#roxas acts like he doesn’t like

[empyrealen]

Kingdom Ponies!! Sea Salt trio edition!! 🩵

Last post, I got requests for design notes so first off, all Organization members are branded with the Recusant's sigil. For ponies, this replaces their cutie mark.

Axel being a griffon layers with his insecurities, he doesn’t have a mark like ponies do so he worries he will be forgettable, especially after leaving the organization. His name reflects this; an old memory that’s fading at the edges. Vignette also means to recount evocatively with nostalgia.

Roxas’ design is a fusion of Sora (Easy Breezy) and Ven’s (Windfall) most notably he gets Sora’s crown shaped fur tuffs. His cutie mark is supposed to emulate his X shaped symbol and he’s the only character with mismatched hoof tones. His name is very literal but as an idiom, it reflects Roxas’ role in the organization!

Pareidolia is the act of seeing faces in things that do not. She’s also a changeling! Changelings feed off of energy and affection so just like in Days, she’s accidentally absorbing Roxas throughout. Reformed changelings are very colorful so I based the tones on Thalassa shells. She also gets a pony form-just like white lies, she resembles pinky promise. Together they both make up Kairi’s alicorn status (Xion pegasus Namine unicorn) Xions main seashell on her mark is shaped like the organization symbol. In the story, her cutie mark would change depending on who sees her, before she establishes her identity

#noeart #kh #kingdom hearts #mlp #my little pony #khmlp au #Axel #Lea #Roxas #Xion #Sorry this was late I was struggling with Roxas name and xions color scheme #but I’m happy with them I think! #Xion gets Riku colored hooves and icy blue for sea salt and her crystallization effect in the end of days #Roxas gets little ear piercings for his finger sleeves #also asks are now open!

[dominicsorel]

Sora may have opened the door in KH1

This isn’t to say Riku didn’t do wrong in KH1. He did. But, as far as the door and Destiny Islands is concerned, I think we’ve been getting hints for 20 years that it was Sora and Riku just got blamed for it on top of what he DID do.

How did Riku leave the islands? He disappeared into darkness and woke up at Hollow Bastion. You’ll recall Alice Lidell did the same. A disappearing act, so to speak. Data Riku and Xehanort leave through a dark corridor as well.

In the film, Alice cried tears and floated into Wonderland. Water plus sadness equals DARKNESS, my friends. She never opened the door.

Whether KH2 First Visit Belle is a Riku or Sora parallel in this particular scene is in the eye of the beholder. She’s a Disney character in a relationship so she’s one of the characters that it switches depending on the circumstance to create a balance in the relationship that is Sora and Riku but...

The 3D scene in the dream had me very...curious as to what was going on because we didn’t see Ansem SOD in the original version and sleep holds our memories they say which is why Roxas was able to access Xion’s memories and tell Axel something only Xion would know. That he’d always be there to bring them back. I don’t want to imply Ansem SOD possessed Sora in this moment but it’s plausible since...they met earlier. It always came off as odd to me that Ansem SOD would even speak to Sora if he wasn’t about to use him.

YMX says that Ansem SOD possessed Riku and saw his experiences in real time which...okay, then why wasn’t he with Riku here...? He doesn’t follow Riku when he runs to the inlet. He doesn’t follow him in the dark corridor either. We don’t even see Ansem SOD again until Hollow Bastion way later on when we KNOW he actually does possess Riku. Riku doesn’t know him in the COM Novel when he meets him on the islands during Departure. HE DOESN’T KNOW HIM. Sora does. Isn’t that...suspicious? All Ansem SOD says is that the door will open soon and Riku goes off to find Sora. He doesn’t open a door!

He doesn’t remember Ansem SOD being there.

But he was following him.

Right before this scene, Data Riku states something very interesting after Data Sora accuses him of causing the bugs (the cause being Sora’s shadow). He says: “This world has been connected. Memory and reality now stand tied. It’s time for you to learn the truth.” Ansem the Wise states that data is a clue. The Datascape is shown again in Re:Mind to “remind” us that the future is already written and to go back and revisit the game known as Coded. But I recommend ALL the games on top of that so you can put the pieces together like I have. This is what Remy from Ratatouille was trying to tell Sora and co. about the fruit that he was gathering. (Essentially Nomura trying to hint to the audience that the answers are all THERE if you do enough digging.) He was trying to take the pieces and make it into a dish. In each game, therein lies another hint. Another piece of the puzzle. This is how I work out my theories. I treat each game as apart of each other without the assumption that nothing was planned. This is how Riku laughing like Namine did in COM WORKS even if it’s only finally shown in 3D and KH3. Writing evolves over time and so do characters.

“On the road ahead, more than one truth will come to light.”

What strikes me as even odd is that what they use to put Sora in a deeper sleep in 3D is things that happened back when the Islands fell but one of them wasn’t Riku holding out his hand or Kairi being swept away from darkness. It was something we never saw. It’s Ansem SOD coming up close to Sora while he’s either sitting or lying down. Perhaps...before he took a nap at the start of the game even. Hopefully, you’ve read my meta on how Replica Riku has some of Sora’s memories. Horrifying really as he’s used to play on Sora’s guilt as a way to get him further into the castle. But there’s one line in particular that bothered me to no end in the COM novel.

Ventus didn’t remember what happened to Strelitzia nor taking the book for himself. Baldr didn’t initially remember what happened to Hoder. It’s not that hard to grasp Sora might...not correctly remember a good chunk of things. Especially with how vaguely he describes his KH1 hurt in KH3. I imagine a person whose eyes cannot lie like Master of Masters...might educate him on the truth and it will probably be very ugly. My understanding is Sora’s true darkness will involve remembering. Yes, forgetting can hurt but knowing the truth will hurt you even more. I think remembering everything will be what breaks Sora. It certainly didn’t have a good reaction on Ventus or Baldr, now did it?

A very small bonus. Yuffie, a memorable “thief”, opens a door and hurts Donald in the process in the world right after the door opens and the darkness carries Kairi away so...there’s that. Sora is shown running through it also.

TLDR; check out the rest of this scene from KHUX below.

Alice is on trial for opening the door to Wonderland and she didn’t do it but is found guilty despite the lack of evidence against her. Hm...but how did Player get into Wonderland, I wonder? Ever consider that?

*glances at Sora*

#kingdom hearts #kh sora #sora #kh riku #riku #kh meta #text

[firestorm09890]

Something of a sequel to the big Nobody headcanon post but this one’s less sciency and philosophical and more “it’s not canon but it’d be sick as hell if it was.” that being said I think it’d be sick as hell if all the human-looking Nobodies had strange passive effects relating to their elements that happen when they’re in the vicinity

Xemnas - Nothingness - a deep, deep sense that something is wrong. no elaboration

Xigbar - Space - enclosed spaces seem a bit too cramped, and open spaces seem a bit too open. the intense pressure of claustrophobia, and the vertigo of acrophobia. no matter what, you’re always acutely aware that there’s an awkward distance between you and anything else around

Xaldin - Wind - there’s a draft in the area and you’re never gonna find where it’s coming from

Vexen - Ice - very chilly hands. why am I cold it’s not a cold day today

Lexaeus - Earth - he takes a step. the earth seems to tremor just a little. is it an earthquake? does anyone else feel that??? pull out the seismometer. nothing. huh

Zexion - Illusion - something’s wrong with the lights in the room... feels a little too dark. like when you go inside after being in bright sunlight outdoors and your vision hasn’t adjusted, but it doesn’t ever adjust. He himself is always an inch or two away from where he appears to be, and is generally hard to focus your eyes on. It’s worth noting this is intentionally the only visual effect

Saïx - Moon - looking in his eyes causes a sense of nausea and instability that gets worse the longer the eye contact lasts. your sanity might be slipping. this was blatantly ripped off of Reisen from Touhou. he also radiates power when in the moonlight

Axel - Fire - why am I warm it’s not a warm day today

Demyx - Water - okay please i can’t come up with anything other than “damn it feels humid today” and that’s gross so if anyone can come up with anything better please-

Luxord - Time - time seems to move either too quickly or too slowly. what do you mean it’s already been an hour? what do you mean only 2 minutes have passed? this one goes out to my homies with time blindness who get to experience this one already

Marluxia - Flowers - huh. allergies seem to be acting up. don’t have seasonal allergies? you do now, apparently. why does it smell like flowers everywhere

Larxene - Lightning - everything seems to have a static aura to it, but the shock never comes. contact with her directly does give a shock, though

Roxas - Light - y’know, for some reason, this kid seems, like, really trustworthy? I don’t know what it is but he seems like a good kid :)

Naminé - Memory - being around her... there’s something in the corner of your mind. an old memory you’d forgotten about. this all reminds you of something but you can’t grasp what it is

--

Each of these effects lies in perception and emotion alone. They’d be completely impossible to measure, even if it seems like they should be measurable. There are no temperature differences, in reality. No time dilatation. There is no light breeze blowing through the room there are no allergens in the air there’s nothing wrong with the lights there’s nothing. It all just seems that way. Just like Nobodies, and just like The World That Never Was. They seem human-- very convincingly. But there’s something missing. It seems like a city, but though the lights are on, no one lives in those buildings. It’s all for the sake of seeming. Feels real enough, and can have an impact, but there’s no true substance behind it.

Also only kinda related but I think if you look in the eyes of any Nobody you get a sense of wrongness. It’s different for all of them-- might be a manic look, might be a glimpse into unknowably dark depths, etc-- but ultimately you look in the eyes of a Nobody and go “oh there is something wrong with this person”. The eyes are the window to the soul (or the heart), after all. Following that logic, the more a Nobody’s heart grows, the more that effect goes away. The main elemental one doesn’t though. stay uncomfortably warm around Axel forever

And while I’m here

Xemnas, Saïx, and Xigbar all have somewhat catlike eyes. It’s most obvious with Xigbar. This includes the reflective eyes in the dark

those three also have pointy ears but so does Xaldin??? I don’t know why? it’s just.... a thing??? so in a similar vein, I think all the norts + a couple others should get sharp teeth. no there’s not a pattern. but it has to be characters who can actually pull off the look, for the rule of cool

Ienzo always had keen senses but becoming a Nobody sharpened them even more. ALL of them. Everything’s a little too much all the time. it sharpened everyone’s senses but it was worst for him

I think it’s a given that Vexen Lexaeus and Zexion had Nobodies of a specific class based on them and we just never got to see it but I think Naminé deserves to have special guys too. Though I bet if she did, Marluxia and Larxene wouldn’t have let her do anything with them and then DiZ would’ve been like “get those things out of my sight” :(

thinking about the greater Nobodies having physical traits that link them to their respective lessers but I don’t actually have any ideas, I just think the concept would be neat

#kingdom hearts #organization xiii #nobodies #xemnas #xigbar #xaldin #vexen #lexaeus #zexion #saix #axel #demyx #luxord #marluxia #larxene #roxas #namine #kh headcanons #me post

[strayheartless]

I’m thinking of liverpepper… and it’s making me sad.

So here, have a AU brain dump over cloud and his Geostigma:

I know we’ve seen Mako drawn as tablets, but I kind of imagine Clouds Mako days as being either injections like steroids or him having to go to the hospital for specific mako treatment, like chemotherapy.

Cloud was off school a lot. As a result he had to work twice as hard as everyone else just to keep up and graduate. His friends always brought him his homework, but there were some teachers (you know the ones) who made him feel guilty about how often he got laid up.

Like it got bad enough that now Cloud kind of has a complex about it as an adult, and Leon has to keep reminding him that he’s not weak for letting his body heal.

We know (from sora) that Mako used to affect his memory, make him pretty much a zombie. But I imagine that it’s worse straight after treatment. Like he’ll be in bed for two or three days but then for the next week -maybe two if it’s bad- Cloud kind of used to walk around in a haze. Squall, Zack, Tifa and Aerith used to tag team on who would guide him from lesson to lesson.

Squall used to act as a bit of a body guard with Zack. If anyone dared gossip about Cloud or try to make his day more difficult while he was vulnerable, they’d end up having the terrible twosome descend on then. Turns out there a lot of ways you can threaten someone without getting caught.

Cloud didn’t stop taking Mako until age 18. And he absolutely has been hospitalised by it.

He’s had Mako poisoning twice, and each time people truly thought he would die.

He was part of a clinical trial for materia to begin with, and it meant he had to forgo Mako treatments for 4 months (to get it out of his system) before they could start him on Materia.

Those four months were probably the most fraught and painful of his life. He spent most of it asleep and in agony, while Squall refused to leave him ‘just incase’. The entire friend group rallied to try and make it easier.

The first month on Materia was also not fun. Lot of knew side effects while his body got used to it. Some got easier, some he still has. He doesn’t suffer from tinnitus or depth perception issues anymore, but he still has periodic bouts of insomnia. He also deals with almost chronic heart burn.

Materia doesn’t effect his memory like the Mako, but it doesn’t help either. The Mako did a serious number on his brain tissue, and while doctors are sure his brain will recover, it seems to be a long arduous process.

Sometimes Cloud requires a mobility aid. Sometimes a cane, sometimes crutches, sometimes -if it’s bad- he needs a wheelchair to get round a supermarket or mall. It depends on the day, the spoons and the sores.

The first thing Cloud demanded be done when they adopted Sora and Roxas, was that they get them checked for the Geostigma Gene. He knows they are not - biologically speaking -able to get it from him, but Leon agrees just to settle Clouds anxieties about it.

Nowerdays his Geostigma is the most manageable it’s ever been, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Lockdown was scary In their house. It’s no exaggeration to say Squall whipped down every surface, sanitised every piece of food packaging, made sure anybody with even a sniffle quarantined as soon as it happened. And Cloud -for all his griping that it was fine appreciated it.

after lockdown rules started easing Sora and Roxas started feeling super anxious about going out incase the brought something back. Because it wasn’t a joke to them.

Cloud himself dealt with a sudden surge of powerful anxiety even going out the front door.

Squall got him one of those sunflower lanyards, that lets people know you are immunocompromised, and it helps a little, but they all felt different about going outside.

These are just a few thinly thoughts.

#liverpepper #kingdom hearts #cloud strife #squall leonhart #strifehart #liverpepper au #thinking thoughts #Geostigma #chronic illness #cloud has Geostigma #liverpepper family #KH sora #KH roxas #ffvii #ffviii

[briefobservationdreamer]

Kingdom Hearts Redemption Arcs: Isa/Saïx

To begin with, there are a few things to consider about Saïx when looking at his actions in the original Organisation. Firstly, he became a Nobody when he was a teenager, before critical parts of his psyche had fully matured, and because he was heavily groomed and gaslit into believing he couldn’t ever feel emotions while he remained a Nobody (more so than any other member), this guaranteed that this part of him would remain stunted. Secondly, he was suffering an unbearable amount of pain at the time that he clearly could not cope with and had to deal with inwardly on his own, but due to Xemnas’ gaslighting likely didn’t have the self-awareness or emotional intelligence at the time to understand what he was feeling and realise he was deceiving himself. Thirdly, he had been possessed by Xehanort for at least a good while before the events of Days and 2, possibly for years, and unlike Xigbar he was not even aware of it, let alone consensual of it. The details are very unclear as to how exactly this affected him, all we can know is that he became a much colder, crueller person who was still driven by Isa’s personal motivations and capable of consciously working against Xemnas. These things don’t lessen the pain he caused, but they are so intertwined with him that it is impossible to separate him from these influences to clearly determine how reasonable it is to expect self-control or for him to be any different, and therefore how much responsibility he has over his actions, let alone how much atonement he must do. Of all the atoners, his situation is easily the woolliest.

As for his actions, Saïx is a character with very clear reasoning and consistent motivations he never truly wavers from, so it’s fairly easy to understand why he did everything that he did.

The Castle Oblivion situation is a very tricky one, since we don’t know for sure how much of what happened came from Xemnas, Saïx or Axel’s own initiative. All we know is that Saïx gave Axel orders to eliminate some traitors that were sent to Castle Oblivion, which ended up being Marluxia and Larxene. However, since the founding members of the Organisation are either complicit in or directly responsible for keeping Saïx and Axel captive there since they were children, the plot against them can be justified as an act of self-defence. The only apprentice Isa is shown interacting with since the end of the original Organisation is Even/Vexen, and the two would have had to work out any differences for cooperation to be possible in their plot to betray Xehanort in KH3.

Taking Kairi away from Axel, imprisoning her and using her to antagonise Sora was all done on Xemnas’ orders as part of the plot to control Sora and have him complete Kingdom Hearts, and it is made very clear that openly defying Xemnas is tantamount to death. His final scenes in 2 imply that he never even really wanted to toy with Sora in the first place, he would much rather take his revenge on him in proxy of Roxas for taking his best and only friend away and instigating events that ruined his life (more on this in a bit). Isa has yet to properly interact with Sora or Kairi post recompletion, and so has not had any opportunity yet to apologise and personally make it up to them beyond his contribution to Xehanort’s defeat in 3.

Manipulating Roxas and Xion into killing each other was definitely messed up, but again was done under orders from Xemnas once it became clear the two couldn’t co-exist due to Xion’s out-of-control powers. Neither of which was Saïx’s fault. The pair can’t really blame him too much and say he shouldn’t have done it without expecting him to at least risk getting dusked or destroyed for them. It doesn’t make their situation any better, but it is understandable that Saïx would choose goals and a friend he sacrificed everything for over a decade over a couple of kids he didn’t even know and one of which he thought wasn’t a real person, accepting their fates as unfortunate and unavoidable collateral. 

Making Axel choose between a friendship with him and a friendship with Roxas and Xion was also complicated. While he was definitely trying to get Axel to choose him, Saïx wasn’t the source of this conflict, the situation itself was. Axel couldn’t help earn Xemnas’ trust and carry out Saïx’s plans to take control of the Organisation, find Subject X and get their lives back while he was deliberately defying Xemnas to protect Roxas and Xion. Jealousy was at play here, but Saïx was also laying out a cold hard truth that their interests were mutually exclusive, and by nobody’s fault. If we’re also including their confrontation in the manga when Axel tries to rescue Kairi, I fault Axel more than Saix here. Not only was Saïx at his most possessed here, he was also in Berserk form with limited awareness and memory, driven only by a desire to take out anything considered a threat, and Axel put Saïx’s life at risk the moment he turned his back on him and put him in a kill-or-be-killed situation.

Lastly, the main one people think of, his unnecessarily cruel treatment of Roxas and Xion. This is the only one not motivated at least partly by some form of preservation or ulterior motive. One big point to get out of the way is the fact that Saïx was fully aware of Xion’s nature from the get-go and she only ever looked like the white featureless animated mannequin Vexen showed him in the lab, no more human-looking than a Dusk, just dressed up in a black coat, and was likely under the impression from Vexen that she was merely an imitation of life. It’s understandable that perceptions like this would influence his treatment, though it was still a horrible way to treat someone regardless.

Sadly there is much more to it than that. His main reason for this is lashing out from suffering a colossal betrayal from Axel. He was forced to watch the three form bonds of friendship and get their hearts and humanity back while his own friendship with Axel crumbled and he remained empty, when out of all the organisation members, Saïx was the most desperate to get those things back. The only friend he had - and a friend he constantly risked his neck for - ditched and replaced him when he needed him most. Despite warning Axel that their interests were mutually exclusive, Axel still chose to abandon Saïx and an entire decade’s worth of goals Saïx had sacrificed everything for and did nothing to stop their destruction until it was almost too late, all to protect Roxas and Xion. He lost everything he still had and cared about in the name of the trio’s friendship, and he became a hollow broken man and a brainwashed slave trapped under the command of an abuser he hated with almost no hope of escape or happiness. To make things worse, at no point does he ever understand why his life has gone so horribly wrong. His treatment of Roxas and Xion was reprehensible, completely undeserved and unfair regardless of how much control he had and unjustified for as much control he did have (to Roxas and Xion at least, feelings of rage and betrayal towards Axel is completely justified), but I am sadly not surprised in the least that this was enough to drive him beyond breaking point.

What he did to make it up to the three though is something that often gets overlooked because of how subtly it was implied in game (and possibly some wilful ignorance and denial from Saïx haters), though Re:Mind helps a lot with this. As soon as he became more himself, he self-reflected, recontextualised his actions through his original values, felt remorse for what he did, put all his rage and jealousy and pain and pride aside, admitted his flaws and vulnerabilities, corrected toxic behaviour and saved the people he hurt. The idea to have Vexen and Demyx create and deliver the replicas for Roxas and Xion was his. He planned to bring back Roxas and Xion, betray Xehanort and orchestrate his defeat to save the world and craft the brightest future, and he risked his life to make that a reality. There is literally nothing more he could have done for them by this point in the story. The only thing I can fault with this is that it could have perhaps been made a bit clearer, an official apology is still owed and it wouldn’t have taken much effort to briefly add one during his “death” scene even if there is still a lot of talking out to do, though Isa is a man who speaks with actions more than words, and his actions spoke loud and clear. Overall, a great redemption that I can only fault for not getting quite enough spotlight.

(Interestingly his story has a lot of parallels with Riku, but with some critical differences. Riku was manipulated and possessed for a few weeks altogether, Saïx went through years of it, and secondly Riku turned against Sora after mistakenly believing Sora would abandon him and Kairi, while Saïx was absolutely abandoned by Axel when Axel turned against him.)  

#kingdom hearts #isa #kh isa #saix #kh saix #isa/saix #redemption arc #appreciation for isa/saix #i'm tired of people insisting he is just an awful person who did nothing to earn a place with the good guys when that is blatantly not true #he made mistakes but he absolutely deserves credit for what he did to make up for it that must have been a rough redemption for him #i was going to compare all the redemption arcs in one post but this got too big so I just did them as individual posts

[yume127]

HI I can not remember if I already left you an ask for the friendship ask-box meme but if you're up for it I would love to hear "🗣️ Description" for Ventus and Roxas, and if you wanna take it a step further, maybe the whole Seasalt Trio's Opinions on the Wayfinder Trio

Hi! Thank you for the ask. I had a lot of fun thinking about how to answer this one 😊

🗣️ Description — how would each member of the friend group describe their relationship to one another? do they think of each other as peas in a pod, opposite sides of the same coin, maybe family, something more queer-platonic, or something else entirely?

Roxas and Ven would agree in describing their relationship to one another as opposite sides of the same coin. They recognize they’re similar in a lot of ways and went through some similar experiences, and that allows them to relate to each other well and to feel comfortable opening up to one another about more personal matters. At the same time, there are a lot of things that set them apart, primarily their personality and the way they carry each other. Even when they have to face the same situations, they usually react very differently. However, that doesn’t cause conflict between the two of them. It’s probably the reason they get along so well. They balance each other out, and each of them can bring to the table what the other can’t.

Roxas thinks of his relationship with Ventus as a close friendship. That kind of friendship where there are no rules for how they should act or who they’re supposed to be. They can just fully be themselves and they know the other would accept them, regardless. Roxas feels safe to express his more childlike and vulnerable traits with Ven, and Ventus is the person he goes to when he needs to talk with somebody, or going through a rough time.

Ventus feels the same way, but the more he hangs out with Roxas, the more he sees Roxas as part of his family. He loves getting to explore the worlds with Roxas and learn new things together, but he also feels protective of him. He knows Roxas can look after himself, and even admires him for his strength, but he can’t help but want to make sure he’s safe and well at all times. No one is allowed to bad mouth Roxas in Ven’s presence. When he discovers what Roxas had been going through and how many experiences he never had, he takes it upon himself to teach Roxas everything he knows (even if Ven lacks some life experience himself), and—maybe it’s a result of growing up being the youngest of his trio—but he loves getting to be the “older sibling” for once.

Roxas is not completely sure about what’s the difference between family and friendship, but he’s happy that Ven sees him as part of his family, regardless.

Now, about the Seasalt Trio’s opinions on the Wayfinders and vice versa (under the cut because it got too long):

Ventus

Lea likes Ven. They’re more like casual friends: they like to hang out from time to time and they always have a fun time together. They get along well, and he’s especially amused by Ventus’ sassiness (except when Ven teams up with Isa, Roxas or Xion to make fun of him, lol). Ven also really likes Lea. He thinks he’s fun to be around and he likes to hang out with him when he wants to have a good time.

Xion and Ven get along so well! She really likes Ven and his sweet and cheerful nature. At first, she’s a bit confused by how much he looks like Roxas, but she quickly learns how to tell them apart. Their personalities mesh really well, and they have a sibling-like relationship where they poke fun at each other but are also protective of one another. They can relate to each other about their self-esteem issues, their desire to do anything to protect their friends and their connection to Sora. Ventus also likes Xion, and he enjoys hanging out with her. After learning Xion’s love for seashells, Ventus makes sure to collect some to bring to her every time he visits a world with a beach.

Roxas really likes Ventus. At first, he felt a bit uncomfortable about the fact they looked the same, but he got over it after learning all the things that set the two of them apart. What he likes the most about Ventus is his kindness and how caring he can be for his friends, but he also loves Ven’s sassy side. He enjoys hanging out with Ven, regardless of what they do together, and they both feel like they can be fully themselves together. Ven also really likes Roxas and thinks he’s really cool. He admires his strong and reserved personality at first, but also loves his sweet and carefree side that he gets to know after they become friends.

Aqua

Lea and Aqua tend to butt heads often, especially when they first meet. It’s not that Lea doesn’t like Aqua, but he feels like she’s too serious at times, and she should loosen up a little. On the other hand, Aqua would like Lea to take things more seriously, instead of cracking a joke even in the direst circumstances. Eventually, they realize they have a lot in common and bond over their similar experiences and the responsibility that falls on their shoulders to be the more mature one in their trio, and start to get along better.

Xion loves Aqua so much! She admires how kind, strong and responsible she is and, if she’d ever decide to resume her training, she would go training under Aqua in a heartbeat. Aqua is like a role model for her. Aqua also really likes Xion, and she takes her under her wing and offers her a safe space to talk if she needs to (especially if she has any girl-related issues she needs to talk about, Aqua is Xion’s go-to). They like to do crafts together sometimes, and Aqua teaches Xion how to make wayfinders she can give to her friends.

Roxas doesn’t know how to act around Aqua at first. He thinks she’s really strong and admires how she’s able to pick up everything Master Eraqus left behind and be a good role model for all the Guardians of Light. He’s surprised by how kind and caring she acts towards him every time he visits the Land of Departure and, not being used to being treated that way, he ends up being kinda awkward around her. Aqua, like Terra, is a bit confused by how alike Roxas and Ventus look and, at first, she tends to treat Roxas the same way as Ven, but that quickly changes when she learns how different the two of them are. She picks up on Roxas’ awkwardness and tries to make sure he feels comfortable and welcomed around her. They end up getting along pretty well after spending more time together.

Terra

Roxas and Terra get along well. At first, Roxas is wary of Terra because, physically, he reminds him of Xemnas, but after spending some time with him (and hearing Ven speak so highly of him) he realizes Terra’s nothing like Xemnas. Roxas likes Terra’s calm temperament and admires his willpower and strength. Terra, also, was confused at seeing someone who looks so much like Ven but, as he gets to know Roxas better, he’s able to recognize the differences between the two of them (both physically and personality wise). He can see himself in some of Roxas’ traits and, if Roxas would ever want to train to become a Keyblade Master, Terra would love to have him as his student. He’s always really nice and welcoming towards Roxas and treats him like he’s part of the family when he visits them at the Land of Departure.

Xion, like Roxas, feels uncomfortable around Terra at first because of his resemblance to Xemnas, but, with time, she ends up liking him. Terra feels bad that he makes them feel that way, even if it’s not his fault, and does everything he can to make them feel comfortable. Xion and Terra can relate to each other over being part of the new Organization and being forced to fight their friends, and sometimes talk with each other about how that experience affected them. Xion thinks Terra is very cool and strong, but she’s also intrigued by his creative side. She, along with Naminé, likes to watch him carve the wood, and she’s enthused whenever he gifts her some of his creations.

Lea and Terra usually hang out in a group setting, and don’t talk much with each other, except exchanging some jokes from time to time. Lea likes that Terra seems to be chill to be around, but also admires how focused he is on his training and, even if he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he hopes he can be as strong as Terra one day. Terra thinks that it’s remarkable how Lea could summon his own Keyblade without an inheritance ceremony and he can relate to his goal of becoming a Keyblade Master. He doesn’t know much about Lea, but he thinks he’s a good friend to Ven, so he automatically likes him because of that.

Friendship askbox meme

#Thank you for the ask!! #roxas #ventus #roxas and ventus #terra #aqua #xion #lea #axel

[miss-tc-nova]

Org. XIII Awful Co-Workers?

“Interview” #2 I did for the Kingdom Haute zine. I had a lot of fun with this one. 

~~~~~

Have you ever looked at the sassy, confident, admittedly-sexy Organization XIII and wished you could stand among their rank? Don’t we all? Well, according to our newest source, you may want to think twice before donning that black coat and giving up your heart in servitude to Kingdom Hearts.

We at Kingdom Haute were recently contacted by a reliable, anonymous, member of the Organization itself who has done the honors of ranking who’s the worst of the worst to work with.

13. Xion – The Secret Manipulator

“By far, Xion is the easiest to get along with, but you can bet you’re a** she’s not innocent. Deny that girly what she wants, she’ll guilt you with the biggest puppy eyes you’ve ever seen. And if that don’t work, she’ll turn on Lexaeus and I don’t think he’s ever told her no.”

12. Lexaeus – The Guilt Tripper

“Man’s got a stony disposition. Won’t say anything if you do something wrong, but he just stares until the guilt eats you up. He’s got a soft spot for the younger ones though and they’ve all learned how to get anything from him, even at the expense of others.”

11. Xemnas – The Judgmental

“Boss-Man himself is probably one of the more bearable ones. Still, he’s as bad as Lexaeus if he catches you slacking off. The way he stares is unnerving, like a cat watching their next meal.”

10. Zexion – The Emo Teen

“That guy knows how to brood. Everything that comes from his mouth is some soliloquy of how existence sucks. I’m like ninety percent sure he only became a Nobody to add to his tragic backstory.”

9. Xaldin – The Nice Guy

“I thought them d*mn Pot Scorpion were toxic, but Xaldin’s got some issues. Guy’s just nasty and pessimistic all the time. I like taking candy from kids, but he takes it to a whole ‘nother level, you know. Not satisfied until the kid’s already got thousands of dollars of student loans in pre-school.”

8. Luxord – The Game Freak

“You ever had to pee so bad only to have someone stop you to guess what number they’re thinking of? No? Lucky you. Everything is a game to Luxord, even walking down the hall. And he cheats. But if you don’t play, you get to spend the next hour as one of his stupid cards, so I hope you didn’t have any plans.”

7. Demyx – The Man Child

“Demyx is actually pretty chill, but he’s got a whole bucket of loose bolts if you know what I mean. Man can burn toast and you can’t leave him in charge of anything. Xemnas must’ve been desperate to let him join the Organization. But he acts just like the kids, even cheering if he hears the words ‘ice cream.’”

6. Roxas – The Angry Puppy

“Speaking of ice cream, this kid’s got an enormous sweet tooth, but he’s definitely not made of sugar. He’ll fight you about everything, even if he’s completely wrong. I once watched him jump out a third story window because Saïx told him not to. Gotta give him props though; he told Saïx to go to hell and didn’t hesitate for even a second.”

5. Vexen – The Nagging

“I’ve gotta give it to this guy: he makes walking around with a stick up his a** look easy. You’d think that he made the rules around here. To be honest, he probably did since Xemnas doesn’t really give a hoot as long as our work gets done.”

4. Axel – The Bad Influence

“Xion and Roxas are pretty manageable, even together, but you throw this hot head into the mix and something is bound to end up on fire. I don’t think Saïx is ever gonna let him live down the time he accidentally set Vexen on fire with actual flaming Ch**tos.”

3. Saïx – The Kiss A**

“That brown-noser is next by the way. I swear he’s got some sort of crush on Xemnas. He’s like some sort of love sick puppy, following the leader around and enforcing the rules harder than Vexen, especially if Xemnas is around. Good luck enjoying anything with him around.”

2. Larxene – The B*tch

“Crossing that viper is one of the last things you wanna do. But at the same time, when aren’t you crossing her? You so much as sneeze and she gets all ticked off and threatens to stab your other eye.”

1. Marluxia – The Big B*tch

“Yeah, the other half of the B*tch Duo. He’s the worst of ‘em all. Walks around like he owns the place and we’re all just side characters. Everything is beneath him and he gets what he wants when he wants it. He once dragged Demyx out of the bathroom by his hair because the idiot forgot it was Marly’s shower hour. And you can forget about asking him to clean his hair out of the drain. He’s nasty and demanding and he knows it. But d*mn if he doesn’t look good doing it.”

#novas nonsense #zine feat nova #xion #roxas #axel #saix #marluxia #larxene #demyx #xemnas #xaldin #vexen #lexaeus #luxord #zexion

[embraceyourdestiny]

Roxas Gets His Anger From Ventus Theory

When the Nobodies were first introduced we were told none of them had a heart and none of the could have a heart, but that didn’t make sense even before we knew that wasn’t true. No one thought about it then, but looking back now it’s so obvious that was’t true because even if they didn’t technically have a full heart they still had something and the best evidence to prove this is their distinctive personalities and attitudes when we first meet them.

If Nobodies truly had nothing inside of them they would’ve been lifeless puppets, no differences between any of them just like a replica, but that’s not true. Larxene is a jerk, Marluxia is over the top and theatrical, Axel loves teasing and playing around, Vexen is quick to anger and pompous, you see what I mean? Even if they only had the smallest sliver of their heart that’s still something there and what’s likely the case is when you turn into a Nobody you regress to your most base emotion, or at least one of them.

It makes sense, if they still have their hearts and they’re only fractions of themselves a piece of them gets chosen to stay and emotion being the way their body tries to survive is like how when someone experiences trauma their body and mind picks an emotion to protect themselves.

For example, Axel loved to mess around with his friends when he was alive and Vexen always seemed above it all and like he knew better when he was still human and those are the main ways they act in the org, with Axel constantly getting under the skin of others and Vexen acting as if everyone else is a bother to him and his work.

So, where does that leave Roxas and Sora? If we exclude the fact that Roxas was empty for a while and experienced a wide array of emotions all the time because of his specific and complicated situation and instead focus on what emotion stuck out the strongest by the end of the story, Roxas’ base emotion after he recovered from the shock of dying was... anger?

That doesn’t make much sense since he came from Sora right? Is Sora a particularly angry person? Honestly we don’t really know since Sora isn’t open with his emotions. He could have a fountain of rage just sitting inside him waiting to burst, and maybe this can be backed up by Rage Form since it’s literally got Rage in the title, but we don’t really know if Roxas being angry is because of Sora.

Of course, just like Sora, Roxas was a special case in that he didn’t only have one emotion he was defined by because Sora’s heart was so strong that I’m willing to bet he was given a much bigger piece of his Other’s heart than the rest of the Org was but by the end of it, rage and even hate are Roxas’ defining emotions when he feels wronged or is concerned about his friends and I think this is because he’s still like Sora but the opposite; Sora does let his emotions control him and gets tunnel vision with them but his emotions are love and camaraderie, and since Roxas is his other half it only makes sense that the same thing happened except on the opposite end of the spectrum, thus leaving him alone and with great disdain for basically everyone and everything. DiZ even tells Roxas he should share that anger and hatred with Sora because he’s “too nice” and isn’t that strange if Roxas comes from Sora and “everything he has is his”?

So, if Roxas who comes from Sora is angry but the anger isn’t Sora’s then whose is it?

Well, I think it’s Ventus’.

Some might disagree since he’s so “happy-go-lucky” but he is able to be both. Xigbar/Braig literally says to both Roxas and Ventus something along the lines of “look how angry he is” and “he’s got that angry face down,” as well as comparing Roxas to Ventus and saying something like “you look just as angry as he did” before we even knew who Ventus was in Days.

And with remembering what DiZ, who said nobodies can’t feel anything, said about “giving that anger to Sora” it only makes sense that by following that logic the anger didn’t come from Sora in the first place and since Roxas’ foundations were not only his it stands to reason Ventus is the only other possibility to have given him all that anger. Ventus was pissed, legitimately livid, when Braig showed up and started threatening Aqua and we’ve definitely seen Sora mad but we haven’t seen him quiet that angry, to the point that I’m pretty sure Ventus actually wanted to kill Braig, so that anger passing on to Roxas makes sense.

Also I think the fact that Vanitas even exists is a pretty strong testament to Ventus’ anger bc just look at that guy and he came from Ven’s heart lmao.

Ventus is a very complicated character with a lot of depth and emotions to him. He’s felt joy and love but he’s also felt rage and hate. Everyone talks about sora as if he doesn’t have an ill will in his body so if that is true Roxas’ anger cannot come from him. Roxas and Sora wouldn’t be able to relate to each other in that way, and that’s where Xion and Sora’s more similar feelings lie, but Roxas and Ventus could understand each other’s anger, especially towards people who hurt their friends.

#og #kingdom hearts #kh #sora kh #Roxas kh #ven kh #Ventus kh #sora heartmates #sora heart hotel #kingdom hearts theories #theories #i refuse to acknowledge people who act as though ven is a uwu fwuffy babie #that kid is so fucked up and has so much depth don’t disrespect him like that

[naho-monogatari]

Soriku headcannon -☔️☔️☔️

It’s been raining all day. The kind of heavy rain that’s deafening outside and covers the windows in a wet fog.

Sora’s always quieter on those days.

He can’t help it, he’s a creature of the sun.

He finds himself sluggish, looking out of any window he can find with a dazed expression. He walks to school with his umbrella barely covering himself as he gazes at the puddles streaming towards the school gates’ gutters.

It’s not that he doesn’t like the rain, if anything he likes the noise silencing his normally hyper brain. His thoughts are not gone but muted, dulled, turning into a light buzz that’s drowned out by the sound of rain. Anyone would think he could concentrate in school on these rainy days, but his head goes straight into the clouds.

Sora pretends to be normal with their friends. He knows they would worry if he was suddenly too quiet. He struggles through his usual sunny grin and forces his normally easy chatter with Roxas and Hayner. If they notice a slight difference in Sora’s mood, they don’t mention it.

Riku loves days like this.

He won’t tell anyone but he has a bubble of joy when he wakes up to the sound of rain.

He can tell straight away when Sora is forcing his smile, he doesn’t like it but is careful not to let him know. Riku knows his thoughts and acts normally beside him throughout the school day.

When Sora and Riku are alone, at Rikus house after school, Sora finally allows himself to relax and be quiet.

Riku loves this part of day the most.

The deep-seated, possessive part of his brain loves that only he sees this side of Sora. That Sora doesn’t try to force his happy self in front of him.

The others never get to see Sora when he’s reflecting, daydreaming, bundled up in blankets with a sleepy face staring out into Riku’s yard at the rippling puddles.

Riku just sits silently next to him. A warm presence of support and affection.

The fact that Sora knows he can rely on Riku, that only he can be Sora’s quiet safe space fills him with joy.

Sora sits on Riku’s bed, the side closest to the window. Riku sits on the bed next to him, they’re both leaned back on the cushioned headboard, wrapped up in blankets. The only light being Riku’s old desk lamp and the only noises to be heard were the steady sound of heavy rain and the pages turning of Riku’s book.

On especially lucky rainy days, Sora leans his head on Riku’s shoulder.

It shocks him every time, Riku’s never gotten used to physical touch and the small intimate gesture makes a light blush cover his ears. A part of him feels silly for reacting, a much larger part is too happy to care.

They both hope it’s still raining again tomorrow.

#soriku #headcannons #kingdom hearts #kh sora #kh riku #kh3 riku

[stollenwurm-writes]

Preview: Ship of Theseus - Riku & Roxas

“I gotta admit,” Riku says, “It’s not really what I was expecting.” Roxas snorts. He looks around pointedly at the tall conifers growing where the foliage opens to the maw of expanding water. “Don’t tell me you actually thought there would be, like, palm trees and coconuts.”  “I don’t think I’m the only person who makes that association with the beach,” Riku replies, obviously disgruntled. He looks down, brows creased like he’s trying to solve a particularly boggling math equation, and digs a toe into the smooth pebbles at his feet. They whisper like rain against each other as they shift, displacing easily.  “The public areas of the beach have sand, but I’m pretty sure it’s not natural,” Roxas says and begins walking closer to where the water meets the shoreline, little rocks shifting under his feet. The loose terrain makes it difficult to move quickly along the shore, and there’s definitely no building sandcastles. But there’s also no sand sticking to every little thing it touches, which is nice. The audible shifting of stones behind him lets him know that Riku is following just a few feet back.  “It doesn’t even smell like a beach.”  That draws a genuine laugh out of Roxas and he looks over his shoulder back at where Riku is making his way through the unsteady pebbles. He looks almost as off-balance as he did on the skateboard. “That’s because it’s not the ocean.” Riku’s head shoots up from his deliberate footsteps to look out at the water. His eyebrows raise and then lower skeptically.  “It’s true!” Roxas laughs again. When he gets right up to where the waves can’t reach, he sits down and leans back on his hands, settling comfortably into the dry, cool stones. He looks out at the water. The mouth of the beach is surrounded by tall, stony cliffs that are cloaked in pines. But then the bay opens up to the horizon, seemingly forever, no opposing shore in sight as the waves roll in, capping white and breaking along the rocks.  “I feel like,” Riku says as he sits down next to Roxas, a polite but noticeable distance between them, “you’re hazing me again.” “I’m not!” Roxas insists and grins, pretending he wasn’t just as surprised the first time he’d come out here with his friends. He stares fondly at the water; it’s crystal clear near the shore and gradually darkens into something silvery and cool with distance. A far cry from the bright blue seas of Destiny Islands. “If you don’t believe me, you can taste the water yourself. It’s freshwater. It’s just a big lake.” “I…” Riku trails off, frowning at the expanse as though it’s committing an act of treason for daring not to have a visible end. As though for all the bizarre worlds he’s seen, a freshwater sea is the limit to absurdity. Then grunts. “I’m not drinking lake water.” 

A short little context-free, spoiler-free snippet of an upcoming one-shot.

#kingdom hearts #kh fanfiction #rikuroku #writing progress

[sensitive-charmy]

One scene that really bugs me is when Riku is demanding to go into the RoD to save Aqua and Kairi’s like, “Lol who’s this new Riku and what have you done with the old one?” And Riku’s like, “New me????” Because he’s not acting any different. He’s always been headstrong and eager and and striving to protect people. He said, “If I open this door I can get to other worlds but this one will be destroyed? Dude, I already opened it.” He said, “Maleficent has Kairi’s body but I need to take on these dark powers in order to restore her heart? I’ll do it.” He said, “You need Roxas and Xion to recomplete Sora’s memories? I gotchu.” He said, “Sora’s asleep and needs me to dive into his dreams to protect him? This is uncharted territory that none of us have ever dealt with? I’ll get him out.” He said, “Sora’s in a world with tall buildings and I’m sure there are plenty of worlds like that but you think it might be Quadratum? Quadratum, here I come.” And he left. He left without talking to anyone about it. He didn’t check in with Yen Sid or even Mickey. Tbh, this guy never thinks things through.

And I think this is a great example of a scene where Kairi displays how much she really doesn’t know Riku. But that never goes anywhere. Kairi never struggles internally with realizing she doesn’t know Riku as well as she thought. Riku doesn’t even seem insulted. He’s just confused. He’s like, “Um, I guess I’m acting like Sora?? Idk, feel like I’ve always been like this, though…” It’s just an awkward scene and nothing comes out of it. I don’t even know what the purpose of it really is.

#khiii #kh3 #kingdom hearts 3 #kingdom hearts #kh #riku #kairi

[kingdom-hearts-redux]

It’s the boi! The lion boi! Let me tell you about the Reduxed boi!

~ Sora ~

  Loves plush toys.

  Likes going swimming and is always drawn to water, oftentimes picking up Riku (he's strong enough to do so for exactly three seconds) and jumps into the ocean to surprise him.

  Loves his mom (named Kumora) and does his best to help her out around the house since his dad (named Cliff) left. Sometimes he takes on too much but it's worth it if it means his mom will be happy.

  Has adhd and has exactly one brain cell. Is forgetful and feels really bad whenever he forgets something he promised he'd do and has trouble focusing.

  Is firm in his beliefs but isn't afraid to admit when he's wrong after learning new information.

  Wants to believe that there's good in everybody and struggles with accepting that he can't be friends with everybody.

  Is self-sacrificing to the point of nearly becoming a martyr. Riku helps him be more ok with saying no and showing himself as much love as he shows others.

  Hides his pain and shoulders a lot so that he doesn't make others worry about him and gets disoriented when he's the one being comforted.

  Can make friends with others but used to be taken advantage of when he was younger but doesn't let it stop him from reaching out to make new friends despite the possibility of getting hurt again.

  Doesn't think in absolutes ("Darkness is Bad, Light is Good!"). He understands to some extent that people are flawed and situations morally grey, and chooses to do good despite all the bad.

  Loves windy days.

  Because he's a cat boy he can purr and kneads into Riku a lot.

  Is a really big sympathy crier and deeply empathetic to others, even if he doesn't understand what others are going through he's still sad that they're sad and always tries helping them feel better.

  A late sleeper, enjoys taking naps, especially on Riku's lap or with him nearby.

  Loves hanging out in and climbing trees too, and acting like a creature. Though a lot of the time he ends up stuck and can't get down. Riku helps him, promising to catch him every time. Kairi is often the one to get Riku when this happens (Shion being the other times).

  Loves animals.

  Looks dumb but is more intelligent than others give him credit for. He just likes to take it easy.

  Worries about others' well beings so much that he often forgets about himself. Riku and Roxas help him become more aware of his own needs and that it's ok to be selfish sometimes.

  Isn't afraid to look silly and likes making others laugh.

  Likes gifting Riku and Kairi with cool rocks or trinkets he finds and he treasures the gifts Riku and Kairi gift him. Shion, too, of course!

  Knows how to make flower crowns and makes them often.

  He likes to draw and be creative, and has a few sketchbook that he likes to doodle in and often draws in the sand, either with his finger or a stick.

  He's a foodie.

*** DISCLAIMER ***

I do not own the above concept art or Sora himself, just the Redux. All rights reserved to their respective owners.

#text post #art #Sora #Kingdom Hearts Redux #my UA

[dominicsorel]

KH1, The Dark World, Chirithys, and Riku: the Incredible Connection Pt. 1

Information I will be going over will include: that Riku has ALWAYS been a Dream Eater, the Dark World exists inside Riku’s heart and how being a Dream Eater affects what was happening at the end of KH1, that the darkness Aqua interacted with was none other than Riku’s (hence the Darkling-esque outfit), and how Sora’s Heart Station shines down in the Dark World.

1) Dream Eater Riku

A special ability Chirithy are noted to have the ability to smell light and darkness. This is something Riku is shown able to do and even mentions that Kairi had a similar scent to Namine (in the original scene he simply states he recognized Namine from her saving him), hinting he may have had this ability for a long time. And he can tell the difference between the smell of light and darkness and whose it is. He could even tell when Replica Riku took in Zexion’s powers, specifically.

In BBS, we see Riku seeming to sense something from Sora before even looking at him and he probably sensed sadness since Sora is crying and Riku looked worried. In KH3, we see a scene similar to this where Riku is making sure Axel is okay after getting injured pretty badly and he suddenly seems to sense something and that something is coming from Sora which causes him to run to him in order to reassure him that everyone still has their hearts.

In 3D, we see Riku has a Dream Eater mark on his back but he doesn’t have one normally despite what he is. The reason Riku gains a mark on his back in is likely because his heart joined with Sora’s when he went to sleep and it turned him into a new Spirit Dream Eater like the Chirithy at the end of KHUX in order to protect their chosen Keyblade wielders.

Chirithy are often portrayed as knowledgeable and almost teacher-like as they help guide their chosen wielders. Because Riku is keen on helping protect Sora from a very young age, it’s not hard to see how him playfully competing with him could be the way he helps him train to become stronger.

Riku is quite...worldly for a child in BBS. He could tell Terra wasn’t from their world (something he shares with the Goddess Calypso from POTC who also acts like a Dream Eater) and, honestly, I think he was expressing curiosity in the man because of the sadness in his heart. That’s simply conjecture, though.

And the way Riku talks at the end of BBS was very knowing. Like Sora was his chosen Keyblade wielder already at that point and he was advising him of his future duty he would help him with. Otherwise, why would he even bring up the idea of Sora helping others like this at all?

BTW the sun symbolism in Chirithy’s creation is another curious thing.

Riku’s often represented with a sun. He even shines down on Sora’s Heart Station like Sora is the world and Riku is the sun.

Nice visual hint there.

“They manifested, like a flame. They weren't really...really from anywhere. The conditions were right and they came into being. For centuries we've dreamed of a pure existence beyond our own.”

Honey, that’s you.

2) The Dark World

Now, you know how Chirithy turn into Nightmares if their wielder falls to darkness? And how if they’re not stopped they can plant darkness in the hearts of others? What does darkness pouring out of something remind you of?

Like...a Nightmare.

Remember the door closing in KH1? How afterwards we got a flashback involving Sora and Riku in a nostalgia filter? There was another scene that was awfully similar to it and it’s in BBS.

Ventus and Sora restored the hearts of Aurora and Riku. But...the difference being that The Dark World was locked inside of Riku’s heart in the process and he’s been dealing with that pain ever since.

While Sora and Kairi spend KH3 figuring out how to release Roxas and Namine from their hearts, Riku spends KH3 figuring out how to release Aqua from his.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]

#kingdom hearts #kh riku #riku #kh chirithy #chirithy #chirithy riku #the dark world #kh meta #text #long post cw -

[flovey-dovey]

Thinking about an AU where there’s a big(ger) forest around Twilight Town and everybody knows you can’t just go in there when it’s dusk out but one reason or another has Roxas venturing in there anyway. Quickly in, quickly out, that’s what he told himself, hurrying a little faster with every step.

But uh-oh, his trip is cut short when he hears it-- the booming footsteps of the monster that lurked there. Reportedly, it snatched up anybody who’d get lost and leaving them as naught but empty, mindless husks by the following dawn.

Roxas doesn’t want to see it, though vice-versa was preferable, so he books it outta there back to Twilight Town’s gate (which was hopefully still open). As he runs, stupidly, he glances over his shoulder. The forest is a blur, his heart and the approaching monster pounding in his ears, and he doesn’t see the large knotted tree root fast enough.

The ground met him like a punch to the gut and he ultimately landed on his back. He cried out as the mat of thorns he lands on embedded itself in his skin through his clothes. Staring up at the darkening amber sky through the needle-thin leaves of the pines mournfully looming over him, his breath dies in his throat even as his lungs burn for air.

The forest was starkly quiet. Had he imagined it? Was his mind playing tricks? But not even the birds sang, and the crickets and cicadas had all but abandoned their little concerts in the undergrowth.

He swallowed, the tension so heavy it weighed on Roxas like a mountain.

Very, very slowly, he turned his head.

To his left sat an ominous gathering of trees...

To his right was--

-- Roxas’ blood ran cold.

It was there.

The Twilight Thorn was there.

Huge and white and covered in zippers, it knelt just across the way in the middle of the grove, it’s featureless head craned in an awkward stare directly at him. Even kneeling, it was nearly as gargantuan as the pines. A long blue scarf hung behind it from its neck, completely still in the windless evening.

Nothing about it was anatomically correct, and on the slim chance Roxas returned home alive he felt sure that no description he could give of it would do it any justice.

Roxas swallowed, his thoughts racing, his throat and mouth dry. He knew in his bones that running was useless. It could catch up with him in a single bound, for as short as its legs looked they were still significantly longer than his. Its hands-- when he risked the act of looking away from its, uh, “face”, which bore an unusual symbol that resembled an upside-down heart-- looked more like crab claws than hands, and he lay just barely beyond its reach.

His mind pictured against his will what it’d be like to be grabbed like it was nothing, chopped in two, pulled apart or ripped to shreds or crushed like a bug--

W h a t   i s   y o u r   n a m e ,   s i r e   ?

Wha--

Roxas’ mind was abuzz with something akin to white noise as the words filled his thoughts as if they were his own.

Roxas blinked, mouth agape. Ignoring the “sire” part for the moment, he temporarily forgot himself, wondering when his senses returned if he should answer at all. Nothing was making sense. His gaze darted around in search of the town’s gate but couldn’t find it from his current perspective. Delaying the inevitable seemed pointless, and maybe he’d only be hurrying it by saying anything, but...

“Ro--... Roxas...”

The word was barely a sound at all. A resonant tone filled the air, almost like a hum, and it made goosebumps race up Roxas’ spine. His fingers were numb and he felt dangerously close to passing out. Should he still try to run...? He doubted he could even lift a finger...

The Twilight Thorn tilted its head to the other side, heedless of the way it should’ve snapped its neck in the process and continued its long, hard stare. Roxas had no idea how much time had passed, only sure that he only let himself blink once and his eyes were starting to burn, and that he had just about stopped breathing altogether.

It was so quiet that only the pain from the thorns in his back and arms as well as the sky’s steady shift from amber to maroon told him any of it was actually happening.

Roxas’ heart lurched in its cage when it moved. Abruptly, smoothly, with uncanny fluidity, as if it were flying-- but less like a bird and more like a sock in the wind--

-- And left.

Gone.

Without a trace.

Without a sound, save the flapping of its scarf and extremities.

Roxas waited a solid minute-- too flabbergasted to move any sooner anyhow-- before, faster than his body could manage painlessly, mad a mad dash back to town, his pulse blaring in his ears, lungs burning from the effort, and keeping his steps high and making sure never to look back.

His last fleeting thought as the gate heaved closed behind him before locking up for the evening was that he had absolutely no idea what possessed him to leave town in the first place.

That night in bed, Roxas let out a long and shuddering breath and clasped a hand over his heart, which was still hammering away, determined as anything to keep him from sleep.

He didn’t even want to look in the general direction of the forest for as long as he lived.

...

The next day, Roxas could hardly focus on anything except the most likely entirely useless wall that kept everyone in the solid safety of its embrace, and the giant myth-monster that (more or less) killed anyone that had had the displeasure of meeting it but hadn’t so much as hurt a hair on his head... Not to mention the “conversation” he’d had with the said monster...

“Sire”... The word echoed vaguely in his mind, though he couldn’t remember what it sounded like, if he’d actually heard that it at all. He was freaked out. It was possible.

Roxas’ eyes fell from the middle-distance to the sketchbook in his lap, a crudely-drawn giant of a knight with strange proportions taking up a modest amount of space on the page.

One mystery after another, it seemed...

- - -

... Anyway. Yeah. More at 11 I guess maybe. I dunno. A lot of whimsy is at work here. If this gets 1 note then I might be inclined.

#my post #text post #kinda long post #kingdom hearts #writing #blurb #no beta we die like men #twilight thorn x roxas #... did I come up with a ship name for them? #Prince of Thorns #I think it was #KH2 #AU thing #kingdom hearts 2

[strayheartless]

Something we don’t talk enough about is the fact that the folklaw of the paopu fruit isn’t inherently romantic (And before I go any further I want to make clear that this is not trying to discredit ships or claim kairi and sora are not in love. You ship what you ship and I’ll ship what I ship and never the two shall interfere.).

The fact of the matter is, that what we hear about the folk law of the fruit is this:

“If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They’ll remain a part of each others lives no matter what.” - Riku, KH1

NOW! I am aware that within the context of the scene rRku is teasing sora over his crush on Kairi - anyone with eyes could see that. However, despite the obvious romantic ideal of having a shared destiny, it is not a wholly romance based idea.

You could share the fruit with just about anyone you knew if you wanted to be in their lives forever. Say, a best friend or a family member, or a particularly precious family pet.

Anyone you wanted to stay with, you could share one with.

Which raises a question about this mystical fruit. Is it’s sharing symbolic in KH law or is Namora really out here basing the entirety of sora’s connection to his friends on the basis of -what essentially boils down to- a magical star shaped mango?

The way I see it is that Sora’s intention to share the Paopu with Kairi can absolutely be read as romantic. The narrative clues are there, we can see them. However, arguably Sora has just as much reason to share the paopu with all of his friends as he does with her.

His fate is so intrinsically intertwined with that of ventus, Roxas and Xion, That he could share one with them. He has deep connections with Donald and Goofy, that he holds incredibly dear to him. After all his friends are his power, his strength to carry on. So he could share one with them.

He spent so long looking for, finding, loosing, and looking all over again for Riku, that he has every reason to share one with his best friend, even if it simply means never loosing sight of him again.

Sora’s motivations to share one with kairi may stem from romance, but that doesn’t make the law of the fruit specifically romantic.

In a way the paopu fruit is a bit like a pinky swear. It’s a promise to never loose sight of the other person and to share their destiny with the other person.

Perhaps the magic goes simply as deep as the intention of sharing one or the visualisation. Perhaps in simply handing a person the fruit with the intent to share is enough to bind one another.

The only three people that we ever see holding the fruit are Kairi, Sora and Riku. Perhaps that is where the bond starts.

In KH 1 Riku throws the fruit to Sora, who catches it. That is, in itself an act of sharing. In the cave sora draws himself feeding kairi and she then draws herself feeding him. That is an intent to share.

Therefore, by this logic, Sora is inextricably linked to both of them. Because they, all three, passed the fruit/ visualised passing the fruit to another.

And I can hear you say, ah yes, but flo, Riku and Kairi never shared a paopu in any capacity. And, dear reader you’d be right. However, they both shared one in different capacities with Sora, and thus are both linked to him, and by extension each other.

Now, Riku and Kairi are a odd little conundrum that has often bothered me. They are friends, they obviously care for one and other. And in KH1 it’s clear that there’s a little bit of show boating going on between the boys as to who can impress Kairi more.

Its something Naminé plays on in CoM, and it’s obvious that at one point or another, Riku’s priorities were the same as Sora’s. Protect Kairi. Yet, there is an extremely noticeable point at which that changes.

That place being Rikus journey in CoM. It is here that Riku shifts his focus from protecting Kairi to protecting Sora.

There are many reasons and possible theories for this. If your are on this app as frequently as I think you are then you probably know about most of them. So I’m not going to delve too deep into that one.

The point remains though, that Kairi and Riku’s destinies both diverge/ and converge at the same time. On the one hand, they diverge as Riku moves his focus from protecting her and making up for his actions as Ansam’s puppet; while simultaneously converging on one single fixed point that is their only meaningful connection to each other for the entire story.

Sora.

He is what binds them together, he is their destiny and he is what intertwined their destiny’s with each other.

Sora -as mushy as it sounds- is their star shaped fruit. They chose to share the paopu with him and thus inadvertently shared him between them. They both hold a piece of his destiny and his heart. Regardless of what you ship that can’t be denied.

Because the folk law of the paopu fruit is not an inherently romantic.

#kingdom hearts #kh1 sora #kh1 riku #kh1 #kh1 kairi #paopu fruit #paopu theory #soriku #I guess #but also #sorkai #too #chain of memories #kh2 #kh3 #riku #sora #kairi

[izunias-meme-hole]

My Personal Top 10 Kingdom Hearts Characters 

Number 1. Xemnas - This doesn’t require much explanation, but allow me to explain. After replaying KH2, I’ve come to realize after all this time Xemnas is an amazing villain. Xemnas is the nobody of Apprentice Xehanort, his husk, an entity that can feels nothing and wasn’t meant to exist, yet he’s quite the specimen. He’s a very sinister figure due to his nature, the fact that he’s a special nobody like Roxas, his inability to feel emotion, and his belief that negative emotions are what give the heart power, but at the same time you somehow manage to feel pity for him because of these things. While what he does is his own choice, you can clearly see that while he’s a different entity from his human self, he still chooses to go in that hollow shadow because it’s in his own nature, and it ended up being his downfall. That and his boss was truly a test of your skills. TL;DR: Xemnas is amazing.

Number 2. Ansem/Apprentice Xehanort - After replaying the original KH trilogy, I kinda realize that while Apprentice Xehanort didn’t have much screentime only had 2 outings as a main villain as Ansem for 12 mintues, his presence is greater than I thought and he’s 100% on par with Xemnas. Apprentice Xehanort was originally just Xehanort’s heart in Terra’s body, but after getting a bad case of amnesia, he was found by Xigbar and taken in by Ansem The Wise and became his apprentice. During his time as an apprentice, he was curious about darkness and the heart, and based off what we can infer from his reports, he was curious about who he really was. Eventually Wise Ansem decided to shut down all of his research and, Xehanort was livid to the point where he was willing to send his teacher to the realm of darkness. Eventually, he does get his answers and gets memories back, but the experience causes him to act impulse, turn his colleagues into heartless and nobodies, call himself “Ansem”, experimented on a young Kairi before sending her off to Destiny Islands, and finally separate his heart from his body and becoming the heartless, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. In KH1, he’s bodiless, until possessing Riku, but he does a lot of shit in the shadows, until the end of the game. However in Riku’s portion of Chain of Memories, he only appears in the flesh three times and he terrifies Riku, until their final fight. So he basically gave a lot of tramua to Riku after that one possession from KH1 that didn’t really start healing, until KH2. In later games Ansem’s still pretty good, but honestly his portrayal in the original trilogy is fantastic.

Number 3. Axel/Lea - Axel has been a showstealer ever since Chain of Memories thanks to his gangster-esque attitude and the wild card element he brought to the table, but he definitely got more depth in KH2 thanks to the introduction of his buddy Roxas. 358/2 Days goes further into his character by expanding upon his relationship with Roxas and introducing his history with Saix and in all honesty it’s his second best appearance in the series, mostly because he’s one of the major characters in that game so we see things through his lens more often, which kinda helps strengthen his sacrifice in KH2.  However he does return in Dream Drop Distance and KH3 as Lea, and while he isn’t as amazing as before, he’s still pretty alright. No matter what game he’s in, Axel will make sure you get him memorized.

Number 4. Marluxia - I respect Marluxia a lot for his time as the main villain in Chain of Memories. He was a clever son of a bitch and the grim reaper motif combined with the Japanese symbol of death (cherry blossoms) made him unique for an Organization XIII member, not to mention he’s one of the few Organization members that’s as terrifying as Xemnas. He also had some stuff going on in Union X and KH3, but his first outting remains his best.

Number 5. Xion - People love Roxas, but I personally think Xion is honestly sadder as a character because she’s not a real nobody. Xion was a replica that was made using Sora’s memories and for a little while she was a faceless enity. Everything about her feels borrowed, but it feels like that was the point because her memories, and her “face” isn’t even hers until KH3. In short, Xion feels like a real nobody, despite not being like the other nobodies and I like that. That and her friendship with Roxas is actually kinda wholesome if you look past the cheeesy shit.

Number 6. Roxas - Someone get this poor kid an ice cream. He’s been placed in a cult and he’s constantly questioning his existence, he needs that ice cream. He’s a wet cat, give him shelter.

Number 7. Xigbar/Luxu - Xigbar was originally a dude Master Xehanort hired to help him with his quest to forge the X-Blade, then Xehanort possessed Terra, lost his memory, was found by Xiggy and Ansem the Wise, and both of them remained in kahoots. Xigbar soon became the eyes and ears of Organization XIII, and Xemnas’s right hand man. Then union cross reveals Luxu, who was a foreteller tasked with watching events unfold, until the time is right, and his master acts an awful lot like Xigbar which led to some crazy fan theories. Then in KH3 we are proven wrong because it is revealed that Xigbar was the current vessel for Luxu’s heart and soul ever since Birth By Sleep. So yeah, Xigbar’s character is simply a very observant right hand man that always lingers in the shadows, and the Luxu twist doesn’t really change that, it just means that we’ll get more of this clever little sneak. 

Number 8. Riku - Riku went from Sora’s overconfident friend, to an asshole, to being norted, to redeeming himself and becoming on of the best character in the series. A keyblade wielder who can use both light and darkness, but keep his shit together. However what I like about him the most is that he’s a one to one parallel of the Xehanort’s, not in design, but in terms of background, however unlike those guys Riku got his shit together and immediately cleaned up his act as soon as he realized that some damage can be fixed. Not to mention his friendship with Sora after KH1 and the lengths he went to ensure that his friend is restored is indeed something. Riku may have gotten swooned by the promise of strength, but he ain’t gonna let that be more important than his friends.

Number 9. Sora - He’s warmed up to me, plus I see the appeal.

Number 10. Master Xehanort - I used to like this guy a lot and I still do. Xehanort is honestly intriguing despite being a mixture between a hammy as hell bastard, a old ass nerd, and a self righteous prick. His relationship with his friend Eraqus is definitely something, his belief in balance between light and darkness mixed with his own delusions make him interesting, plus he’s surprisingly alright as a character. However Birth By Sleep remains his best outting as a villain.

#xemnas #axel #lea #xion #xigbar #Luxu #roxas #master xehanort #Xehanort #riku #saix/isa #Apprentice Xehanort #ansem #ansem seeker of darkness #marluxia #sora #kh #Kingdom hearts #ranking