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:
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Saw the JD & Floyd post and was about to say “Maybe he should” but then it just made me sad. Like damn he cares about his family to the detriment of himself, what does that say about his relationship with Creek. I think I remember you writing something about Floyd realizing he’s genuinely fallen in love with him.
you want me to show how much thought ive put into tdau floyd? the funny cokehead with commitment issues? the guy who posts thirst traps out of spite? okay (keep in mind that most of this is just what *I* think and hasnt been cleared with alex, but when i write for floyd its genuinely what i consider in the back of my mind)
i think he was 13 y/o when he went out on his own (1999), began seeing the rest of the troll tree for himself, until he finally escaped on his own at around 15 (2001), a year before the entire tribe was evacuated (2002). he hitch hiked a bit and got to see a bunch of tribes but he only really got to see techno reef and volcano rock city, staying in vrc a lot longer (LONG before barb was in power and turned rocks view on pop from "they fucked up a really long time ago but were safe from them now" to "we need to colonise them back") and discovering a lot about himself in the process
he turned 18 (2004) and, as most ex-child stars do, immediately went IN on hard drugs and sex with strangers, as if thats the test for proving your adulthood. and he had a good time! he spent most of his life drugged to the gills and unable to look himself in the mirror the rare moments he was sober, but, yknow. details. then he got bored. and he went travelling again
at the age of 20 (2006) he left troll kingdom entirely. obviously he stayed CLEAR of bergen town (and silently prayed to whatever god pop trolls typically believe in that his family were safe and undigested). but he saw all sorts of places! places we havent seen yet, with species we havent seen yet, of extremely varying sizes! hell, he mightve met a species or two that are smaller than trolls! imagine that. but spending years travelling, it gets lonely. he never got to connect with anyone. hell, he never even had a real boyfriend! the most he had was that situationship he had that lasted 5 weeks before he got ghosted when that techno troll got back with his girlfriend. (its okay though, he channels his pain into his art, and that was one became his most popular song on bandcamp by a significant margin!)
at 27 years old (2013) he arrived in mount rageous. sure, they were huge, and he was terrified of being eaten, obviously. but they didnt want to eat him! they thought he was cute. and, he wont lie, he liked the attention. he became a novelty, that tiny little creature with his even tinier guitar, who apparently built up such a tolerance he can handle mount rageon drugs. imagine doing blow with stewert little. they loved him, as entertainment. he still didnt have anyone who loved him as a person, but at that point he was willing to settle.
when hes 36 (2023) he gets kidnapped by velvet & veneer, and of course no one thought to look for him. you wouldnt notice if the mouse in your house suddenly went missing. at most youd think someone you live with finally took care of it, and youd move on with your life.
the events of the movie happen, hes reunited with his siblings, he actually feels valued as a person again, AND to top it all off, those two months in the bottle did WONDERS for detoxing. next time he tries pop troll coke he actually feels a buzz! he never thought hed see the day!
brozone reunite, we see the early days of their career carry out in the au. floyd feels like hes on top of the world. hes got his family back, hes back in pop village (albeit, its a different pop village than he knew. hell, they used to all it troll village back then!) hes releasing actual music again, and not just busking for tips (its okay he didnt need much, he rented out a mouse hole for cheap). but he wants an actual connection. he wants a relationship. but hes never actually had that! hes never even felt respected by a potential partner! so he goes back to random hookups. and, yknow, its fun, he guesses. but he wants more
the first troll who seems to actually take interest in him as anything more than a hot piece of ass or "that guy from brozone" rocks his world. hes ashamed to admit that after knowing the guy for 3 hours he already thought about spending the rest of his life with him. he just wasnt used to being spoken to like a person by anyone other than immediate family members! its okay though, he couldnt scare him off, because he was being paid to be there, and after recording himself getting in floyds pants (the only way he knows how to show affection at this point) it was all over the internet
so, you know, obviously floyd wasnt doing great. hes gotten good at hiding his feelings (not like anyone really cares about them anyway) but he was clearly struggling. he did what he does best, and turned it into a joke, so maybe itd hurt a little less. he probably made it worse, but at least he was numb now. he goes back to hookups, deciding hell never have an actual boyfriend, hell never get married, and hes okay with that. well, hes clearly not, but its not like anyone ever asked, so he has to deal.
then he meets creek. and at this point hes not stupid. hes not that naive little kid anymore, and when he wakes up the next morning and realises his newest one night stand was that guy, the asshole, the one who everyone hates, he knows hes the butt of the joke, again. theres probably a camera, again. he leaves before creek wakes up.
but then he meets him again, a few days later. and creek says how much of a shame it is he never got his digits. and floyd doesnt know what to make of this. but he knows he shouldnt trust him. he heard everything riff said about him, everything BRANCH said about him. he knows every one of creeks crimes. but maybe he just wants to have some fun, yknow? everyones always fucking with him, maybe he wants to play around sometime. show the world hes not some little helpless doll.
what follows is about a year and a half of gay chicken on expert mode. creek pretends to love floyd. floyd pretends he doesnt know creeks pretending. floyd feels in control, almost. he gets comfortable. he refuses to believe its love, how could it be love? theyre awful to each other. but its, technically, his first real relationship. he tries not to think about it.
maybe encouraging creek to propose was a little more than seeing how far he can push him before he snaps. maybe he wanted to prove that hes worth it, even if the other guy wasnt. maybe he genuinely cried when he got angelinas egg, even if hed rather die than let creek see him express genuine emotions. he knows hes the sensitive one, but hes more than brozone. hes a person. a person that people dont ever seem to want to know.
then he realises. hes not the only one whos gotten comfortable. creek looks... not happy, exactly. but content. and floyd thinks thats terrifying. its too far, thats not how any of this was supposed to work. it was REVENGE. floyd was fucking with him, because creek was fucking with him first! now hes married, hes MARRIED, with KIDS, TWINS! THAT HE NAMED! and he loves them! and he loves creek! and creek loves him! hes gonna be sick. he cant do this. he cant be here. he lives in a mansion but its suffocating him. he leaves. he divorces creek.
hes miserable again. jd doesnt notice bc hes "the sensitive one", and his other brothers dont know how to bring it up without making it worse. branch is the only one who asks how hes holding up, but he just says hes fine, hell bounce back. he doesnt bounce back
when he meets creek again, he wants to cry. he wants to get on his hands and knees and beg him to take him back, but he has a LITTLE bit of self respect left. when he finds out creek missed him too its more than he can take. when they get drunk, and floyd forces jd to re-marry them, floyd actually feels like a person. a broken person, who healed in a creek-shaped mould, but a person nonetheless. and maybe thats all he can ask for
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