#the days before CO are the time after Sora stabs himself | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

random-theory · 2 years

Text

I think Kingdom Hearts is a lot easier to understand then people make it seem.

I started on KH3 and essentially played the games backwards, and I would say that I have a fairly good understanding of the series.

Plot holes, ongoing plot threads and miscommunication between characters not counted. Maybe I’m looking into this too much, but it really shouldn’t be so difficult to understand the story/ lore.

Now, if you’re wanting to learn/ understand the series and don’t know where to start, that’s understandable, people don’t always make understanding it easy.

I have terrible reading comprehension, so why does it seem so easy for me to understand what’s going on in KH? Seriously, I don’t get it. This series is easier to understand than physics and philosophy for me.

I only got into Kingdom Hearts in early 2020, so I’m fairly new to the franchise. But I have been watching and playing Yu-Gi-Oh! since the first season of Arc V (not due to anything wrong with the previous series, but because I was sheltered as a kid and only discovered it’s existence when Yuto died while I was bored and Teletoon just happened to be on) and my second watch of Bonds Beyond Time (I skipped the theme songs in the credits the first time, who knew a song could spark your interests in shows).

I have a lot of questions for the Kingdom Hearts fandom, but most of those are due to my lack in understanding of humans. I just don’t understand this species, and that can affect my ability to understand why somebody just doesn’t get something.

For in-universe character examples:

In Kingdom Hearts, Roxas and Vanitas look like Ven and Sora respectively, Axel/ Lea pointed out Roxas and Ventus, and Sora, Vanitas & Ven have —in some way— pointed out Vanitas’ similarities to Sora. However, no one has actively mistaken any of them for each other, yet.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V, everyone is constantly mistakening the counterparts for one-another. Despite knowing that Yuya (the Sora of the show) can not perform Extra Deck special summons(Fusion, Xyz, Synchro), Yuzu(or Zuzu in the Dub; aka the Kairi) isn’t able to recognize that Yuto(the Roxas) is not Yuya. This is in spite of the fact that Yuya has red eyes & red and green hair(shaped as a tomato) while Yuto’s hair is black and purple & he has dark grey eyes. This was only the first time. It takes nearly 20 episodes before Yuzu and Yuya actually talk to and formally meet Yuto.

Why did I mention this?

If we put Sora, Roxas, Ventus and Vanitas in place of Yuya, Yuto, Yugo and Yuri respectively in the predicament(?) surrounding the Yu-Boys, it reflects the way people react/behaviour irl to the many Sortas, Kairis and Xehanorts. It probably reflects this badly, but it reflects it nonetheless.

Sora and Roxas are constantly being called the other throughout KH2 (and late game Days), Yuya is accused of hospitalizing Sylvio Sawatari because nobody can apparently remember that Yuya can not Xyz Summon (‘cept Declan). Sora is constantly reacting to the Heart Hotel’s hearts resonating, Roxas also had a few moments where it happened. After “absorbing” Yuto, Yuya would react to Yuto’s feelings, often triggering an Awakening (or “going berserk”). (More on this later) I think the parallels are neat.

#kingdom hearts #ygo #I tend to use one when discussing the other #I wouldn’t call it comparing #It’s more like connecting or linking them #The Sortas and Kairis are essentially the Yu-boys and Bracelet girls from Arc V #The power of friendship and the whole Light vs Darkness appear in both franchise #As far as I’m concerned Kairi and Xion have different Eng voice actors #You’d think I’d be used to the voice switching after growing up on Winx Club #Why do fans insist on explaining KH in release order #358 starts in kh1 and CoM happens during 358 #358 actively shows the durations between events #we see when in Roxas’ time Axel leaves for CO and when he returns #the days before CO are the time after Sora stabs himself #I wrote more but tumblr crashed #and I can’t remember my wording

12 notes · View notes

phoenix-downer · 3 years

Text

Love’s Cost Chapter 4: Safe and Whole

2641 words. Post-Canon. Family AU, SoKai Parents AU. Angst, Trauma, Hurt/Comfort, Healing. This is a sequel to After Ever After. There are five chapters total and the story updates weekly on Fridays.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Summary: Sora and Kairi’s kids are thrown into danger, and their parents will have to draw on old memories to heal fresh wounds.

Sora’s eyes fluttered open. Inky darkness surrounded him, and he groaned and sat up. Where was he? What was going on?

He lifted his hand, and beneath him was the glasslike surface of his heart. The moment of his awakening engraved in his memory. His breath caught in his throat. If he was here, then that meant… he was close to death.

Why? What was happening?

“Daddy!”

Emi’s cry for help was like an electric jolt to his system. “Emi!” he shouted, bracing himself with his Keyblade and springing to his feet. “Daddy’s here! Where are you?”

He ran in the direction of her voice. Down, down, down a winding pathway of colored glass towards a platform of her fast asleep below. What would he see when he found her? His sweet baby, his love and delight, his precious angel born out of his love for Kairi, always bringing a smile to everyone’s faces, torn to shreds by that awful monster?

He’d rather be torn to shreds than watch that happen. His side throbbed, and he remembered he had been.

“Dad!” came Haruto’s panicked voice from another direction. “Help!”

Sora froze. “Haruto! Where are you?”

“Over here! Come quick!”

He raced down a new pathway searching for Haruto. Haruto was his only son, and he remembered how excited he and Kairi had been to have another child. Their son was rambunctious and full of energy and sass, but with a heart as big as any heart Sora had ever met. He couldn’t bear to lose him, and the thought of Haruto’s lifeless body made him sick. But the more he ran after Haruto’s voice and towards his platform stretching out below, the further away it got.

This whole situation was hitting him with nauseating waves of deja vu. No matter how long or how hard he chased after his kids, he couldn’t get any closer to them.

“Dad, hurry, please!”

Miyu this time. He couldn’t bring himself to abandon her. He couldn’t. His firstborn, his delight, his dear eldest daughter. She was his heart’s treasure, his living proof that for once he could create things, not just destroy them. That together he and Kairi were capable of so much more than they’d ever dreamed. And how proud he was of his daughter. Every day she grew braver, stronger, more caring. He saw Kairi’s heart in hers, and maybe something of his too.

He chased after her as her voice grew fainter and fainter and her platform got further and further away. The light was getting dimmer and dimmer too. He was deep in the abyss now, so deep that even the light couldn’t reach him here.

“Miyu! Haruto! Emi!” he cried. Where were his kids? Why couldn’t he reach them?

“Dad!” came their scared voices, echoing all around him from every direction, each cry more terrified than the last, and he felt like someone had pulled his heart out of his body and ripped it into three pieces and left him to bleed and die.

That was the thing about having kids. Any pain they felt, any fear and terror, was magnified in his heart a hundredfold. He doubled over, the wind knocked out of him and tears in his eyes because it just hurt and hurt and hurt. Each one of their frightened cries felt like a stab through his heart.

He couldn’t let anything happen to them. He couldn’t. “Pull it together, Sora,” he hissed, gritting his teeth and staggering to his feet. No matter how long it took, no matter how far the journey, he had to find them—

“Sora!”

He whirled around, his heart pounding. He would recognize that voice. He would recognize it anywhere.

“Kairi?”

“Wake up!” she cried. “This isn’t real. Don’t let your heart get pulled in. Don’t chase after the nightmares.”

Another wave of deja vu hit him. This had all happened before, so long ago…

“Come back to us, please,” Kairi begged.

“But our kids are down here!”

“No they’re not. They’re with me.”

Sora blinked as drops of water landed on his hair and face and arms. “It’s raining?”

“Those aren’t raindrops,” Kairi said sadly. “They’re tears.”

Sora touched his cheek. “Tears?”

“Not yours. Theirs. They’re terrified of losing their dad. They don’t know why you won’t wake up.”

Sora’s throat constricted and his eyes burned. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

He felt a hand on his arm, and when he turned around, Kairi was there. A soft light glowed from her, and she smiled sadly.

“I’m always with you, remember? Come on, let’s go home.”

He grasped her hand in his, and her wing emerged from her back at the same time his wing did. Together they flew up, up, up out of the abyss, up into the light, back to their kids, back to reality.

His eyes flew open, and Kairi’s smiling face beamed down at him. He smiled back because how could he not? He was home, safe and sound, in his house, in his room, on his bed, with Kairi by his side.

“Morning, lazy bum,” she said, then smoothed his bangs back and kissed his forehead.

“Morning, wife,” he said softly. He cupped her face and brought her in for a kiss. This was how they always started their mornings. Everything felt better when they kissed, and today was no different.

Faint memories of the kiss that had healed his body and mended his heart flickered through his head, and he pulled her close. Her warmth, her light, her love… she’d saved him again. She’d brought him back from the brink of death.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

“Thank you, for protecting our family.” She gingerly lifted his shirt to check on his side. Her fingers were warm and gentle, and he relaxed at her touch. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thanks to my beautiful wife.”

She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. “I wasn’t just going to let you die, you know.”

“I know. You’re too stubborn to let that happen. Still, I must’ve really scared you. I’m sorry.”

He’d abandoned her and left her behind too many times already. The scars from that ran deep, and he knew this latest incident must have reopened old wounds. It didn’t matter that it had been years since their last separation. He couldn’t bear to put her through that again.

But she just put a finger over his lips. “No apologies. What matters is that you’re home safe and sound.”

“I am, but I know you,” he said softly. “And I know you’re trying to hide your true feelings from me because you think you have to be strong. That you have to be brave. It’s okay. You don’t have to be strong or brave right now.”

She was silent for a few moments as she searched his eyes. “Hold me, please,” she said at last.

“Gladly,” he replied, then brought her into his arms again.

“I was so scared,” she choked out as he ran his hand through her hair. “I felt weak and powerless when I saw you lying on the ground and bleeding out like that.”

“I know,” he said, willing love and light and healing into her heart to ease her pain. “But you aren’t weak or powerless. You saved me.”

“Still. In that moment, I felt like a helpless child. I was terrified I’d lose you.”

His grip around her tightened. “You didn’t. I’m right here.”

“I know.”

She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. She always did this when she was seeking his comfort, and it warmed his heart every time.

“See? I’m alive,” he murmured, then kissed her head.

“You are. You’re alive and you’re okay.”

“How about you? Are you okay?”

She kissed his heart. “Thanks to you I will be.”

“And the kids? Are they okay?”

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “They’re scared, shaken, and beating themselves up with guilt over what happened, but they’re all in one piece.”

That was a relief. And he could do something about their fear and guilt.

“I want to see them,” he said. “I want to hold them and comfort them.”

“And they want to see you. Just don’t be surprised if they seem standoffish.”

He let out a frustrated groan and rested a hand over his eyes. “I love them so much, Kairi. I love them so much I can hardly bear it. I never want them to feel like they have to stay away from me.”

“Then tell them that.”

He lifted his hand from his eyes and stared at her. “Right now?”

“Kids, you can come in,” she called. A moment later, the door burst open. Sora sat up as fast as he could. Three scared, guilty faces stared back at him, and his heart broke at how ashamed they were to approach him. Surely they knew he would never shut them out.

He held his arms out, a silent plea for them to come to him. This way, he had to be vulnerable before they would. He’d gladly put his heart on the line if it would soothe their fears and ease their shame.

After a few agonizing seconds, Haruto ran to him, and a great weight was lifted from his heart. He threw his arms around his son, and Haruto started crying, shedding the tears he’d fought so hard to keep in.

“I’m sorry,” Haruto choked out. “It’s my fault Emi was put in danger.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Sora said, shedding a few tears of his own. “I’m sorry for scaring you. I’m sorry for putting such a heavy burden on you. It wasn’t right of me to ask so much of you.”

Haruto just cried harder, and Sora held him close and did his best to soothe him. Truthfully, though, this was comforting him as much as it was comforting Haruto. Getting his wife and kids back safe and sound healed his heart like nothing else could.

But two of those kids were still shying away from him, and his heart wouldn’t be whole without them. He looked from them to Kairi, and she nodded at Miyu. Miyu took a deep breath and a small, hesitant step forward.

“Um, Dad?”

Haruto moved aside so Sora could see Miyu more easily.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault you got hurt.”

He shook his head. “Is not. I’d protect every single one of you with my life, no questions asked.”

“But you wouldn’t have had to do that if I’d kept Emi safe!”

Sora’s mouth dropped open, and Miyu’s eyes were watering and her lip was trembling. His poor daughter blamed herself for not being able to keep her younger sister safe. Of course she was beating herself up with guilt over this whole thing.

“Miyu,” he said softly, “I know how you feel.”

“No you don’t! You’ve never failed to protect the people who matter to you!”

Sora raised an eyebrow. “Never? You sure about that?”

“You’ve always kept us safe,” Miyu said as she wiped her eyes. “You’re strong and brave and you never hesitate to put yourself in danger for others.”

“I don’t, but there was a time I failed someone who means more to me than anything.”

This would draw from his own pain, but if it was to comfort his daughter… it was worth it.

“Who?” Miyu asked.

Sora smiled sadly at Kairi, and she was tearing up despite her smile too. It was a shared pain, a shared failure, for he knew Kairi blamed herself for his disappearance afterwards as much as he blamed himself for Xehanort striking her down.

Miyu’s eyes went wide and she brought a hand to her mouth. “I never realized… Mom told us Xehanort struck her down and that you saw it happen, but I—I didn’t really think about how—”

“How it made me feel?” Sora said softly. “I’ll tell you, then. I felt like my heart was torn in two. I felt like I’d never be whole again. I felt like I was in a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from. Trust me, I know how you feel. Your mom and I both do.”

Miyu started crying, and Sora held his arms out to her. Finally, finally she came to him, and he hugged her tight.

“It’s okay,” he said softly. “You’re not a failure. What I said before still holds true, you know. I’m so proud of you.”

That just made Miyu cry harder. “Thank you, Dad. For everything.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, and he meant the words with all his heart.

There was still one kid left, one kid who was cowering in the doorway and afraid to come to him.

“Emi,” he said, and she wouldn’t even look at him. He looked helplessly at Kairi. Emi was normally the least likely to avoid him. She was daddy’s girl and wanted to be with him all the time. But right now she was so scared and ashamed she was shaking in the doorway all by herself.

Time to try a different tactic: a story. He cleared his throat and began.

“There was once a king. He was married to a beautiful queen and had three amazing kids. They were kind and smart and good and made the king and queen very happy.”

He had Emi’s attention now even though she still wouldn’t look at him, so he continued.

“One day, an evil monster attacked the castle. The monster was so cruel and evil that it went after the king’s youngest daughter. She was small and couldn’t protect herself yet. Monsters are awful like that, they go after little princesses because they’re cowards.”

She was still listening, so he kept going.

“The king couldn’t bear to let his daughter get hurt. He would rather get hurt than see any harm come to her. That’s what it means to love someone. So he stood in front of her and let the monster hurt him instead.”

She started sniffling, and Sora knew he had to hurry the rest of the story up before she ran away sobbing.

“But he didn’t blame her one bit for what happened,” he quickly added. “It wasn’t her fault. It was never her fault. It was all the monster’s fault. The king’s daughter doesn’t have to apologize because he’s just glad she’s safe.”

She sniffed loudly and rubbed her eyes.

“And besides, he’s okay now thanks to the queen’s magic.” He smiled at Kairi, and she nodded. “But he’d be even more okay if his little princess gave him a hug.”

Emi finally looked at him and burst into tears, and he stumbled out of bed and met her halfway. He was on his knees by the time she hugged him, but that was better anyway. Hopefully he seemed more like her beloved Daddy again and less like a tall, towering king.

“It’s okay,” he murmured as she sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. “It’s okay. I’m here and I’m okay.”

“I’m so sorry Daddy,” she wailed. “It’s all my fault you got hurt.”

He leaned back to look in her eyes. “No it’s not. It’s the monster’s fault, remember?”

“But I shouldn’t have snuck on the Gummi Ship!”

“Maybe not,” he said softly, “but that doesn’t mean the monster should’ve attacked you.”

Her lower lip trembled, and she put her arms around him again. “I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, Emi.”

As he hugged her, he glanced up at Kairi, who had her arms around Miyu and Haruto. She smiled at him through her tears, and he smiled back.

“Thank you,” he mouthed.

“Love you,” she mouthed in return.

“Love you too,” he mouthed back.

His family was safe and whole, and he couldn’t ask for more.

13 notes · View notes