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mythicalartistx · 8 months

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Soriku in Novels — Part 5 COM & KH1

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

From up on the hill he could see Riku gathering things. He was carrying some that looked like a big piece of cloth. Must be nice being Riku...

KH Novel

It's actually a neat perspective how in the novel Sora is actually frustrated with unable to beat Riku. Like he is his friend but he feels like he's unable to do anything better and there this constant competition between them, and because of that sadly Kairi is involved (not her choosing and her unaware of it)

But it seems him wanted to share a papou fruit with her was just to beat Riku at something. And it seems he was a bit jealous of Riku too. And Riku probably had no idea either that's why I KH2 he feels like oh he had no idea he felt that way and feels sad.

"We did it!" Without thinking, Sora hugged Riku.

"Okay, okay, quit it," said Riku, but he was smiling.

KH Novel

Okay this was cute. This is when they meet again in Traverse Town and in the novel they both help fight together and they even hug. It honestly reminded me of the pilot a bit.

Riku smiling is everything.

Beyond Naminé lay a huge device shaped like a flower bud. And inside, was Sora.

"If it isn't Sora! What have you done to him!" Riku ran over to the giant device without thinking.

Reverse Rebirth COM Novel

The only thing he cares about is Sora and what she could have done to him. That's so precious.

"Huh— I'm not afraid of being destroyed. I'm just a fake after all," said the Replica, expressionlessly. I'm not scared to be destroyed. I'm scared of what I'll forget. And— of being forgotten. Sora will remember me, won't he? Or will I get muddled up with his memories of the real thing, and be forgotten?

"I don't have a real heart. Even what I'm feeling right now is probably a lie."

The Replica smiled just a little, and light began to wrap around his body.

—Reverse Rebirth Novel

... that's sad. I know he's technically not Riku but I want to put anything Riku I suppose to show how every form of him cares about Sora.

This just breaks my heart cause it's so sad. He doesn't want to be forgotten as a Replica because he cares about Sora too.

And it's so much worse cause he forgot him. I need Sora to remember COM events.

"Am I... fading... fading under the power of light..."

If I am darkness— and if I can't fight the darkness with my own strength— I guess being destroyed by Sora is the only way, Riku thought in the depths of his fading consciousness. If I have to be defeated, I'm happy for it to be Sora.

This time it's ogRiku, but it's still sad. He doesn't mind if he gets defeated if it's by Sora. (It's actually Zexion in disguise)

He feels I guess I deserve to be defeated after everything he's done and it's sad.

"Fake or not, that doesn't matter anymore! You're here now, and you have a heart that belong to you and no-one else. Your memories belong to you and you only, so treasure them!"

Sora's words were gentle.

The Replica held back the tears that were threatening to spill over. "Sora, you're very kind," he said, back still turned. "Even a fake like me can see how real your feelings are... that's good enough for me."

Right now, Sora's feelings are good enough for me, the Replica thought. The fact that I met Sora is good enough for me.

— Reverse Rebirth novel

REPLIKU MAKES ME SAD CRYAHGDHSJJK

It's so sad because Sora's words touched him and his heart. Since he's made of Riku, he feels similar things.

But Sora is like you are you and is so passionate abd is similar to how Riku feels about nobodies in KH2

Also what's this about feedings...? He can see how real his feelings are and that's good enough for him.

I'm not one— no, I'm a fake, memories and existence and all, I'm what's before you become someone. But Sora talks to me like I've been his friend for a long, long time.

This pained the Replica.

— Reverse Rebirth Novel

Repliku so precious and deserves a hug as much as ogRiku. Sora still cares no matter what and Repliku still feels for Sora.

"Well, Sora. You didn't think about my feelings, either. Naminé's not the only one who doesn't want to see your face again. Neither do I," the boy shot, and leapt. Why don't I want to see Sora?

Why am I so angry?

—Reverse Rebirth Novel

Repliku is conflicted with his feelings unsure why he is angry with him because he remembers the feelings (Riku) has for him 💔😭

I need someone to tell Sora to remember events from COM, please after Riku finds Sora in Quadratum they act gay and do a rehash of KH2 Reunion before exploring worlds TOGETHER like they always wanted they go home.

Sora then sees Naminé and tells her thank you for real and then in turn, he remembers COM stuff and Repliku and it turns out Naminé requested for Zexion and Vexen to make Riku Replica. Then Sora remembers stuff and Repliku is happy again.

Face looking a little uneasy, Sora tried to grab my outreached hand.

At that moment, I didn't even notice what was happening around me. I didn't even look. Sora, at the end of my out reached hand, was so much more than everything else.

Just a little more and my hand would reach.

— Reverse Rebirth

Sora being at the end of his hand was so much more important THAN ANYTHING?! ASHSHHSSKSKSK Sora is that important and he wanted him to take his hand.

That's right— Sora would be the first thing Kairi worried about, every time. But, I was the same. As long as I was with Sora, I could go anywhere. That's what I thought. And moreover, with Kairi there, who I supposed knew about other worlds... we could go anywhere, that's what I thought.

— Reverse Rebirth

Aww he believes Kairi is what Sora thinks is most important (it's actually Riku). But the bolded words—and if you remember bolded lines throughout all these parts means they're especially cute and Soriku coded— but Sora helps him be able to go anywhere too.

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lightandfellowship · 6 months

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Something I just realized about Ven, and some more thoughts on the Ven + Vor + Kairi parallels...

I noticed that, in a flashback, Terra claims that he, Aqua, and Ven all share the same dream of becoming a Keyblade Master. But during the events of BBS, when Jaq asks Ven if he has any dreams, Ven first responds with "Funny...I'd never really thought about it—at least until you asked me." before saying his dream is to become a Keyblade Master.

Based on Ven saying that he'd never thought about his dreams before until now, it seems like in that flashback Terra just assumed that Ven wanted to become a Keyblade Master too, but never actually asked him about it (which makes sense, because Ven's heart was still healing at this time, and he seemingly couldn't communicate yet). And Ven, in need of a purpose after having his heart shattered, wanting to be equals to Terra and Aqua, and perhaps thinking that his friendship with them was reliant on him becoming a Keyblade Master alongside them, decided to follow in their footsteps regardless of what his original dreams may or may not have been.

I think this idea that Ven views "becoming a Keyblade Master" more as a means to an end (maintaining his bond with Terra and Aqua) rather than as something he wants independent of them is evidenced by the fact that he glumly recalls this memory of Terra talking about their shared dream right after their falling out in Radiant Garden. During their falling out, Terra and Aqua repeatedly insist to Ven that he has to return home and stay out of danger, despite Ven practically begging to tag along. He sees their refusal to take him seriously as a capable Keyblade wielder training hard to become a Keyblade Master as a sign that that their friendship was based on a lie. Their shared dream of becoming Keyblade Masters is what bonded them together, but now, from Ven's perspective, it seems like they never actually believed that Ven had the strength to achieve that dream alongside them.

For Ven, it goes something like this: "We're friends because we're going to achieve this shared dream together." -> "My friends don't think I'm strong enough to achieve this dream with them." -> "Therefore, we were never really friends to begin with." Which is why Ven starts looking for new friends after the events of Radiant Garden. His friendship to Terra and Aqua is based so heavily on them being fellow Keyblade wielders in his mind that if his capabilities as a Keyblade wielder are put into question, he assumes that means his friendship with them is equally put into question.

Vor seems to go through something quite similar, choosing the path of the Keyblade Master but, when asked, being unable to come up with a strong personal reason for why she wants to become one, as if she simply wanted to be with her friends and wasn't thinking too hard about it. Kairi as well follows Riku and Sora into Keyblade wielding for the sake of their friendship, in order to protect them and catch up to them, but never seemed particularly interested in sparring/fighting before this when things were peaceful on Destiny Islands. And like Ven, Vor and Kairi also end up feeling left out, left behind, and like their efforts aren't being taken seriously by their friends.

#Fellow plays BBS #rambling about kh #rambling about dim path #ch tag: vo

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cor-regnum · 1 year

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KH4(ish) wants and hopes

The following are just things I want and hope for in the future of KH and maybe others want and hope for similar and if not that's super valid.

More realistic wants

Sora to start unpacking all of his trauma This sweet baby boy has been through so much since the beginning of the franchise, but between back-to-back endless drama and constantly putting his own feelings aside for the sake of his friends, along with Donald and Goofy unintentionally instilling toxic positivity into him, he hasn't had ANY time to process any of it. Not to mention all the memories that have been buried down, during both CoM and even towards the end of KH3. He still genuinely believes that without his friends he's weak, so now that he's forced into Quadratum away from everyone, he'll get the chance to see how incorrect that is, which would then lead to him questioning more of his beliefs. I would say he'd see the truth in what Riku said to him before his sacrifice at the tear in KH3, but those are some of the memories he's lost. Essentially, what CoM was for Riku's growth, I want KH4 to be for Sora.

X-blade drama Sora was bequeathed the X-blade, his first formal bequeathment and now an actual keyblade of his own that wasn't meant for someone else. Now that it's in an "other side" I want to see literally any sufficient drama to happen involving the x-blade with Sora. Even if it's just him angsting over having it.

Potential ally Luxord At this point, it's all but confirmed that at the end of Re:Mind, Luxord's recompleted self is the one driving Yozora in the car. Now... I'll freely admit I just love Luxord and wanna see more of him. But knowing that he's also in Quadratum, and given his cryptic words upon his defeat in KH3, I don't think it's out of the question for him to help Sora out at some point. Considering Yozora's behavior thus far, I could see Luxord's recompleted self being another antagonistic force early on, turned ally.

Elrena and Lauriam reconnecting with Ven, and Namine is there Now that Larxene and Marluxia are recompleted, and given that Lauriam and Ven were vaguely close to each other in a coworker sense in Ux, I want them involved in bringing Ven's memories back. Naturally with Namine's help. I want Elrena to STILL be the girl that isn't overly sweet, since she's literally the only one, because that's something I love about her. But I also want them to give her stuff to do that isn't completely tied to Lauriam. Maybe even make it so Ven's memories hold some kind of key involving the foretellers so the drama on "this" side can continue to some degree without Sora.

More prevalent Namine Honestly, considering how strongly linked her powers have been to Sora, it seems silly that she hasn't been utilized in the search for him, as far as we know. Plus I'm sure she has more capabilities beyond that. Not to mention the amount of times Nomura has reiterated that the "Thank Namine" plotline is still incomplete. So I just need her to come back to being a primary character. I don't want her to be passive. And I JUST WANT HER TO BE HAPPY, OKAY!? She really deserves it.

Less Realistic Wants

Kairi growth game From the first game, Kairi has made it clear how averse to change she is, and that has been the biggest constant in what little character she's been given. My own belief is that's the reason she hyperfixates on Sora so much. Not because it's a crush, but just because holding onto this idea of how close they were before all the adventures started is easier than moving on and accepting all the changes for her. And honestly, she deserves better than that. So, this would ideally be an entire non-numbered game, but as part of her training under Aqua, I want her, Xion, and Namine (balanced, strength, and magic) to do their own journey through Disney worlds where a recurring theme in each world is accepting that change is inevitable and that it's okay. Along with varying bits to further Xion and Namine's own stories. And like how KH3 had moments where it would turn to Riku's perspective and let him be playable, Aqua would have that in this game. Aqua's side would be more about figuring things out about the foretellers. During these adventures, Kairi being a Princess of Heart would come back into play over the course of the story and give her more unique abilities, considering she's the only one of those princesses with a keyblade. After all that journeying, Aqua's Angels would end up actually helping Lea and Isa find that mysterious girl (Skuld) and it would not only be a step toward furthering the foreteller plot, but it would be a "oh, another person that's going to make things interesting for Ven when they meet" moment, given Ux.

Sora growth (cont'd) Okay, here's where I know I'll lose some people's interests... So, a lot of Riku's growth early on was accepting just how important Sora is to him and coming to grips with his jealousy and feelings. And he deserves major props for going through that. Sora, alongside canonically bisexual icon Strelitzia, is going to learn to admit similar things with regards to Riku. I don't think he's jealous of Riku, but he sure does care about him a lot. More than I think he realizes that would be on par with how much Riku cares for him. Instead of facing jealousy, though, while unpacking all of his traumas, he's finally going to have to come to grips with everything Riku did in KH1. Because he literally has not done that. I don't think it's going to be some over-dramatic angsty thing, I think it'll be more of a "Yeah... what he did really was messed up and I still don't know why. When I see him I'll wanna talk about it, but at least I know he's not like that anymore so that we can talk about it." And yes, I do firmly believe Soriku is going to be one of the ultimate plot points of the series and I'm not going to tackle why that is here. I just feel like Strelitzia is going to be pushing them together when she sees them.

I do have more wants, but I can't really think of how to expand on them, so I guess I'll just briefly list them here:

Either confirmation or further evidence to the necklace theory, ideally intertwined with the "Thank Namine" plotline.

Tied to above, I'd love if somehow the necklace is an emblem of the "Child of Destiny" brought up in Dark Road.

Kairi and Lea develop a friendly rivalry, constantly motivating each other to be better.

I do NOT want Hayner, Pence, and Olette to get keyblades and I'll honestly be super annoyed if they do. In my mind, it would be as foolish as giving Donald and Goofy keyblades, because these three have other strengths I'd love to see expanded upon.

Terra gets another Mark of Mastery exam, probably alongside any other characters that want it, but I'd want it from his perspective so we see him tackle more of his internal struggle with darkness and his time serving Xehanort.

Aqua with PTSD from her time in the Realm of Darkness. We already saw a glimpse of it in Re:Mind and I don't want it to get dropped.

Strelitzia actually fights and maybe even playable Strelitzia segments. We never actually saw her in combat in Ux, just saw her with her keyblade out. I can easily see her filling a similar role to Aerith in FFVIIR.

Ava. ...I just want something with Ava. Confirmation that she was Kairi's grandma, a mention of where she is now, anything. Literally I just want to know what's going on with her. Because unless she was Kairi's grandma, Luxu was the last one to see her, and that was FOREVER ago.

While Mickey's in Scala ad Caelum, there is confirmation that Riku, and possibly Kairi, originate from Scala ad Caelum. Or at least in Riku's case that his family originated from there, which leads to...

Riku is Ephemer's descendent, which I'm not going to go super into, but it would feed further into the necklace theory and would explain a LOT about him.

Ven and Roxas interactions... more than just a head nod at each other, please!

Xion and Namine friendship and I WANT TO SEE THEM BOTH HAPPY. Tie this into my Kairi growth game!

Utada makes another song based on Sora and Riku. We have confirmation Sanctuary/Passion is about them and their reunion in KH2, and analyzing the lyrics to Chikai/Don't Think Twice fits more with them than anyone else. So, more, please!

And then there's things I'd want from Missing Link, but that doesn't fit in here and I don't have enough wants to justify making a list...

I may reblog myself with more wants down the line.

#kingdom hearts #kh theory

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yyuuna · 3 years

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i’m not sure if your requests are open ( ignore this if they aren’t :00 ) but the fake dating trope witj todoroki and bakugo bdjnebfb

fake dating

—fake dating with them

includes: s. todoroki / k. bakugo

pairing: various x reader

genre: fluff

disclaimer: lowercase intended

warning: swearing

a/n: i triED 🏃🏻‍♀️ i’ve seen tropes like this all the time but i still couldn’t get it done nicely but here u go,,

—todoroki

despite having literally no idea about what’s going on, he’s no snitch

simply doesn’t care

will submit to ur plans because he’d think why not?? a friend is in dire need of help, so why shouldn’t he help?

ok, on to the story

as u were walking down the hallway of the school building’s second third floor, u spot someone

his name is sora, ur stalker during middle school—he’s rly creepy

by creepy, i mean he used to harass you with his undying love during lunch time, touching you whenever he can, bombard you with diabetes during valentines day, invading your privacy, lying to everyone that you’re together

a squeak make its way out to escape from your lips as your widened eyes stare at sora

thankfully, the joyous screams and boisterous laughs coming from the school fair had weakened his senses, thus not being able to immediately see your cowering figure

he was hard to shoo away back then

despite being able to defend yourself from him back then, him being annoying is rather intolerable

so u sneakily go down the stairs cz u dont want sora to notice nor harass u

buttttt sora caught sight of you—after all, you’re the reason he came to UA’s school fair

“[name]! come back here!” he yelled, jogging to make his way to you

ur run suddenly accelerated tenfold

u kinda caught todoroki’s attention bcz ur shoes were clacking rly loud on the floor

todoroki was just standing there, looking at u

he just got out of the classroom

“oh thank god—todoroki!” you gestured to him as your panic withers away

well at least until sora’s voice stiffened you again

“[name], let me talk to you.” sora grabbed your shoulder rather too harshly

“what do you want? why are you even here?” u back away, but he only gets closer

“what, didn’t you miss me?” he smirked, contradicting the disgusted scowl on your face

todoroki awkwardly stood there, silently watching the exchange

“c’mon, everybody knows we’re together, so i wanted to take you out with a couple of friends” sora took ahold of your hand, caressing your palm

honestly, you just want to go home

so your eyes swiveled at anything but him, looking for nothing in particular

until ur sight lands of todoroki

“shou~can we go to our date now? im rly hungry” u interlocked ur hand with his as u escape from sora’s hold

ok, he was genuinely confused but uh

“uh sure...” todoroki said

sora scoffed “psh, him? ur boyfriend?”

at this, todoroki’s ear started to heat up—and no his quirk is not in on this

he does have a crush on u, but he doesn’t know he actually has a crush on u. all he knows is that he admires ur strength and many more traits than he does to anyone else

“whatever, we’re still not done, [name]” sora smirked, his finger seductively tracing your jaw before leaving u two

todoroki obviously sensed the danger, pulling u closer to him

“i’ll walk w u” he stared at u

u two started walking towards the exit of the campus, not bothering to separate ur hands—which is most likely his idea

“uh, thanks...sorry about earlier. i didn’t mean to use u—well i kinda did but he’s creepy”

“okay” he casually said

nearing the exit, u began walking to the opposite direction, only to be stopped when he didn’t seem to let go of ur hand

“i thought u were hungry?” he asked

“no i—well yeah, im hungry but it was also with the pretend part, right? i mean, we aren’t together to go on a date” u chuckled awkwardly, though his face stayed indifferent

“date...? is that so....” he trailed off, looking down in thoughts “then if you’re hungry, we should go on that date”

he’s cluelesssssss

“eh? well sure i guess...?”

“okay”

that’s ur first date. by first date i mean there r following dates

—bakugo

sooo im not sure if this is exactly fake dating but the concept is there,, skshjs i need more ideassss

kinda aged up? i mean u two r on an official mission

he’s the type of person who’s against fake dating shit because it’s “fucking stupid” but honestly, he inwardly don’t mind at all

anyway, the group of villains u two were assigned to catch was in a high official party (a ball of some sort), so obv u attend there

as u two were slowly getting information, leading them where u can easily catch them without getting the civilians’ attention, u heard one of ur enemies’ micro transceiver (walkie talkie microchip things on their ear)

“enemy is wearing a fur coat, has [h/c] hair that’s tied up, and is around [height] feet tall” said the person on the other line

the enemy’s eyes widened, but before he could catch u, u ran towards ur partner, bakugo, and pulled him to one of balconies

“what the hell?!”

“they’re onto us!” u whisper yelled, hiding ur coat somewhere while taking off ur hair tie

u heard footsteps, perhaps they have already found out where u both went

“there’s no time!” u hissed, pushing bakugo on his knee

“OH MY GOD...YES! OF COURSE I’LL MARRY U!” u excitedly chanted

“huh?”

bakugo was about to throw profanities when the enemies entered his peripheral vision

u saw this too, but the enemies seemed like they were still about to pester u two

lmao so u pulled the blond up, laying ur face on the crook of his neck to imitate a make out session

and ur right thigh laid against his hip before u pulled his hand to grab it

his other palm encased ur waist, helping u

u can feel his heartbeat accelerating as ur body rests against his own

and ofccc pda makes people uncomfy

“sir, we lost her” u heard one of the enemies relay before they leave them

ur breath fanned his neck as his ears figuratively burned

“get off, dumbass” though his words were harsh as a sand paper, the way he pulled u away, on the other hand, was gentle as a feather

“u know once the agency learns about this, they’re gonna send your annoying ass with me all the time for fucking missions” he scowled despite actually wanting to have u as his partner

“yeah...probably some fake couple missions”

tags; @mayukhii @innersooya

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embraceyourdestiny · 3 years

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After reading a bunch of your posts I expect a Steven Universe Future style fight at some point

As in he snaps like a kit-kat and, due to the ambient darkness he absorbs with his open heart and personal darkness with his own struggles, transforms into a neoshadow/Rage Form Hybrid

Causing a whole sequence in where he fights a bunch of his friends in 1 v 3 teams

(In this order, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, then Roxas, Riku, and Kairi)

This ends with Kairi (after finally doing a thing mostly by herself by beating the shit out of him with Destiny's Embrace) telling him he doesn't need to be strong and they'll (as in all of their friends but the scene could also really be alluding to her) hold up his heart so he doesn't have to hold theirs

The darkness rolls off of him, and he cries, he cries for all that he had to do, he cries for all of his friends, he cries that he doesn't need to be this paragon of strength and light all the time

Hell we could do the Final Mix II version and give him (and Kairi because I honestly want her to get a badass girlboss moment) a new keyblade

Rage Awakened (Yes like the song I'm unoriginal and it sounds cool in context): Essentially Two Become One but it always summons a super-strong version of that game's Rage Form and gives Sora the ability to use a lot more Dark Attacks (Not as much as Riku since Sora is basically at the start of Riku's character arc)

Is it cheesy: Yes

Do I care: No

Does this make sense: Possibly?

And finally, Sora becomes a lot more dynamic since he essentially got the idea of “Letting your feelings out” beaten into him by 6 people

I keep adding stuff but this would probably happen over a piano version of Dearly Beloved like the Versions and Sora would have no Voice Lines until he starts crying

I have nothing to add bc this rocks and I agree fully. This is the most kingdom hearts way to approach this situation and I really hope it happens bc that’s the shit I love about it

#kingdom hearts #kh #og #sora kh #asks

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minijenn · 3 years

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KH Writing Comm #1

Because I couldn’t think of a better title hhhh. Anyway my first and only writing comm for this round is done, for @rosie-drawss, who wanted a potential AUish situation for while Sora is on the run in Keys, where the dumbass gets his claws stuck in a tree and who should happen upon him but Riku! With that, you’d think this would be a funny drabble, but you know me, everything I touch turns to angst/hurt/comfort. Anyway with that outta the way, enjoy!

***

His latest attempt at hunting has, unsurprisingly, gone horribly wrong. Desperate for any potential food he could get his hands on, he decided to chase after a passing squirrel, eventually tailing it to a tall oak tree in the middle of the woods. Taking a swing at it had been his main mistake; for in trying to strike the escaping creature, the only thing he did manage to get were his claws squarely stuck in the side of the tree instead. And that’s exactly where they’ve stubbornly decided to stay.

Sora lets out another frustrated groan, putting all of his waning strength into tearing his claws out of the bark they’re embedded into, all the way down to his knuckles. The claws have already proven themselves to be nothing more than a nuisance, but this takes that annoyance to an all new level.

“Well at least this can’t get any worse...” he mutters dryly to himself. Only for things to, of course, end up getting worse all the same.

“Sora…?”

He gasps, spinning around as much as he’s able to. His hand remains wedged into the tree, despite his initial, panicked effort to pry it free. When that doesn’t work, he finds he’s still hopelessly stuck, standing just a few short feet away… from Riku.

For what feels like years, neither of them speak. Rike’s eyes are wide as he stares straight at Sora, who makes another frantic, useless attempt at loosening himself from the tree. His rising dread skyrockets, however, when he sees Riku take his first step across the clearing toward him.

“S-stay back!” he warns, his voice tight and terrified. Riku ignores that warning, however. Because after months of painful, prolonged separation, he can barely stand even the short distance remaining between them now. Even if it's a distance that Sora seems dead set on maintaining. “I-I’m serious, Riku! Don’t come any closer!”

Riku finally stops his approach at this, his eyes narrowing as he tries to get a better view of his best friend in the low light of the forest. “Why not?” The question comes out cold, unreadable, and quiet. And it shakes Sora to his very core.

“Because…” he sighs tiredly, glancing away in shame. “I… I don’t want to hurt you…”

“You don’t want to…” Riku trails off in disbelief. His hands clench into firsts at his sides as he thinks about how much Sora already has hurt him. As he thinks about all of the pain and worry his lies and his deceit and his very disappearance alone has caused him since this disaster began. He nearly calls him out for it too, nearly scolds him harshly for his dishonestly, nearly lets him have it with every ounce of authority he has as his leader.

But then, he takes another look at Sora. And he sees exactly what his time alone on the run has done to him. His clothes are tattered and torn, he’s missing a shoe, and his now mostly white hair is an untamed mess, to say the least. He’s also thinner, noticeably thinner as his jacket seems to limply hang off his clearly starving body, his visible skin covered in dirt and marred with unhealed, untreated cuts and scars. His largely golden eyes are wide and wild, filled with fear so raw and unshakable Riku can barely stand the sight of it. And as he takes in that fearful stare, that’s when he finally starts to realize--

That right now, what Sora needs is a friend far more than leader.

“I just… thought you might need a hand,” Riku finally says, a weak bout of humor that’s all but lost on Sora given his current predicament. He continues struggling to pull his claws free, a sharp hiss of pain escaping him as he bends his trapped fingers the wrong way. But he can’t stop, he can’t let Riku reach him, he can’t go back, not now, not ever.

“Sora,” Riku begins, now only a few feet away. He slowly reaches a hand out, one that Sora swiftly shoves away as he lets out another frightened hiss.

“G-go away!” he cries, tears already brimming in his eyes. “Just leave me alone! I wish you’d all just stop pretending like you want to help me, because I know you don’t!”

Riku stills at this, completely taken aback by what he’s hearing. By the vicious lies the Organization has no doubt led him to believe, whatever they might have said to him to make him think his friends hate him instead of wanting him as they all so desperately do. Even so, he decides to venture the obvious question all the same. “What makes you think that?”

Sora’s still resisting against the tree as he chokes out a weak, miserable sob. “You’re better off without me. You all are. I mean, w-why would you ever want a failure like me back…?”

Riku can’t bear it any longer. He takes Sora’s free hand, and though he freezes up in fear, he doesn’t immediately pull it away. Not when he meets the steady sincerity reflecting in Riku’s calming teal eyes. “We--I want you back, Sora.” His voice is barely above a whisper as it fuels Sora with something he hasn’t felt in such a long time: hope. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything else… I always have, and, no matter what happens to you... I always will…”

“R-Riku…” Sora mutters brokenly, tears streaking down his cheeks. He finds his body easing up when Riku softly slides his other hand over his own, the hand that’s still stuck in the side of the tree.

Riku calmly quiets him when he slips out another feeble sob, his grip on his hand secure, yet gentle. “Let’s get you out of there, ok?” he offers with a small, encouraging smile. And after weeks of struggling to trust anyone, even himself, Sora finally decides to trust Riku again, just as he always used to trust him before.

He’s surprised at how quickly and easily Riku does it. While he couldn’t get his claws to so much as budge before, Riku guides his hand back in just the right way that they slide right out of the tree’s surface without so much as an ounce of pain to speak of. As soon as he’s freed, Riku takes a half a step away from him, probably expecting him to run or try to escape. Yet to his credit, that’s not at all what Sora does. Instead, he collapses to his knees, his head bowed as he begs his best friend for forgiveness he knows he doesn’t deserve in the slightest. Not after everything he’s done.

“I-I’m sorry,” he whimpers shamefully, his tear-soaked face buried in his hands. “I’m so, so sorry… I should have just told you, right from the start, I should have let you help me like you said you wanted to, I should have-”

“What you should have done doesn’t matter anymore,” Riku assures him. He places his hands against his arms, guiding him back up to stand, though he maintains a loose, loving hold on him all the same. “All that matters now is what I’m going to do. And what I’m going to do is find a way to save you from this, no matter what it takes. I won’t let them or anyone else take you away from me. Not now, or ever again. I promise.”

Part of Sora, the part that’s been languishing in the lies and fear the Organization has so deeply planted inside his heart, struggles to believe that promise, struggles to comprehend the idea that he can ever be safe, that he can ever be free again. But another, stronger part of him knows that if there’s anyone worth believing, if there’s anyone worth trusting with every fiber of his weakened, aching heart, if there’s anyone capable of putting the broken pieces of that heart back together again… it’s Riku.

“Ok,” is all he says as he lightly leans against his best friend for support. As he gives him his unspoken, yet solemn permission to follow through on his promise, to let him be the one to fix all everything that’s broken about him. Riku smiles, lacing their fingers together and not even minding Sora’s claws in the slightest as he does. Really, he can’t bring himself to mind much at all right now; not when he’s finally found the lost piece of his own heart he’s been so sorely missing.

“Come on, Sora,” he says softly as he begins to lead him back to the ship he came in. As they both take their first steps toward the future they both want to have with each other, a future they’re both willing to fight against even Xehanort himself to find. Just as long as they’re finding their way to it together this time. “Let’s go home.”

Commissions are CLOSED

#jen writes #commissions #writing comm #keys to the kingdom #kingdom hearts #sora #riku #soriku #kh fanfic #drabble prompt #disney #square enix

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ashxketchum · 3 years

Note

For the handholding prompts! Taiora + 37? :3 Have a lovely day

Hello! Sorry for such a long wait, at first I was really confused by what I should write for Taiora with this prompt, and by the time I got around to outlining the scene, life happened 😔

But finally today I was able to sit down and get this out of my brain! This is set right after the battle with Ordinemon in Tri Part 6 and is mostly canon compliant. I hope you enjoy it, thank you for requesting 🧡

37. not realizing they’re holding hands till someone points it out

Taichi’s gut kept telling him that he was missing something, but he brushed it away. What could he be possibly missing when he was sitting with a wall of comfort surrounding him? That’s why even as the thought continued to gnaw at him, he refused to open his eyes and acknowledge the problem, it could be dealt with later, when his nap would be over and he would wake up feeling well rested and refreshed. For now he wanted to bask in the feeling of floating in sunshine, with every aching muscle in his body being cured of it’s pain, every tired fibre in his body being refuelled with energy. He wouldn’t dare open his eyes right now, not when he could hide under this umbrella of comfort for a little while longer, because who knew if it would still be there to shelter him from the stinging raindrops of reality when he woke, or if it would leave him drenched and broken, as it had once before.

NEXT STATION-

The words rang in his ears like a blaring alarm and suddenly Taichi was very much aware of where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. His eyes jolted open and he made to get up, when a familiar weight on his shoulder made him halt as realisation dawned fully upon him, of course the warmth had belonged to Sora who still slept quietly with her whole body leaning on him and her head resting on his shoulder, just like two puzzle pieces perfectly aligned.

The announcement echoed again throughout the train compartment and Taichi broke out of his daze, deciding that now was not the time to marvel over these little things, he quickly stood up. When he did so, Sora woke with a start, her eyes fluttering open in slow motion, but as they didn’t really have time for her to be fully awake, Taichi grabbed her hand in his and pulled her onto her feet, dragging her behind him as he rushed to get out of the train just as the doors slid shut.

He turned to face Sora and ask her if she was feeling okay but saw that her eyes were still drooping low and she held on to his grasp on her hand tightly for support as her feet wobbled out of balance. Taichi couldn’t really blame her, in fact he was relieved that he wasn’t the only one who felt like they had been made to run a marathon for 1000 years without a break. The visits to Digital World, the adventure and the battles had always been exhausting, but today their strength had been put to test in a way that none of them had ever expected to encounter, and the price of overcoming it all was pure exhaustion, both mentally and physically.

So Taichi kept quiet and gently pulled Sora along with himself across the mostly empty platform, glad that he had been the one to volunteer to take her home as he was so familiar with the route that he could probably reach there even with his eyes closed. He also didn’t mind the silence that had settled between them as they walked slowly but steadily, as Taichi wasn’t sure if he had anything left to say to anyone after the lengthy interrogation him and his friends had been subjected to by the authorities right after Ordinemon had been defeated, without so much as a moment spared for them to deal with the loss of their Digimon friend.

Even though Taichi’s session had lasted the longest as he was the only one to witness Nishijima’s demise he still felt that Sora had been subjected to a more difficult task, which was consoling not just Meiko, but also Hikari and Mimi as they had sat in the room waiting to be called in for questioning. As always, she had given every bit of her energy into taking care of others rather than herself, so Taichi attempted to make things easier for her the only way he knew how to, by keeping quiet and giving her the space to deal with everything at her own pace.

It was when they reached her home and rang the bell that Sora finally looked like she was awake, right on time Taichi thought, as at least he’d be able to tell her to take care of herself and have her actually retain those words in her head. So he turned slightly, hoping to bid her goodbye before her mother opened the door, but as tired as he was, he missed his chance to make a quick escape. The door swung open before he could open his mouth and a bright light was cast upon them and the dimly lit hallway.

Mrs. Takenouchi stood behind the door, looking like she had rushed to the door in a hurry that was uncommon for her, her face an odd mixture of relief and concern as she studied her daughter. Then her eyes travelled down and she raised them in mild surprise, another thing which was unusual for the stern Mrs. Takenouchi, so both Taichi and Sora followed her astonished gaze and experienced a rude awakening themselves as they saw that their hands were still tightly clasped around each other’s. They quickly pulled their hands away and shifted a few steps away from each other to put some distance between them.

Taichi was amazed by how despite of being so tired, his body could still find the energy to turn his face into a heated mess, and smoke coming out of his ears now wouldn't come as a shock to anyone.

“Good evening, Mrs. Takenouchi.” He mumbled awkwardly to fill the silence and draw attention away from the fact that he had been unknowingly holding onto Sora’s hand for who knows how long now. He could only hope that Sora too knew that it had been unintentional, and that he hadn’t meant to overstep his boundaries.

“Good evening, Taichi. I am relieved to see that you’re both okay, though you do look like you need a few days worth of rest.” She smiled softly at the two teens, turning to face her daughter with an affectionate gaze, she added, “Sora, welcome back.”

“I’m home.” Sora replied almost automatically, and satisfied with the response Mrs. Takenouchi passed a peculiar look to her daughter before she headed back inside, leaving the two of them alone to say their goodbyes.

Sora took this chance to move inside her house, now taking Mrs. Takenouchi’s place in the doorway, finally facing Taichi with her eyes wide open, though they were still filled with reflections of what had transpired in the past few days.

Taichi remembered that he had been meaning to tell her to take care of herself before her mother had arrived at the door, but when he looked at Sora now, with her figure illuminated by the white light coming from inside her house, her vermillion eyes shining with tears that were being kept at bay with every bit of remaining energy in her body, he lost the words he had so carefully selected a few moments ago. He wished instead that telling her how much he cared for her and her wellbeing could be as easy as taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. He knew he had to say something however, because not only had the silence between them become suddenly deafening, but also because he couldn’t possibly leave without a word of appreciation or gratefulness for all that she had done for Hikari and the rest of them today.

“Don’t forget to eat dinner,” He joked, hoping to lighten the mood enough to easily slip the words he wanted to say out of his mouth, but his half-grin seemed to light something in Sora as one lonely tear slipped down her cheek slowly despite her strained efforts to keep it from happening.

“Don’t ever disappear like that again, Taichi.” Her voice trembled as she spoke and Taichi felt a pang in his chest at her tone, “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come back. You can’t leave me behind just like that!”

“I’m sorry.” Taichi muttered quietly, that was all that he could manage to say out loud.

In reality he wanted to remind her that there were other people in her life who would easily be able to fill the gap he would leave, that it was not fair for her to stand there and tell him this, knowing well enough who he had meant to save in that moment. But he held his tongue, it had been a long few days for both of them and now was not the time to turn regrets of the past into bitter remarks that he may never be able to go back from.

“Please. Promise me, you will never do that again.” Her pleading voice was just above a whisper and it was a miracle that it even reached his ears.

“I will, if you promise something in return too.” Taichi replied in a determined tone, his hands balling up into fists on their own as he fixed her with an intense gaze. Sora looked at him with doubt at first, but eventually nodded at his words tiredly, “You have to promise to start putting yourself first from now on, no matter what.”

“That’s a difficult promise to make.”

“So is what you’re asking of me.” Taichi refused to back down.

“I’m asking you to take care of yourself, that isn’t too hard.”

“Likewise.”

And silence settled between them once again as Sora glared up at him and Taichi returned the favour with equal vigour. He had no idea how either of them still had the energy to keep this up, but even if it meant sacrificing being closer to his bed for a little while longer, he would gladly do so to get Sora to treat herself better. If he had learned anything from what they had all been through in the past few days, it was that change should always be embraced, for better or for worse. He didn’t know just how much Sora could change her ways or how it would affect her presence in all of the Digidestined’s lives, but he knew that if she didn’t start now then she wouldn’t start ever and he was tired of seeing her be the victim of her own labours of love.

“Okay.” She sighed in defeat, as her glare turned into an exhausted and disgruntled stare, “Okay, I promise to put myself first from now on, no matter what.”

“And I promise to take care of myself and not jump headfirst into danger without a second thought.” Taichi chimed after her, a smile spreading across his face as he realised that he’d actually gotten Sora to bend to his demands.

There was a first time for everything, he thought to himself, and secretly hoped that this wouldn’t be the last of it either.

#taiora #taichi yagami #sora takenouchi #digimon #digimon fanfiction #digimon adventure tri #writealot #you know a taichi pov was pending from me when I inserted him in literally all the mimato oneshots lol #one more request to go from this series and i hope to get it done soon!

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cutegirlmayra · 3 years

Text

Sokai Prompt, My brain is enamored by the idea of Kairi housing Sora’s heart, and he can just ‘fade’ into their reality to help her. Gosh, my mind never stops..!

They’re living rent free in my head, man.

Prompt:

It was strange, you know?

These dreams I’ve been having… it’s like… two worlds… blend and mend into one seamless… long lasting world.

But… is this reality even real? Or… not?

“Every time?” Riku asked, sitting beside me on the street as Yozora had asked us to stay hidden, but that was kinda hard when our clothes made us stand out the most…

“Yeah… at first, I thought it odd, but…” Thinking about it too long made my head hurt…

I gripped my head and kicked my legs out, “Ah! This is so frustrating! Do you think I’m somehow connected to Kairi too?”

I had just finished telling him about these dreams where I’m looking through Kairi’s eyes, and sometimes… when she goes to sleep, I can see her talking to me from within the horizontal, stained glass window of her heart.

I remember her words well too… the first time I was there, and every night since, the script doesn’t seem to change much… but I can tell it’s hard on Kairi.

Within the dream, Kairi is always speaking to me, and though I can see her and she can see me, I can’t talk at all.

It’s kinda tormenting, seeing her struggling but trying to keep her spirits high and not being able to comfort her that I’m alright and safe, and that Riku made it here too!

“I know that I’m not ready to face the other side of this reality… the fictional side… but I’ll get there, Sora. I won’t fail!” Kairi had her hand bundled against her chest, nodding with a strong determined look in her eyes… but I’d see how much she’d work at her training with Aqua, how hard it really had been compared to Merlin’s and Master Yesid’s quick lessons. Kairi was highly talented, and I didn’t have anyone in the beginning! She’s progressing so much faster than I ever did!

Riku said the same thing too, that if it is Kairi, she shouldn’t push herself so hard. It took us a long time to get even remotely close to where we are, and I had to regain some of my strength! I told him I couldn’t tell her that, and for some reason, I can’t speak back to her at all.

“Do you know if it’s even possible that this might just be you worrying about her?” Riku adjusted how he was sitting, taking his arms that were just resting on his knees up behind his head… wait, was he mimicking me? “I mean, it’s normal, I guess.”

“Normal?” I tilted my head, confused. “Really?”

“Yeah, you’re about at that age… dreaming of someone you care about isn’t all that strange anymore.” I about lost it.

“Riku! T-that’s not-! That’s not what I meant at all!” I went to contend it but saw him crook a humorous smile, as though he really was just joking around with me. “Ah, you…!” He grappled my head and it was like old times, rough-housing until we saw someone paying attention to us.

“Let’s go.” Riku turned serious again, letting me go and getting up.

“Y-yeah.” I rushed after him, following behind. Looking over my shoulder, I could see these ‘business’ like guys in suits trying to follow… guess our talk about dreams will have to wait-

“Kairi’s strong, Sora. You need to trust her.” Riku jumped over a trashcan, which I jumped and summoned my keyblade to knock over, turning around.

“Fire!” I cried out, gripping it with two hands as the ball of blazing light clashed into the paper in the trashcan, creating some smoke but blocking the pursuers from keeping track of us.

We darted into the woods, panting as I gripped my knees to stay upright and Riku leaned against a tree.

“Man… what do you think they want with us, Riku?” I looked back, glad we weren’t able to be followed.

“Don’t know, but I think that’s why Yozora wanted us away from the streets… we’re far enough now to be out in the open, but this world has a collective eye that doesn’t like us around… it seems.” Riku summoned his own keyblade, looking it over, “Looks like us being keyblade wielders is more noticeable than I thought.”

We were trying to keep a low profile and not reveal our keyblades, but looks like Riku was right, even without them--people still somehow could tell we were from another world…

Though, I think our clothes wouldn’t set that many alarms off in people’s heads… right?

“Besides…” Riku raised his head, looking off in the distance, “...The only way I could find you was… through a dream too.”

“H-huh?” This was the first time I had heard about that. I sat down and spread my legs out, getting ready to hear his story, and placed my hands down in the middle while unsummoning my own keyblade. “You mean… you had a dream… about me?”

“Don’t get too flattered.” Riku grinned over his shoulder and I flashed him a signature goofy grin of my own, closing my eyes to emphasize I wasn’t gonna make that joke… at least aloud, I didn’t seem to need too.

“Yeah, well… It seems your connection to Kairi is somehow different and… maybe stronger.” He nodded his head towards the distance again. “Think you can try again? This time, maybe speak back to her? Tell her where we are?” he looked sincerely back to me, but I shook my head.

“I’ve tried, she can’t hear a sound.” I admitted, “I just remember… she was in danger and I…” I looked at my hand…

“You… what?” Riku asked, trying to follow up.

“...Nevermind.” I let it go, I couldn’t tell him how odd that felt. One moment, I was sleeping, seeing Kairi in The Final World and fighting a piece of her heart that looked just like Xehanort. “Maybe you’re right… I just see her being so strong for my sake… I’ve never realized… how much she tries for me too.”

“Too?” Riku folded his arms after gesturing away his keyblade, mocking me again. He loomed over me a bit and teased with another joking smile, “You should know,... Sora… more than anyone… just how much she works for us all.”

I couldn’t argue with that, I had been saved by Kairi too, I knew that much.

I just always thought I wasn’t enough for everyone without my friends… but Kairi… was always enough. At least, that’s what I had once thought.

Now I realized that I had been a strength for Kairi all along, and that she also struggled with becoming strong enough too. I just wish I could tell her what I’ve learned and the things I’ve gained from being together and apart. But…

I picked up a rock and threw it, “I just wish I could tell her that! Tell her that… I can see her… I can see now... I-...” I covered a part of my face with my hand, feeling a bit hopeless.

Riku must have seen that and bent down, putting a hand to my shoulder, “It’ll be okay, Sora. I found you, we found you. We’ll get you back to Destiny Island and this time, we’ll all celebrate together… alright?”

He beamed, “Yeah! You got it.”

“Tonight, if you do have that dream, try and see if you can change it somehow.” He instructed, which made me wonder--change it?

“How do I reach out to her?” I gestured my hand out, showing I was in a bit of a pickle here. “The dreams are pretty random. I see her training when she’s awake, or getting upset with herself not progressing soon or fast enough for her. I can see her… let’s see… writing letters?” I gripped my chin and thought about it as Riku got up and moved a little away, thinking as well.

“Strange… I saw the buildings, and you walking around… I never saw through your eyes though.” Riku comments made me think maybe it was the real Kairi, and maybe she was having some pretty bad insecurities, but smiling and making promises to me in her-

“That’s it!” I scrambled on the ground to try and hurriedly get up, growing excited. “Riku! It’s when she’s sleeping! That’s when I can connect to her! When we’re both not awake!” I stumbled a bit on making my way over to him, “All I have to do is take a power nap and hope she’s sleeping too! Then I can try and grab her attention somehow and-” I grew very animated in my planning, but Riku just cocked his head, replying sharply.

“And play charades?”

I slowly felt my energy dissipate by his words, flopping my arms down, “Y-...Yeaaahhh…” I kicked the ground, letting my body wobble and sway slightly in my disappointment. “What would you do? Write on her heart?”

“That might not be best.” Riku shook his head with a smile, “But… If you really can’t communicate, then I guess all you have is... you.”

I nodded my head, though it may be difficult, I’d have to communicate with my body instead of my words.

“Guess I should train for tonight!” I twisted my torso and stretched out my arm socket, rotating it around and doing some exercises in place. “Think you can interpret me alright if I train hard for it? Then I can match how hard Kairi’s working too!” I stopped to grip my two arms into fists and hold them up, showing I would do anything to give her some peace of mind.

Riku laughed lightly and agreed, “Alright, we don’t have much to do until Yozora tells us what’s going on with his friends and if we’re safe to find a way out of here yet or not.”

“Isn’t your heart the key to returning home?” I pointed to him and he sighed.

“Should be that simple… but the heart I used to connect to this world is bound to the ‘inbetween’. Since I don’t have her heart here at present, it means we have to somehow bring her heart back… which could be disastrous if someone else takes it during our attempt to retrieve her.” Riku explained.

“Oh, right. The Star.” I remembered, I still had something to tell him. “You mentioned her… before.” I nodded, showing my understanding. “Her body needs to be rescued, yeah? Then what are we all waiting for?”

“Well, first, we need more intel. Yozora, for some reason, is being pretty tight-lipped about it.” Riku and I both mimicked the other’s actions and folded our arms, ‘hmm’ing as we studied the ground and thought.

“... Oh, well. Can’t sit around doing nothing, if Yozora wants to get things settled his way before involving us in it, then… I say… that’s up to him, right?” I wanted to be sensitive, it seemed the Star and him had a deep connection that was being jeopardised by these ‘business suit’ people. Whatever they wanted, they got it, at the expense of their bond.

“Right.” Riku looked disturbed, maybe feeling bad for the Star, so I gave him my best smile and patted his shoulder, gripping it for good measure. ‘Cheer up, Riku. I’m not just trying to get you to help me, I just can’t stand still for very long. It’s really not your fault.’ I didn’t want to say that to him at the moment though. Riku had so much to worry about from back home, to me, to now thanking the Star that risked a lot to get him here.

When he showed up, I guess the suit guys got wind that the only possible way he could travel to their world was through her. A shame it had to be like that, but now they were doing everything to double-up on their protection and securement of the Star’s body.

“Who is she? Do you know?” Riku asked and I shrugged, letting his shoulder go.

“Yozora’s dear friend… but besides that, it beats me.” I wanted to respect somewhat of their privacy…

“...Does it, though?” Riku looked away, apparently putting two and two together.

I just grinned with a faint blush of embarrassment, scratching behind my head. “They do seem fond of each other…”

“...Enough to dream about one another?” he looked up into the sky and I knew he was teasing me again, but in a more contemplative way this time.

I immediately jumped on my feet and was ready to brawl, “Why, you-! Quit teasing me on that! Every jab is like a blow to my pride!” I gestured vigorously out with my hand so he’d see this meant a lot to me, and if Yozora was the same… “I respect him for him!”

“Heh, you two show things differently… but I think I can see the same feelings and emotions towards it. Well, I won’t pry, but I think our only hope of getting out of here and back to our world is finding a heart connected to ours.”

“Our hearts?” I inquired further for clarity sake.

“Our world.” Riku emphasised, “Which means, even with her back in her heart and body joined back together again… There’s no telling if she’d be able to get us back. Her heart got me here… but…”

“And my heart’s missing… too.” I touched the empty space where a heartbeat should be… and knew that Kairi was keeping it safe.

“Wait…”

I rose up my head.

“Kairi..? Is Kairi my key back home!?” I stomped my foot down to lean into Riku’s vision line again, since he kept looking away to think to talk.

“Kairi..? If it were that simple, you could just use my heart, right?” He flipped his hand out to dismiss it, but I shook my head.

“You can’t go home with your own heart leading the way, right? Not without jeopardising it. You said that because you used the Power of Waking on the Star’s heart, that you were thrown into a similar position as me, right? That means… we need both a heart from our world that we can connect too… but someone to open the gate for us. You could be the gate, since you didn’t lose as much as me, and Kairi could be my path to getting us home.” My reasoning stood to be tested, but you know what? I think it makes sense!

“That’s pretty far-balling it, Sora.” Riku stated, not too sure about it. His eyebrows creased together into a furrowed brow and I knew he’d need more convincing. “If what you say is true… then we use my heart as a type of channel to yours, then have someone unlock your heart from Kairi’s, and basically ride the channel back to our world.”

“We’re all connected, it could work.” I was excited, but deeply concerned I would make him worry again.

I wanted to give him some hope… anyway.

After a minute that seemed like forever to me, Riku finally conceded. “We’ll keep it in mind.” which was enough to satisfy me! I put my hands behind my head and lifted a foot back behind my other, just glad we were on the same page.

“So… Tonight…” Riku addressed the other matter that broke me from my relaxed positioned and made me nervous again. “What exactly do you want to convey to her? That we’re alright, and that she shouldn’t stress out so much about not being on the same level as us yet?” He took one of his arms that were folded and swayed it about, as though we were kids and I hadn’t thought this through yet.

Well… he was right, if that’s really what he was assuming.

“I… uh… well…” I pivoted a bit from him, pushing my pointer fingers together in a bit of shyness. “Maybe…” I wanted to say a lot more then that… but I wasn’t gonna admit that to Riku! He’d tease me for… well, for forever!

“I see.” He dropped his hands and seemed to chuckle to himself, and I decided he already knew what I meant and just dropped it too.

“It was hard enough to try and think of putting it into words… but now…” I lowered my head, “Riku… what if I’m not enough to help her?”

He shook his head, “What are you talking about? Don’t be silly, whatever you try and convey, I’m sure it will brighten Kairi’s spirits.” He walked ahead of me, “Everyone’s worried about you… not just Kairi. So, whatever you say, should be something she can relate back to others, yeah?” He was right, I should tell her about this other world too, but it’s hard to put anything simple into a step-by-step gesturing game.

“What if… she thinks I’m just a dream too?”

“Then convince her you’re not, show her the truth of it.” Riku wasn’t really helping… but I appreciated that he was believing me now.

“Easier said then… charaded!” I tried to mime myself swimming, then swinging, then playing ‘peek-a-boo’ and he sighed and realized I wasn’t very coherent in anything.

“Alright, let’s take it from the top.”

We only had a few minutes to really rehearse and concrete anything that showed ‘clarity’ of what I was trying to say when the suits found us. That was a whole ride, we battled and got finally got somewhere when Yozora--accompanied by his friends--finally met us up at last and we were able to get a lot done and figured out that day.

That night, I was exhausted, and I practically forgot about seeing Kairi and what I was gonna try and convey.

When I went to rest for the night under a huge tree with a big enough space under it’s truck for us to rest in, I looked over and saw Yozora looking up at the stars in the night sky…

‘I understand, buddy.’ I thought to myself, empathizing, and remembered Kairi.

“Ah! Riku…” I looked over to him and saw his back facing me, he was already getting ready to lay down and threw up a thumbs up for me, apparently having thought of it before I did.

I smiled, looking down at my grass bed, “Okay… here goes.” I got comfortable and tried to sleep… reaching out to her… ‘Kairi… This time… I won’t just silently listen… I want to say something back, and I hope you’ll understand me this time.’

When I opened my eyes, I was already standing up and upon Kairi’s heart, looking at the design and smiling at the familiar feeling of knowing this was her.

I looked up into the darkness above me and closed my eyes, until a flash of light triggered and I saw window planes of memories flying around me.

I walked around, realizing Kairi must not be asleep yet.

‘Okay, I’ll wait.’ I nodded, and summoned my keyblade. ‘Let’s see what she’s up to.’ I pointed it out, watched the tip of it begin to glow with bright, radiant light and slowly rose it to the top of the blackness.

It shot out and then fell like a beam over me, opening some path to me from her heart into her mind and eyes.

When I opened my eyes, Kairi was panting and running, Aqua using all her might to lunge and attack her.

‘Still training? It’s so late.’ I felt her heart racing and gripped my own chest, ‘Kairi…’

She turned around and perfectly blocked the attack, ‘Yes! You’ve got it!’ she had improved so much since last time! It was awesome! I gripped my hands into fists and held them up, getting pumped during her training before I saw her stance weaken and heard her grunt under Aqua’s high-stakes pressure training. ‘Oh no…’ I looked down at my foot and slid it into position, having her own foot fade like a ghostly after-image over mine. ‘Kairi… like… this-!’ I twisted my foot to scoot hers into the right direction.

Immediately, Kairi pivoted her foot and regained her balance, letting her force push through without fault.

‘YEAHHH!!!’ I jumped up and cheered as I floated in the space where I was seeing her fight. ‘Way to go, Kairi!’

Aqua pulled back, looking a little surprised by her sudden strength, and then smiled. “Looks like you’re learning quicker than I can teach. Tell me, when did you figure out your footing was misplaced?”

“I… I just felt someone guiding me… as if…” She got back up and placed her hand on her heart, but before she could say my name, she started to collapse.

‘Ah!’ I wanted to grab her but I couldn’t, and in her after-image of falling, I saw Aqua quickly hold her up.

“I thought I requested a good night’s sleep the other night. What’s keep you resisting my instructions?” Aqua lightly scolded, tilting her head as though understanding Kairi’s commitment, but trying to show her that it was unfruitful for her training purposes.

“I wanted to… re-run a few combos… ugh…” She gripped her head.

“Have you eaten?” Aqua asked.

‘She better have!’ I felt my whole being wanting to just skyrocket through her eyes and be there with her… taking her into my hands and not someone else’s… More than anything, I wanted to be there for Kairi… help teach her and train her too, maybe train together with her! I know I’ve forgotten a lot of things, and mostly learned what I could from actual experience… ‘Kairi… Kairi… please, just rest so I can connect with you!’

“I’m fine.” Kairi smiled weakly, but sheepishly got up and began to bow to Aqua, “Master, I’m sorry for not resting enough as you’ve told me to.”

“It’s alright, but let’s meet somewhere in the middle.” Aqua’s tenderness made me glad that Kairi was in good hands… even if I couldn’t be there for her now… “I still require some toughness from you… but please, take care of yourself. Your keyblade is only an extension of your power, you are the true key.” she gestured to Kairi then her own keyblade, before finally nodding and placing a hand delicately to her heart. “Power and strength… are nothing without the will that controls them. If your body is exhausted, then it can’t do as the will commands, and you’ll never be able to progress beyond this point.”

I felt Kairi’s breath get taken and felt so sorry that she was misunderstanding. Aqua wasn’t saying she couldn’t ever get stronger, only that if she didn’t find the right balance, she’d only weaken herself and slow her training down further.

‘Kairi… be brave, don’t falter now.’ I urged, but as I opened my mouth, nothing came out.

‘Please… hear me, Kairi!’

Kairi lowered her head and I looked down at my fist, seeing her ghostly after-image over my own… her fist was tightened and shaking in her frustrations…

I felt my face bend in anguish, opening my hand and holding her own shaking one… even though I knew it was just my spirit and hers… I hoped she could somehow feel the comforting touch.

I had hoped that’s how she would see it, but as she flinched and looked at her hand, I seemed to have only scared her.

I pulled it away and looked away… it was hard to see this. See how much she really was trying to be strong enough to save me with Riku too…

‘Kairi…’ I just squinted my eyes closed, what was this feeling? Of wanting so desperately to be by her side and…

“Kairi?” Aqua tilted her head.

“R-right. Sorry, I understand now. I’ll… go straight to bed, Master Aqua.” She nodded to her, remaining humble, and gave her a formal bow of her head with her keyblade pointed down and held with both hands, a sign of respect. “Excuse me, and thank you for the training.”

Aqua nodded, but seemed concerned as Kairi retreated.

‘Aqua… you’re doing fine.’ I wanted to reach her heart too, but as Kairi pulled away, so did I. I held out a hand to her, though, ‘Let me try and be there for Kairi too… We’ll help her… together.” I nodded my resolve and waited for Kairi to actually get settled.

Giving her some space and privacy, I floated back down in the pillar of light to her heart, resting and trying to review the things Riku and I discussed.

‘Okay, simple words and think of imagery strong correlations… Ah, what were those again?’ I gripped my head, ‘Man, all I can think of is-!’

“Sora..?”

The voice was so gentle, it resonated in me…

I tried to relax as I took a deep breath, and turned around to face her.

‘Kairi…’ I tried to mouth her name, but it seems she couldn’t perceive that either.

She smiled to me kindly, but I could see her face shift to insecurity as her eyes began to show her true sorrow.

“I tried hard today… and I’ll try harder tomorrow. You… and Master Aqua needn’t worry about me.” She shook her head, then looked squarely in front of her where I was, not willing to show me any loss of will. “Today, I learned that my will isn’t strong enough either. I need to re-dedicate myself. I thought my promise to protecting you and bringing you and Riku back home safely was enough… but if my body can’t keep up, then it means I have to train both my will and being at the same time. If they’re strengthened together, then I can keep pursuing my promise to you, without any limitations.”

She was so strong… her eyes were filling up with glossy tears and she wouldn’t let a single drop be shown to me…

‘Kairi…’ I walked towards her.

She lowered her head and continued to bundle her hands into fists, shaking them to the side of her. “I felt you… today, I felt you correct me. I was happy to feel you again… but… scared to rely on you too much. But then… Master Aqua got me thinking… what if… What if you’ve been my strength this whole time, Sora? What if… I need to rely on my own strength? But saying goodbye to you twice is too much!” She gripped her head, and I moved quickly in response, gasping inaudible as I raced to meet her. “What if… I’d rather be strong with you… even if that means I’m not strong on my own?!”

I knew how that felt.

‘Kairi… Kairi, I’m here! You’ve always been there for me, too! Remember? Even if we’re apart, we’re-!’

I embraced her.

She froze a second, probably because neither of us knew we could actually do that in this state.

But we were two hearts now… as long as her heart was here with mine, we could do anything.

I just held her so close, as I felt her arms feeling my own, as though still in disbelief that she could.

“Sora… Sora, are you alright? Did I scare you? I didn’t realize… I didn’t realize your heart could understand everything I was saying… I thought… it was kinda like a comatose state. I thought… if I just wrote and spoke to you in my letters and dreams.., it would help me stay on course.” I felt her wrap her arms around me and we held on tightly.

I didn’t care about telling her or performing my ridiculous dance of charades anymore. There was one thing I could convey, and this embrace was riding on everything for her to understand how I was feeling too.

She moved slightly and I reluctantly stepped back, giving her a gap between us as she reached to grab my hand, holding it like we had before I… disappeared.

She placed her own over mine, “You’re safe?”

I nodded, with my own eyes growing hazy in how torn I was leave her… but I was waking up.

I felt my body disappearing again…

‘No… just a little longer… let the twilight last-! Just a couple minutes longer..!’

“Good.” She lightly giggled through her obvious heartache. If she could only feel my own…

“And Riku and you are together?”

I nodded again, hurriedly, feeling the fading as her hand dropped to show my own had already disappeared.

I saw her whole being lowering as though about to collapse again, then her mouth turn into a sharp frown before her face scrunched together and her strength was gone, jumping into my arms.

“Then I can do it! I’ll work with my heart over both my body and my mind! I won’t fail you, Sora, or Riku, or King Mickey! Master Yensid… Master Aqua… I won’t let anyone down!”

So much of the world she seemed to be placing on her shoulders… and for the first time, I couldn’t lift it off of her.

It was too much for her, though, I wish she’d see that and take her time on her training, but I could tell we now had plenty of motive to sleep at good times and not push ourselves too terribly hard.

Besides… I could hold her and be with her every night… and that was enough for me.

When I woke up, Riku and Yozora seemed to be in deep conversation with one another, “So… this Kairi… could be a way to save both you, Sora, and-” Before Yozora could continue, I groaned and gripped my head, the leafs under me crinkling and scratching against each other, causing a racket.

Riku and Yozora turned around from the entrance of the tree’s open mouth, and seemed ready to hear what I had to say.

“Does she know?” Riku asked.

I just opened one eye and nodded… then a huge smile scraped across my face.

Riku pulled back a second, not sure what to take of my hinted meaning.

“Did you… Did you do as we had planned?”

“N-not… exactly…” I looked away, and Yozora looked confused as he leaned forward.

“Are you… Blushing?”

I covered my face and fell back into my leaf bed, “D-Don’t look!”

Riku finally backed off my back about it, but he often poked my cheek to remind me how ‘adorable’ I looked after I woke up… ‘I thought he said he wouldn’t make fun of me anymore!’ I thought with a red face.

#sokai #soraxkairi #kairi #sora #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts prompt #sokai prompt #sokai fic #sokai fanfic #sokai ficlet #cutegirlmayra #sora and kairi #kingdom hearts melody of memory

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thedeliverygod · 3 years

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surprise~ I wrote sokai. actually not a surprise I mentioned writing it after I beat melody of memory, I’ve just been working on it forever since my writing process has been a STRUGGLE lately. my AO3 and fanfiction accounts are linked on my profile if you’d prefer to read there [or just look up thedeliverygod]

Always

Sora blinked his eyes open to see his bedroom, a bright ray of sunlight running through the middle of the floor from where the curtains met. Grunting, he turned over and closed his eyes as he sunk his head down into the pillow again to go back to sleep.

‘Wait… my room?’

The realization clicked and his eyes shot open. As he gazed upon the ship hanging from the ceiling and other odds and ends collected around the room, he knew it had to be his.

“When did I get home?” He sat up and held his head, trying to remember what had happened last.

He had been in Quadratum for some time, but he had eventually met up with Riku and later the rest of their friends. Sora wasn’t used to being the one who had to be saved, but it took everyone’s strength and willpower to bring him back to their reality and the realm of light.

Kairi.

He remembered Kairi comforting him, talking to him softly but he couldn’t remember what she said.

He also remembered being at Yen Sid’s tower and something being mentioned about him needing rest. After that, nothing. Except for waking up here.

He shot upward and immediately felt the muscle aches all over his body as well as a multitude of bruises forming under his skin. Curative spells were amazing, but there was only so much they could do. He sucked in a breath before putting his feet to the floor and forcing himself to stand up despite the pain.

He clung to the banister of the stairs as he made his way down the stairs, but he wasn’t even halfway down before his mom appeared at the foot of them.

“Sora! I’m really glad you’re awake, but do you really think you should be out of bed?” She reached out a hand and took a few steps upward.

“I’m just a little sore, it’s fine.” He waved her off before giving a wide grin, “It’s good to see you, Mom.”

She shook her head but just stared at him with watering eyes as he continued to make his way down the stairs. Once he had reached her, she enveloped him in a tight hug, “I can’t believe how grown up you are.”

“Yeah, me neither.” He answered in a laugh.

“I’ve missed you so much.”

He hugged her tighter, “Me too.”

Hesitantly letting him go, she waved towards the living room, “Let’s go sit down.”

Sora nodded and followed after her, “Okay.” While she took the couch, he took the worn-out arm chair as he always had.

“Kairi filled me on somewhat of all you’ve been through over the past few years. I can’t even begin to imagine…”

“Speaking of Kairi, is she still here?” He asked automatically. After a beat and his cheeks starting to warm, he added, “Or Riku, or anyone else?”

Giving a confused look to his question at first, she realized what he meant and answered, “Oh, you mean on the islands. Yes, Kairi is still here. I believe Riku is still with the others that Kairi mentioned, though I’m not sure where they are.”

He let out a breath and nodded, “Ah, okay.”

His mom looked at him knowingly and smirked, commenting, “Still got it bad for Kairi after all these years, huh?”

Though he made a yelping noise in response to her blunt questioning, he looked away and answered, “Is that surprising?”

“Not at all. And the way she talked about you seemed to be quite different too, so I figured something must have happened. Are you finally dating?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Well, no, not really…” He answered honestly, “It’s hard to really ‘date’ with the life we’ve had.”

“Oh,” She parted her lips and let out a disappointed sigh, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

“But,” He started again and she looked back up, intrigued, “Do you remember when we came back to the islands before a big fight before?”

She nodded, “Of course. I was so happy to see you then, too.”

“Well, we shared a paopu fruit when we went out to the play island to watch the sunset like we did as kids. Kairi’s idea, of course.” He flushed again, quickly adding, “N-not that I didn’t want to!”

His mom laughed loudly, “Of course.”

“But it was perfect. I think the paopu helped bring us together again despite the almost impossible odds, just like the legend says.” He gave another soft grin.

“Maybe it did help, but I think a lot of it was just… you two just being who you are, you know?” She gave her own smile in return. Sora didn’t really have the chance to respond before she changed the subject, “So, I suppose you asked about Kairi because you want to go see her, right?”

His face quickly reddening again, he admitted, “Well, yeah. But—”

“You can go.” His mom waved towards the front door, “Just be back before dinner.”

He stared breathlessly for a moment before smiling, “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re welcome.” She answered as he got up from the chair and slowly made his way to the door.

Once he was outside and off the porch steps, he reached into his pocket for his gummi phone. Unsurprisingly, he had several messages from various people asking for him to call once he had woken up and was feeling better. ‘Well, I still kinda feel awful, honestly.’ He thought to himself, both as a truth and as an excuse to wait to call them later.

He moved to Kairi’s name and hit dial. After a few chirps, he heard her voice ring out through the speaker, “Sora?”

“Kairi!” He answered, grinning widely.

She gave a small laugh, “So you’re finally awake, lazy bum.”

“Yeah. Can’t say the same about my arms and legs, though. They kinda feel like jelly.” He tried to stretch his free arm again and found much of the same feeling as he had when he woken up earlier.

“I’m not surprised, I’m pretty sore too.”

“So… where are you? You’re still on the islands, right?” He bit his lip, hoping he hadn’t missed her.

“Of course. Riku wanted to stay too, but I guess there were some last-minute things King Mickey wanted his help with. Oh, and I’m at my house but I’ll come to yours. You really shouldn’t be pushing yourself so soon.”

He rolled his eyes, “I’m not that out of it. How about we meet halfway? Like around the park, I guess.”

Kairi hummed, “Okay, if you say so.”

“Great. See you soon.” He tapped the red button to end the call and set out on his way.

Pushing himself beyond his limits was nothing new with all of the things he had done on his adventures in the past few years, but he was still bent over in pain by the time he made it to the park.

“I would laugh because I knew you would do this, but you look awful.” Kairi commented as she approached him.

Straightening out and standing up straight, he smiled apologetically, “Yeah, you were right.”

“What a surprise.” She lightly grabbed his hand and tugged him towards a picnic table, “Let’s sit down.”

“Thank you.” He let out, unable to hold it in any longer as he sat down and faced her.

She blinked, “For what?”

“For everything.” He answered automatically. After a moment, he clarified, “For saving me.”

Kairi smiled and shook her head, “It’s like I told you years ago. I couldn’t just let you stay that way and forget about you. That’s the same reason you came after me, right?”

“To be honest, I didn’t really think about it. I just acted. But yeah, I guess that’s the best way to put it.” He admitted with a small laugh.

“That’s such a Sora thing to say.” She reached over to intertwine her hand with his.

He quirked an eyebrow, “I hope that’s a compliment.”

“Of course.” She smiled brightly as she nodded.

“So what’s going on with everyone else?” Sora shifted the topic of conversation, curious, “I know you said Riku stayed behind to do a few last-minute things but honestly my memory is kinda fuzzy about what all happened right before coming home.”

Kairi’s expression dampened somewhat, but she still kept a smile, “Just making sure everything is the way it’s supposed to be. And then we’re supposed to be able to take a break for a little while. Just hang out here on the islands; you, me, and Riku.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “That sounds nice.”

“I’m sure. You’ve been through a lot.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her seriously, answering, “So have you, you know.”

Quietly, she nodded and held his hand a little tighter.

And suddenly, he knew what he had to do.

“Kairi.” He called her name and she looked up curiously.

“Yes?”

“This isn’t really how I ever imagined doing it, but I think this feels right.” He slipped down from the bench and knelt on one knee, with Kairi quickly clasping her hands over her mouth in surprise. “I don’t even know how old I was when I started dreaming about wanting to spend my life with you. And for a long time, it always seemed out of reach; both because I didn’t know how you feel and because of all of the things we’ve been through. But I want to make it real now. No matter what happens next, I want to be by your side, always.”

Kairi nodded vigorously, tears starting to overflow from the corners of her eyes, “That’s what I want too.”

Sora reached out and motioned for her hand, only to pull it towards him and kiss her knuckles. “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring yet. But like I said before, this wasn’t exactly planned so…” They both shared a quick laugh before he smiled widely and asked, “Kairi, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” She slid closer to him and pressed a kiss against him eagerly, “Yes, yes, yes.”

He cupped both sides of her face and grinned against her, “So… when do we let everyone else know?”

“Maybe keep it a secret for a few days or else everyone’s hugs may crush what little solid bones you have left in your body right now.” She gave a gentle squeeze of his arm which he had to admit hurt much more than he expected.

“Ow.” He rubbed the spot she had squeezed, “But that’s a very solid point.”

“Do you need me to carry you back to your house?” Kairi teased with a tilt of her head.

He shook his head, “I dunno, I think it’s poor form to have your new fiancée carry you.”

“Fiancée, huh.” She beamed, humming, “I think I like the sound of that.”

“So do I.” He kissed her again.

#kingdom hearts #sokai #my writing

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violethowler · 4 years

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Mixed Signals

As we near the end of this series of essays, I’d like to take the time to talk about something that I’ve been wanting to discuss in relation to the Kingdom Hearts series for a while. I briefly mentioned it in my previous essays but never went into detail because I figured some corners of the fandom would be unreceptive to discussion if I brought it up. But given how many times I have seen Kingdom Hearts fans praise this series for its lack of negative male stereotypes, I think it worthwhile to explore how the series handles gender norms in relation to the Heroine’s Journey.

Maureen Murdock developed her template while working as a therapist with women in their 30s who had pursued careers in heavily male-dominated fields only to find themselves feeling burnt out and unfulfilled once they achieved their goals. A significant part of her inspiration for the Heroine’s Journey came from her patients describing how they had set out trying to achieve success in these environments by emulating the men in their life such as their fathers, while pushing away the influence of their mothers[1]. As such, deep down the themes of the Heroine’s Journey reflect on the struggles of someone who doesn’t meet the ideals of what society tells them a person of their gender is supposed to be and critique those gender norms.

On a meta level, Kingdom Hearts represents a fusion of cultures, made from a collaboration between an American and a Japanese company. While there are a few places where the two cultures overlap in terms of gender norms, it isn’t a 1:1 comparison. Therefore, the gender norms of both cultures should be taken into account when analyzing how the portrayal of the two leads in Kingdom Hearts aligns with the critique of gender roles presented by the Heroine’s Journey.

In terms of Japanese cultural norms, Sora’s emotional openness, compassion, optimism, and ability to easily form connections with others are fairly standard for male protagonists in Shonen stories[2]. However, following the first game in the series, the narrative begins to deconstruct this archetype over the course of Sora’s character arc. From KH2 onward we see him use his cheerfulness and optimism to hide his own insecurities and self-doubt. Our first introduction to his life on Destiny Islands depicts him competing with Riku in physical challenges, while the other kids talk about how much stronger than him Riku is, setting him up for a disproportionate focus on physical ability over emotional. This leads him to believe that he has no strength on his own and must rely on the power of his friends in order to be worthy of recognition and praise.

Related to Sora’s insecurities about his own strength, one archetype found in both Japanese and American culture is that of the masculine protector. The idea that a man must be ready and able to physically defend the people he cares about from harm, often to the point of self-sacrifice. In fiction, this trope is most frequently employed with a character’s friends, siblings, or romantic partner. The gender of the protectee can vary depending on the story and their relation to the protagonist, but male heroes protecting female love interests is one of the most common ways I’ve seen this trope be expressed.

Failure to uphold this ideal is commonly used as a source of angst for the male protagonist. Heroes who fit this mould are known to brood heavily if harm comes to their loved ones that they are unable to protect them from, and in some stories may be ridiculed or shamed by others around them. There are also variations where the hero’s inability to protect them is used as a source of angst for the protectee in addition to the main character. Common in stories where the one being protected is a friend, sibling, or love interest, some narratives will have the protectee react to the hero’s inability to protect them by deciding to “toughen up” so that they don’t need protection.

As mentioned in my first essay, the protagonist of a Heroine’s Journey and their Animus are frequently depicted as two sides of the same coin, with shared core character traits that manifest in contrasting ways because of their different circumstances. At the start of the Kingdom Hearts series, both Sora and Riku have built their sense of self-worth around their ability to live up to this idealized protector archetype. Their insecurities stem from their perceived failure to adhere to that role, with each of them coming at it from a different direction.

Being the older of the two, Riku is presented as physically stronger than Sora, something which the other kids on Destiny Islands make note of in the first game. Tidus talking about how, despite getting stronger, Sora is “still no match for Riku[3]” and that Kairi “can always count on him(Riku)[3]” frames Sora’s insecurity about wanting to be on equal footing with his Animus as being rooted in his perceived inability to fulfill social expectations.

When they meet again in Traverse Town, Riku’s first on-screen reaction to how Sora has changed since they last saw each other is surprise and confusion at Sora being able to defeat threats like the Heartless on his own, indicating that the root of Riku’s insecurities - which Maleficent of course exploits - is his belief that the value Sora places on their bond is conditional on Riku being needed as a protector. If Sora can fill that role himself, then what purpose does Riku have?

In keeping with how protagonists are usually depicted fulfilling this role to the point of self-sacrifice, Sora and Riku have both shown a tendency towards throwing themselves in front of an enemy attack to protect someone they care about, such as when Riku leaps in front of Xemnas’s aerial blade to defend Sora in the final boss fight of Kingdom Hearts II, or when Sora puts himself between Kairi and Terranort. Xigbar even comments on this tendency when he talks about how he doesn’t admire “one guy leaping into danger if it means someone else might have to jump in to save him.[4]”

From the western perspective, one of the things that many English-speaking fans have praised the series for is its avoidance of negative stereotypes in the writing of its male characters. A common cultural attitude in the United States holds that a man must always be stoic and aloof with everyone but his romantic partner. That a man who is open with his emotions, especially if it involves crying, is weak and unmanly. That engaging in activities that society associates with women and femininity makes one less of a man.

But Kingdom Hearts, from the point of view of western fans, rejects all of that. The writing of the series allows its male characters to express the full range and depth of their emotions and not once does the narrative ever frame them as weak or pathetic for it. None of the male leads are ever made fun of for crying or expressing vulnerability, and they never reject doing something simply for being “girly”. Not only that, but the arc being set up for Sora to learn to acknowledge and work through his insecurities and self doubts instead of hiding them as an allegory works as a direct rebuke of the idea that showing emotional vulnerability is somehow unmanly.

On another layer, Sora’s arc can also be seen as a critique of the Japanese concept of Honne and tatemae. Tatemae (literal meaning: “built in front” or “facade”) is the behavior and attitude one presents to the public that conforms to the expectations of society in addition to the individual’s station and circumstances, while Honne (literal meaning: “true sound”) represents a person’s true opinions, which are kept hidden except from close friends and may or may not match their tatemae[5]. This can sometimes be used on a more interpersonal level to evade confrontation and avoid hurting others’ feelings, such as when someone says “we should hang out sometime” with no intention of doing but not wanting to hurt the other person’s feelings by admitting that they aren’t interested.

The idea of keeping one’s true feelings separate from what one says in public fits with how characters in the Kingdom Hearts universe have been shown to hide their own inner darkness and in some cases deny that it’s there, which Xehanort took note of in his conversation with the Master of Masters in Re:Mind. We also have Donald and Goofy’s talk in the beginning about how the Gummi Ship “runs on happy faces[3]” instilling in Sora - despite their good intentions - the idea that his negative feelings about the destruction of his home are a burden to the trio’s ability to complete their mission. As a result, Sora continues to downplay his own sadness and other similar emotions across subsequent games. As a contrast to this, Esmeralda tells Riku in Dream Drop Distance that everyone keeps things locked inside sometimes and that it’s okay to keep some things separate from the world at large until they’ve had time to figure out their feelings for themselves. In this context, the version of tatemae that Donald and Goofy present ultimately causes more damage in the long run, while Esmeralda offers a healthier model of the concept.

So from a Japanese perspective, the Kingdom Hearts story is deconstructing two common archetypes found in coming of age narratives aimed at pre-teen and teenage boys and at the same time offering a critique of a common cultural attitude about individual expression. Meanwhile from a western perspective, the series defies conventional norms of masculinity and male characters in fiction while also critiquing elements of those views at the same time.

Both of these are perfectly in tune with how the Heroine’s Journey structure provides social commentary on gender and cultural norms.

The fact that the series challenges the audience's perception of gendered narrative archetypes and social norms from multiple perspectives is also reflected in how it mixes the symbolism associated with its two lead characters. For example, the series repeatedly presents canon Disney Princess romances as parallels to Sora and Riku, but which of the two corresponds to the Disney Prince and which one is the Princess varies from one game to the next:

Sora acknowledges in the first game that like Ariel, he wants to explore the outside world. The same game also presents Ursula tricking Ariel into helping her as a parallel to Maleficent’s manipulation of Riku.

Kingdom Hearts I presents the Beast as a parallel to Sora through their shared refusal to give up after being laid low by Riku upon their arrival at Hollow Bastion. Meanwhile in Kingdom Hearts II, the Beast is presented as a parallel to Riku, as mentioned in my previous essay.

The first game parallels Sora to Aladdin through similar shots of the two calling out for Riku and Jasmine respectively as they are forced to flee the location of a boss fight (the Cave of Wonders for Aladdin, Monstro’s stomach for Sora). Kingdom Hearts II uses Aladdin avoiding Jasmine at the start of Sora’s first visit to Agrabah to parallel Riku avoiding Sora throughout KH2 as a whole.

While not considered an *official* Disney Prince (he’s still unofficially marketed as one), Kingdom Hearts III connects Hercules diving into the River Styx to save Megara’s soul with Riku’s sacrifice for Sora at the Keyblade Graveyard. Meanwhile in KH2, Hercules’s attempts to hide how exhausted he is trying to meet everyone’s expectations greatly resembles Sora hiding his doubts and insecurities.

The fluidity of which one corresponds to the Disney Prince and which one is the Princess in these parallels also carries over to other narrative symbols. In visual mediums, the protagonist and Animus of a Heroine’s Journey are frequently depicted with a Yin and Yang motif - light and dark in balance with each other. In visual depictions of the concept of Yin and Yang, Yin is the black side - representing darkness and associated with femininity - while Yang is the white side - representing light and associated with masculinity[6]. Visual depictions of Yin and Yang use the Moon to symbolize Yin and the sun to represent Yang. Many visuals include an opposite color dot in the middle of each side, representing how the two forces balance each other out - there is darkness within light and light within darkness, so to speak.

The depiction of Yin as darkness with an inner light aligns with Riku’s character arc over the course of the series, but Sora is the one associated with moon imagery. Meanwhile, Yang being the light with a bit of darkness inside matches how Sora is on the path toward learning to acknowledge the darkness in his own heart, but Riku, who walks the “Road to Dawn[7].” is the one visually connected to the sun. Even in other pairs that have narrative parallels to Sora and Riku, the Yin-Yang motif differs from conventional depictions. Instead of the typical male Yang and female Yin, Yozora and Nameless star’s Yin-Yang motif has the gendered colors reversed. Nameless star is dressed all in white with dark hair, while Yozora wears dark clothes and has lighter hair.

This kind of fluidity in terms of symbolism and narrative parallels is perfect for a Heroine’s Journey. Many stories that follow the formula symbolically associate the male love interest with the archetypal damsel in distress, with the female protagonist being cast as the knight in shining armor heroically storming the castle in order to free them. But in the context of a Heroine’s Journey that is setting up a same-gender romance with two male leads, it adds an additional layer of meaning:

A well known stereotype involving same-sex couples is that their roles in the relationship will be exactly the same as the roles that society associates with an opposite-sex pair, with one always corresponding to the “female” role and the other to the “male” one. The Uke/Seme trope common in fanfiction from the early 2000s is a notable example of this. By presenting a romantic relationship between two male leads where the symbolism and narrative parallels are framed in a way that depicts the implied gender roles as constantly being in flux, the narrative sends a message that people are too complicated and flexible for every romantic relationship to fit into the same rigidly defined roles.

In conclusion, the depiction of Sora and Riku both as individuals and as a developing romantic relationship is consistent with how the Heroine’s Journey challenges gender and cultural norms from the perspective of two different cultures. By following this narrative framework, the Kingdom Hearts series deconstructs gendered narrative archetypes from both Japan and the United States, reflecting its origins as a crossover between franchises popular in each country.

Sources:

[1] The Heroine’s Journey; Maureen Murdock; 1990.

[2] TV Tropes; Stock Shonen Hero; https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StockShonenHero

[3] Kingdom Hearts; Square Enix; 2002.

[4] Kingdom Hearts III; Square Enix; 2019.

[5] Wikipedia - Honne and tatemae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honne_and_tatemae

[6] Wikipedia; Yin and Yang https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

[7] Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories; Square Enix; 2004.

#kingdom hearts and the heroine's journey #kingdom hearts meta #kh analysis

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oveliagirlhaditright · 4 years

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So, Podcast Now made a video about whether or not Sora’s character needs fixed. And I haven’t watched it yet (I will. And I’m looking forward to it), but I bet I know what it’s going to say: that Sora needs to go down a dark road, to really develop and not be stagnant. That’s what a lot of people say, who don’t think Sora’s had character development in a long time or at all.

But I personally don’t think that’s necessary. Rather, I think he should be treated like Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where there were definitely moments that you saw the toll that was being taken on this poor girl and how close she got to quitting and stuff... but she never did. And her strength, and her always doing the right thing, made her admirable. And not in a Mary-Sue way, either, because we saw her struggles through and through.

Like, one thing with Buffy that made her and her struggles so interesting, was that it was usually someone she loved who she ended up having to fight as the seasons’ big bads.

In season two, it was the love of her life Angel: a vampire who had turned evil again, who she had to kill in order to save the world.

In season three, she had to nearly kill her former friend Faith (and there may have been feelings here on both sides, too), who had gone crazy and essentially become a serial killer.

Season four pit Buffy against her new boyfriend, Riley, some, as he was very much a military/ask no questions kind of person, and Buffy is the opposite of that.

In season five, Buffy was faced with the possibility that her sister may have to die, to stop the world from being dragged into Hell (and this is Buffy’s darkest moment, where she nearly did quit. She starts talking about how she killed Angel in season two. “I sacrificed Angel to save the world. I loved him so much, but I knew [that I had to kill him. That that was the right thing.] I don’t have that anymore. I don’t know how to live in this world, if these are the choices. If everything just gets stripped away, I don’t see the point ...If Dawn dies, I’m done. I’m quitting.” Give Sora something like that. Even if it’s just for a moment, and something miraculous happens so he doesn’t have to quit, of course.) And she then has this epiphany that she could die to save the world instead, and does (and is brought back in season six by her witch friend, Willow... though Buffy’s actually not happy about that, as the poor thing was torn out of Heaven).

Season six, Buffy had to fight best friend Willow (and before that, she was even getting teed up to go against friend Anya. But thankfully, that one didn’t pan out)... after Willow’s true love Tara was murdered, and in her grief Willow wanted to end everything.

And what happened in season seven? Buffy fights the First ever evil. And this evil has the power to turn into anyone. And it does turn into Buffy a few times, so you can almost say she’s fighting herself. Like, there’s this line, where the First is “Buffy” while talking to her. “’To every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world. She alone will have the strength and skill to-’ There’s that word again. What you are. How you’ll die. ‘Alone.’” Buffy eventually tells the First to “get out of her face”, and she rises again.

Just- Buffy’s such a tragic character. And she is the Slayer. And there’s definitely a part of her that recognizes it--and is proud of it--and eventually would/could never want to be anything else... but it’s also brought her so much pain. And she never wanted to be the Slayer because of it.

Like, in the season five finale when Buffy’s friends are trying to decide if they should let Dawn die or not, it starts in a simple way: Buffy just saving an innocent bystander from a vampire again. And he says, “How did you do that?” She answers, “It’s what I do.” And the guy is baffled. “But you’re just a girl.” And Buffy sadly replies, “That’s what I keep saying.”:(

And in the series finale, Spike gives Buffy this heartfelt speech about how he loves her and “she’s the one”. And her response is, “I don’t want to be the one.” Because I think she always just takes the term “one” in connection with her, to being about how she’s the chosen one, and the only person in the world who can and does make all of these hard choices. And is surely why she finally gets to be happy in the series finale, when there are more Slayers and she doesn’t have to be the only one anymore.

I think if the series really hit on how much it hurts to be Sora, I don’t think there’d be all these arguments that he should go dark. Rather, I think everyone would be amazed by him that he remains light (as they should be).

Another thing Sora and Buffy have in common, is they both can be angsty and hurt when the situation calls for it, but also silly and happy when the reverse is needed.

Just moreso make Sora Buffy, Kingdom Hearts. He already is in a lot of ways, but do it more. Draw attention to how much he’s suffered.

Also... I’m not necessarily saying here that all of Sora’s friends should turn evil, and he needs to fight them. But rather... to show how hard he has it. And that with Buffy, was one way that that show did that.

...I should also mention the amazing thing that season one of Buffy did with its finale, where Buffy was prophesied to die when she fought that Big Bad... and she so did not want to die. And she quite being the Slayer in that moment... but she of course ended up doing the right thing in the end, because that’s who she is (she did die. She drowned. But her friend Xander was able to bring her back through mouth-to-mouth).

And I just think keeping Sora light--but with things like this to keep it interesting--would do well to separate him from characters like Riku... and show why he’s the hero of the franchise, of course, and make him even moreso Foils to characters like Xehanort, The Master of Masters, and possibly Yozora partly.

Edit: There’s also this great speech that Buffy gives when her mom finds out she’s the Slayer and hates the idea. She tells Buffy, “Well, it stops now!” And Buffy passionately answers, “It doesn’t stop! It never stops! Do you think I chose to be like this? Do you know how lonely it is? How dangerous? I would love to be up in my room, watching TV--or gossiping about boys--or God, even studying! But I have to save the world. Again.”

#have I mentioned that Buffy the vampire slayer had amazing writing? like the best ever?

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valorxdrive · 3 years

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“ for once in your life, what is it that you want. ”

♕ - In his life? At this very moment? There’s a pause as the certainty in the name of challenge cements it as the kind not to brush off. Considering who it is that’s talking to him, Sora had never considered such possibility, the thoughts drawing a fire into his gaze as reflects momentarily over the raw extent of their journeys.

Hell couldn’t even begin to rival the horrors bred by responsibility and the megalomaniacal ambitions of Xehanort.

Even now to think they’d be able to take in the salted airs and step upon the warmed sands of their island feel like a dream. Within the distance their childhood wonder known as the play islands comfortably sleeps in the horizon ahead. The slow crawl of waves worked their usual tempo, mildly disturbed at best by weather conditions, leading for the two heroes to have peace for their conversation. Out of anyone, Riku did have measure of faith in him... Not just in his actions alone, rather, for him to cement resolve into those very actions. A look reflecting gratitude settles within his features while he peered up into those eyes.

“Riku. I was never in a position where I was doing something that I didn’t. ..Weird as that might sound. You’ve ever felt like you’ve had a calling in life?” For Sora it was understanding, purpose that was desperately grasped amidst his struggle for survival, his own and that of others. While personal peace to the utmost may be question, the understanding never left concerning the danger. Just reflection alone causes his emotions to stir in a passion filled simmer. Just thinking of the raw entirety of so many faces helping him grow, helping him learn, challenging him, bringing questions in both what he knows and understanding in what truly needs to be believed...

Those who also helped him truly during his darkest hours. While such a life can lead to unparalleled sorrow as an potential risk, that very idea-- The tohught of Sora, himself, simply sitting around as the balance of everything he’s come to love is in peril would be a sight he’d be prepared to fight more than anything else.

Those thoughts cemented a new expression upon the keyblade wielder, one bred from the war, one where the man before him risked life and limb to instill the message believe in yourself in a gambit involving his very life. “What I want never changed. ..That day back at the islands, I had made up my mind of why I was going out here, how I wanted to help the many people who risked so much to help me. Even now, I can’t stop.”

“Back at that time during the war, you taught me the importance of believing in myself Riku. Against all of that darkness, Kairi had also taught me that.. so many of you truly have unshakable faith in me. That alone gave her the power to also help me when I really needed it..”

“And there was one more.”

”Someone found me in a place where I had to pull myself back together. A girl, someone who was just trapped in that place since they had to stay safe.. Safe from a danger that could steal everything about them if they had the chance. Despite her heart being heavy for her situation, for someone she cares immensely for... She reached out to me when I felt like I couldn’t go on.. I just thought I was dead there.”

“And she opened my eyes to purpose. She showed me how I wasn’t even aware of how much weight guided my heart in where I needed to go.. Giving me strength at a point where I didn’t have any of my friends by my side. Riku, she’s still out there..”

“If my heart is telling me one thing? Is that even with all of this over, the last thing I need to do rest and pretend like that’s not my issue. With All my Heart, I want to go out there and fight by their side.” By now it was impossible to distill the intentions that very motive carried. How once again, akin to a wandering spirit, Sora was admitting just how ephemeral his time truly was in staying put due to his time as a keyblade wielder.

“That’s what everything inside of me is saying to do now. I.. Can’t exactly be the laziest guy anymore like this, can I?”

#dcvotion #| Bottle Mail #| Meme #This ask really made me think #Either way it's cut #Whether he does or doesn't disappear #Ultimately this motive would set him into action

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shidoukanae · 4 years

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YGO! Questionnaire

Tagged by @cipher-wise

Favorite series:

My favorite series based on what I watched and enjoyed would have to be Arc-V!!! It's honestly the series that got me to adore YGO when previously I'd seen YGO as, and I chilidishly quote, "uncool". Everything about Arc-V is pretty much wonderful: Yuya's presence as a "everyone MUST be happy" kind of character in a plot that discusses themes of war, revenge, and despair is absolutely refreshing (especially when Yuya's ideals of happiness are stripped from him and made a mockery of by, *coughs* one of my favorite characters in the franchise *coughs*).

I love how the four Yuu boys are a wonderful combination of "protagonists" (/anatagonists) and how they each play off of each other's weaknesses and strengths, often acting as mirrors to each other in their individual dimensions while having amazing interactions (Yugo and Yuri, anyone? Yuri and Yuya?).

I admire how the endgame plot is a perversion of Yuya's ideals: he gets what he wants, showering happiness upon all, but that "happiness" is corrupted into the notion of entertainment. While Yuya seeks to provide people with smiles and laughter, to give them hope to work together through tough times and to stay strong in the face of adversity, his "counterparts" in the endgame are really good at acting as Yuya's mirror: showing that his style of performing can also be used to appease the bloodthirst of one's own self and that happiness can be corrupted into self-deserving power.

...Hard to put that into exact words without spoiling a lot of things but, gosh, let's just say that Yuri and ____ are the perfect mirrors to Yuya in terms of what his entertainment dueling style is meant to be.

The plot over all is pretty good! I won't lie and say it stands strong all the way throughout the story but the first half is amazing and there are some pretty strong episodes in the second half (Yugo and Rin, the parasite episodes in general, Yuri Yuri YURI). I can definitely say that the humor is there, the characters are amazing (if nothing else, watch for the Yuu Boys, the Bracelet Gals, and Shun versus Sora!!) and having come into the show around episode 104, I was pleasantly surprised by the trip Arc-V brought me and how it played with its protagonist, giving him hope, kicking him down, and toying with his mind - just like the way a warzone might to any idealistic individual.

In terms of other series, I like VRAINS but only up to like episode 19 (or the end of the Data Bank arc). It had potential and I kept hoping it would get better but the plot was constantly floundering, there are plot holes abundant (sewer monsters, ugh), character development is inconsistent not to mention very shallow, VRAINS has some of the best side characters but they're kicked to the curb by a bland protagonist and a villain that could've been so much cooler but they made him a sympathetic mess.

...I have a lot of gripes with VRAINS but, if it were to ever be rewritten with clear goalposts and plot twists in mind (not to mention development on ideas like Charisma Duelists because at the end of the show I still have not a fucking clue what a Charisma Duelists is or was) I would say it has potential to become my favorite series but Arc-V clearly beats it for me in every category lmao.

Zexal’s also really good too!!! I don’t get all the hate behind it because it’s actually really interesting and engaging (also IV’s definition of fanservice is literally the only type of fanservice I will ever accept) and I think I’ve even cried a couple of times during the course of the plot which is like,,, shocking considering it’s not a show I thought I’d cry over (I cried in Arc-V too but goddamn does tiny Yuya just want to make you tear up lmao). This show is really good emotionally and it’s literally so stupid how Kaito carries a lot of the early and middle game of the show yet most of the meat of the plot doesn’t begin to unravel until the second season.

Also, if you ever want to watch a show of 100+ episodes that is so masterfully written that there is foreshadowing for stuff in like episode 130+ on EPISODE ONE, please watch this. Literally there are so many hints of what is going to happen in the future in the early episodes and you won’t really be able to tell what those hints are until you’ve finished the show but goddamn when you go back and rewatch things it does indeed feel amazing how much foreshadowing they threaded into the show without you ever knowing...(please don’t search for spoilers if you intend to watch this. I went into the show knowing some spoilers tho not all and, while I was still pleased by what I watched, I honestly can agree the show is A Lot Better without knowing ANYTHING)

Favorite Protagonist: Yuya. For sure, out of all the series, Yuya.

He’s a refreshing protagonist, especially considering he shines in a world of war and despair. He’s also someone who you empathize with right at the start and want to hope in, especially since he is the “happiness” in a word of “madness” and “sorrow”. He’s not someone out to save the world (not really, anyways), but his actions touch on the lives of others anyways, giving people in a hope in a world that is otherwise cruel and heartless. Also, it really helps that he’s able to pull you into his world of “egaos”, making you believe in him and root for him despite how cheesy his ideals may or may not sound.

Also love how, despite being the centerpiece of “happiness”, Yuya isn’t allowed to always be happy :> Not spoiling plot related things but if you like protagonists going off the rails insane at times, Yuya’s definitely a fun protagonist for that!!!

Favorite Rival:

Kaito Tenjou!!! Literally the best rival in the series that I’ve seen. Everything about him is literally perfect ngl. From the way he’s chillingly introduced, with the spine-tingling whistles and cruel, almost merciless nature, to the way he slowly becomes sympathetic while also remaining a terrifying presence whenever he appears...I love him????

Favorite BFF:

Does Shoichi count? Because like...he’s Yusaku’s closest friend and ally in the series and I generally don’t pay attention to the other BFF’s in the other series (or at least, the ones I can recall bc I know in Zexal that Yuma has a whole group of friends lmao).

But I like Shoichi!! He cares about Yusaku a lot, is pretty damn cool as a sidekick hacker, his sideplot with his brother was actually honestly endearing and I loved the mystery about him. His early-game jokes w/ Ai to tease Yusaku were also a good laugh.

Favorite GFF:

Not a girl friend forever for the main protagonist (although she like...lowkey confessed to him...though that plot really never went anywhere so I still don’t know what the fuck THAT was about) but,,, Ema Bessho,,

If y’all knew me back in my peak YGO days when VRAINS was airing,,, this gal was and STILL is my favorite girl of the YGO series. Even though she was pretty much done dirty imo I still love her (even despite considering she’s been made a damsel-in-distress at least three times, she’s only ever won one duel on-screen despite being supposedly good at dueling, ngl they could’ve done so much more with her but tbh she’s mostly just an asset to solve problems at whim and barely gets character development/does nothing but watch and spectate stuff late-game).

Even though she’s like...the unfortunate side character who’s probably meant to be more fanservice than interesting, in the first 19 episodes (and even the Revolver vs. her fight as well as the one time she meets Aoi IRL early-game) made her out to be a lot cooler and complex than she ended up being. I mean,,, a hacker gal who’s self-serving, cynical, and cold-hearted taking on the tasks of her (potentially ex) boyfriend while being really nice to his sister to the point she baffles even herself,,, we could’ve had a really unique and cool character to play around with here but instead we got...cool-ass character with potential to be something more reduced to a spectator with nothing better to do than idolize the main protagonist and have a plot with her brother that honestly detracted from her character more than it added to it imo.

Also Ema could’ve been a female Yuri but,,, nope,,, they decided she was better as a background piece instead TwT

Favorite Villain: Yuri.

Literally Yuri.

I could choose the leather jacket w/ fluff boi in a certain series because hot damn was that guy convincing AF that he wasn’t an evil psychopath (and even while knowing that he was, I still got fooled into thinking he was a good guy somehow omg) however,,, I’ve always held a love for Yuri and the way he’s been portrayed.

Despite ALWAYS being the bad guy, the show has always made this purple fucker into the most entertaining character on-screen. He even beats Yuya sometimes in terms of how entertaining he is - that’s literally how good he is,,

Also his facial expressions are amazing, he’s a VERY VALID threat to the main cast (and his creeper levels are not only off the charts but literally called out by the main female protagonist herself lmao), and he acts as the perfect foil to Yuya, battling not to entertain others but to entertain himself.

Also, he likes killing people.

No this is not a joke.

He literally likes killing people. And is pretty sadistic about it, too.

(^^^^ for those who don’t get the joke, “Fusion” is pronounced “Yuugo” which sounds similar to “Yugo” which is what,,, Yuri is making fun of,,, more context is needed of course but this is a Great Running Gag)

Favorite card:

I don’t know if it actually exists as an actual card but...that crystal dragon from the YGO movie with the glass pyramid. Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon...it’s really pretty...I love it...

Favorite Episode:

I’m...too lazy to search for names of these episodes but I can give brief summaries of them,,, because I can’t choose,,,

Arc-V: Shun vs. Sora (ALL episodes). Hot damn if you have never watched YGO but want to try and see for yourself why people like it: WATCH THESE EPISODES. I can’t explain how amazing these episodes are and, while I admit jumping straight into them might have you missing out on some important context (such as who Shun is or why Sora’s battle tactics lead to revelation) it’s honestly an amazing fight regardless. The battle starts off plain enough - there’s obvious tension, it seems like a typical fight of a battle royale, etc. - my god does the battle ramp up in emotional tension and promptly kick you in the gut with not only how blindsided you’ve been, but it also showcases just how cruel these “entertainment duels” can really get.

Any episode with Yuri. Literally any episode he’s in.

I think this is like...episode 8 of VRAINS...but whenever it is that Akira hires Ema to find the reason why Aoi just...straight up got knocked into a coma. Literally this is my favorite episode when it comes to Ema. The way she makes fun of Akira even while aware of his situation,,, her cruel selfishness and desire for money bubbling to the surface, the way she confesses how she can’t be trusted willingly and still asks Akira why he’s hiring her,,, god I love this episode in terms of what Ema could’ve always been.

Episode 13 (/14?) of Zexal!!! This is the episode Kaito appears and when the show REALLY picks up. Kaito is a fun bastard of a rival and tbh I don’t think I’ll ever stop getting chills of him walking in, debris frozen in time all around him, as he approaches his victim, whistling an eerie children’s tune as he gets ready to close in for the kill,,,,

Favorite Deck to Use:

I don’t...really play the game itself but...I have used a couple of decks and I guess you can say I really love Raid Raptors??? First of all, those warbirds make really fun sounds I love ‘em in the anime but they’re also just fun to use in general (even tho I used a,,, very basic deck for them,,, I love them still).

Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, XYZ, Pendulum or Link:

XYZ bc it’s really the only summoning method I’m used to lol :P. Also XYZ loyalist I guess????

Years in fandom: roughly five to six years iirc? I mean, I was a fan of the early day YGO and watched it as a kid but not active enough to be in the fandom for it lmao. Also not in the fandom atm because Sevens lost my attention (it’s a good show!!! I’m just unfortunately more a fan of things with serious plots and darker themes and it’s hard for me to stomach slice-of-life shows that don’t focus on a mature and engaging plot). However, Arc-V and Zexal holds a special place in my heart (as does VRAINS, begrudgingly) and so I occasionally find myself wandering back to these shows like right now,,,

#yugioh #Arc-v #Zexal #honestly Arc-V feels like the type of show beginners should watch if they want to get into YGO #granted it might take all the way up until Yuto and Shun to get into the show #but once you hit Shun versus Sora oh my god does the slowburn really feel worth it #it will also probably surprise no one that I have several OC's based on who Ema Bessho could've been and despite how much I hate how she's-#been written in canon I've taken ideas I've had for how she could be better written and slapped them onto characters for my own story uwu

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