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#Riku misses his most precious person :(
freckledhylian · 2 years
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“I miss you”
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mythicalartistx · 6 months
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Why is the Jorunal's Form Exactly Riku?
Discussion/Recoded Novel analysis of Riku
It's funny how the journal choose Riku as the form because he must have been that important.
Riku stated at the end how everything Sora does was reflected in the journal and that he was the center of it. When he grew, so did the heartless. So the journal probably picked someone with that much of an impact or importance to him.
I noticed in recoded novel it states this,
"Of all the vessels to protect the data, I was chosen from the journal’s pages. The full set of memories was transferred inside me to shield them from corruption.”
It could have chosen anyone but it chose Riku. Why? He must been very important to Sora and important part of something.
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The novel then states, So this Riku was Riku, but also not Riku? A vessel that stored the set of memories within the journal? For a vessel, though, he sure seemed to have a will, a purpose—a mind. Did it come from Riku himself? Or was it the “mind” of the scattered memories inside him? Or maybe it was even the mind of someone connected to the memories within the journal…?
Therefore he isn't the Riku they know but someone similar who has the thoughts and feelings of him but also has the knowledge of the events within the journal.
And that's basically all the explanation on who the journal is and why he is Riku.
I mean going through all the games you can tell how much they care and impact the other. Several times they sacrificed for the other and have a deep complicated relationship. It's no wonder Riku is that important to Sora. Riku even states to call him "Taisetsunahito" which is translated as the things that matter, but a better translation would be precious person or most important person.
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Later in the Novel when Riku's voice is heard in basically the intercom, he stated “Is that…? Riku, is that you?” Sora called excitedly.
He heard a little chuckle from Riku before he asked a question of his own.
He is excited that it's Riku. Riku even laughs/smiles at his words. They both have a care for the other so it makes sense why the journal choose Riku.
Earlier before realizing the mysterious cloak person was Journal Riku he wondered where Riku was.
The novel states,
Dewey looked up at Sora and said while they walked, “You’re pretty tough, huh?”
“Not really. I’ve got a friend who’s even tougher.”
Actually, what did happen to Riku…?
And this shows he still is thinking about him.
And it kinda makes me think is journal Riku memories + journal knowledge the merged into one being?
Unless it's part of the glitches?
But most people that are missing were shown in another way or form. The only one that isn't really shown is Kairi and I wonder if it's because Naminé made him forget her along with parts of Riku and the journal is still recovering from that. Because not only did he forget who he was trying to find in COM and Repliku realizes it, but he then believed it was Naminé he was trying to find instead.
Is that why Riku is also not shown except through the Journal because of the events of COM?
Now Kairi is mentioned once in the castle oblivion portion by an (illusion) Riku and shows him with Kairi when he was trying to find her heart.
However some people seem to think Sora and Kairi have a more romantic relationship now if you think that you're completely valid and I'm not going to debunk the ship. But if that is the case, why was Riku chosen? Shouldn't be Kairi if they have a greater connection?
Maybe it's cause Sora and Riku also have a greater history and relationship as we're shown through the games. They spent more time with the other, even thinking about the other.
Sora at the end of kh1, the first thing he does is he wants to find Riku and during KH2 he wants to find Riku... He missed him.
He goes on his knees crying when he sees him again
Later during the novel, Riku gets captured after defending Sora and Sora says this once he encounters Pete:
"Not so fast! First, hand over Riku…or else.” Sora readied his Keyblade, too.
Sora is here ready to protect and save his friend. He sees him as his friend— not just a journal full of data like him— and his memories clearly show the Riku he knows. He acts like Riku does and they clearly have a deep connection to each other.
The novel states this:
"Stay back, Sora! Hrrrngh!”
Sora was about to run over to him, but he stopped at Riku’s warning. His friend’s face was twisted in agony.
“Riku? Wha…what’s wrong?”
Sora refers to him as his friend. And everyone calls him Riku despite not being really the Riku from data, he among some others are gone. He's only there because the journal decided to take form into the one thing that's probably important. Pete was trying to force Riku to fight Sora and he doesn't want to. In fact he is afraid he could hurt him or anyone so he tells Sora to destroy him.
After fighting Riku this happens,
"Sora! Riku!” Mickey and the others appeared from the beam. “Well, if the bugs have taken over Riku…then that means…he might not ever wake up—unless we get rid of the bugs first,” the king explained, gazing at Riku in concern.
“So if I debug him, Riku will come back to us. Guys, I gotta go inside to look,” Sora said with unwavering determination as he knelt down beside his friend.
Sora is that concerned for his friend. He is everything to him. They have a deep connection. His determination to help is right there. He doesn't care if it may be dangerous, he wants to anyways. Riku having the journal data within him gets bugged as they put it. And the way to reconstruct and figure out the mysteries of the journal is to restore the glitches and bugs within the deep data inside of him.
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This next scene shows there care for each other again,
It was like the energy had been sucked right out of him. What just happened?
“Sora! You okay?” Riku came running up.
“Riku! What about you? Are you all right?”
Sora was still worried for his friend, though his legs were so wobbly he could barely stand.
Riku gave him a small nod in reply. “You shouldn’t be here. I can fight the bugs off a little longer…but they’re spreading. Pretty soon they’ll take over all my data.”
Despite how it hurts Sora, he is still caring for Riku. He put his own needs of wanting to help Riku above his own. The bugs are taking over his data of the journal. Here he refers to that as my data. However, it is vague. He could be talking about his general data as a data Riku— not the journal part of him, but he also could be referring to the journal parts of him. The next time when he mentions the journal knowledge he doesn't say my.
In fact it shows another thing I've been wondering. He gives Sora an item that can help him escape. It is extra data. Riku then explains it as,
“Data I found on my other partition. It doesn’t belong in Jiminy’s journal. Somebody added it after the fact.”
Riku refers to the journal as another entity that isn't himself unless he's talking in third person. He acts like he is two beings when he says my other partition and says Jiminy's Journal.
The novel continues, “The same person that hid the journal’s contents inside you?”
Journal Riku is in fact regular Riku but merged with Journal information and data. Some unknown force hid the contents of the journal inside himself that means because of the missing memories of Castle Oblivion had affected it in some way.
DiZ or Naminé could have chosen Riku because they saw how much he wanted to bring Sora back, but that person also hid some extra data too. But we know that DiZ hid extra data of himself in DDD within Sora.
However, this game is about Naminé and she appears at the end as a data form. It would make the most sense that her real form probably put this data version of her inside the journal along with added extra data. She is probably the other who put the journal's contents inside of Riku.
Riku then wants to sacrifice himself and he believes doing that will be fine because it won't affect the journal data if Sora figures out the mystery of the extra data.
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Riku doesn't want to leave him behind, he sees him as his friend.
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Sora grins as he shows a solution where he can save his friend. This almost surprises Riku as he flinched like it wasn't what he had in mind. Sora had a long face as if Riku always try to do things by himself and is tired of it.
This makes Riku then smile.
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They hold hands together and it helps show their connection is strong. Their friendship is complicated and they mean so much to the other. He didn't have to offer his hand, but he does. They're friends who mean a lot and he wants to be there with him to share the moment.
However Riku says something else.
“That light over there leads deeper into my data. Inside is a world from my memories…”
“Your memories?”
“Yeah, that’s right. The memories of the data version of me. And some of the bugs that stole your data. Get the data back, get your powers back. It’s simple. Then you can worry about me. Be careful.”
Earlier he stated he wasn't Riku, he was just zeros (probably referring to data) and was the journal. Then it was stated someone put the journals info inside him. And now it shows memories of a data version of him. Like there is actually another Riku from data out there. It says all these different things.
So what exactly is this Riku?
But he is clearly a mixed of the two. He has memories of Riku and his personality is like him, he just has all the journal's data inside him and it is as if someone put it there.
Unless by data version of him, Riku means a data version that gone through the events of what he did in kh1? The scene also shows that Riku wants Sora to gain his strength back and worries about him more than himself being fine.
"I can access this world now that you’ve weakened the bugs. It’s our island…” Riku took in the view of the sea.
Riku says this like it's a memory for him that he shared with Sora. It is like he is a Riku who did experienced growing up there and probably have the memories of KH1 inside him and what he did.
Another point he says this,
Sora let out a heavy sigh. Some things never change. “Riku, you always try to take everything on by yourself,” he said, and Riku looked up. “But I like getting dragged into your messes. Donald and Goofy said the same thing to me—"
He sees how Riku is always trying to do things by himself. He cares for him and wants to help. He wants to protect him too so he doesn't have to face it alone, but together.
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I know Riku didn't have anyone to help him deal with all this complicated stuff back then, but he's not alone anymore. That's why it makes me sad to hear him talk about doing everything by himself. I mean, it kinda starts to feel like I'm the only one who thinks we're friends.
At this part, I think he is referring to how Sora didn't know back then when Riku was trying to figure out everything himself. However, I also think it could also refer to what Riku did during kh1 events. But Sora is sad how Riku is because he really wants to help him and Riku is almost not letting him.
Sora then tells him to stop saying sorry,
Even after all this, Riku was still downcast.
“Can you blame me? I shouldn’t have let the bugs in like this. Every time it’s me against some outside force, I give in and—” Riku gazed at the palm of his hand.
What makes this scene so good is that he seems to have knowledge of all the events to happen like maybe what happens in kh1 and is reflecting on what he did. But like in kh2 he doesn't care he just wants his friend and he wants to stop apologizing for every little thing.
I also noticed he looks at the palm of his hand when thinking about something important. Here he is sad about it, but in 3 he looks at his hand when he thinks of important Sora is to him.
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I added this section because I liked how they talked about going through the worlds together. Unlike any of the other games they actually go through some of the world together. Even if it brief and in these little moments of restoring his strength, they still do it.
Sora thinks his Riku being worried is unlike him— probably because he has the cool facade in the first game where he tries to act better than Sora but in fact he actually really cares and is worried for him.
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Oh now they're just flirting. They have a strong connection with other. They are just teasing and messing with the other. Sora helps him feel better about everything— how he was almost taken over by bugs or perhaps how the real Riku got taken by darkness? (Not sure if he knows that or not??).
He helps him see how everything makes Riku stronger no matter what— we all need a Sora in our life. I also love their joking and laughing here, it's cute.
And they're just both smiling and the way Riku said thanks like "th-thanks" he's probably blushing. He teases Sora about being short and Sora confidently assures him he will be taller than him one day. It's cute. They're so close. They have an unbreakable connection and to each other and they clearly are each other's precious person.
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Once he back out of the deep data in Riku, Sora instantly wondering where Riku is. He is thinking he better made it back or none of it would have been worth it.
He is that important to him and it makes sense why the journal or whoever choose him as the form.
Riku even offers him his hand. I love these two. They're so connected on do many ways.
Finally near the end of the game Riku asks Sora what does he and Kairi have in common, he says it's hurt.
He tells him that Sora always try to help and make things better.
But Riku and Sora seemingly have a stronger connection and it's probably the reason why Riku had the journal information put inside him. Even after data Sora forgot everything, Riku still remembers because of this factor.
So to answer the question Why is the Journal data and form Riku—
That's because they have a deep and complicated connection filled with so many feelings and memories. And the time Riku was with Naminé and DiZ, they both could see that and inputted this into the Journal's data somehow.
Post Note: I personally don't like him forgetting even though he says memories may be gone but the heart will still remember. For me if he forgets the memories, the feeling of hurt is worse when you don't know. Sometimes remembering can help even if it may be painful. I feel like it would have a better affect. But the whole reason it is that way is to mimick both kh1 and com.
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aitsuheart · 6 months
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Chapter 6 - Don't Think Twice One Shots
A scattered dream that's like a far off memory
Summary: Riku misses Sora and can't help but see Sora wherever he goes. The island replays memories in his head. Once he finally finds Sora in the Quadratum, something unexpected happens.
Rating: General Audiences
Tags: Quadratum au, Sora/Riku, memory loss
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50036125
Preview:
Alone with Sora, Riku had said, "We'll be the darkness." Since the realm of light was safe, Sora carried him down to the beach. It was just them together in the dark margin. "I was jealous of you," but it was way more than that. Something almost unspoken— a feeling hiding in plain sight.
That was the only time it was them alone, but they managed to find a way out— a door of light appeared.
Like shooting star, they returned— falling through the ocean. Kairi, Mickey, Donald and Goofy, waved them over.
But it was the night of a real shooting star that he made a promise— a promise Sora must have forgotten, but it was still real to him. "What if a shooting star hits the islands?" said Sora at only four years of age. "If a shooting star comes this way, I'll protect you." Riku told him confidently, swinging his toy sword before giving him that necklace, he never took off.
Sora is his light, his strength comes from him. He was going to protect his most precious person. Like another promise he made, "I wanna be strong one day. Like that kid who left—he went to the outside world. I bet he's really strong now..." he told the stranger at five years at age, "I bet it's out there somewhere. The strength that I need... Strength to protect what matters."
But he has the strength now, Riku knows that. All those memories proves that.
He will find him.
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dnangelic · 3 months
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IM DONE WITH THE FIRST LN..... it was rlly cute and idk how much i trust my summarizing skills (or google translate wheelchairing me thru everything) but ill try, disclaimer that not all of this will necessarily be in perfect detail or order bc i'm horrible at that but it's a gist(tm). LNs take place really early on in the series so daisuke still likes risa and hasn't properly figured out he likes riku yet, dark is WAAAAY more of a creep, etc. also putting it under a read more because it's enormous. open at your own discretion, this is ~200 pages condensed into one post
first few chapters is mostly shenanigans/general chara introductions and setting up the fact daisuke's class is doing a sleeping beauty school play. risa's the princess, hiwatari's the prince, daisuke and riku are basically fairy extras, but daisuke is also the last fairy with important lines that basically help to wake up the princess in the end. in the midst of all this daisuke transforms a couple of times but mostly keeps control of his body, clumsy gap moe darksuke stuff ensues, dark in his head even tells dai to go have some fun and daisuke snaps back that fun for dark is either stealing or flirting with girls and he's NOT doing any of that. 😂
daisuke kind of huffs and mopes about what's going on between him and dark a bunch, with dark 'stealing' risa away from him and simultaneously taking over his entire life, to which emiko offers to listen but daiki tells her that 'a confrontation with dark is a confrontation with oneself' and 'there's nothing you can do.' there's also this very nice passage about dark and his relationship with the artworks that happens:
daisuke was looking at the weathervane spinning on the roof of a certain western-style building. there are many buildings like this, which have both a profound sense of history and delicate beauty in the area where daisuke lives. as his mother once said, the townscape was perfect for a gorgeous phantom thief. these are precious objects that survived an era when art in general was treated badly by the rapid development of science and technology, and the people who used it. as works of art and the techniques used to create them were lost, their rarity value and prices soared, and now they were treated with more respect than before. daisuke had heard stories like this from his grandfather and mother. most of what dark aims for is something imbued with that lost technique. however, these items are not sold and are still sleeping in the basement of the niwa family's house. high tech is progressing in areas that can't be seen, and efforts are being made to prevent intrusions by unscrupulous people. ironically, the same science and technology that eliminated traditional crafts and their techniques are now being used to protect what little beauty and skill that remains. for daisuke, who transformed into dark, breaking through multiple security devices and traps to steal wasn't difficult to do. but how to earn the heart of the one he loved?
daisuke also misses kosuke (his dad) a whole bunch cause he isn't home yet and is still on a trip (he doesn't even know what his dad is really doing,) cue this portion too about his personal anxieties. interesting bits about how daisuke's family doesn't mind how daisuke does at school/goes as long as he prioritizes his skills as a phantom thief because a certain level of educational mastery is needed. daisuke wonders to himself whether or not his mom and grandpa would 'cry again if he asked them to be sensible' lmao.
anyways, emiko pulls out a couple of date tickets to a newly built aquarium/museum called the aqua dome/deep blue, says she'll pick out a cute and cool outfit for daisuke, dark offers to go in daisuke's stead, daisuke tells both of them to shut up and says that he can do it all himself. 'i'll never let you go!' he tells dark. at the aquarium itself it turns out the two tickets that emiko gave him provides admittance for two people per single ticket, so even though he expected a solo date with risa, riku and saehara show up too.
riku actually gets a lot of character focus for being 'strong' and not 'cute' like risa. she's simultaneously insecure/jealous but considerate of risa while risa likewise complains that no matter what she does, she'll still be the younger one with an older sister, and that can't change. riku's sense of conflict over liking daisuke while daisuke (at this point) still likes risa is described as her feeling both a 'burning feeling' and also being 'cold and dark as ice,' which i liked, given the way dnangel usually handles that thematic.
everybody (riku, risa, daisuke, and saehara) goes to a haunted house attraction. daisuke is willing to go because he thinks it's a good chance to show off his cool side since he's a pro at walking in the dark. there's a mechanical 'killer' that chases anybody in the haunted house, which daisuke immediately figures out in regards to how it functions. riku and daisuke also have a sweet moment where in the pitch dark daisuke starts shaking because he's terrified he's suddenly transformed, (he didn't) and gets misunderstood for constantly looking at the emergency exit, but riku grabs his hand and tells him everything's okay in a big sister-ly way, even though she's actually really afraid of blood and is trying to act tough to comfort/encourage him. she tells him not to be afraid because she's with him, daisuke says thanks then grabs her hand back. 'her hands, still a little smaller than the small daisuke's, stopped shaking a little.' 😭😭😭
they leave the haunted house attraction and figure out that saehara has pretty much gone off on his own. saehara comes across satoshi in a fancy suit inside an area 'modeled after some traditional opera house' (POTO REF POG) and satoshi gets described as 'some rich guy's bonbon' LMAO. wiz is also there and starts 'playing tag' with a guard. around the actual aquarium daisuke's having a great time, risa calls a sea otter cute and daisuke can't bring himself to say 'you're cuter,' which he's sure that someone like dark could have said without any embarrassment. (MY SON'S HIDDEN RIZZ!!)
daisuke finally gets to see the mermaid's tears (an artwork/red gemstones) being showcased at the bottom of the attraction, has this crazy moment:
'the reason for the "please do not lean over" warning on this fence is because the 3d light that is projected from the floor covering the mermaid's tears doubles as a sensor to detect intruders. the security device activates when the light is blocked. daisuke carefully listened as a security guard gave an explanation to two young women who were trying to touch the 3d mermaid.
that means we have to do something about security first.
reflexively thinking that, daisuke scratched his head and said 'no way, are even my thoughts turning into dark's?! i'm not going to turn into dark anymore!'
he screams internally while risa gets lost in the daydream sauce, they go to the gift shop, the great phantom dark is a broke ass middleschooler moment. all of the sudden, riku starts shouting at someone to give back risa's wallet- it's a pickpocket. daisuke's legs start moving as soon as he sees riku get pushed away and the pickpocket starts running. daisuke reminds himself he can't cause a commotion only as he's already tackling the guy, who he had absolutely no trouble catching up to/keeping up with. only, he's too small and there's no way he can compete with a grown man in strength, so he gets flung away. he stays where he is 'suppressing the urge' to throw a punch, hiwatari shows up above him sending security to catch the pickpocket, but also softly compliments daisuke for a 'great performance' while lending him a hand to stand up. turns out daisuke had stolen risa's wallet right back and still had it in his hand.
'what? ah ... ah .... '
it's obvious, after all. daisuke, holding risa's wallet in hand, could only laugh.
in fact, the split second daisuke was clinging to [the pickpocket,] he slipped the wallet out of the [pickpocket's] pocket, and just before he was hit by an elbow, he let go and fell. what he miscalculated was that he couldn't slow down enough and fell on his face. and then there was hiwatari. without him, this "perfect crime" would have been completed.
daisuke immediately starts considering satoshi and his own's circumstances.
'i once heard that people with cold hands have warm hearts. hiwatari is always alone. but is that what he wants? just like saehara, who is always chasing scoops, and like his classmates who attend cram school with their future in mind, i wonder if hiwatari is also trying to do something, at the expense of a normal, enjoyable school life. i wonder why he's going to such lengths to pursue dark.
even though i'm being chased, i have no goals. even though i'm just desperately struggling to escape from dark.
turns out deep blue if not the entire aqua dome was built Specifically with dark in mind, and that's why the area where the mermaid's tears' are is called the special exhibition room. daisuke bursts out laughing at the fact and hiwatari briefly touches him to ask if he's okay. daisuke blurts out asking if he wants to have fun too and hiwatari basically declines with nothing more than a 'faint, gentle smile' and a thank you. risa and riku rush over and start to fret over daisuke because his face has gotten all messed up; he tries to laugh it off and say 'it's no big deal' until riku's expression darkens and she asks him 'why are you being so reckless?'
even if someone asked me why, i couldn't answer because my body moved without any time to think.
(MY SON'S HIDDEN PROTAG SYNDROME!!) risa gets her wallet back and calls dai manly, dai gets rocketed into heaven just from that sole compliment. they go to the artificial beach that's part of the area, daisuke has a moment over risa and starts to transform.
daisuke ran as fast as he could, interrupting the love stories of the couples scattered on the beach. no matter how far you run, no matter how hard you run, your shadow will follow you. the strong midsummer sun gives the shadows a sense of presence. there is a clear boundary between light and shadow, but this is the opposite. what is shining is not the owner of this body, but dark, who's supposed to be a shadow...
... i'm embarrassed, pathetic, and angry because i was so excited. daisuke is always there. it's my other self who effortlessly accomplishes the things i want to do but can't.
dark walks out of the banyan forest daisuke had dived into and onto the beach like he's hot shit. unfortunately for everybody involved he is because the very first thing he does is start flirting with an icecream lady, who gives him an icecream cone 'about three times the height' of a normal ice cream cone, calling it a service. dark offers to give a picture or something in return to her btw, but she declines and only asks him to come again. dark says 'of course, i'll come to see you,' and winks swaggering off. he immediately hands off the icecream to some other girls who cling to his arms and bring up that he looks like dark, to which he has a total tony hawk moment.
'i thought i've seen you somewhere before, but don't you look like dark?' 'they look alike, it's so cool!' 'oh, did you find out? actually, i came to steal the mermaid's tears.' dark grinned, and the girls gaped for a moment, then burst out laughing. 'i almost believed it!' 'it's the truth.'
dark and risa have a moment, daisuke starts to fall into total despair. riku appears and dark hauls ass to transform back. everyone starts to leave the aqua dome because it's getting late, and it's riku and not risa who notices that daisuke is suddenly intensely depressed. he says he's fine and gives a half-hearted smile that looks like it's about to burst into tears, they fall into silence. cue a lovely image of daisuke staring blankly at the nighttime scenery. 'the image reflected in the window glass overlaps with the pitch-black town. without realizing it, he was gradually becoming darker.... daisuke couldn't escape.'
later in bed daisuke wakes up in a lot of pain to turn on the lights. he's relieved because 'instead of the beautiful phantom thief who is said to be more popular than idol celebrities, he saw a very ordinary face that is sometimes said to be cute.' turns out his back's hurting for the past few days harshly enough that he's getting sleep deprived. after transforming back from dark he fell about two meters (6~7 feet) and insists that he could have broken one or two bones if he weren't trained. emiko had laughed saying it was a product of his training, but for daisuke it wasn't any sort of laughing matter.
the pain is similar to the pain that occurs when transforming into dark. it slowly melts out from the core of the body. ugh, it hurts. it was a pain that felt like something was trying to forcibly reshape daisuke's body.
the next day at school saehara and daisuke start doing a manzai routine over wiz being caught transforming on camera. there's an ominous note in the midst of it regarding change: 'even if it transforms, then like a chrysalis, it won't go back to normal.' daisukes goes into the art room to finish on the last piece for the school play.
a forest of thorns covers sleeping beauty's castle. countless fingers that obstruct those who try to break the curse. i layered many kinds of dark colors on that forest. on her 15th birthday, sleeping beauty's future is suddenly closed to her, and her sadness is midnight blue. the thorns that cause anxiety are spruce green. the feeling of trapping despair is the same as dark's wings.
the glue made a clear shadow of daisuke on the test paper. the shadow of the brush that was creating the deep forest suddenly stopped moving.
it won't go back to normal. the curse can't be erased. i can't get those words out of my head. the only girl who can erase the curse is, of course, the only one who can see the curse itself. will i continue to be myself and no longer myself without anyone knowing?
hiwatari puts a hand on daisuke's shoulder as he's going unsteady and daisuke immediately says that he's fine, just not getting enough sleep- but also he hasn't made any progress on his homework, he has to memorize his lines, and he's being swayed by saehara. dai finally brings up that he's never really thought abut the future, and he immediately berates himself for talking about something like it in front of satoshi, who had excellent grades and was already part of the police force. hiwatari surprises him by saying 'me too, i've never though about the future. i've lived my life thinking only about one thing.' no further elaboration is given as hiwatari offers to help out and immediately picks out daisuke's coloring as 'the color of despair.'
daisuke laughed. i tried my best, but i ended up slipping up quite a bit. it's like i painted myself. like sleeping beauty, everything is taken away from her. her love, her body, even her future... she becomes dark and may never be able to return to her former self.
this might be a serious passage but daisuke comparing himself to a fairy tale princess is so funny and on point for me. YOU CAN DO THIS CHRISTINE!!! later after school emiko shows up with the entire aqua dome's cutaway floor plan, and daisuke has NO idea how she managed to get it but starts planning the heist out. everything is practically set against him; darkness is prevented, there's only one vent that's' too small to get through, and there are hidden passages not shown in the drawings. daisuke reaaally wants to stop being dark, dark himself yells NO!!! and emiko and daiki also barge out from the hallway to immediately berate him. 'don't be selfish! if you don't do it, who will? even though mother wanted to be dark, dai-chan just throws away his chance! that's terrible!'
daisuke shuts them out until they finally relent and his mother leaves him with a few last words of apology and this.
daisuke, don't blame dark for things you can't control yourself. i don't want to hear anymore about dark. daisuke covered his ears. what you're worried about now is nothing special. although it's a little different from what everyone else is having. don't be afraid. everyone notices their own carvings that they didn't know before. i'm going to go... his mother's voice did not reach daisuke.
emiko reminisces about her own mother telling her that while dark was never caught by the police and was sure that he had stolen a beautiful jewel, it was actually dark himself who had always been caught but never realized it.
several years have passed since then, and the time has come for the girl who wnated to be dark to be glad to be a girl. she meets the young man who will become daisuke's father and falls in love... the jewel in her heart shines like it's on firer. just for one person. you've already found your true treasure, right? aim for it. she imagined her son alone, waiting for the moment to take off into the great sky.
daisuke himself in the meanwhile is going thru it. he considers how his father can't be dark and wouldn't know dark, and likewise would be able to listen to daisuke's woes.
but where are you? when i woke up, my father wasn't home. that doesn't mean there were any problems, and judging from my mother's reactions, it seems like they were still passionately in love with each other. i've heard that he moves around the world for work, but i don't really know what kind of work he does. i can't believe that my father was also a thief...
...this may be the first time i've felt my father's absence so much. my mother and grandfather were enough to care for me, and even more, they always played with me when i got home. hide and seek, tag, and dogeball. survival versions with traps. ah, now that i think about it, i can only think that it was meant to help me escape when i became dark. once, when he was caught in a trap and injured, daisuke asked his grandfather, 'why do i have to do this?' now is not the time. when the young boy complained in tears, his grandfather flatly told him, ' the time will come when you understand.'
baby daisuke calls his grandpa a shitty old man (kuso jiji/くそじじ) which he apparently picked up through imitation from saehara without knowing what it meant, absolutely flooring poor daiki for a second before he decides to give daisuke a hint: 'all of this is to steal the maiden's heart.' dark pops up and he and daisuke bicker a little, which is really more like dark keeps his casual, annoyingly playful attitude while daisuke gives him a cold shoulder.
'i don't know dark. i don't even know what's going to happen to me...' ---isn't it interesting? i'm excited to see what happens. daisuke didn't have anything better to say to dark, who kept his playful tone. 'anyway, dark is special. he can do anything and knows everything.' --- ah, i've been perfect since the moment i existed in this world. but that's also boring... i need to refresh myself by playing with a pretty lady.' 'that's just a hobby, isn't it?' ---'i wouldn't say so. an unapologetic, bright voice. daisuke felt silly worrying about something like this. why did i talk to someone like dark... well, it would have been understood even if we didn't talk. dark, who seems to have fun doing everything and never takes anything seriously. while concentrating on the conversation in his mind, daisuke forgot about the pain in his body and fell asleep. ---do you know what it means to never change? daisuke couldn't hear it. dark's voice was a little serious. big deal... if you really want to win against me, you should change it. our destiny.
emiko and daiki warmly send daisuke off to school with a sports bag containing dark's clothes and some other supplies, daisuke apologizes to them in his mind and swears to himself again that he wouldn't turn into dark, which is a goal he terrifically fails as soon as the day is up thanks to riku. dark heads off to the aqua dome to finally get the heist started. cue the cool heist stuff, which i'm too lazy to transcribe the majority of rn, but trust me it's pretty cool and wiz is once again not getting paid enough for all the shit dark and dai make him do. daisuke refuses to speak throughout about half of the heist until dark cracks a joke about how 'loved' he is, and daisuke finally snaps that it's not the time to be joking and he's worried about getting caught and how he has to go to school tomorrow. (daisuke...) dark grins and brings up that daisuke finally spoke, then he immediately gets waterboarded and sent off to a different area by a flash flood. they're now stuck outside the area of their plans, daisuke starts having another moment of doomspiralling before dark tells him to quit it -
'don't think so darkly. i won't get caught.' ---where does that confidence from from...? 'where is this?' with the thumb of his tight black glove, dark pointed to his chest. 'are you that worried that you're being hijacked?' dark laughed arrogantly. 'there's no way anyone would like something like that.' daisuke felt as if his chest had been sliced open. he should have been able to feel the pain in his body right now. even though it's not there, there's still an unbearable pain. if you like and love something so much that you can't accept the growing feelings, it might be easier if they just disappeared. after all, it was my fate to be swallowed up by dark...
some more running around, risa clings to wiz-dark, saehara's somewhere in here too, you kids are crazy. at some point dark and dai start having this conversation:
inside dark, daisuke was devastated and drenched with worries. i don't want to think about anything anymore. then i'll happily take over your body and your future, just as you wish,' happily spoke a deep voice. 'and the one you like.'
daisuke remembers riku and unconsciously calls out to dark, who tells him 'don't yell. it's too late now. if it's fate, you'll just follow it while crying the whole time.' daisuke hits back with 'you don't know that yet! i'll change it!' to which dark grins and eggs him on a little more with a 'you tell me.'
'keep going like that and get out of here. please, brother. (kyodai/兄弟) ---we're not brothers. however, it wasn't a complete denial. in truth, somewhere deep down he was enjoying stealing beautiful works of art and playing chase with the police. maybe it was just as my grandfather had said, or maybe i was just being dragged along by dark's heart. what daisuke hated was himself. i found myself being dragged along by a situation that was unexpectedly changing at a dizzying pace. daisuke laughed. perhaps only dark can see that expression. because right now, in reality, this body is not my own. this heart is the only thing that keeps it alive. that's why you can't use it unless you feel strong. even if no one can see you, even if no one can hear you, this is proof that you are definitely here. daisuke can't help but recognize dark's true strength. and for the first time, i called out to my other self from the bottom of my heart. ---we're accomplices, right? we're the only companions who share everything, including our bodies and memories. a phantom thief who violates a maiden's heart. however, i don't like how he's always one step ahead of me.
this cuts into daisuke looking through dark's eyes trying to figure out a way to escape from the area they're trapped in, and the hilarious description of 'the artificial beach where dark was picking up girls' being the location right above them. hiwatari shows up and pulls out the cuffs, daisuke can't do anything but watch as he and dark dodge and squabble. hiwtari pulls out the heartwrenching line 'how many sacrifices have been made for your existence!' at dark, and hiwatari's suffering and pain is described as 'something that daisuke also knew well.' even though daisuke in truth had been enjoying himself, he couldn't anymore with hiwatari like this.
but... now, while he's cornering dark, there's hiwatari who feels like he's been cornered himself. i don't want him to look at me like that anymore.
hiwatari slips after cuffing dark and daisuke freaks out for him, 'reaching out for him' despite not being the one in control of the body. satoshi's glasses break but dark catches their owner, while hiwatari himself looks up at dark 'as if he to ask why he helped him.'
'there's someone who wants to help you.'
dark pulls out a flare/lighter of sorts and sets off a fire alarm and lets him escape, he turns back into daisuke who ends up meeting up with riku and risa. daisuke thanks wiz for helping him and being willing to jump into water even though wiz hates water, daisuke goes home clutching the mermaid's tears, a red gem that 'shines like a flame.' hiwatari muses that dark is an opponent you have to be careful with and that if you let your guard down or get impatient even a little bit, he can easily escape. later daisuke heads off to school again and 'mobilizes all the gods and buddhas to pray at the last minute that he would not transform into dark' during the school performance. riku's trembling from stagefright and when the trade glances she says 'it doesn't matter, i don't have many lines,' to which daisuke says 'don't say things like that. everyone has a role to play. besides...' the stage is set, the lights go out, and in the darkness, daisuke holds hands with riku. 'i'm with you.'
sleeping beauty turns out to be a huge success, the kids pour soda water all over each other instead of champagne, and the daisuke from a while ago probably wouldn't have been able to enjoy that sort of nonsense.
'i'm soaking wet, i'm covered in bruises, all sorts of things happened... i don't know what's going to happen to me, but something is starting to move. daisuke thought it might be a good idea to let the wind blow around him, because the future can be repainted freely.'
the LN closes with emiko finding a picture of riku that daisuke can drawn into his sketchbook, the mermaid's tears beside it.
the light reflected by the jewel, which contains intense feelings that cannot be expressed in words, appears to be lighting a red flame on the chest of the girl in the painting. the flame of my heart burns brightly.
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realian · 2 years
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I wonder how Riku has been doing mentally, what with his best friend, the most precious person in the world to him, having been missing presumed dead for a year now, and his second best friend in a medically induced coma for just as long.
just something to think about :)
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phoenix-downer · 3 years
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Spring Birthday
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After Sora’s return, Naminé’s friends celebrate her birthday with her. While her early days were lonely, her life is very different now, and she treasures each new memory with the people dear to her heart.
~1650 words. Post-Kingdom Hearts III and Melody of Memory. Gen, Friendship, Fluff. Naminé POV. Written for @naminezine​, and the banner art is by the lovely @somniumars​.
“Naminé, when is your birthday?” Kairi asked over breakfast one day, scones with jam and clotted cream, served with a hot cup of tea for both of them. They liked to visit this cafe together at least once a month. It had outdoor seating, and the weather was finally warm enough again for them to sit outside with light jackets. 
Naminé stopped buttering her scone for a moment and frowned. It was a simple enough question, and yet she found herself unsure of what to say. 
“Well, I suppose it was the day Sora released his heart to save you,” she said at last. “But as glad as I am to be alive, it feels strange to celebrate that day, considering what happened.” 
“I understand,” Kairi said softly. “Are there any other days you can think of?”
Naminé paused once more and thought as Kairi sipped some more of her tea. The only other day she could really think of was… 
“The day of my rebirth. It was spring on Radiant Garden. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and the weather was perfect.” She sighed happily at the memory. “I’ll never forget what it felt like to walk outside for the first time in a body of my own.”
“Then why don’t we make that your birthday? I know we technically missed it last year, when we were all searching for Sora, but it’s coming up here soon.” 
“Sure, that sounds nice.” Naminé put one more cube of sugar in her tea to get it to just the right sweetness, then added a little more cream and stirred. “I’ve never really thought about having a birthday of my own before.”
“Well, you deserve to have one,” Kairi said with a determined glint in her eye. “You’re your own person. Always have been, always will be.”
The two girls chatted some more as they finished their breakfast, and the subject soon slipped away from Naminé’s mind. It wasn’t until she and Xion were gathering shells together on Destiny Islands a few days later when the topic of birthdays came up again.
“See,” Xion said as she picked up a thalassa shell, “I like these ones the most, with the pink centers and yellow edges.” 
“I like them too. Yellow’s one of my favorite colors.”
Yellow was the color of the sun. A hopeful color for a girl that had begun her life in a cage, longing to see the outdoors for herself. For that reason alone it was precious to her. 
“You like blue too, right?” Xion said. She placed another thalassa shell in Naminé’s palm, this one with a blue center and yellow edges.
Naminé nodded. “Yes. Blue is the color of the sky… of the waves… all the things I longed to see when I was imprisoned in Castle Oblivion.” 
“It suits you, and so does yellow,” Xion said with a smile. “Born from the waves, and reborn during the spring.” 
“Xion, when is your birthday?” Naminé suddenly asked. She realized she hadn’t really gotten to celebrate it with her before. 
“Oh, my birthday? I figured it should be during the fall. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been drawn to falling leaves, the seasons changing, that kind of thing.” She smiled ruefully. “I suppose because I felt like my time was limited, just like those leaves. Kairi actually asked me about it recently, I think because she wants to—”  
Her eyes went wide, then she coughed and craned her neck. “Look, I see some more shells over there!”
Naminé found Xion’s startled reaction rather curious, but she didn’t press her friend. It was just nice to spend time together sharing a hobby they both enjoyed. For a girl who had started life with no friends of her own, Naminé was lucky to have so many now. 
The next time she met with her friends, it was for a picnic on Rapunzel’s world, in a clearing in the woods near a small pool. The weather was perfect, sunny with a breeze blowing dandelions and flower petals through the air, and she and Sora and Rapunzel were all cloud gazing after a delicious lunch of sandwiches and cookies and lemonade. 
“See that one right there?” Rapunzel said, pointing up at the sky. “It looks like Maximus.” 
“It sure does!” Sora put his hand behind his neck and grinned. “The sky’s full of all sorts of interesting clouds today.” 
“I wish I had my sketchbook with me,” Naminé said with a sigh. “I’d love to draw all of them.” 
“Take a picture with your Gummiphone then,” Sora suggested. “You can always draw it later based off of that.” 
“I’d like to, but I’ve run out of room in my sketchbook. I could really use some new pencils, too.”
Sora and Rapunzel exchanged glances, and Sora grinned.
“Naminé, you should come to the castle,” Rapunzel said. “I’d love to show you some of my art supplies. Have you ever tried painting before?”
Naminé shook her head. “No, I haven’t, but I’d love to. Thank you for the invitation.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go now!” Sora sat up and sprang to his feet. 
The three of them spent the rest of the afternoon trying out Rapunzel’s art supplies. Well, more like Rapunzel showed Naminé her things and let her try them out while Sora kept typing away at his Gummiphone. Naminé giggled at how he still typed with one finger, like a bird pecking at grains of rice. 
“There we go,” he said all of a sudden, then put his phone in his pocket. “What’d I miss?”
Naminé and Rapunzel both giggled and showed him what they’d made: a painting to hang on the walls of Naminé’s room in Twilight Town. It was of the beautiful woods where they’d had the picnic with dandelions flower petals floating through the air. As soon as she got home, she put it up and gave it a satisfied nod.
The days flew by until at last it was the anniversary of her rebirth. There was a knock on the door late in the afternoon, and when she went to get it, she was surprised to see Riku and Roxas waiting there for her.
“Hey Naminé,” Roxas greeted with a grin. His eyes were playful, like he had a big secret he couldn’t wait to share.
“Come with us, there’s something we’d like to show you,” Riku added, and she ducked back inside to grab a few things before following them through the woods and to the Old Mansion. 
“Why are we here?” she asked. 
“You’ll see,” was all Roxas and Riku said, and she followed them inside. She was shocked by how nice the entrance looked, like someone had been in here and cleaned things up—
“Surprise!”
She gasped as she entered the foyer. A huge banner hanging from the stairs read Happy Birthday Naminé, and all her friends were gathered around a large table in the center of the room. The evening light shone through the window behind them, pink and purple and blue, another gorgeous twilight on this world she called home now. 
“Happy Birthday Naminé!” her friends all cheered, and she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. So this was what they had been plotting and planning all this time. Roxas grinned and grabbed a camera to take a few shots, and Sora and Riku had some of those confetti poppers that they popped with loud crackling noises.�� 
The seashell decorations were yellow and the star candles were blue on the cake Xion held. Axel lit the candles, and they cast flickering lights and shadows over everyone’s faces.
Kairi leaned close and murmured, “Make a wish, but keep it secret.”
“A secret?” Naminé asked, tilting her head.
“It won’t come true if you tell us,” Ven explained, and Terra nodded. 
As Naminé looked at the faces of her friends, what she should wish for became clear. She knew, deep in her heart, what she wanted more than anything.
With that, she blew out the candles, and everyone cheered loudly. Aqua swept the cake out of Xion’s hands so she could cut it properly, and then everyone sat around the table. The cake was delicious, vanilla and lemon, and after everyone was done eating, it was time for Naminé to open her presents. 
“Here!” Sora said, his eyes shining as he handed her the first one. “It’s from all of us.”
Naminé’s hands shook as she removed the wrapping paper. She wasn’t used to getting gifts, and it took her some time to free the box. But once she did, she couldn’t have stopped the smile on her face even if she’d wanted to.
“They’re like the paints Rapunzel has! And in all the colors I like too.” She hugged the box to her chest. “Oh, thank you so much everyone, I can’t wait to use these.” 
When she was finished unwrapping the rest of her presents, more art supplies and nice jewelry and cute clothes, she thanked her friends for making this such a wonderful birthday night. But there was one last thing that would make it truly perfect.
“If you wouldn’t mind,” Naminé said, “let’s make a painting together. So we have something to help us remember tonight.”
Naminé loved drawing on her own, but drawing with her friends was truly wonderful. Everyone brought their own unique spark to the table. And when the painting was finished, it was one huge flowing mosaic of color and life and creativity. Sure, it wasn’t a masterpiece, but it was something truly unique that only they could have made. And that was why it was a work of art. Not because it was perfect or technically skilled, but because it had their hearts poured into it.
Naminé couldn’t have asked for a better way to commemorate her birthday.  
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A/N: Thank you so much to the mods for making this project possible and for being so caring and supportive! And thank you to the other contributors, this zine was such a joy and I enjoyed talking to you all. A big thank you too to Somnium for drawing the banner! I really enjoyed working with you!
And thank you for reading!
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Hi!! I'm finally writing another Soriku fic and this is for everyone and @whyarewecalledtheshipname I hope you enjoy this sleeping beauty sort of fic! A lot of effort went into the ending, and it's probably not too good, but I hope you like it! I love your blog, so I thought you would like this so yeah! Enjoy!
Author notes are at the end and kinda long but yeah. And I'd like feedback since I like getting it to improve my writing or know what you thought about it at least!
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"Momma, will you read this one?" Sora asks.
He and Riku were both laying in their own pillow fort. They were laying on their stomachs next to each other, both in their pajamas, and looking towards Sora's mother. She was laying outside the entrance to their pillow fort with a smile. She was on her stomach, propped up by her forearms, and had a book between them.
"Do you know if Riku likes it? Will he even like to hear it again." She tilts her head and looks over at Riku.
Riku's eyes widen slightly before he nods with a small smile. "Yeah, I like Sleeping Beauty. It's a nice story," he says shyly.
Sora's mother sighs fondly. "Alright, then I'll read it." She picks up the book and shows the front to the boys. "Well, I guess we're reading Sleeping Beauty again!" She opens the book and begins to read. "In a far away land long ago lived a King and his fair Queen. Many years had they longed for a child and finally their wish was granted." She turns the book around to show the boys the picture.
"It's so beautiful," Sora whispers. No matter how many times he sees the pictures or reads the story, he finds it amazing each time.
She smiles and turns the book back to her and flips the page. "A daughter was born. They called her Aurora. Yes they named her after the dawn for she filled their lives with sunshine."
"So, Aurora means dawn? Do other names have meaning?" Riku asks with curiosity.
Sora's mother looks up at him and smiles. "Why yes it does. Isn't it beautiful? And some names do have meaning, but that meaning doesn't make you." She turns the book around so they could see the story being told in pictures.
"They look so happy!" Sora says with a big smile.
"Of course they would be. They just had their first kid!" Riku says with excitement. He wouldn't admit it, but he loves this story.
"Then, a great holiday was proclaimed throughout the kingdom so that all of high or low estate might pay homage to the infant princess. And our story begins on that most joyful day." She turns the book around for the boys to see again.
"That's a lot of people," Sora says with awe.
Sora's mother turns the book back to her and continues to read. "All sorts of people attended, including another king and his son, Prince Phillip. Celebrating Aurora's birth wasn't the only thing being done that day, it was also announced that Phillip was betrothed to the princess."
"He was going to get married to her, right?" Sora asks.
"Yes, he was. It was a common thing for many kingdoms to do."
"It's still weird," Riku says quietly. He's young and doesn't understand love, but he still finds it weird how people were forced to marry someone and didn't have a say in it.
She smiles and continues. "After the prince set eyes on his future bride, horns once again rang throughout the room as three fairies floated down to the king and queen. They, too, wanted to celebrate the princess's birth. They all floated over to her in a rush, crowding each other as they looked down at her crib. However, they weren't there just to see her, they were there to bless her. The first fairy, Flora, gave her the gift of beauty. The second fairy, Fauna, gave her the gift of song. And just as the third fairy, Merryweather, was about to give her gift, thunder rumbled through the room, causing panic as a glowing figure began to appear. It was green, but it slowly formed into another fairy, but a dark fairy." She emphasized "dark" with a scary look.
Sora gasped softly. "Oh no!"
"The evil fairy, named Maleficent, appeared in the middle of the room with her cane and raven. She walked to the King and Queen with a smile as she mentioned every person in the room. She stroked her bird as she told them her woes about not being invited. Merryweather, being the blunt fairy she was, told her how she wasn't invited, which stirred the evil fairy up. She in return decided to give the princess her own gift."
Sora and Riku both had looks of excitement mixed with curiosity. They both knew what it was, yet found it enjoyable to hear again and again.
"The fairies did their best to protect Aurora, but they failed. The evil fairy cast a curse on dear Aurora. "Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she shall prick her finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel and die," is what she told the whole room. The evil fairy laughed cruelly as she saw the panic around the room. The King ordered for the guards to apprehend her, but she disappeared before they could even touch her."
"But then someone comes and saves her!" Riku says.
"No saving is done yet, dears. However, they could help the poor princess. Flora saw the panic on the King's and Queen's face and reassured them that they could help her. Merryweather didn't give her gift yet and still had a chance to make things better. She went over to the crib and said, "Sweet princess, if through this wicked witches trick, a spindle should your finger prick, a ray of hope there still may be in this. The gift I give to thee, not in death but just in sleep, and from this slumber you shall wake when true loves kiss the spell shall break."
"But what if she doesn't find her true love?" Riku asks with a curious and concerned voice. It was a fake person, but he still feels worry.
"But she will! It's just how fate works!" Sora tells him with a smile. He grabs Riku's hand and squeezes it. "We all find each other through fate, so she would find her true love through fate as well!"
Riku looks over at Sora and smiles back at him.
The rest of the night is spent with Sora's mother telling them how the story went, but the most important part was the ending. When she was done reading and was getting ready to go to bed, Sora asks her an important question.
Sora yawns as he talks. "So, she would've been asleep forever if Phillip didn't make it?"
His mother ruffles his and Riku's hair. "Sadly, yes, she would have. But her prince's heart was stronger than Maleficent and he defeated her to save Aurora."
"Oh, then that's good," he says as he yawns once again. His mother kisses his cheek and leaves to go to bed.
He lays his cheek against the floor as he looks beside him. He sees Riku already asleep, still holding his hand. He smiles and squeezes it. "I'd fight a dragon for you, Riku," he whispers out. "Our hearts are already strong, aren't they," he says slowly. Only a few moments later, he falls into a blissful sleep.
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Riku looked up at Sora's face through the clear glass of his sleeping pod. He could barely see him, but he could still see a smile on his face. It was small, but it was there.
This had been his third time checking up on Sora since he was put to sleep, and he always looked for a smile. It managed to put him at ease, but never erase the true pain he felt.
"I wonder what you're dreaming about. Is it good things?" He knew he wouldn't respond, but he still talked to him. "Are you thinking of the things I did?" He shouldn't have been thinking like that, but he still did. He was inexcusably rude to his best friend, someone he loves with all his heart, and someone who is precious.
He placed his hand against the pod. "I hope your dreams are good and that you can forgive me. Especially for the things I have to do." He knew what he had to do and it was things he didn't want to do, but he had to. He wouldn't be able to be without Sora, so he'd do whatever it took to save him...even if it means hurting someone else.
"I'm sorry."
He turned around and left the room, once again asking Namine to watch over him. He wished he could stay longer, but Sora wouldn't wake up unless he left, so he knew what he had to do. Even if he wished he didn't have to.
He never wanted to be away from Sora, even if his past actions didn't agree. This time felt painful, but when he had to watch Sora from afar? And look like Ansem at the same time? It was even more painful, but it was only the beginning.
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Riku's legs felt like jelly as he continued to run. His dreams led him to an unknown world, and the only thing he knew was that it would lead him to Sora.
His beloved that had been missing for a whole year. It broke his heart to think about the time again, so he pushed it away as he continued to run and run and run. Every now and then he stopped so he could look around to make sure he didn't miss Sora, but he never saw him.
"I have to keep going," he said through panting breaths as he sat at a bench. He held his head in his hands as he thought. "Our hearts are connected together, but every time I think I'm getting closer, the connection goes away. It disappears all over again." He looks up as he finally realizes what he should do. "But if I just listen...maybe I can sense him better."
He quickly stood up, ignoring the pain his legs felt, and closed his eyes. He felt the connection to Sora, he could feel their hearts calling to each other, but he couldn't feel a direction. It should've annoyed him, but he stayed calm and cool. He only listened.
After a few moments, he felt a tug. A tug that's stronger than any other he's felt. He opened his eyes and looked at the road ahead of him. He felt the tug pulling him that way, so he goes. He ran, but not as fast as before since he didn't want to miss Sora. He looked around as he passed by buildings and shops. He kept going straight past many traffic lights.
However, once he got to another four way, he felt the tug go somewhere else. He felt it coming from a building. He runs over but then the tug comes from above. He backed up and looked up to see something on the roof.
He gasped and stared at the climbing he had to do. "I'm not as good as you are, Sora. But I'll do my best." He began to run up the side of the building, doing his best to not slip off.
He gets to the edge of the top and jumps so he can finally be on the roof, and what he saw makes him gasp with fear. He saw an array of spikes of ice surrounding each other, like a spell of blizzard gone wrong. He looked in the middle and his heart dropped.
Sora was frozen solid and laying in the middle. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was in peace, but Riku felt fear and terror.
He ran over to the spikes, which resembled a flower now that he was closer, and saw a little break through the array of spikes. He walked through the path and got on his knees beside Sora. As soon as he touched Sora, the spikes around him cracked and turned into silver flakes, disappearing into the wind. Sora's crystal form did the same thing as well. It made a cracking noise before falling off in flakes and going in the wind.
"Sora..." he said as he touched his cheek gently. It felt freezing and it made Riku feel even more upset.
He picked Sora up and held him bridal style and signaled to Fairy Godmother. He, within seconds, disappeared in a flash and reappeared in front of Yen Sid's tower. He was greeted by Mickey, Aqua, Terra, and Kairi. They all had a look of surprise mixed with relief, but when they saw Riku's face they were confused.
Riku walked towards them and kept his words brief. "I found him, but he's still not awake. He needs help."
Everyone nodded and all hurried to get Sora his own room. The room was at the top of the tower, far away enough from everyone else. They needed room to figure out what was wrong. They would tell everyone the news later.
Riku sat Sora down in the bed, Kairi started a fire in the fireplace to make the room warmer, and Terra got an extra blanket for him. They all stood in the room and waited for Fairy Godmother to appear. She was there within a matter of seconds and instantly looked at Sora.
She walked over to him and knelt down to be closer. She placed her hand against his chest and went silent for a moment before looking back at everyone. "His heart beat is very distant and his breathing is very slow. I can't tell what's wrong yet," she said with disappointment. She wanted to help him just like everyone else, but she needed time to do so.
Everyone felt disappointment and fear, but pushed it aside as they thought of what to do.
"So, should we leave him to rest? And see how he's doing in the morning?" Aqua suggested.
"But he shouldn't be alone, right?" Terra said with worry.
"Yes, he shouldn't be. I need time to research and see what's wrong, but he may get worse. I need someone to watch over him," Fairy Godmother said with firmness.
"I'll do it," Riku said immediately. He protected Sora ever since Sora saved him. He couldn't abandon him now. He knew Sora would never blame him for taking a break, but he couldn't. He couldn't bare the thought of having him here and not being able to see him in the morning if something went wrong. He trusted the others, but he had to do this.
"Riku, you haven't slept in so long. You need a break," Kairi said with worry. She stepped closer to him and grabbed his hand, gently.
He looked down at her and shook his head. "I just...can't leave him, alright? I need to make sure he's alright. Please," he asked the group.
"How about we do shifts?" Mickey suggested with a smile. He knew everyone cared about Sora, he did, too. However, he knew almost no one could care for Sora like Riku did. Mickey spent time with him in the Realm of Darkness and watched him find his strength with Sora. He understood the fear that Riku was feeling.
Fairy Godmother thought for a moment before she nodded with a smile. "I believe that's a good idea. How about we all go tell Yen Sid, just real quick, alright? Then you can come right back here and watch him," she said as she looked at Riku. She gave him a bright smile, doing her best to put him at ease.
Everyone turned around to leave, but Riku kept looking at Sora. He thought it was creepy, but he couldn't stop focusing on the way his breath was so shallow. He almost couldn't see it. However, he broke out of his trance when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Aqua with a frown.
"You can take a minute. It's okay." She squeezed his shoulder before leaving the room and closing the door gently behind her.
He smiled slightly at her concern and understanding. It made him breath easier. Once she left and didn't hear any more footsteps, he turned around and walked over to Sora. He got knelt down on one knee and looked at him.
"You look like you're in peace, but are you really?" He asked, knowing he would get no reply. "We're going to do our best to save you, I promise. We will save you. I know we can. You've saved us plenty of times, it's our turn to save you." He moved his hand slowly to push aside his bangs.
He remembered doing this when he was a kid on the Destiny Islands. Sora would take a nap and let the wind mess with his hair. Whenever he let his hair grow out, his bangs would get in his face and cover his eyes. Riku would move them away, which always would wake Sora. He would look at him with a smile and thank him for moving his bangs. It would always embarrass Riku, but he'd continue to do it. He liked seeing those blue eyes look up at him, and now he'd love if they could.
He got up and looked out the window. The sun was rising and it was beautiful. He wished Sora was awake to see it since he loved to see the sunrise. He looked back down at Sora and smiled as he leaned in and kissed him right above his temple.
He pulled away and made sure the blanket was covering him, the fire was still lit, and began to leave. He walked to the door and had his hand on the doorknob, ready to open, but stopped when he heard a voice.
"Riku?" Sora said quietly with his voice sounding rough.
Riku turned around quickly and saw Sora rubbing his eyes. He looked around the room confused, but once they landed on him he smiled.
"Riku...you're here." He looked to his side to see the sunlight reaching the tower. "It looks so beautiful. I hadn't seen one like this in so long," he said quietly.
"Sora!" Riku shouted as he ran over to his side of the bed. He got on his knees and grabbed his hand. "You're awake!" He let his forehead rest against Sora's hand and he closed his eyes. "You're awake..." he said again.
Sora sat up and laughed. "You saved me," he said gently.
Riku looked up at him to see those blue eyes. They looked at him with such love and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He couldn't find the words to say, so he only acted. He wrapped his arms around Sora and buried his face in the crook of his neck. It took a moment, but Sora wrapped his arms around him too.
"I'm here, Riku. You don't need to fear anymore."
Riku pulled back enough to look at him, but didn't let go. He cupped his cheek with a shaky hand and smiled when Sora leaned into it. "How are you here? How are you awake?"
"You woke me up." He poked right above his heart. "I heard your heart calling out to me. Those spikes and the crystal was protecting me, but they broke when you came because I trust you. You," Sora paused for a moment and struggled to find the words. "You mean the world to me, so they fell away. And I fought my way to wake up, but I couldn't do it. But when you kissed me, it made me stronger," he said with a small blush.
"The kiss helped you?" Riku asked with confusion and slight disbelief.
Sora nodded. "Yeah. You helped me break through. I guess it's like Sleeping Beauty," he said with a giggle.
Riku smiled and gathered up his courage. "Then, can I kiss you again?" He blushed and felt like looking away, but he didn't. He held his ground and waited.
"It better be a proper one this time," Sora said with a laugh.
Riku laughed in return before he leaned closer and gently kissed him. It wasn't perfect, but it didn't matter. It was them. It was their kiss. When they pulled away, they didn't hesitate. They went back in for another kiss, and another, and another, until they had to stop to catch their breath.
They pulled slightly away and laid their foreheads against the others. It was peaceful and everything was beautiful. The sun was shining, Sora was awake, and they both finally confessed.
Well, halfway, but they did it.
"When are the others coming?" Sora asked.
"Oh!" Riku said as he remembered the others. "They should be telling Yen Sid about everything. I was meant to join them! Do you want to go with me or do you want me to stay?"
"Stay. Stay with me, please," Sora said with vulnerability. "I don't want to be alone, and I'm still a little cold." Sora slid over and motioned for Riku to join him.
He smiled and joined him on the bed. He laid on his side and wrapped his arms around Sora when he scooted closer and buried his face in the crook of his neck.
"I love you, Riku."
Riku's heart pounded with joy and he smiled as he rested his chin on top of Sora's head. "I love you, too, Sora."
And they laid together before the others came and got them. At first, they believed Riku was clinging to him, only to hear Sora wake up when they called out to Riku.
They all helped him up so he could hug everyone and make them believe he was really there and awake. However, they let Sora rest back in the bed when he began to feel weak again since he had been sleeping for awhile. But it didn't bother them. They were just so excited and happy that Sora was finally home.
But no one was as happy as Riku. No one.
.
.
OKAY SO! This was a little difficult to write. The opening was good and I kinda liked that part. That's actually where this idea started, since I just imagined Sora's mother reading him and Riku a story and then I saw your posts and was like, "oh...SLEEPING BEAUTY!!!" And then this popped out. These are some author notes.
Okay so like this took so long to come out because I wrote it but then I had so many different ideas. I wanted him to kiss him on the lips but I kinda thought that Riku wouldn't exactly do that since he didn't want to I guess do that to Sora?? Since he was asleep and couldn't say anything?? So he just kissed him on his temple and it woke him up. AND THAT WASN'T JUST MY IDEA!! I got it from the movie Maleficent that came out in 2014. In the end of that movie, Maleficent was the one to wake up Aurora. She kissed her on her forehead and she woke up!! I was like, "oh yeah that's perfect for Riku."
I wanted to include the times Sora was asleep, but I didn't see how that would help anything or contribute to the plot, so I didn't. I only included the time where Sora was asleep to get his memories back, so I could show that Riku suffered during that (Even if we already knew that) and say how it was going to get worse >:).
Thus took so many rewrites because like...the ending of where Sora is found in crystal was so difficult to write. At first, I had him finding him in the position he was in the Remind ending, but I couldn't write it good, so I just switched it to him laying down in crystal form :). Let's just say that I wrote this multiple times and finally got on this version! And??? We like?? Don’t know what caused the crystal (I believe), so I just said that it was meant to protect him and fell away when Riku came bc now he would protect him :).
Putting in the sunlight on the tower part was a little difficult since I couldn't write it properly but!! I hope you enjoyed this!! I love your posts and I hope you love this! It may not be the best, but I love it.
AND!! That beginning of the story is actually from the movie. All of it is from the movie until the, "On that joyous day," part. Like the part of describing the event is my own writing and such. But the quote of Maleficent cursing Aurora and the gift that Merryweather gave Aurora is actually from the movie and word for word so I hope you like that part :).
There is some proofreading, but I could've missed something, so sorry if I did miss something!
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I sort of missed writing KH fics that took place in the KHII era, so I wrote this story where Sora and Kairi confessed their feelings for each other between KHII and DDD, but that then makes it AU. Fluff. Oneshot.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/29577108
You Raise Me Up
Kairi’s PoV
Kairi was writing her feelings for Sora in her drawing pad… It was silly, she knew, because she should have been using this gift she’d been given for art. And while she'd meant to, Kairi found that it was the written word that was really where she was at these days. But it would of course be while she was doing this, that Sora would approach her and steal the book from her.
It was an absolutely beautiful day: birds seemed to be having a contest to see which of their wings could turn the most yellow when they flew close to the sun… dogs were barking gleefully, as they played frisbee with their masters nearby… and there was even a street vendor who seemed to be purposefully leaving out their spoiled food, so that even the ants could have something to eat.
All-in-all, everyone was trying to do their best today—Kairi knew that she was—and she had hoped that Sora would be, too. But nope. He had to tease her about something that was so personal, he didn't even know.
"Sora!" Kairi squealed, as she jumped into the air from where she'd been sitting and tried again and again to fetch her book from him, while he danced about her... dangerously close to running into a bicyclist at this point. "Give it back! You can't just steal a lady's art without her permission! Did you learn nothing from when you learned manners and had to bow down to that Princess Jasmine, or whatever it was you said?!"
Sora must not have, because he completely ignored the point that Kairi was trying to make—that he had learned some propriety on his journeys, and thus should have been using it now—but began reading Kairi's carefully crafted words, as she then desperately wanted to take a shovel to her own head... just anything, so she wouldn't have to be privy to this.
"'How he attempts to give everyone lovin', without them realizing his own heart is broken.'"
At first, Sora didn't seem to realize that her words were about him. She saw his mouth starting to form the word "who". And whether he would have thought that “who” was a real person or a fictional character if he’d gotten to finish his first thought, Kairi didn’t know.
But then Sora seemed to finally get that this was art that she was making with blood, sweat, and tears, and settled down and handed her her book back. And a small smile played at his lips as he seemed to speak from the heart: "Kairi, you should really think about becoming a poet... or an author, as one can also sound poetic in novel speak."
And if he was going to play it civil to save their friendship, Kairi could do the same. And she grinned at her friend now, as she put a strand of hair behind her ear and somewhat wanted to hide from the world. “You know what? I’ll really think about that.” And be glad that that is the lead you decided to take, and that you haven’t realized the poem was about you… because I love you.
Then, Kairi and Sora had a wonderful afternoon of being good people and helping the professional fishermen nearby with their jobs. And when they were given some of the best fish as a reward for this, they took it over to the sick Riku’s house to try and cheer him up some.
Sora’s PoV
 A Few Days Later
Sora looked out the window—bored in school, as he always was—when he noticed that Kairi was outside.
Kairi was a girl he'd had a crush on, ever since she'd washed up on the islands when she was five. But he figured it was a hopeless case, since Kairi was kind of popular and surely liked his friend Riku... And he wasn’t trying to dwell on it, anyway, since he was generally a happy person…
But he wondered what she was doing outside! It wasn't like Kairi to skip class, or anything like that. Though Sora didn't see her class with her right now, so where could they be? Had they just gone into the greenhouse before she had? And why did she look sad?
Kairi, what's wrong with you? Sora found himself thinking, as he nearly got out of his seat to go to her.
Unfortunately, Sora's teacher noticed his lack of attention and ordered him to stand up and answer a question, whilst his thoughts were all for Kairi. "Homura Sora!” his sensei demanded, “What are the first digits of pi?"
"Oh. Erm... S-sorry!" Sora stammered. "Uhh... I believe they are 3.14159?" And Sora sat down--slightly embarrassed now--but glad that he knew the answer when he was called on, and wasn’t humiliated for once: even if people were still whispering about him for having been a space cadet. Yikes.
But still only feeling for Kairi, Sora looked out the window again and saw that she was for sure crying! He wondered if she'd sensed her grandma die or something…
Raising his hand, Sora decided he was going to ask for a personal day and go check on Kairi.
“Kairi, what’s wrong?!” Sora demanded the moment he saw his best friend. And then he took her in his arms to comfort her, the moment he saw that something must have happened since she was crying.
“My mom had a heart-attack, Sora. Thankfully, she’s okay. But I didn’t know she would be when I came into school today—God, now I don’t even know why I came in today—but now that I know she’s alright, I should probably go into class again and not be hiding out here. But I don’t know if I can. My emotions are all spent. Is that crazy?”
“No, Kairi,” Sora promised the girl of her dreams after she’d babbled. He then put his chin atop her head, held her ever tighter to him, and drank in this moment. Sora couldn’t get over how well her scent of strawberries smelled with his of chocolate... “It’s not crazy at all. Emotions aren’t logical. Just take it easy, okay? And if there’s anything you need… know that I’ll be there for you.”
And Sora had thought that Kairi would say “thank you” and just leave it at that, but she surprised him—as it continued to rain around them, wrapping the two of them in a warm blanket on this hot island. “Actually, Sora… I wrote some of my feelings about what happened to Mom down. And I- I wouldn’t mind if you read them. I think it might be therapeutic for me, even, if you’d do that,” Kairi said shyly, stepping away from Sora so she could hand him her sketchbook.
And it was so rare for Kairi to be shy, how could Sora anything but “yes”? He even responded more gently to her here than he normally would, and that was really saying something.
“Of course, Kairi. I’ll read anything that comes from your beautiful heart!” Sora beamed with his eyes closed. He then decided to lay it on a bit thick and be a bit of the flirt that Donald always accused him of being. But he meant every word he was saying here. Because how could he not, when he loved Kairi so much?
And he flipped open the redhead’s sketchbook to find words about the mayor… but instead he found himself seeing ones about himself.
Kairi had written that she liked him, but was afraid that he wouldn’t feel the same since she saw herself as useless?
And Kairi must have realized he’d flipped to the wrong page by accident, because she was already trying to rip the book away from Sora and stammer out explanations. “I swear it’s not what it seems lik-”
But Sora was already cutting off his precious girl, who had jumped off a balcony and fought for the first time to save him. “Kairi, you are notuseless. Don’t ever think that. But as for the rest of it… umm, I have to go. But I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Sora, wait!”
But Sora wasn’t listening. He was already Quick Running away, as he really needed to think here.
Later, he’d realize that he’d left Kairi at the worst time imaginable—and he would berate himself for it—since she had just been through so much already, and he was probably making her think he didn’t like her back.
But at the time, all Sora could think was that Kairi liked him… but probably didn’t love him.
A Day Later
Even after thinking on what Kairi had written over and over—as Sora laid in his bed, summoning and dismissing his Keyblade and rinsing and repeating—he couldn’t make out what she meant, exactly, and where they went from here.
It was clear to see that she liked him (she’d written that much, after all). They were at that age where one would start having crushes, after all… but did she love him in the way that he did her?
And if Kairi did have feelings for him... what if she only felt that way because he was a hero, and because of all the things that he'd done for her?
Sora was miserable when he thought that last part. And suddenly, he needed to get out of his house that just felt suffocating at the moment. So, he began peddling away on his bike, cursing the fact that he had his “driver’s license” in other worlds, but not here yet.
And really... maybe he deserved to be miserable, for having accidentally read that part of her journal. But he still had to wonder to the gods of Mount Olympus just why everything had to be so hard…
...It was only when Sora just happened to see Kairi after this—with her hair dyed black?! What? Had she thought she was “dark” for having “hurt his feelings” to make him run off like that, and had thus dyed her hair to match how she thought her heart was?—that he realized he had made a huge mistake in thinking so little of her.
“Kairi!" Sora exclaimed the moment she was over the threshold of the store she’d just been at. And her concerned expression turned into a smile as soon as she saw that he was giving her a thousand-watt smile, Sora thought.
And running up to the love of his life… and taking her hands in his, and just deciding to play it brave here, Sora asked Kairi what he knew he should have yesterday. "Kairi... do you have feelings for me?"
Kairi shrank back at this—something Sora instantly hated himself for, because he knew it was his fault because of how he’d reacted last time—but he couldn't tell why. Was it that she was embarrassed to admit it if she did... or did she still think he couldn’t feel that way for her? If so, Sora promised himself he’d help her to build her confidence up, if it was the last thing he did.
Shockingly, Kairi threw herself into Sora's arms—letting the coconut milk she’d been holding fall to the ground as she did so—and didn't stand there clenching her fists uncertainly, like he had feared she would.
But Sora could tell by how lightly Kairi held him, that this embrace was still of friendship and not romance. But why-
"I- I do, silly… I love you," Kairi replied now, as she chose that moment to look over his shoulder and focus hard on the little dipper that was just beginning to appear in the sky. What as a way of distraction? That would be Sora’s guess. "I'm sure you know that, from the tiny bit you spied from my diary. How- how could I not like you when we've been best friends for so long? But if you don't feel the same way-"
And here, Sora could only begin humming a song he was writing in his head to go with this perfect moment going on. It was very Eric of him, Sora thought, but he wouldn’t complain in the slightest. Because Kairi loving him was monumental in and of itself... but it felt good to know that she loved him for him, and not because she thought she owed him for sacrificing himself for her!
So, Sora stroked Kairi's hair once and even kissed a strand of it, as he leaned his cheek against her own.
“I love you too, Kairi. I always have. …And that’s why I stabbed myself with the Keyblade of People’s Hearts, and will never regret it or anything I do for you. …And I’m sorry I’ve made you think differently by how I’ve reacted lately. I guess we both had our own insecurities to get over, huh? Hehe. But I swear I’m going to show you how special you are to me, Kairi. Starting with telling you that you should bring your red hair back? But, hey. If you’ve decided you want black in it too, that’s also cool.”
Kairi giggled at Sora’s rambling—a sound that was like music to his ears—and his knees buckled at for how he was probably failing here… but Kairi was swift to rise him up again, both figuratively and literally.
“Then let’s be a couple together, Sora. I guess that’s all there is to it. And I also think us helping each other believe in ourselves more is a good idea… Like me believing I don’t have to be Supergirl to keep your attention. In fact… do you think you could carry all the coconut milk I bought home for me? It’s kind of heavy for me, to be honest.”
Now it was Sora’s turn to laugh. And he kissed Kairi’s head before adhering to her request. “Of course, princess!” And he moved to pick up the bags… but soon after, the two of them decided to compromise and each hold one half of the bag as they walked back to Kairi’s home.
Then, Sora and Kairi made cookies (with the coconut milk) for the first time together as boyfriend and girlfriend as a get well present for Kairi’s mother. But they snacked on a few themselves, of course.
All-in-all, it was the perfect everything.
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atomic-taco-muffin · 3 years
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Sora x Fem!Reader Oneshot
Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Xehanort being OOC slightly 
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You and Sora were juniors at Kingdom High School. You knew him sort of but didn’t pay that much attention because of your studies. Sure, you were friends with him. But your studies seemed more important. Sora couldn’t blame you. This was the most strict high school in the world. But he didn’t know that you had a crush on him. You thought that he liked the popular girl, Kairi. One day, Sora was walking home thinking about you when he bumped into someone. It was Xehanort, (young version don’t worry) his classmate. 
“Oh. Hey, Xehanort. Didn’t see you there.” Sora said. 
“It’s fine.” Xehanort replied. “So, I hear that you’re in love with (Y/N).” 
“What?! How do you know about that? Did Riku tell you?” 
“No. I just see how you look at her.” 
“Oh. Is it that obvious?”
“About half of the school knows.” 
“Crap.” Sora muttered under his breath. 
“I have a way that can make her fall in love with you.” Xehanort mentioned. 
“You do? Please tell me!” 
“Okay. Okay. Come with me.” Sora followed Xehanort to his house and went into his room. Xehanort rummaged through some things until he found what he was looking for. 
“What’s this?” Sora asked. 
“This is a magic pendant that will allow you to be with (Y/N).” Xehanort explained. 
“Wow. Thank you.” Sora took the pendant. 
“Of course. Now I got some studying to do.” Sora nodded and left to go home. He was almost home when he saw you. He forgot that the two of you were neighbors. He put on the pendant was felt the magic of the pendant happen. He wasn’t expecting to be turned into a kitten though. 
“The hell?” he said but it came out as a ‘mew’. You heard the Sora, turned around and saw Sora in a kitten form. 
“Hey, little guy. Are you lost?” you asked as you kneeled down to him. Sora tried to climb into your lap but kept falling. You giggled and gently picked him up. Sora snuggled in your arms, feeling the warmth coming from him. You looked around him, seeing if there was a collar. There wasn’t. You took him home with you to your house and set him down on the bed and went to go grab your computer and sat back down on the bed with Sora. You started to research things that would be good for a kitten. Sora crawled(?) to you and some cool toys. 
“Huh? You want to look at some toys?” you asked. Sora’s ears perked up. You giggled again. 
“Okay. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the pet store and pick out some stuff for you. Right now, we need to find some food for you.” You picked Sora up again and went into the kitchen to find food for him. You grabbed a small bowl and some milk and filled the bowl with the milk. You put the bowl down on the ground and put Sora in front of it. Sora started to drink the milk from the bowl. You scratched his head. He loved it. It felt like a head massage. He finished the milk and went to back to you wanting to be in your arms again. The two of you went back into your room to find some more things for Sora. 
“(Y/N)! We’re home!” your mother said. 
“Coming!” You exited your room with Sora in your arms. 
“Hey, mom. Hey, dad.” 
“Hey, honey. Who’s this?” your father said pointing to Sora.
“I found him on my way home. He doesn’t have a collar or a name. I think we’ve already gotten close.” you explained. Sora nuzzled into your arms and smiled.
“You do realize that he could be someone else's kitten and haven’t put a collar on him yet. We should take him to the shelter where his rightful owners will be able to find him.” your mother said. 
“What?” you asked in disbelief. Sora looked up at your parents. He didn’t want to leave you and you didn’t want to leave him. 
“It’s for the best, (Y/N). I know you want to keep him, but he probably belongs to someone else.” You ran back to your room with Sora in your arms. You slammed the door behind you and went to your bed. You hugged Sora and started crying. Sora didn’t want to see you cry, so he started to give little kisses (licks) over your face. You couldn’t help but giggle because of how much it tickled. 
“Thank you for making me feel better, Cocoa.” Sora’s ears perked up at the name. 
“You like that name?” you asked. Sora said yes but again came out as a mew. You smiled and put your forehead against his fur. 
“I love you.” you whispered. 
‘Holy crap! She just said that she loves me! This is a dream come true!’ Sora thought. 
“I’m gonna have to hide you to make it seem like I took you to the shelter.” you said. You and Sora layed down for a few minutes enjoying being close. A knock on your door then came. 
“Honey. Dinner’s ready.” your mother said. 
“Okay. Be down there in a few.” You heard your mother’s footsteps retreat from the door. 
“Are you gonna be okay up here for a bit?” Sora nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” You left the room and shut the door. 
“Wow. That was not what I expected.” Sora turned towards the voice and saw Xehanort standing there. 
“You know. It’s probably best that you stay in this form. (Y/N) will probably love you more if you’re like this. Besides, she thinks that you’re in love this Kairi person. If you still want to confess to her, I can help.” Sora nodded. Xehanort went to your desk and found a paper and a pen and started to write a love letter from Sora. 
“Alright. I’ll leave this in her locker tomorrow. Good luck.” Xehanort disappeared out of thin air. Sora was starting to have doubts about trusting him. But he pushed those thoughts away. He crawled to spot on your bed and went to sleep. 
~Time Skip~ 
You were getting ready for the school and looked at Sora sleeping. You didn’t want to wake him up. But you knew you had to. You walked to your bed and petted his fur to wake him up. Sora’s eyes opened up and looked at you. 
“I gotta put you somewhere where my parents won’t find you, okay?” you said. Sora nodded and crawled into your arms. You decided to hide him in the bathroom in your room. You made sure that he had some food and a place to go to potty. (why did I cringe?) 
“Okay. Try not to make any noise. My parents will leave a little later than me.” Sora nodded. You smiled and kissed his fur. 
“I’ll be back later. I love you.” You closed the door to the bathroom, making sure that the light was on for Sora. You went to your closet and found a small duffel bag and put in a small pillow to trick your parents. You walked downstairs and said goodbye to your parents. They didn’t pay much attention since they were getting ready themselves. You walked to your shed and placed the duffel bag there and went to school 
~~~~
Sora was bored as hell. He couldn’t play with anything. He took multiple naps but that didn’t cure his boredom. He had some of the food that you provided him when he got hungry.
“Wow. You’re really desperate to be with her, huh?” Sora turned around and saw Xehanort standing by the door. “You do know that you’re gonna miss school. And then (Y/N) and everyone else is gonna start wondering where you are. But don’t worry. I’ll take care of her. You can try to take the pendant off. But what’s gonna happen to her precious little Cocoa.” It was a trick! Why did Sora trust him? Sora was about to take off the pendant when he got a flashback to yesterday when Xehanort said that you loved Cocoa more. He felt pain. Started to groan and felt a piece of his heart leave his body. Xehanort grabbed that part of his heart and put it in a small container. 
“Thank you for your help, Sora.” Xehanort smirked and disappeared. Sora needed to stop Xehanort before anything happens to you. He saw that you didn’t close the door all the way and was able to sneak out. He paid close attention to your parents and when they would leave the house. Both of your parents were on the phone when they left the house so Sora snuck out of the house without them noticing. He ran along the sidewalk to try to find you. He searched for an hour when it started to rain. He found a box under a bench in a nearby park and hid there. 
~~~~
You went to your locker once school was over and opened it. The letter that Xehanort wrote for Sora fell out. You picked it up and started to read it. It wasn’t a confession from Sora, but from Xehanort. You never liked him. You always thought that he was creepy. You closed the locker door and saw Xehanort walking towards you. You turned around and walked home quickly. Xehanort started to walk faster towards you. Thankfully, your friend Axel stopped him. You turned around and gave him a silent thank you. You continued your trek home. When you got home, you went straight to the bathroom in your room. You saw that the door was opened a little bit. You went into the bathroom and saw that Sora wasn’t there. You searched the entire house and found nothing. You began to search outside. Since it was raining, it was a lot harder to find Sora. You called out his name multiple times, but he wouldn’t show. You ran to the park to see if he was there. When you got there, you tripped over a rock and hit your head. You screamed in pain and passed out a few seconds later. Sora saw your body and immediately went to you. He nuzzled your face to try to wake you up. It worked. 
“C-Cocoa? You’re okay.” You muttered. Sora decided to take off the pendant and when he did, he was back to your original self. 
“S-Sora? You were Cocoa?” 
“Yeah. I wanted to be with you so I went to Xehanort. He told me that he would help me but it was all a trick. He wanted to be with you.” Sora explained. 
“Well, at least I know that you love me back.” 
“Wait. You love me?”
“Of course I do. You’re funny, sweet. Everything I want in a partner.” 
“I’m glad that you feel the same about me.” Sora smiled. “Let’s get you to a doctor. It looks like you hit your head really hard.” You nodded your head slowly and allowed Sora to take care of you. 
“Promise me something, Sora.” you said. 
“Sure. Anything.” he replied.
“Never trust Xehanort again. The guy is super creepy.” Sora giggled and promised that he would never trust Xehanort again. After the doctor dismissed you with a small concussion, Sora took you to your house and took care of you. The two of you cuddled, knowing that you will protect each other, forever and always. 
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tsukikoayanosuke · 4 years
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“Yeah, right. What future?” - Twisted Wonderland OC
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Made with picrew
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Jacob Orion Columbus is a side character in my fanfic, Twisted Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure. Often seen as a difficult student, he's a student from Royal Sword Academy who appears to have connections with Jonah Argentum.
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==/Technical Information/==
Japanese: ジェーコブ・オリオン・コロンバス
Romaji: jeekobu orion koronbasu
Voiced by: ???
Debut: Chapter 57 - Beginning of the Rebellion
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==/Biographical Information/==
Name: Jacob Orion Columbus
Nickname: Jake, Jakey
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Birthday: 1st September
Star Sign: Virgo
Height: 155 cm
Eye Color: Blue
Homeland: Radiant Haven
Family: 
Agar Every (father, unknown status)
Rebekah Columbus (mother)
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==/Professional Status/==
School: Royal Sword Academy
Dorm: Arvorking ( @animenightmarenation )
School Year: First
Class: 1-D, Student no.6
Occupation: Student
Club: Equestrian Rider
Best Subject: Zoology/Wildlife Biology
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==/Fun Facts/==
Dominant Hand: Right
Favorite Food: Blueberry milkshake
Least Favorite Food: Peas
Dislikes: Rules, Chores, Homework, His mother worrying about him, Thinking about his future, Any mentions of his biological father and missing brother
Hobby: Animal care (mostly his dog), Going on a magical wheel ride
Talents: Mechanics, Scavenger hunts, 'Beast tamer'
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==/Appearance/==
Jacob is a teenage boy with dark skin, blue eyes, and dark blue hair with light purple bangs and downward ahoge.
He's usually seen in his school uniform which consists of an unzipped short-sleeved white hooded jacket with gray buttons and a gray checkered pattern at the hem. Underneath, he wears a black shirt with a V-neck. He also wears dark brown cropped trousers that were hemmed with the same checkered pattern as the jacket and black high-top boots.
He doesn't really like his dorm uniform. It feels uncomfortable and just doesn't suit him. His dorm uniform consists of a dark tunic top, light green capelet, white trousers, brown belt, and red boots. He also wears a long brown scarf and reaches his nose.
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==/Personality/==
Jacob is a quite difficult kid to approach because of his trust issue. He doesn't have friends growing up so he doesn't really know how to socialize with his peers. He's blunt and honest, sometimes doesn't even care about others' feelings. He would also hide his face every time he gets excited, like pulling his jacket close to his face.
Jacob is actually a brilliant-but-lazy type. He's able to build his own magical wheel with the scraps that he found in the nearby junkyard, but at the same time he would never do his homework, takes nap in class, and don't even bother with the exam. He's also surprisingly good with animals.
Cold on the outside, but he's crying in the inside. He's basically that one kid who has trouble showing how much it hurts him and how he regrets doing everything he had done but never really make an effort in doing it. Everyone had already seen how bad he is, so why bother change.
He's a lonely kid and questioning about his future often. He really wants to know where he belongs and what's his purpose in this world? While he loves his mother, he also realized that he only causes more troubles.
Entering RSA was a small step in transformation. Jacob becomes more open and often seen walking down the hall with someone (mostly Rielle who loves to drag him around) and starting to care about school. He's rather clingy once he had friends, always want to stay with him because he's worried he would be alone again. He won't hesitate to punch anyone who dares to hurt his friends.
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==/History/==
Jacob was born in Radiant Haven, a small harbor town located near the Valley of Thorn. His mother works in a family inn owns by a friend of hers while he didn't really know what his father's job was. His mother was the one who mostly raised him for his father was nearly absent in his file. Little Jacob tried his best to gain his father's attention but always fail in the end. One day, his father just... left and never return. The little family never recover from that. But lucky for them, the family dinner's boss is very kind and very supportive of her. His son was also a childhood friend with Jacob, but he soon left to continue his study.
Jacob wasn't the best in coping with his father's disappearance. He refuses to remember the man who just up and left without saying goodbye. Jacob grew up becoming a troublemaker, both in school and in his everyday life despite knowing how much it hurts his mother. 
When the RSA's Flying Golden Carriage arrived from him, he remembered how joyous his mother's face was, knowing that Jacob might have a chance for his future. Of course, Jacob would roll his eyes for that, but he said he might give it a try for her sake. 
RSA turns out wasn't so bad. He made friends (more like some people approached him but the most notable on was Prince Rielle Triton) who are always supportive of him and make sure he doesn't get left behind. He still doesn't know what the future is holding for him, but it doesn't seem as cloudy as before...
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==/Unique Magic/==
Portkey Gate, which allows him to teleport anywhere he had stepped his foot in. However, this only works if he knows and remembers where is he going. This is also not an offensive type of magic, so he needs other ways to attacks.
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==/Trivia/==
Name meaning:
Jacob: "seizing by the heel", "supplanting" Orion: the constellation Orion, the most famous constellation so it's often used in navigation Columbus: 'dove' in Latin, named after Christopher Columbus
Jacob has a talent for magical wheels. He can build one on his own even upgrade it with scraps.
When he was younger, he loves to go to the local junkyard and found some potential scraps to rebuilt.
In RSA, because he mostly doesn't know where to go, he enrolls in the Helpers Course.
He's pretty athletic but doesn't really want to join the Magishift Club because there are too many works and practices.
He's really good at animals. In the Equestrian Rider Club, he's often on the horse care duty. For once, he doesn't mind.
His horse is the most untamable, but both rider and horse managed to trust each other. 
He named his horse Rain because they first time bonded during a really heavy storm during his horse care duty. The poor girl was terrified of the thunder so Jacob tried his best to calm her down.
He may or may not have a crush on Rielle, but it was still vague for him.
He's the first non-NRC OC that appears in my fanfic, debuting in The Rebel of the Wilderness Arc, which also marks the first appearance of @animenightmarenation​ 's RSA OCs 
During his first appearance, it appears that he might have a connection with Jonah, wondering why the NRC student doesn't remember him.
He and Jonah have some similarities: their Biblical name (Jacob the son of Issac and brother of Esau; Jonah the prophet who was swallowed by a big fish) and relationship in sailing (Jacob surname is from Christopher Columbus; Jonah is the 'Captain of Ramshackle Dorm').
Like other NRC-RSA students, Jacob is basically Jonah's hero counterpart, even though their personalities are the opposite of each other (also note that Jacob is more individualist compare to Jonah's collectivist).
Jacob is able to build himself a hybrid weapon between a sword and a blaster acting as his 'magical pen'. He uses his crystal on to the sword-blaster and it can shoot basic light magic attacks and form a light blue laser-like sword. This weapon can also be used as a baton or a wand to cast magic.
Back home, Jacob has a white husky dog whose name is Artoo because she liked to chew on everything when she was a pup.
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==/Behind the Scene/==
Previously, Jacob has dark brown hair with red bangs. However, the color of his bangs is nearly similar to Jonah, so I recolor it.
He also used to have a darker color scheme with portrays his bad boy side, however, I changed that too.
He's actually a redesign version of a scrapped DCA OC named Isabella. After a few complications to fit them in the plot, Isabella was scrapped and changed into Jacob.
I often call him 'Yu-Gi-Oh boy' because of his hair (which is actually pretty tame compare to the usual Yu-Gi-Oh standard)
He was inspired by two Disney characters; in original Twisted Hero and Ezra Bridger from Star Wars Rebels
The other inspiration for this boy is actually his main twisted form. However, because he's connected to Jonah's real villain, I'm still keeping it a secret
Some of his traits come from Ezra Bridger: his blue hair and eyes, his scavenging tendencies, the traveling between places/worlds, their hybrid weapon, their beast taming talents
Originally, I want to give Jacob a telekinetic power similar to the Force, but because it seems to be too overpowered, it was scraped
Jacob weapon is basically Ezra's lightsaber-blaster weapon and combines it with Kingdom Hearts' keyblade ability to cast magic
Speaking of Kingdom Hearts,  his school uniform is based on Riku's outfit in Kingdom Hearts 3 but with a different color scheme.
Hiss nickname 'Jake' can be a reference to the main character in the Disney Junior show 'Jake and the Neverland Pirate'
A sudden realization that he's nearly the same as Deuce. Both of them likes magical wheels and both troublesome boys, except Deuce stopped being a bad boy while Jacob is still trying
His birthday is the date of the premiere of Star Wars Rebels short Property of Ezra Bridger, which is also marked Ezra's first appearance in the series
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violethowler · 4 years
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The Things That Matter
I’ve talked a lot over the last two months or so about the many different ways that the characters, story, and themes of the Kingdom Hearts series align with the framework of the Heroine’s Journey. For the final chapter in this series of essays, I’d like to talk about what it means for this series to follow this narrative formula. Because the fact that Kingdom Hearts fits into this storytelling pattern is critically important now more than ever. 
The three most recent series I know of that aligned with the Heroine’s Journey framework all ended up missing the landing in various ways. Two of the three - Voltron: Legendary Defender and the Star Wars sequel trilogy - abandoned the formula in their final installments, while the third one - the Frozen movies - managed to fit into the formula almost completely, but suffered in the second movie from a lack of clarity as to which of the two leads is the main protagonist and which is the Animus. Two of these were under the Disney umbrella, and all three have had evidence found that executive meddling or other behind-the-scenes conflicts over story direction played a role in how the final installments ended. 
As I mentioned in my essay “Into the Unknown,” when a story deviates from the structure it appears to be following, it produces a visceral sense of wrongness in the audience. In stories which up toward the end aligned with the Heroine’s Journey, that effect is amplified. The framework of the Heroine’s Journey was designed to uplift the experiences of identities outside of what society considers the default option in storytelling. The lived experiences of those identities are mirrored in the narrative’s themes. So when a story set up around calling out prejudices and double standards about those identities that are ingrained into the audience’s culture deviates from that formula, the result inevitably ends up reinforcing those biases instead, on top of the brokenness of the narrative in general.  
In terms of how this applies to Kingdom Hearts, Sora and Riku’s individual character arcs have been noted by many LGBTQ+ fans to have notable parallels with elements of their own lived experiences:
Riku’s arc of learning to accept his darkness as something natural that’s a part of him and which he can express in a positive way mirrors how many LGBTQ+ people grow up with the idea that same-sex attraction is “sinful” and “unnatural” and have to unlearn that mindset in order to realize that there’s nothing wrong with them. Likewise, Mickey’s line in Re:COM about how spending time with Riku has positively changed his opinion about Darkness can be read as an analogy for straight people who are initially unsure of or hostile to LGBTQ+ identities changing their minds with education and first-hand interaction to become staunch allies. Esmeralda’s talk with Riku about how “There are just some things we need to keep separate from the world at large, at least until we have time to figure them out”[1], while on one level is referencing Riku’s Darkness and his inner turmoil relating to Ansem, can also describe the common LGBTQ+ experience of being in the closet and hiding that part of yourself from the people around you[2]. 
As for Sora, in Kingdom Hearts III he responds to Davy Jones’ comments in The Caribbean about the romantic relationship between Will and Elizabeth by saying that “I still have a lot to learn about love[3],” indicating he lacks understanding of his own feelings in the area of romance. This is supported by the official Kingdom Hearts Character Files book published by Square in February 2020. Short stories in this book featuring Sora’s POV depict him as actively confused about what romantic love is[4], and struggling to define the nature of his relationship with Riku[5][6]. This can be a common experience for LGBTQ+ youth growing up surrounded by media that only ever depicts romantic relationships as one boy, one girl. Many people who grew up like this—myself included—have had similar experiences of struggling to understand our own feelings about someone of the same gender because for our entire lives up to that point we had little or no exposure to the idea that being romantically interested in someone of the same gender as you was an option. 
Sora and Riku are each written in ways that speak to common LGBTQ+ experiences, and the fact that so many things—the canon parallels to Disney romances, the match with how love interests are portrayed in the Heroine’s Journey, the fact that one of the series’ Lead Event Planners Michio Matsuura was described by the Co-Director Tai Yasue to be “head over heels for the bond between Riku and Sora’s hearts[7]”, in connection with his enjoyment of “pure love dramas[7]”—are all pointing to the conclusion that these similarities did not happen by accident, but by design. 
It makes so much sense for Heroine’s Journey narratives to be used to tell LGBTQ+ stories because there are so many ways that homophobia and transphobia overlap with and are rooted in the very same gender and cultural norms that the framework challenges. Many countries have come a long way towards public acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities, but in terms of the stories that we tell, mainstream fiction is still skewed in favor of stories with protagonists who are straight and cisgender. Storylines with straight romance are treated as a society-wide default, while creators in countries like the U.S. who want to include even the smallest background references to LGBTQ+ relationships have had to fight and push back against corporate pressure to remove them. 
This is especially true for media aimed at children and teenagers, as the fact that being openly LGBTQ+ is still widely considered problematic in many countries is frequently used by entertainment executives in ostensibly more progressive countries as an excuse for censoring LGBTQ+ storylines and characters. Multiple creators working on animated shows for Disney and/or its competitors have spoken out in recent weeks about the resistance they faced to including LGBTQ+ relationships[8][9][10] and how they were told that openly acknowledging characters as non-straight was too controversial or “inappropriate for the channel"[9].
As a consequence of this environment, creators wishing to depict non-heterosexual relationships have had to resort to creative methods of getting the implications past the censors in a way that LGBTQ+ audiences would recognize while still maintaining plausible deniability so that the executives could make money off the story in anti-LGBTQ+ markets. The downside to this is that because these efforts are more subtle, most straight audiences will either not notice the implications, or else dismiss them as an accident. Some will go as far as coming up with alternate explanations to justify why any potential LGBTQ+ subtext about a character or relationship could not possibly have been put there by the creator intentionally. 
This extends not only to audiences, but also to people who interact with these stories in a professional capacity, such as translating and marketing a story’s international release. Animated shows that feature same-gender relationships have had international dubs change the gender of one character in the pairing to make it straight, for instance. Or there's the infamous example of how the English dub for Sailor Moon in the 1990s changed two girls from lovers to cousins in order to provide an explanation for their closeness that didn't involve acknowledging that the characters were not straight. In terms of the Kingdom Hearts series, the English localization has routinely downplayed LGBTQ+ subtext in the series while in some cases adding romantic undertones to interactions between a male and female character that did not exist in the original Japanese script. Kingdom Hearts III was one of the most egregious examples of this:
Hercules’ recollection of how he dove into the River Styx to save Megara’s soul in KH2 is thematically connected to Riku sacrificing himself for Sora at the Keyblade Graveyard through the phrase taisetsu na hito (literal meaning: “precious person”) when Hercules is talking to Sora in Olympus and when Mickey is talking to Riku in the Realm of Darkness at the beginning of the game. The English version translates this as “person I love most” for Hercules, while changing it to “what matters” for Riku and Mickey to call back to his meeting with Terra in Birth by Sleep, which the scene includes a flashback to. While Mickey and Riku’s original meaning can still be deduced from the conversation around it, especially with Mickey saying "sometimes you care about someone so much," changing the line for the sake of a callback downplays the evolution of Riku’s goals from protecting “things that matter” to protecting “the *person* who matters”. 
Donald and Goofy’s teasing Sora in the scene at Galaxy Toys where Sora comments on how much he or Riku resemble Yozora is framed in the English version as “Riku would be a great action figure because he’s cool, unlike Sora.” However the original Japanese indicates that the teasing is centered around the fact that Sora said a character who looks like Riku was good-looking.
When Kairi offers Sora a paopu fruit, she says in the original Japanese that it’s simply a good luck charm so that they don’t get separated, while in the English localization, she says “I want to be a part of your life no matter what, that’s all.” While “that’s all” still fits with how the parallels to Winnie the Pooh indicate her connection with Sora has weakened and she wants to maintain it, the first part of the English line calls back to the legend of the fruit introduced in KH1, which was openly referred to as romantic by Selphie in the original and localized versions of the first game. As a result, this adds romantic implications that contrast with Sora’s unreceptive body language and facial expressions[11] as he reacts to the initial offering of the paopu fruit. 
In the original Japanese, Riku’s words to Sora before his sacrifice at the Keyblade Graveyard translate to “I believe in you. You won’t give up.” The English localization changed it to “You don’t believe that. I know you don’t.” Not only does it remove a callback to the original game, but this phrasing dowplays Riku’s faith in Sora and ignores Sora’s very clear feelings of inadequacy. 
During the scene where Sora and Kairi are floating through the dark tunnel toward the Keyblade Graveyard, Sora’s line in English, “I feel strong with you,” was originally an acknowledgement of Kairi’s strength that called back to how he wouldn’t let her come along on the return trip to Hollow Bastion in the first game because he thought she’d “kind of be in [his] way”[12]. Removing this callback takes the focus away from Kairi’s growth and brushes aside one of the ways the game shows that Sora’s view of her has changed over the course of the series.
Some fans defend changes such as these insisting that the development team had to have approved of them. However Testuya Nomura himself feels strongly enough about the subject: he stated in a 2018 interview several months before KH3's release that “an incorrect or defective translation risks compromising the comprehension of the whole story,” referring especially to the Kingdom Hearts series[13], and the English localization of Re:Mind—which was much more accurately translated than the base game—directly references the original meaning of Kairi’s words during the paopu scene in one of the DLC’s Kingstagram posts. This all indicates that changes such as these that remove important connections or change the meaning of the conversation are ones that the development team very much do not approve of. 
LGBTQ+ fans of Kingdom Hearts who recognize their own experiences reflected in Sora's and Riku’s journeys know that Disney has not had a good track record when it comes to depicting LGBTQ+ characters in properties they are affiliated with. The most we ever get in their movies are background moments or nameless characters that are only there in one scene that easily can be cut out for distribution in countries with heavy anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. And that’s if the character’s orientation is even mentioned out loud in the film at all instead of simply being confirmed by interviews before or after release but never acknowledged on-screen. Television has fared better, but until recent years we never had any main characters who were confirmed in-show to be anything but straight. But things are slowly starting to improve. Within the last few years shows like "Andi Mack" and "The Owl House" have depicted major characters as openly interested in others of the same gender[14], and Pixar recently released a short as part of their Sparknotes program called “Out”, which openly centers on a man worrying about telling his parents he’s gay. 
This is why it is so important that the Heroine’s Journey of Kingdom Hearts follow through to a structurally appropriate conclusion, with the development team being given the freedom to tell their story in full without restriction or censorship. Deviating from the formula this late in the series would represent a continuation of the recent trend of Heroine’s Journey narratives being structurally broken by inference from forces other than the main creative team. But if the Kingdom Hearts story is able to complete it’s Heroine’s Journey without executives or localization teams getting in the way of the intended story, then the LGBTQ+ themes already present in Sora and Riku’s journey will break so many barriers,challenge people’s expectations of what is possible, and convey powerful messages of self-discovery and acceptance—just like the framework was designed to. 
Sources
[1] Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance; Square Enix; 2012. 
[2] Tumblr post by @blowingoffsteam2; December 3, 2019. https://blowingoffsteam2.tumblr.com/post/189461796759/blowingoffsteam2-dont-mind-me-over-here-just
[3] Kingdom Hearts III; Square Enix; 2019. 
[4] Translation of KH Character Files Beast’s Castle story by @lilyginnyblackv2; February 3, 2020. https://lilyginnyblackv2.tumblr.com/post/611420864489062401/character-files-beasts-castle-story-english
[5] Translation of KH Character Files Arendelle story by @lilyginnyblackv2; March 3, 2020. https://lilyginnyblackv2.tumblr.com/post/611490139845345280/character-files-arendelle-story-english
[6] Translation of KH Character Files Arendelle story by @notaseednotyet; March 1, 2020. https://twitter.com/notaseednotyet/status/1233993459670765569
[7] “Message from the KINGDOM” Updates!; April 11, 2012. https://www.khinsider.com/news/-Message-from-the-KINGDOM-Updates-2427
[8] “”Steven Universe” and “She-Ra” creators on Representation”; Paper Magazine; August 5, 2020. https://www.papermag.com/rebecca-sugar-noelle-stevenson-2646446747.html
[9] Twitter thread by Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch; August 9, 2020. https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/1292328558921003009
[10] Twitter thread by Owl House creator Dana Terrace; August 9, 2020. https://twitter.com/DanaTerrace/status/1292321440029478917 
[11] Frame by frame analysis of Sora and Kairi’s body language during the KH3 paopu scene by @notaseednotyet; September 14, 2019.  https://twitter.com/notaseednotyet/status/1172774158167506944
[12] Kingdom Hearts; Square Enix; 2002. 
[13] “Nomura stresses the importance of direct translations on story comprehension, and talks about world development as well as the Gummi Ship;” August 27, 2018. https://www.kh13.com/news/nomura-stresses-the-importance-of-direct-translations-on-story-comprehension-and-talks-about-world-development-as-well-as-the-gummi-ship/ [14] Disney’s The Owl House Now Has a Confirmed Bisexual Character; August 9, 2020. https://io9.gizmodo.com/disneys-animated-series-the-owl-house-now-has-a-confirm-1844665583
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Note
Imagine Roxas and Axel babysitting for Sora and Riku
Teamwork
"I like adding spontaneous, fun extra challenges to the day as much as the next guy, provided the next guy is you, but I have to say, I think Floor is Lava Tuesdays is a better idea than weird plastic puzzle locks on the cabinets."
Roxas glanced up from where he knelt on the floor, fixing covers and bars on the under the sink cabinets in the kitchen to see his husband framed in the doorway, looking the casual print ad model, chiseled lines under soft sweats, hands curled around a mug of steaming liquid that smelled almost as delicious as the holder (of course the mug was emblazoned with the word SLUT in bold letters which would probably have to be censored out of the ad), bun with just enough flyaways to seem careless but pulled to the perfect angle.  "I'm baby proofing."
"As the baby, I resent that remark," Axel tutted before setting his coffee next to the sink and crouching down beside Roxas. "What brought this on? You have some news to tell me?"
Axel expected an eye roll from his husband, but Roxas set the angry looking plastic finger trap he was holding down and ran a hand through his hair nervously, a mild pink tinge crawling up his neck and Axel felt his smile freeze in the middle of forming.  "Well, actually, I do have some news..."
"You're kidding." Axel felt his blood run cold and then super heated through his veins in quick succession as time slowed down.
Roxas's frown at the interruption morphed to a furrowed brow of confusion and then annoyance. "Axel, I told you already. Replica bodies don't work that way. I'm not going to 'go seahorse'"
"Xion can..."
"Xion is a special case. You are stuck with me with no alterations."
"Eh, I still have the much better end of the deal."
"Yeah, you do."
A shared smile and a quick kiss distracted Axel a moment longer from asking, "So what's the news?"
"I told Sora and Riku we'd babysit for them tonight." Roxas ripped the bandage off quickly. He braced for a less than enthusiastic response, though actually receiving one was still disappointing.
"Listen, I'm sorry about the acknowledgements. Every book I write is dedicated to 'my heart, my love, my Roxas.' I thought that was a given by now, and I just had to write what other dedications would come after it. It was the publisher's fault, and I should not be punished."
"I'm not punishing you," Roxas felt his face wilt as he picked back up the baby proofing supplies to finish what he had started. "I thought it would be fun. Riku and Sora really need a night out, and it gives us a chance to, you know, see what it's like."
It wasn't that Axel missed Roxas's hurt tone or his latter words and their meaning, even if they had been mumbled. It was more a combination of not wanting to be lured toward a slippery slope of manipulation or ready to revisit the conversation of whether he felt they should start seriously thinking about adding to their family soon rather than a general "some day" they'd always said before. Roxas had brought it up last week, and Axel appreciated that he had, but it hadn't exactly gone well when he'd been taken by surprise and his gut instinct response was less enthusiastic than Roxas had seemed to want. He was letting the idea soak in now, and it needed a little more time to marinate before he could give a response. If Roxas was going to push, it would probably need even more time. So it was better not to toe too closely to the sensitive, personal part of baby discussion and do what they both had the inclination to always go back to, deflection with a joke. "To let a Babynort into the house?"
"Ripan is not a Nort." Roxas hissed defense of his other's son since Sora and Ripan couldn't defend themselves.
"Then how come he has white hair? Answer me that," Axel challenged.
"He has silver hair. Like Riku. Riku's genes are the only inherited evil Ripan has and I don't think we should hold that against him. He's just a baby."
"No, no, babies are adorable balls for holding and cooing at and then handing back to their parents. Terrifying because their heads are squishy and they can't hold them up, but otherwise not dangerous at all. This thing is mobile. I've seen it." Axel lent the revelation the appropriate air of horror, though he neglected to mention he'd seen Ripan crawling up a wall, imitating either one of his fathers or the younger Incredible boy, which rendered his warning easily mistaken for his typical melodrama.
"That's why I'm baby proofing."
"Did you get the upstairs?"
"It's not going to be able to climb the stairs by itself...Is it?"
Axel thought it over since the stair thing seemed to alarm Roxas. "Probably more easily than it could get to the ceiling. I'm just going to feed it ice cream and hope that appeases it."
"I don't think it..he can have ice cream yet. Sora said he was going to write us a list of rules."
Axel's attitude toward the night ahead of them turned on a dime when the suggestion that someone else thought he was less than capable intruded to punch at his ego.  "Rules like what? We know what to do."
"Damn straight." Roxas stood, dusted off his hands, and stole Axel's coffee off the counter.
"We'd be great with kids," Axel insisted, reaching out to take the coffee back, taking a sip, and returning it to Roxas.
"That's right," Roxas encouraged.
"We take care of Demyx!" Axel could honestly say that he'd fed, bathed, and rocked Demyx to sleep under different circumstances. Luckily, no diapers had ever been involved. "We're Turkey's dads!"
"And he's the most demanding little baby of all!" Roxas championed Axel's logic even while being reminded that he'd forgotten to feed Turkey before starting his project with the cabinets. He'd have to rectify that now. It was a miracle Turkey wasn't already dramatically expressing the utter betrayal of being left to starve.
"Next to me," Axel provided the punchline at his expense.
"Next to you." Roxas leaned up on tiptoe to steal a kiss and pressed the coffee cup with its last sips at the bottom into his husband's hands for him to finish off. "Now go put on something more suitable for tonight."
"What's more suitable than sweats for babysitting a baby? A tarp?" Axel drained the coffee.
"Put on something nice."
"Is Ripan conducting a formal interview before storytime?"
"No, but his dads might."
Roxas's instincts turned out to be right. Sora and Riku not only had a list of rules but a pop quiz on protocol and babysitting readiness that needed to be passed before they would leave, despite the fact that Roxas and Axel, already had the job, were doing it as a favor, were only taking Ripan for a few hours and not permanently adopting him and taking him into the heart of Deep Jungle, and Riku and Sora's normal babysitter was a fifteen year old girl (though Violet had warned them that she might have to cut back even more than she had. Ripan and her brother Jack Jack tended to be "a little challenging" in her words, when she had to watch both of them).
Ripan's part of the testing was to sit on the floor sucking on his giraffe pacifier and rolling an alphabet block between his hands, occasionally looking up with large, liquid blue eyes either to question why he was sitting on a strange floor or to ask why his dads were still there. Or maybe to ask why the other baby curled in the entertainment center next to the cable box was so ugly and meowed.
"I promise you. Ripan is going to have so much fun tonight he's never going to want to leave...but he's also going to be asleep by nine and I won't forget to rub the cream on his arms before I put on his sleepytime shirt," Roxas swore, crossing his heart over the I like coffee and maybe three people shirt he'd neglected to change out of despite telling Axel to look nice.
"Okay, I believe in you," Sora assured him before selling out his husband. "But Riku sincerely does not. So can you please promise me you will take extra good care of our little angel? I know he's kind of a handful, but-"
"Are you kidding?" Axel chuckled, unperturbed. "You're talking to the best babysitters in the business. There is no one more qualified for this job."
"You've literally never done this before," Riku groused, hands clenching in his pockets as he regressed to his old nervous tick.
"We are totally capable of taking care of your precious angel, okay? It's not like we don't have kids too." Roxas gestured to the entertainment center where Turkey sat, eyeing the miniature human. It had eyes like His Boy, so Turkey thought he might be able to trust it, but the threat of someone else Heat Giver and His Boy might want to snuggle that was not Turkey was hard to face.
"That's why I'm concerned," Riku concentrated on breathing evenly through his nose and not sounding too snappish. "That is not a child. That is a cat in a knit sweater."
"We'll be fine," Roxas insisted, ignoring Riku's slight, when defending Turkey's status as first child would make Sora and Riku miss their reservation. "We have your list and everything he needs. You two just enjoy yourselves!"
"See, it's fine, Riku." Sora nudged Riku toward the door. "Bye Ripan! Behave yourself for your uncles!"
Ripan gurgled solemnly, swearing to be nothing but the perfect child.
"Have fun guys! We'll be back around eleven!" Sora nudged Riku a bit harder, recognizing him for the immoveable object he was. "Riku stop glaring and walk."
Roxas opened the door for them, Axel waved to them as they retreated, Roxas closed the door. It was a total of maybe fifteen seconds they didn't have eyes on Ripan. The first fifteen seconds they were in charge of the vulnerable life of the baby that had been sitting near motionless and content in the living room for fifteen minutes. The baby that was still sitting content after those fifteen seconds and still near motionless, just with his pacifier out of his mouth and on the floor beside him and his mouth working as if he were chewing.
Axel and Roxas shared a glance and dove at the same time. Ripan shrieked, which should have proved his mouth was empty, but Axel used the opportunity to sweep a finger inside the child's mouth to make sure. Ripan employed natural defenses. Namely, biting down as hard as he could with his four impressive teeth.
Axel howled. Ripan laughed which allowed the red head to withdraw his injured hand. Roxas comforted Axel, for a moment, then warned him not to take his eyes off Ripan again because they might not get lucky again, and went to wash floor germs from the pacifier for the first, but, by no means, last time of the night. Minute one drew to a close with everyone still unscathed.
Minute fifteen gave birth to everyone's least favorite game, Turkey Chase and Smack, though Crawl Behind Couch gave it a difficult battle for the title.
At the end of the first hour, a nice balance had been found and everyone was getting along until Axel tried to heat up a bottle by summoning fire in his hand and subsequently scalded his wrist while testing results, as well as putting the idea of fire into Ripan's head. Sora had been right. Ripan was very smart and liked to try and mimic what the big people did. The living room couch suffered.
The next hurdles were The Incident of the Second Bottle Being Too Cold, The Great Despair of not Being Able to Have Both Bottle and Pacifier at the Same Time, Bottle Gone Too Quick, The Pukening, Second Washing of the Pacifier and Trial of Separation Anxiety, The Changing of the Onesies with Ripan Super Spleen Kicking Action, and The Pukening Part Two: Roxas's Shirt Looks Absorbent.
It was all minor stuff. Normal stuff. Expected, other than perhaps setting fire to the couch.
The real trouble didn't begin until the pacifier was lost.
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nadziejastar · 4 years
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Is there any evidence, or even hints, that Lea and Isa’s relationship is more than platonic?
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Xaldin: Precisely. That is no ordinary rose. The room is in tatters save for one corner—because to him, at least, it is more precious than all the castle’s riches. Our work here is done, Roxas. The beast's weakness is clear.
Roxas: It is?
Xaldin: To hold something dear is to let it hold you. His heart is in thrall to it, don't you see? And that, Roxas, is ample weakness.
Roxas: I'm not sure I follow.
Xaldin: Nor should you. You have no heart to love with. Come. We return.
Yes, there was definitely a lot of hints and evidence that their relationship was more than platonic. Especially in the novels. 
Roxas: Well, you were right. He does have something he wants to protect. Something he cares about.
Xion: Really?
Roxas: Yeah, but Xaldin says that's a weakness.
Xion: Why would caring about something be a weakness?
Roxas: I dunno. I didn't get it either.
Xion: I hope Axel comes home soon.
The best evidence, though, is in 358/2 Days. The whole subplot of the Beast’s Castle hinted at Axel having romantic feelings for Isa.
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Day 150: Too Precious to Lose
Axel and I talked for a while about the things we can't bear to lose. Axel thinks that for Nobodies, it's our pasts, because that's all we have to remember the pain of losing something.
If Axel’s memories of his past are what’s most precious to him, then what was most precious to Lea as a human? Axel says that his memories are all he has to remember the pain of losing something.
Talking to Roxas and Xion always brings back memories of my human life, back when I was a kid. It's a weird sensation. I ought to be able to share all this with Saïx, but I just don't feel like it anymore. It's strange, but I'm content with just missing what's gone. I'm not the one who changed. You did.
And his memories of his past are all about Isa. And Axel has a lot of pain over missing what’s gone between him and Saïx. The story STRONGLY hints that Isa was so precious to Lea, he couldn’t bear to lose him. There was something very special between them that isn’t there anymore.
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Roxas: Love is a power?
Xaldin: None you or I will ever grasp. Nor will they, for long. The love between them will wither and die. Love never lasts.
Roxas: But you don't have a heart. How would you know?
Xaldin: I have eyes, and a brain. We have no further business here. Try not to dawdle.
Roxas: That still doesn't explain what love is... Is love fighting to protect what's most important to you? Where does its power come from?
The main theme of Beast’s Castle is “love”. Having something you can’t bear to lose is what love is. And love is a weakness that the organization exploits. Axel has a tragic backstory that is hinted at constantly. The story hints that his fear of losing Isa was used against him at some point.
Roxas: I found out about love on today's mission--that it's something powerful.
Axel: That's true. It is. But I'll never get to experience it.
Roxas: Nobodies can't love?
Axel: You need a heart, man.
Roxas: Right...
Axel: Love is what happens if there's something really special between two people.
Roxas: You mean, like, if they're best friends? Inseparable?
Axel: Well, you can care about your friends, I guess, but that's not what I'm talking about.
Just look at the way Axel talks about love. He longs for love. Love is even compared to being best friends. But Axel is very specific that it’s a different feeling. He’s always speaking from experience, like when he talked about best friends, summer vacation, etc. He’s speaking from experience here, too. He’s been in love before. That is what is being hinted at. Now, this isn’t the same as Nomura coming out and saying “yes, they’re gay”. But there’s no way they wrote the story like this on accident.
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Beast: It's no use.  She's so beautiful, and I'm so...well, look at me!
Mrs. Potts: Oh, you must help her to see past all that.
All of this talk of love takes place in the world of Beauty and the Beast. That movie is all about the power of love allowing you to see past the exterior. That’s what the story of 358/2 Days is all about, too. Roxas can see Xion as Kairi because he has a heart. Axel can see her as Kairi after Castle Oblivion, and he grew a heart while he was there.
Riku: The process of putting his memory back together has gone nowhere... They have what's most precious to Sora...his memories of Kairi.
Xion is just a robot, though, and not really Kairi. She doesn’t even have a concrete appearance. It’s Sora’s memories that make it look like Kairi.
Xion’s memories were really Sora’s. But the form she had taken was reminiscent of Kairi. And that was because of Sora’s memories inside Roxas—the memories that knew Kairi as someone precious to him. Like Xion had become someone precious to Roxas.
She was created out of Sora’s most precious memories, which were of Kairi, who he LOVED. Xion is just a reflection of Sora’s LOVE for Kairi. Those most precious memories were the whole basis of the plot of CoM. They were the weakness used to manipulate Sora.
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My precious existence is surrounded by memories that have been burned into my heart, as well as important memories that guide me. The more precious the memory is, the further it regresses into your heart, making it hard to remember, you know?
“Why do you always go around picking up stray puppies left and right?”
“I want to leave an impression with a lot of different people. I can live forever if I remain in their memories.”
Isa then laughed at me bitterly.
“Well, at the very least I’m sure you’ll always be in my memories, whether I want you to or not.”
During that time, we had no idea that memories could be erased. Memories are not always clear, and they can even be replaced with something else.
I haven’t seen Ventus since.
The sunset today is burning red again. We finished our training and watched the sunset from the top of the hill near the Secret Forest.
Axel’s journey in Castle Oblivion was all about HIS most precious memories, too. He said he and Sora had a lot in common, which is why he decided to help him. Axel’s memories of Isa were the equivalent of Sora’s memories of Kairi. It’s never explicitly stated, but Sora LOVES Kairi. Axel LOVED Isa. Once Axel started to remember his most precious memories, which were of Isa, he started to grow a heart.
“Do you know why the sunset is so red? Light is comprised of a variety of different colors, and within that spectrum, the red color permeates the furthest!”
“And how come you’re so versed in this all of a sudden?”
I remember speaking with Roxas about this on the 255th day when we sat on top of the clocktower. Although I know I should have had more precious memories of that time, I couldn’t remember them. I know there’s something that I was supposed to remember, but for some reason I just could not remember it.
You know how Day 255 is such an important day, it was even featured in the opening? It’s never explained why that day was so important. Axel tells Roxas about the red sunset. And just by the way he said it, you could tell that he was recalling a very precious memory from his past. Axel’s Character File story even confirmed it. The red sunset was not a random bit of trivia thrown in for no reason. It was a very precious memory from Axel’s past.
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Someone had once told him why sunsets were red… Who was that?
The novel hints that Isa was the one who told Lea about the red sunset. But Axel had forgotten this by the time of 358/2 Days.
“Yeah. Have to hang on to something, right? It’s not like I have memories from before the Organization. Don’t you remember? I acted like a zombie.”
Axel stared at him as if trying to figure something out and then grinned.
Axel was trying to remember a specific precious memory from his past. It was bothering him. And it came back to him on Day 255 when he was talking to Roxas. It’s why he sounded so nostalgic. And it’s why that day was so significant.
Why did Axel remember that precious memory on Day 255? It was called “The Longest Day”. The longest day of the year is called “midsummer”. The entire story was most likely inspired by Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. The most famous quote from that play is about how love makes you blind to someone’s flaws. Roxas’s love for Xion blinded him to the fact that she was just a Replica being used to absorb his power and destroy him. Xion was his weakness.
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Things base and vile, holding no quantity, Love can transpose to form and dignity. Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind. And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream
Day 255 was the day Saix was revealed to be “blind”. He wasn’t seeing what everyone else saw when he looked at Xion. He was like the Beast. He had no love in his heart. He couldn’t see past appearances. 
Axel: The Organization made her to duplicate your powers. She's a puppet.
Roxas: Have you gone nuts? Xion's a person, not a puppet.
Axel: She's smoke and mirrors, Roxas.
Xion was a reflection of Sora’s love for Kairi. Smoke and mirrors. An illusion made of precious memories.
Xemnas: About Axel? The poor fool. How long will he keep chasing the illusion of friendship, when he himself lacks emotion? Trying so hard to retrieve what he has lost, when it may never have existed in the first place. He deserves nothing more than our pity.
Saix was ALSO smoke and mirrors. Axel’s relationship with him wasn’t real and never existed in the first place. It was just a reflection of Lea’s most precious memories and his love for Isa. Axel desperately wanted to retrieve what he lost. His love for Isa made him “blind”. His burgeoning replacement heart gave him the power to look past the exterior of Saix to see the person he loved. It blinded him to the fact that Saix was a Nort and no longer the same person anymore. Saix was being used by Xemnas to manipulate Axel. Isa was Lea’s weakness.
Everyone is free to interpret the story as they wish. I know that Axel/Roxas is the more popular Axel ship. But I do believe Lea/Isa was what the writers intended and is the “correct” way to view the story. If you view the story with this idea in mind, Axel’s character arc makes SO much more sense. 
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koolcatkenma · 4 years
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cats
a request for @carrochan !!! wrote this after we were #blessed with time skip kenma :))
*not tagging as spoilers bc it rlly doesn’t spoil any major plot points. but warning it is post time skip*
“Kenma, my love, the light of my life, you know how I adore you so, but you cannot bring another cat into this household.”
Kenma stood in the doorway separating the cool night from the warmth of his home. Clad in a super oversized sweatshirt, he had both hands tucked into it. And last time Kuroo checked, his boyfriend did not have a distended stomach that moved and purred.
When he had first opened the door, their younger cat Sushi jumped from the shelf to Kenma’s shoulders and was still perched there, balancing on his three paws while trying to get a whiff of the new addition, who was still hidden. 
“What cat?” The dirty-blond boy deadpanned, moving to slowly take his shoes off. Kuroo’s eyes narrowed when a rather loud ‘meow’ erupted from the liar’s stomach.
“New text tone.” 
Throwing his hands in the air, Kuroo turned and headed back into the kitchen. “Well, you and your new text tone can come and eat the dinner I made.”
After high school, Kuroo had persued college volleyball. He quickly climbed ranks and graduated with his masters in business and an offer to play for the national team. He accepted, asking first for a few months to complete an internship. Currently, he would only practice with the team and participate in home matches. Any traveling would have to wait until the new year.
Kenma, in his final year of university, was a widely successful board member of a multi-billion dollar company; the night it became official Kuroo cried, maybe a ‘lil drunk, and showed up at Kenma’s dorm with a bottle of sparkling apple cider. The whole night Kuroo babbled that he was dating a sugar daddy and that made him the sugar baby and now he was baby and Kenma sat and reminded him of the contract he had just signed, which would increase his income tenfold next year. He cried harder.
Now, the pair shared a small home close to Kenma’s job and Kuroo’s train stop. And with Kenma came their first cat. It was a stray he had been feeding at his dorm window. Sweet, old, kind Momo who spent her days lazing on the couch, sunbathing. With the new house came a new stray; Fuku was missing an eye and mostly stayed outside, but refused to spend the night out there. He slept on Kuroo’s side of the bed and brought back toys he stole from other cats around the neighborhood.
Two cats, two people; everything was balanced. And then, in a basket in the rain next to the bus stop was two tiny kittens, soaked and shivering. Kuroo had intended to foster them and foster only, but of course several months later and the pair were still running around the house causing the most trouble. Riku and Ryu refused to leave.
Sushi wasn’t really anyone’s fault; the cat had followed Kuroo home one day, allured by the smell of the fresh fish in his market bag. And he had stuck around. Three legs but the personality of a whole herd.
Five was more than enough; they were looking like a crazy cat house. But now, there was for sure a sixth, maybe seventh under what was definitely Kuroo’s sweatshirt. Just in case, he set out two more bowls filled halfway with cat food.
He could hear his boyfriend pad to the living room where his office/gaming setup was, as well as a gated area, and run back to the kitchen, missing his lumpy belly. They sat down at the island and silently enjoyed dinner. 
Over leftover apple pie, Kuroo broke the comfortable silence.
“If another cat just so happens to wander into the house, they could have their own bowl. But it sleeps on the couch; I’m too tall for another cat in bed.” Once their pie was gone and plates cleared, Kuroo moved to the couch and waited to be introduced to the newest member of their dysfunctional family.
Several minutes later, Kenma rounded the corner with the blackest cat he had ever seen. His ears were chewed up, fur long and wild making them look short. His eyes were closed; the animal had fallen asleep in his boyfriend’s arms during the short walk. 
Plopping down next to Kuroo, Kenma held the long cat out to him. 
“Kuroo, meet Minako.” The name didn’t fit the cat, but none of the others did. Why start now?
Set in his lap, the cat immediately cozied up and began purring. Kuroo almost sobbed at how cute and docile the creature was. Looking up at his boyfriend, he smiled.
“Don’t cry.”
“But, she’s so precious. She’s a baby.”
“If you cry I’ll tell your team.”
“They would understand!”
Kuroo and Minako became best buddies; her true personality was revealed the next morning: she was a little shit. Caused terror, hissed at thin air, and regularly stole socks. The duo’s favorite pastime was annoying Kenma during his streams, to the point where he would pause the game and throw whatever was closest at them. 
Minako claimed the spot right between Kenma and Kuroo’s head in bed, hissing if anyone but Kuroo disturbed her. The other cats stayed at the end of the bed until the demon was asleep. It was quite a sight; two grown men and six cats on one full-sized mattress. But they wouldn’t have it any other way.
(Until Kenma found another cat who was blind in both eyes and VERY energetic despite it)(‘I couldn’t leave him there. He kept running into the wall.’)
help me continue to write :)
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cloudofash · 4 years
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I am SO excited for the KH3 Re:Mind DLC, but can we talk about this section of the Re:Mind trailer for a bit? I'll be overanalyzing the hell out of this 2-second segment and I'm most likely jumping the gun with assumptions but these are my current thoughts and I wanna get them out.
First and foremost, Sora literally said that "everyone told me I should follow my heart" and he's following his heart which took him straight to Riku's heart. It doesn't get any more straightforward than that folks. I have a theory that this is how Riku gets summoned to Yozora's World in the possible next game but I'll save the theories for later. When I first watched this trailer I screamed so hard when Sora said that. After that whole paopu fruit scene, I desperately needed this.
Aside from the obvious, did anyone else notice Riku's Dive to the Heart had Ansem, Mickey and Namine? While it makes sense that all three are in his heart (Mickey is his close ally, Ansem had a hold on his heart and he now feels obligated to take care of Namine for Repliku's sake) the complete absence of Sora and Kairi immediately drew my attention.
Kairi's absence, to me, makes sense. Kairi and Riku never felt like friends, even all the way back in KH1 Kairi wanted to steal the raft and leave Riku behind since she could sense his growing jealousy and anger and Riku used Kairi as a tool to make Sora feel bad for choosing Donald and Goofy as his new friends. Throughout the series there really aren't many if any moments where Riku and Kairi bond together. Even in KH3, Kairi left Riku out of the paopu fruit sharing (Sure she says that Riku wanted time to himself but she waited for that exact moment to share a fruit with Sora, she could've waited for Riku) and Riku barely reacted when Kairi got yeeted to oblivion by Xehanort (but immediately reacted when Sora got blown back). Their friendship seems to have gotten nowhere and the two almost act like strangers. I think its safe to assume that they're just "friends" because they're friends with Sora thus her absence makes sense.
Sora's absence from Riku's heart, however, makes absolutely no sense. It's been strongly hinted and damn near confirmed that Sora is Riku's most precious person. He has gone through so much to keep Sora safe, from watching over him as he slept for an entire year and challenging Roxas and Xion in order to get his memories back, hiding himself from Sora because he was ashamed he took Ansem's form despite knowing Sora desperately wanted to see him (and he most likely also wanted to see him), and even going as far as becoming his dream eater and defending the sleeping Sora with all his might against the Organization, and finally in KH3 taking on the giant Heartless Tornado/Tower all by himself to protect Sora. Then there have been subtle hints of Riku hiding his true feelings for Sora, from the scene in DDD where Quasimodo (or was it Pheobus?) says that Riku keeps a lot bottled up inside, and even KH2's Passion/Sanctuary being written about Sora and Riku's reunion (I need more affection than you know). Even in the Re:Mind trailer you can see the visible hurt in Riku's face when he tells Aerith how much they've been looking for Sora and still weren't able to find him.
The fact that Sora is missing from Riku's heart tells me that he is hiding his true feelings of Sora. There is no way that Sora would not have a place in Riku's heart, absolutely no way. Sora is Riku's most precious person, even if its not directly stated (but still heavily implied) we can tell by Riku's actions and words that Sora is his most precious person.
In Sora's Dive to the Heart, Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy all exist and have equal parts. It tells us that the people closest to that person's heart (whether good or bad as shown by Ansem making an appearance in Riku's heart) should all exist.
Kairi doesn't appear that close to Riku so her absence makes sense. Sora, on the other hand, should have had his own little bubble next to Mickey's though honestly I believe he should take up the other half of Riku's heart. Riku's heart has been the subject of discussion since KH1 but it was never shown until now and I find it extremely telling that the one person he focuses 99% of his energy on is missing, but somehow Namine whom he barely interacted with, and whom Nomura confirmed Riku feels obligated to take care of because of his clone's will, has made it to his heart? It makes me believe that Riku has a hidden heart underneath which is where Sora's place is. The heart inside he's been hiding the entire series. I hope we get to see it unlocked one day.
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mastrechef · 4 years
Text
More Kingdom Hearts stuff just because I feel like it.
“I feel like I should know, that there should still be a connection that I could trace. But there’s nothing there.” Roxas growled and ruffled his hair in frustration. “Dammit, there has to be more I can do besides sit here and feel fucking useless.”
Sitting next to him, Ventus hummed in agreement. “I understand how you feel. I was with him for more than a decade. Sometimes I feel like I know him better than I know myself. Yet when I reach out to find his light...I can’t sense anything.”
For a while after that, the two sat in silence, watching the sunset from the top of Twilight Town’s clock tower. Things had been awkward between them at first, what with being near identical at first glance. There were differences, but they were subtle: the shape of the jaw, the placement of the cheekbones, and Roxas’ eyes were a lighter sapphire to Ven’s royal blue. They probably said no more than three words to each other before returning to their own respective worlds. That changed after Kairi returned and Sora did not, and Ven began to seek out Roxas and Xion as the other two who had once resided in Sora’s heart. All three shared a unique pain at the loss of the boy who had gifted them with a second chance at life; the same boy whom none of them had truly had a chance to speak with.
“You two aren’t still brooding, are you?” The silence was broken by the arrival of Xion, three bars of ice cream in hand.
After a quiet thanks for the ice cream, Roxas smirked at Xion. “Nah, that’s strictly my job. Ven’s not the type to brood.”
“Well what type am I then?”
“You’re the sunshine and rainbows kinda guy. Nothing gets you down for long.”
“That’s not even remotely true,” protested Ven.
“No, I see what Roxas is getting at. If you’re upset about something, you seek out other people to talk to rather than hiding away and isolating yourself.” Xion turned to Ven with a sad smile. “That’s why you came to us in the first place, right?”
The playful atmosphere evaporated and turned pensive. Nothing about their situation was particularly normal, their bond even more so. Before all this, Xion and Roxas had at least been friends, with Ven as the outlier. Yet somehow, the trio fit together like long lost siblings. Now all that was needed was to return their missing brother.
“He’s out there somewhere, I know it. We’ll find him.” Her determination blazed as bright as the sun. Both boys could do nothing less than put all their faith in Xion’s words. So long as there was hope, they wouldn’t give up on the boy who saved them all.
...
There was something strange in the ease with which Yozora found him. Hiding from him was about as easy as trying to hide from a bloodhound. Despite hiding in the upper branches of a haphazardly chosen tree or losing himself amid the maze of clothing racks in some random department store, sure enough, Yozora was there. It was maddening. The only upside to this situation was that Sora felt no need to sleep, so at least he didn’t have to deal with being startled awake only to see Yozora looming over him. Getting knocked out by the guy on a regular basis was bad enough.
Of course there were also the nightmares that had plagued him since the botched Mark of Mastery exam. For a while he’d even been afraid to go to sleep, terrified that Xehanort would be there waiting and trap him again. He had pushed his concerns to the side in favor of more important things. There had been a lot to do to prepare for the final battle and no time to dwell on personal demons.
Being in this realm only allowed him to further ignore those particular demons.
Time passed strangely in this place. It could be hours or days between his meetings with Yozora, but it was impossible to tell for sure, and not just because it was perpetually nighttime. Anytime Sora lost focus or zoned out, he had this sense that time somehow sped up. Yet, whenever he returned to consciousness after a round with Yozora he felt as though no time at all had passed. Was this how Aqua felt stuck in the Realm of Darkness all those years?
There was nothing to do but think and wait for Yozora. He found himself pondering about the other boy’s words. What did he mean by ‘I was told to save Sora’ and what was he supposed to be saving Sora from? It couldn’t be from whatever this place was, since it seemed Yozora was the one ensuring he stayed stuck here. From death? Sora’s already saved himself from that fate once, even if the circumstances were different.
Sora was startled out of his musings by a familiar voice. “Aren’t you looking pathetic.”
He lurched in alarm, flailing his arms as he tried to keep himself from tipping over the edge of the roof he was perched on. He regained his balance and twisted around to see an unexpected figure. “Wha—Vanitas?”
“Did all your ‘friends’ ditch you?” Despite the harsh words, the usual arrogance and anger were absent and instead he just seemed...resigned. All the same, Sora would be on his guard; it was too soon to tell what Vanitas planned to do.
Sora shook his head vehemently. “My friends wouldn’t do that,” he insisted. None of them were the type to do that. (He carefully didn’t think about that brief time he had lost the keyblade in Hollow Bastion. And Riku leaving him behind when he gave in to the darkness didn’t count.) He eyed Vanitas in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
The question got him a bitter laugh. “Did you think I had gone for good? You can’t destroy darkness. It will always be there so long as there is darkness in people’s hearts.”
“I get that.” And he truly did. For all that he fought the darkness, he had come to understand that light could not exist without dark. They were counterpoints meant to balance each other. Just like there was no way to be happy all the time, to eliminate all negative emotions, but those happy moments were made all the more precious by the presence of the downs—so too must light and dark exist in equal measure. Besides, he was no stranger to the reality of the saying ‘bright lights cast deep shadows.’ (Distorted flashes of clawstearrendhungerRAGE came to mind.) “But what I meant was how are you here? This place...it’s...” He trailed off, not really sure what to say. This strange city was a complete unknown, seemingly unconnected to any other world that Sora had visited, except perhaps the Final World; but even so it wasn’t clear how he got from there to here.
“I told you before, didn’t I? I’m your shadow, so of course I’d be drawn to where you are.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. If you were able to find me, shouldn’t the others be able to as well?” There was certainly no shortage of people connected to Sora’s heart, although all his attempts to trace the connection back to them resulted in failure. But if Vanitas could reach him, then maybe it was only his end that was having trouble. Who knew how these things worked when you were technically supposed to be dead.
“If they can’t find you, that’s their problem. Hasn’t got shit to do with me,” he replied, face twisting in a sneer. Apparently fed up with their all too brief interaction, Vanitas started walking away.
“Wait! Vanitas!” A dark corridor appeared and he was gone. Sora slumped back. He wondered if Vanitas was able to leave this place, if he himself was the only one stuck here struggling to escape. He flopped onto his back with a groan. Back to waiting in boredom it was. Funnily enough, he actually wished heartless would show up here; that would at least give him something to do.
Some time later his question was answered in such a way that he almost had a heart attack. Evidently, his concerns about waking up to see Yozora looming over him were the least of his concerns, because waking up to see Vanitas looming over him was much more alarming. Eyes blown wide and heart fluttering like a caged bird, Sora scrambled back to put a little distance between them.
Vanitas only continued to frown at him, brows pinched together.
“You’re still here?” Sora asked after getting himself into some semblance of control.
“I should be asking you that.”
“I can’t leave yet.” Something instinctive told him that leaving wouldn’t be possible until he managed to beat Yozora. So soon after his latest loss, it wasn’t something he cared to think about. Might as well make the most of the other boy’s presence. “Can I ask you something?” A noncommittal grunt was his answer. “Why'd you want to join with Ventus so bad? You and he are two separate people now.”
The look Vanitas gave him openly conveyed his low opinion of Sora’s intelligence. Rude, thought Sora. “I’m nothing more than Ventus’ negative emotions that were pulled out of him. I was never meant to exist to begin with.”
“Yeah, well, neither were nobodies, but that doesn’t make Roxas any less real. He’s not just a part of me—he’s his own person with his own heart. And I don’t believe that you’re nothing but darkness and negativity. Even the deepest darkness has a light that never goes out.”
Vanitas scoffed. “You expect me to listen to your light-side bullshit?”
“I’m not just light, you know,” he snapped, suddenly irritated. “I’ve got my own darkness, same as everybody else. I fought on the light side, yes, but I was just doing what I thought was right. Light and dark...they’re not the same as good and evil—things aren’t so clear cut. Riku’s proof of that. Xehanort was wrong to do what he did, so I stopped him. Simple as that.”
An unreadable look overtook Vanitas’ face. Without a word, he disappeared again.
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