#I know Kai wanting to 'get stronger' and fight better could qualify as personal desires but

[lightandfellowship]

Vor and Kairi are both like "Okay, change is really scary and tbh I'd prefer things to just stay the same, but! I acknowledge that change is inevitable and so I will confront my fears head-on and adapt!" and then they each choose a course of action that falls on an opposite extreme.

Vor leaves her friends (potentially with the intention of it being a permanent separation based on Eraqus' comments), realizing that she won't ever grow as a person as long as she's over-reliant on her friends for comfort, and also realizing that trying to stay by their side forever is a futile effort anyway that'll just cause her pain. To her, "adapting to change" means being willing to change her circumstances, and then hopefully she, too, will change as a result. Vor is prioritizing her personal feelings, desires, and identity at the cost of her relationships, when perhaps a balance would be more ideal.

So Vor's approach is thus: (1. Leaves her friends (2. Changes her circumstances in order to change herself (3. Prioritizes herself over her friends.

Kairi, on the other hand, chases after her friends relentlessly, forever trying to catch up to them, convinced that if she just "gets strong like them", wields a Keyblade like them, fights like them, that she'll no longer be left behind and exploited by the villains all the time. To her, "adapting to change" means being willing to change herself, and then hopefully her circumstances, too, will change as a result. Kairi is prioritizing her relationships (her worth relative to her friends, and her worth to her friends) at the cost of her personal feelings, desires, and identity, when--again--perhaps a balance would be more ideal.

So Kairi's approach is thus: (1. Stays with her friends (2. Changes herself in order to change her circumstances (3. Prioritizes her friends over herself.

Maybe if Vor and Kairi had met (in a theoretical AU scenario, of course) they could have learned something from each other, and found that balance sooner.

#khdr #kingdom hearts dark road #kh vor #rambling about dim path #ch tag: vo #Also it's implied that Vo only became a wielder to follow her friends just like Kai #(Because she seemingly doesn't have a reason for why she became one) #So another similarity between them there #I know Kai wanting to 'get stronger' and fight better could qualify as personal desires but #I don't think fighting was ever something she truly wanted. She just felt like she had to. #In KH 2 one of her NPC dialogs is like (paraphrased) 'It's not fair that you guys get hurt and I don't' #IMO it's a 'wanting to do the right thing' sort of thing #Also feeling like it's the only way forward. The only way to stay with her friends. #If given the choice I think she'd much prefer that they all just went home and got to /stay/ home #And in any case I think she swallows a lot of her true feelings to be 'strong' and not be a burden to her friends #So yeah. Either way. Prioritizing her friends over herself I think! #khdr spoilers