully waxes nostalgic over how Merlin's House reminds her of the Secret Place on Destiny Islands. And while Kairi feels sad over missing that place, she's also happy that there are places like it elsewhere in the universe. She's clearly learning as much from Sora's journey as Sora is.

Finally, we hear "Kairi III" in the flashback with little Kairi and her grandmother.

And while it starts out reflecting Kairi's childhood innocence, it ends up turning...almost sad. The reason why being one of the most overlooked details of the scene: at the end of the grandmother's story, she disappears, and little Kairi is shown moving her head all around looking for her. This isn't actually part of the memory, but a reflection of Kairi's heart. She knows that she had a grandmother and that her grandmother isn't here anymore, but she can't remember how her grandmother "left". But she at least still exists...within her heart.

Speaking of which, once Kairi's heart returns to her body and Sora loses his heart in the process, Kairi puts her foot down. She may have learned how to better deal with and accept change and loss, but a line still has to be drawn somewhere and Sora is that line for her.

Thus is she able to save him. Later, we see her worry about the future and things changing again when she questions whether anything can be the same between her, Sora and Riku again after the corruption Riku had underwent. Once again, Sora boosts her optimism.

More importantly, he helps her learn, as he does, that even when separated you can take strength in keeping your loved ones (metaphorically) in your heart, and that even if things change and Kairi is cut off from the people and things she loves, they will always exist within her heart, just as with her grandmother and the story she told her about light and darkness.

This is why, in the end, Kairi is able to let Sora go and yet still feel content.

From "Hikari" (JP):

I'll stop doing pointless things like thinking about the future. Today I'll eat delicious things. The future is always before us, Even if I don't know it.

From "Simple and Clean" (EN):

 Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all.  Nothing's like before.

This is a really good, really well done character arc.

It's also a very human character arc.

Yes, there are a lot of fantastical things going on, but when you put all of that aside, what are you left with? A young girl moves away from her old home and everything that she ever knew and loved, which gives her anxiety about the same thing happening with the new home and everything that she's come to know and love from it, which now includes a certain boy. She fears the future; she fears change. In the end, she ends up staying in her new home - but the boy moves away! However, through her time spent with him she's learned to accept this because he'll always be a part of her heart, which is something that won't ever change.

When put that way, it sounds positively mundane, and by and large the KH fandom - and Tetsuya Nomura himself for that matter - don't want or like mundane stuff like that. They want the crazy, the overdramatic, the angsty, the flashy, the anime tropeyness they're familiar with. This is why they were unreceptive to Kairi's arc to the fullest degree, as in many of them are literally unaware it even happened because they were too busy fixating on the archetypal Japanese media-style dick measuring contest between Sora and Riku (which is also far deeper than they tend to give it credit for, btw, but I digress). And if that's the case, then the question gets raised: why bother focusing on or expanding Kairi at all? She doesn't "sell".

THIS is why Kairi was doomed from the start. It's not her fault. But it's sadly the truth.

[theeverbloomingdarkness]

Mood

[sayonarashadow]

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