#well it is for the kairi aspect anyway. let her do stuff in the next game okay nomura | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

smartzelda · 3 years

Text

Okay, so now that that's out of the way, here are all my thoughts on the khmom

So starting out, I know some were hoping this was the big Kairi game, and I'm sad it didn't live up to my hopes in that regard, but we also have to remember that Nomura said in interview before it came out not to expect too much, and then we learned that the story mode is an average of 10 hours.

As a fandom we need to remember that KHMoM was never advertised as "the big Kairi game", so while you can be sad that the game didn't live up to your hopes and dreams, Nomura did not "basically" tell us we were gonna get a big Kairi game and then let us down. With all due respect, this game is only a "Kairi game" in the sense that she's on the front cover and the story cutscenes at the end show her side of searching for Sora. Even the advertisements and interviews about this game were mostly focused on the rhythm game aspect, so besides cutscenes, the only talk about Kairi was the change from Chirithy to her doing narration

Now let's continue on keeping in mind that this is all my opinion and analysis, and there are various opinions out there.

Let's start with Kairi, since most of this game is about her. I haven't played the game myself yet (I watched cutscenes for now), but although it's sad Kairi herself wasn't part of any teams (which honestly makes sense since she wasn't a main character focused on in any of the games as much as those chosen for teams. KH1, CoM, and KH2 really were Sora, Donald, and Goofy, Days really was our sea salt trio, wayfinder trio was obviously the main protagonists for BBS, and even though Sora was in DDD, Sora is already on a team and Riku got a bigger charactsr focus in that game, so why not include the dream eater pals. And then honestly kh3 was Donald and Goofy and Sora again), at least we get her in the end. And her getting a small playable section at the end honestly makes sense considering the cutscene portion is the part of the game about her/following her/focuses on her, and she's been getting better as a keyblade wielder.

Now, this section shows us the pink flower thing from remind, and I'm even more convinced that it isn't her heart. For one, in remind, it was used in kh2 fashion, like an object to create a pathway to the next world or in this case Kairi herself. Then, in this game, while she's sleeping and in the final world, she finds it and it breaks apart. If it was Kairi's heart, would it make sense for it to break apart inside of her and not have an affect on her or her body? And what convinces me more is that after you collect all these pieces of the flower with Kairi, she clutches her head and has a memory moment.

What is the pink flower thing, then, you wonder? Well tbh I wonder too, but I had a thought. It's not essential enough to her state of being to be her heart, but it's definitely a part of her or a representation of part of her. My thought is that it could be a semi-physical representation of her memories or a physical metaphor of her state of being at the time it shows up. For example, in remind, it could have been scattered pices of her memory, because we remember that in kh3 they learned that a person (like Roxas, Xion, etc) couldn't completely come back or wake up from wherever their hearts were until their memories were returned to them too. So if the flower is representative of her memory, it then would make sense why it needed to be gathered, why it made Sora feel Kairi, and why it can also act as an object related to Kairi that can pave a path to her. It could also be a metaphor for her state of being at the same time since just like the flower, Kairi's body is shattered. This also makes sense for KHMoM, because if it's partly a metaphor representation of Kairi's state of being, then her "state of being" in this case refers to her repressed childhood memories and the links in those chains of memories that have broken apart. And so if the flower is representative of her memories, it would make sense that when she gathered all the pieces she remembered these memories because it brought these repressed memories to light and essentially pieced them back together when she gathered the heart pieces. If not because the flower has to do with her memories, at least in this case, why else would she remember repressed memories after gathering the flower pieces?

Continuing on from here, when Kairi holds her head and begins to remember, we get this interesting turn of the camera that flips Kairi and her reflection in the water before transitioning to the memories. I don't know much about camera techniques, but it definitely symbolizes or means something.

So we get the memory of Apprentice Terranort taking young Kairi (I honestly laughed when it showed him reaching for her just because of that "gimme your phone" meme) and it transitions to showing the scene with Kairi in one of the pods. This scene tells us a few things. For one, somehow, Apprentice Terranort knows about "unreality" or what's essentially a parallel universe to the KH universe, you can somehow get there with a strong enough connection to it (like using someone who's from there like Riku did or your heart resonating in some way with someone there. For example, if Kairi's poh heart resonated with a keyblade wielder from the alternate universe instead of Riku on Destiny Islands). It also may tell us that it's possible that Apprentice Xehanort knew the stuff we learned in the kh3 ending with the Luxu reveal would come to pass. Obviously Xehanort knew by doing what he did with Kairi that he would cause Sora's disappearance, but since we know (from Dark Road I think?) that the ancient wielders went to another world and all that, we know the stuff with Kairi was his final plan, and we know Xehanort got his peaceful death, I don't think Xehanorts final plan with Kairi was a ploy for him to do more summon kingdom hearts or a petty go at removing Sora since he might win. More than likely this "final plan" has to do with preventing a possible future and setting things up accordingly. Apprentice Terranort told 4 yr old Kairi her mission as if it's success would affect the future of the universe. And on one hand it makes sense because they needed a keyblade wielder to defeat the heartless and restore the worlds and lock their keyholes, but what if it's double meaning is that making sure the worlds last past that is dependent on making sure "the keyblade wielder" would also be in the position to prevent a future crisis? Because I doubt Quadratum is gonna only be important for getting Sora and coming back. This place is gonna have some significance, and if preventing or battling the crisis also hinges on the Keyblade wielder going to the alternate universe as Xehanort's backup plan to balance the worlds or keep them safe, then the foretellers, Luxu, the box, and that whole thing are more connected to what's happening in the alternate universe as we would've thought. Anyways, to sorta summarize that, I think that Sora had to have ended up in the Alternate universe to give our main crew a chance of dealing with something big, and if Xehanort couldn't make a new world with the keyblade, he at least had to make sure Sora could be in the right place to make sure things happen as they should to save all the worlds.

Then we get Kairi faced with the man in a cloak who's revealed to be Xehanort. This part also honestly made me laugh because we knew it would be Xehanort, but also on behalf of those who insisted it was MoM (no offense to them btw because I get their thought process. It just kinda made me laugh). I liked this sequence in the khmom trailer (especially in og Japanese because what Kairi says there is better put), and I like it because it essentially serves as Kairi facing her fear and the one who changed her fate head on, channeling all those thoughts and feelings and letting them out. So, whether or not this Xehanort is real or fake, Kairi takes him head on.

Now the fight sequence has a variation of thoughts on it, and here are mine. For one, I spent this whole sequence being so excited because she was fighting so good and hard to the best of her ability. Second, this is memory Xehanort created from her heart, so I like the explanation that he too is influenced by her personal fears and doubts, mainly an insecurity and doubt in her own abilities. So the reason Xehanort is so easily able to catch her keyblade and dodge hits from her (the first time he grabbed it I honestly thought he would insult her and snap it like Xemnas did with Lea) is because no matter how much she wants to defeat him, deep down she doesn't believe she's strong enough, and so here leads into when she turns into Sora.

Now, to preface, if the literal explanation of this from Nomura is "Kairi isn't strong enough so Sora's sleeping heart sensed her danger and possessed her to do the boss fight for her", then I think this sequence is 1000% bad, unnecessary, and people have every right to be mad. However, my thoughts on this scene is that it also has to do with her memories and anxieties. Remember that memory Xehanort says that everything in this specific version of the final world was created by Kairi's heart. And so if her doubts are on her own strength, my thoughts are that it was these doubts and feelings of inferiority that had her become Sora (or a memory Sora more specifically) because she doesn't believe she can win or beat Xehanort with out him yet. In other words, she still felt dependent on him, so in that moment her heart responded by temporarily turning her into Sora to reaffirm her fears (like when she was losing against xehanort) and beat Xehanort for her. If this is true, then that gives some depth to Kairi's character in how she currently percieves herself as of khmom, and maybe how she believes others view her. And with Xehanort's comment, I think it may reaffirm that this Sora is a projection. Because if Sora came there through his bond to Kairi, then there's no reason Kairi would've disappeared or there's no reason why he wouldn't have talked or just something. So then, Xehanort's line about Sora being where his voice cannot reach them has a double meaning. The first is that this Sora that fights memory Xehanort does not speak (and also he's fighting like a controlled puppet without a will of it's own like, did you see his soulless face?), which affirms to him that Sora is in the alternate universe, and the second may be that he realized it's a version of him from Kairi's heart (just like he himself is), and he being there instead of the real Sora affirms that Sora's bonds in this world have broken and he couldn't have been there himself, meaning he must've been in the alternate universe (if not dead, which Xehanort knows he isn't because he knows his final plan with Kairi).

Side note, also during the earlier battle with Xehanort, Xehanort told Kairi she wouldn't find Sora in her heart and that the key to him is in memories long gone. And part of my reaction to that is that I felt validated and angry, because we've been saying that Kairi wouldn't find Sora through the search of her heart and dudebros and s/ks and the like said that we were thinking about our ship and being misogynistic in thinking Kairi wouldn't have that role, and then Xehanort himself, created from Kairi's heart said "You won't find anything here". My other reaction was to "memories long gone", and it honestly made me wonder if it meant that Kairi had some of Sora's memories in her heart that he lost and they're not there anymore, or that the key to Sora is memories of his he not only lost, but are literally missing and in someone no one can reach currently (like within Yozora or something)

So anyways, Xehanort gives Kairi a clue about how to find Sora through that line referring to the alternate universe (again it being brought up in the future for a different thing is why I think Apprentice Terranort gave his speech as a double meaning in the past), and she finally wakes up where the whole lab crew work it out

As for AtW and crew assuming the alternate universe is fictional, that may or may not be true. They worked it out by saying "The opposite of our reality is unreality or fiction", but we also know that could be referring to a parallel universe, meaning both universes could very much be real. As for Yozora telling Sora "this isn't the real world", I'm not gonna go far into it as others have, but if Sora is theoretically inside Yozora's heart, hence how he can visit him in his dream, then Sora is technically not in the real world, but the alternate universe is in the real world. And if the alternate universe is a fake world, it's not impossible, but it's still odd to me how Yozora would be self aware that the world he was born in wasn't real.

Forward from here, Riku enters, Kairi and Riku have their leads to Sora (tbh one of my hopes was that Kairi and Riku would have a real talk about the odd status of their friendship and how it's honestly not great, but maybe it'll happen in the future), and Fairy God Mother magics Kairi and Riku and herself into the final world (sorry this is a bit passive aggressive, but no, we knew that Riku wouldn't need to dream dive into Kairi's dreams to make it into the final world so they could get to Sora). FGM then starts talking about the final key, alerts the two teens about the hearts in the final world, and takes them to Nameless star. It was about this point I literally had a moment over how beautiful Kairi and Nameless star's respective voices sounded because they both sounded so pretty. This is also where they learn that shibuya in the other universe is named Quadratum (haha another square reference I see, square😂), and FGM says that you can get to the other universe with the power of waking and Nameless Star's strong dream and will. I honestly can't wait until we get to see Nameless star for real and hear her name. It's honestly so sweet that Riku wanted to make her dream come true (in like a "Riku is so nice and sweet" way, not in a shippy way) and was also willing to help her not just because she could lead him to Sora.

Then, FGM informs the crew that this is as far as she goes, and leaves the rest to Riku. This is another widely opinionated section of MoM's story, because here Kairi expresses her wishes to go and is ultimately rejected. I have seen people rant about how Riku is a misogynist and explain this scene as if Riku literally told Kairi "You're too weak", shoved her aside, and called her useless, but here's an analysis of the scene with some of my pov. That part wasn't nearly as bad as people exaggerated it to be. When Kairi expressed her wish to go, Riku literally stuttered, failing to actually say she can't. He didn't even really say anything before Kairi sighed and was like "I know". So to say Riku is misogynistic for that?😬 Also, this is a completely new universe, one where Yen Sid didn't even let Mickey Mouse follow, and as FGM said you have to have the power of waking to get there. Kairi is strong, as memory Xehanort said, but she's not to master level (or at Sora or Riku's level for that matter), not strong enough to deal with a whole new world, especially since her only real experience was being plunged into war just after some training (like Sora and Riku got this whole experience starting with dealing with low level heartless and getting used to it all, and they had been practicing and self teaching themselves how to fight since they were kids, to which Kairi did not), and she doesn't have the power of waking, so no matter how much Kairi wants to go with Riku, as he was trying to tell her and failing, it's not possible for her right now. It's like how Sora wanted so badly to join Riku and Mickey in the RoD on saving Aqua, but he hadn't regained his strength yet and didn't have the Power of Waking. Example one of the Kingdom Hearts fandom's double standards: Sora being denied access to also go to the RoD to save Aqua because he doesn't have the strength or PoW is fine, but Kairi being denied access to also go to the alternate universe with Riku for the same reasons is Misogyny🙄.

And also on Kairi's rejection to go with Riku to the alternate universe, I felt like this moment was a parallel to kh1 that showed that Kairi is beginning her character development. In kh1, Kairi insisted to go with Sora to save Riku, and Sora outright said she would be in his way so she couldn't go (idk what it says in the jp version), and after being told this, Kairi accepts her situation and resigns to wait on the islands for Sora to return with Riku. During this whole time she also makes no effort to train. However, in this moment in khmom, when Riku fails to stutter out "No", Kairi very visibly and audibly is frustrated when she says "I know". She's been here before, but it says something that her being left like this, waiting to the side, isn't something she wants anymore. She wants to go, and she's frustrated that she still can't. And I know this came off to people as "Nomura is just shafting Kairi again", but in my opinion if he wanted to toss her aside, he wouldn't have done this. He would've had her okay with Riku going by himself from the get-go and had Kairi just kind of go "well, back to training with Merlin again". Heck, if he really wasn't doing anything with her, he would have just left her while FGM and Riku met Nameless star in the Final World. But what he did was present us a Kairi that is strong, but knows she needs to be stronger. He gave us a Kairi that is visibly frustrated in knowing she can't help her best friend. And her response after accepting she can't go currently? She takes the initiative to train under Aqua (a real keyblade master), meaning that she really wants to take the steps to get stronger now, and she tells Riku that one day she'll stand by him and Sora (not just Sora). The girl has resolved to take her own path and take real responsibility for her training so she never has to stay behind again. It's showing Kairi's shift from "Sora and Riku are leaving me behind and I'm struggling to catch up so I try to make sure they come back to me or I do the bare minimum to still be around them" to "I take control of my own destiny, and I'm gonna close this gap myself, by my own efforts, not by waiting for them to do something". I'm fully aware Nomura could still shaft Kairi, but I truly feel like this little we got in khmom is the beginning of her development as a character. And I feel this way because while remind at times arguably came off as pandering to people who wanted K to do something, khmom, taking into account all the things Nomura could have done instead of what he did, felt more genuine, and actually made me hopeful and excited for her character and what she does in the future. Also, example two of the Kingdom Hearts fandom's double standards: Riku struggling to tell Kairi she can't go with him (and him not actually saying it) is considered misogynistic by this fandom, but Sora in kh1 bluntly telling Kairi she would be in his way and therefore couldn't go is "UwU he's protecting his love! So cute!"🙄

Anyways, going forward, I'm so excited to witness some actual development for Kairi amd seeing her interact with the wayfinder trio! Like training with Aqua? Yes!

Also, not to be passive-aggressive, but I know a number of S/Rs who would like an apology for being told that believing that Riku would be the one to save Sora was us reaching and being delusional and thinking Kairi wouldn't go is misogynistic🙂

Anyways, besides that, Soriku endgame actually?! Like Sorikus and Riku stans how you feeling about all this? Like, can you believe we were right when we said Riku would go save Sora? Can you believe in the same week we got confirmation Riku would be the one to go save Sora, we learned that there would be three sets of Soriku Nendoroids? Like we just keep on winning and honestly that makes me so happy. I honestly can't wait to see not only Kairi's training and possible future development, but also Riku's journey! This may have just been a bridge game, but I'm so excited!😊

#khmom #melody of memory #kingdom hearts melody of memory #khmom spoilers #melody of memory spoilers #kh spoilers #kingdom hearts spoilers #kingdom hearts melody of memory spoilers #long post #mentions of Misogyny

24 notes · View notes

nadziejastar · 4 years

Note

How do you think Axel would have been viewed if he was a woman, but otherwise written exactly the same?

I think a female Lea (Leah?) would have been very popular. She’d be a breath of fresh air considering how stereotypical most female characters are. She’d have as many fanboys as Lea does fangirls. I don’t think she would have been shipped with Roxas as much, though. I just don’t think it would have been as popular if it weren’t a yaoi pair with an uke and seme. If anything, I think people would have assumed she was a lesbian, lol. But that’s just my speculation. I think her relationship with Saix would have been far more acceptable to see as romantic if she’d been female, whether Saix was male or female. Female/Female relationships are just more socially acceptable. If Axel had been a girl, I’d still like her with Isa.

Lea the Crybaby

“Even if we don’t see each other, it’s more important that we think about each other all the time, anyway, right? …Got it memorized?”

Roxas grinned. “It doesn’t suit you, saying things like that.”

Those words were meant to make them feel better, but… if I went into that, I’d look weak. “Shaddap,” said Axel, looking away.

Xion laughed. Roxas found it funny too, and he started to laugh.

“Is it that funny?!” Axel asked almost unconsciously.

Roxas and Xion stopped laughing for a moment, but when they looked at each other, they burst out laughing again.

If Axel had been a girl, he wouldn’t have to be written or perceived any differently. I don’t think there’s anything about his personality that couldn’t have been possible in a female character. Heck, I think many aspects of him would have been more accepted as a female character. If he were female, he would have been perceived differently, though.

And because of that, he wouldn’t have been robbed of all his emotional depth in KH3. As a Nobody, Axel had balls of steel. He smiled even as he was disappearing. He always smiled through the worst pain. He was a total hardass. It’s a big reason why he became so popular. Most of the male fans I know in real life liked Axel because he was a total badass in Castle Oblivion. And he was. He was cold and ruthless and COOL. All of that is fine in female characters, too.

“I want everybody I meet to remember me. Inside people’s memories, I can live forever.”

“I know I won’t forget you. Believe me, I try all the time,” Isa replied with a bit of humor in his tone.

“See? I’m immortal!”

“You’re obnoxious.”

But Axel was not naturally cold and badass. He became that way because he was VERY sensitive. He was a very multi-dimensional character. You can especially see it in the novels. He was so softhearted that he became desensitized to pain. That’s how he was able to smile all the time. In BBS, you can see he’s not really “badass”. He’s a huge dork that gets teased by Isa. I’ve seen some fans (mostly male) dislike the direction they took him in Days and BBS because he seemed too nice. But that’s the real Lea. A kindhearted, lovable, childish dork.

On the sofa opposite him, Naminé spoke up instead. “Sora and Riku are best friends.”

Axel’s eyes crinkled as he remembered his own best friend—the only friend he’d ever had, in fact.

“If your best friend goes away, you’re sad, and if you get to be with them, you’re happy,” Naminé added. “Isn’t that how it is, Axel?”

“…That’s about the size of it.” Axel nodded and sat down on the remaining empty sofa, staring at the sea-salt ice cream he held.

“So you are capable of sincerity,” said Riku.

Axel only shrugged at the jab and finished his ice cream pop.

I think Axel became more flat and was reduced to mainly comic relief in KH3 specifically because the KH3 team was afraid of the backlash they might receive if they did what they were originally gonna do with him. The were scared to go all the way and take his story to its natural conclusion because he’s male. Probably because it would change the way people perceived him. He’s not really as cool and badass as people thought. If he had been female, this side of his personality would have been embraced. But as a male, it was much more difficult to pull off, and ultimately, Square was too cowardly to do it.

He’d never deluded himself that tracking down Riku would be easy, and neither had Saïx. It was just that if he went back and reported that he couldn’t find anything, he would have to deal with those attempts at “personality”—the sneers, the snide remarks, the only trappings of human emotion that Saïx ever showed. Not that Saïx was even capable of annoyance or disappointment, of course, what with the lack of a heart and all.

Heading up the slope to the station, Axel bit into the ice cream bar. “This stuff is so salty,” he murmured to himself, as he often did.

Axel was a very deep character. He had many sides. Kanemaki was a writer on Days and I think she had a lot to do with how fleshed out he became. Due to his trauma, he appeared to be very stoic and other times very carefree. But deep down, he was very vulnerable. He hated showing it. He hated it when people saw him cry. He hid his feelings very well. Roxas and Xion never saw the emotional side of him. And many fans didn’t either. Axel was still smiling the last time he saw Roxas in person, when he said let’s meet again in the next life. He only cried for the first time in KH2FM. The scene didn’t go too far. It was ambiguous if Roxas could even tell Axel was crying. Axel never allowed himself to showed true vulnerability with Roxas.

“Let’s meet again in the next life.”

At those words spoken with just a hint of a smile, Roxas nodded quietly.

“Yeah. I’ll be waiting.”

There was something funny about Roxas’ serious answer, and Axel laughed.

Same with Kairi. And that was the problem. Axel/Lea was more emotional in KH3. He had a heart, so it’s only natural. He cried with Kairi, but ran away afterwards. When he reunited Roxas and Xion, he cried again. But IMO, that wasn’t the catharsis he really needed. He was still bottling a lot of strong feelings up. He never has a scene where he has to confront his emotional baggage and deal with it. He never had to deal with the fact that he was using Roxas as an emotional crutch for much deeper issues.

Then someone else spoke behind him. “I’ve been waiting for you, Axel.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d show up.” His smirk turned nastier as he turned to see Saïx. He didn’t take his eyes off the other man as he spoke to the girl in the cage.

His final fight was robbed of almost all emotion. It didn’t feel like he had anything to fight for. He lacked passion or a strong purpose. Look how many people say that Lea shouldn’t have even gotten a Keyblade. The fight wasn’t for Axel and Saix to finally settle their issues. It felt more like Roxas and Xion were the stars. Then the stupid Subject X crap was shoehorned in.

Lea is mostly known in KH3 for having a few quips where he breaks the fourth wall. His humor was allowed to be played up as much as possible. But, he wasn’t allowed much genuine emotion. Despite having a heart, he felt more hollow than ever in many ways. His reunion with Roxas and Xion was…cute? I guess? To me it felt forced. Lea still acted kinda “meh”. Roxas and Xion were crying, and he was still trying to play it cool. He was never allowed to take his mask off. He still never had true a moment of emotional catharsis.

You’re ultimately still a crybaby, but you don’t need the marks anymore.

The truth is, Lea needed a resolution where he wasn’t forced into the cool and aloof big brother role. It’s why the Roxas and Xion reunion didn’t provide any closure to his character arc. Lea wasn’t really aloof, like he acted on Day 96. He was super emotional. He needed someone to be truly 100% vulnerable with. The only character to know that side of Lea was Isa. And it’s obvious that “Lea the crybaby” is something that revolved around his relationship with Isa more than anyone. It’s mentioned in Isa’s Character File story.

The sunset stung my eyes. I’ve been a bit of a crybaby lately. I wonder if it’s because the upside-down tear charm is gone.

And also Lea’s Character File story called “I Will Not Forget You”. His character arc in KH3 was “resolved” by hastily reuniting with Roxas and Xion and “working it out” with Saix. But…it really wasn’t resolved at all.

Axel suddenly broke his silence. “Well, even if things change, we’ll never be apart—”

“—As long as we remember one another,” Xion finished. “Right?”

The day the ‘Winner’ stick was finally mentioned, it’s called “Sunset” and Axel told them they’d never be apart. He was acting like nothing was wrong, even though he knew there was barely any time left for them to be together. He never let Roxas and Xion know how sentimental he was. On Xion’s “Day 6″ she disappeared. It was called “Tears”. That’s the day Axel finds the white envelope with the stick in it.

Maybe, this is the last time I’ll see Saix, too.

Thinking, Axel looked at the seated Saix’s back. “We’ve known each other for a pretty long time, haven’t we?”

Ignoring Axel’s words, Saix continued typing on the keyboard.

“Say something. Have you even thought that maybe I can’t erase Roxas?” Axel said, in a playful tone, and Saix finally looked up. “It’ll be all right. ‘Cause I’m tough.” Axel puffed out his chest.

“How stupid,” said Saix, and for a moment he smiled. “Let’s hurry up and prepare. Time is limited. The hero will wake up soon, too. I’ll send you in right in front of Roxas.”

“Okay.”

Axel stood in front of the sending device. Saix rested his finger on the button.

“I’m off the~n!” Waving to Saix, Axel’s figure disappeared.

On Roxas’s “Day 6″, Axel had a very emotional exchange with Saix after looking at the white envelope. He was bonding with Saix just before he attempted to eliminate Roxas. He joked with Saix about it. That sends a very powerful message about the nature of Axel’s feelings for Saix. Axel was emotionally dependent on him. Saix thought Axel didn’t need him anymore, but that simply wasn’t true. He did. It’s obvious to me that the ‘Winner’ stick was meaningful to Axel due to his relationship with Isa more than anyone. That stick was a symbol of Lea’s tears. Yet…it was never even mentioned in KH3. Saix only briefly glanced at it just before he mentioned that Axel’s tear marks were gone. The rest is left to your imagination.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s not that funny!” Axel scolded.

They paused, looked at each other, and giggled again.

“I don’t know why I put up with this…”

“But, I mean…it just didn’t sound like you, Axel.” Xion could barely hold in laughter long enough to get the words out.

A wish that they could always be together—was longing for the impossible. But at least they could always remember one another.

I think it was hinting that Isa originally given him that stick. It was probably so Lea would always remember him, even when he was gone. Lea cried that day. A LOT. Just like Roxas finally shed tears when Xion was gone, leaving behind nothing but the shell. Lea’s feelings for Isa were as powerful as Roxas’s feelings for Xion.

Axel became numb by the time he became a Nobody. Then he started to grow a heart again. That’s what his entire arc in Days was about. These extremely powerful feelings for Isa got totally ignored in KH3, though. Changing Lea’s arc with Isa robbed him of all his emotional depth. It really, truly did. It hurt his character SO much. Lea had nobody to be vulnerable with. Most people could tell Axel/Lea was handled poorly in KH3, even if they weren’t not sure what exactly was missing.

I chose to disappear because I did not want to become what Xemnas had planned for me. Therefore, I had no regrets. I remember disappearing in front of the clock tower while Roxas held me. Roxas also went to sleep afterwards, leaving Axel alone. The person who probably suffered the most was Axel. Because he’s the one who forgot the most. Being forgotten and forgetting, they’re both painful.

What was missing was genuine emotion and vulnerability. Lea’s resolution in KH3 needed to be emotional. WAAAAY more emotional than a quick hug with Roxas and Xion, then going back to being comic relief and breaking the fourth wall. He needed to bawl his eyes out. Even in Xion’s Character File, she said he had more pain than her or Roxas. He needed to finally drop his cool big brother exterior and show his pain. Isa needed to be the one to comfort the “crybaby” and let him know he never forgot about him.

Lea needed a lot more from Isa than just him grudgingly admitting he was jealous and dismissively telling him to stop crying. Lea needed a shoulder to cry on. Someone he could show his weakness to. That’s something Roxas and Xion could not offer him. Without that, his character did not really grow in KH3. He remained the same as he was in Days. Static.

I think the whole idea of Lea’s character was changed because it was too “gay”. Square/Disney we’re afraid of a character like Lea. A male character with a powerful emotional arc revolving around the tears he shed for another man. The story of Axel tear drops got dropped like a hot potato in favor of some stupid retcon with Skuld. If Axel had been female, nobody would care about the subplot with Subject X. Everyone would have been clamoring for more details about how and why she got her tear marks.

#akusai #leaisa #kh lea #kh axel

29 notes · View notes

true-intha-blu · 5 years

Text

A Fragment of a Fragment; a Vanitas and Sora fanfic. Chapter 3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17863292/chapters/42630386

Ventus sleeps peacefully in Sora’s heart, but he was not the only one who found himself there. And the other was awake. A darkness now crept in the young boy’s heart, wishing to bend the precious light to fulfill his own need for a whole heart. And thus, it is not Ventus who influences the boy we once knew, Vanitas shall shape his and Sora’s destiny now.

Two boys meet the girl of the meteor shower and one of them makes an unnatural realization.

Once again out with another chapter. Like I said before, these short times between chapter updates will not be consistent and will probably be longer. I just want to get the main story going really. The juicy stuff that I know people want to see.

But for now please enjoy more Destiny trio little childrens being childrens, happy, and whatnot with character building, bonds and a much-needed input into Destiny Island culture which I hardly ever see in fics or anywhere for that matter.

And also how Vanitas is affecting Sora. What did you think now that he dwells in a heart of light that he is going to be a good boy? HA

This will contain spoilers for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, and we'll work our way up. Disclaimer: Square Enix Characters belong to Square Enix. And Disney Characters belong to Disney. Nothing belongs to me.

Fragment of a Fragment The Girl who flew with Stars Chapter 3

The next day, Sora got a stern talking to by his parents about sneaking out. Though the boy could tell it was half-hearted at best, seeing how he found and helped rescue someone who had passed out and was shivering.

He asked about the child, curious as to what happened to them.

His father explained that it was a girl, and currently, she was recovering at the hospital as they tried to find her parents. Hopefully, they would get more information when she woke up. For some reason, his dad frowned when he said this. Sora wanted to ask more but was told that was all his parents knew.

He really wanted to meet this girl.

Sora was still sent to school and meeting Riku halfway on the path who looked at him with a bewildered expression.

"Did you seriously sneak out?"

Out of earshot of his parents, Sora puffed his chest out proudly. "Sure did! Told you I would do it."

"Okay! That's cool. And you didn't get in trouble?"

"...Well.."

The two boys laughed down the path. Riku didn't ask further, already impressed what Sora did..

Sora asked about the girl every day.

Every day he was told she was recovering.

On a certain day he and Riku checked out the 'monster' in the cave (which turned out to be the wind howling much to Sora's disappointment). Riku declared his dream to leave the islands and go on real adventures, a bold and serious proclamation. It seemed almost desperate for a small child. Sora felt inclined to agree. He would love to see new sights and go on a real adventure. But he was in no hurry right now

When Riku made a comment about a new girl staying at the mayor's house that arrived at the night of the meteor shower, it sent Sora off running towards the beach. Riku caught up... but his mind seemed to be on other places than the mysterious girl that Sora wanted to see.

Sora's parents caught the two when they docked and told their son that the girl he rescued had asked to see him.

Riku was allowed to come as well.

The mayor's house was rather simple for one of his stature. A good old fashioned brick house, two stories tall with an east room added to it.

There, Sora met a girl his age. She had sapphires for eyes and hair as red as a sunset. Her cheeks were poppies. Her dress was as yellow as daisies and a silver bead on her necklace. She peered behind the legs of the mayor's wife. Barely visible except for a single sea deep eye.

The Mayor explained to Sora's parents that while the girl remembered her name, not much could be said about where she came from or who her parents were. The doctors had reported her body malnourished, along with several bruises along her arms. The causes were... The boys didn't hear this part; the adults spoke with hushed whispers and concerned looks. As for when Sora found her, luckily despite being found wet and cold, she did not suffer hyperthermia due to her early rescue. Going to the mayor's house she was recovering with special TLC that the mayor's wife held for the poor child.

She was a very quiet child, barely making a peep at times when she regained consciousness. But when she did, she often asked 'Who saved me?' She asked this everyday as she knew she had been in a bad place before that was dark and cold. Until someone came along and made her warm.

Now her rescuer was in front of her.

A boy who had sun-kissed skin and eyes as bright as the sky. The wildest hair ever that couldn't decide where it wanted to flow. He radiated excitement and warmth.

Next to him was a slightly paler boy, with stark white hair and icy eyes. He looked at the situation with confusion and curiosity.

Sora was bright eyed and wonder-filled at the person he had saved. He wanted to know about this mysterious girl.

The girl who arrived with the stars.

The adults talked, discussing about the lack of information about Kairi's parents and gently prodded Sora and Riku to 'be nice'. Sora didn't know why he wouldn't be nice to this girl.

The mayor's wife smiled at the two children. "She's a bit shy so please take things slowly. Introduce yourselves." She whispered something to the girl and gently directed her to the boy while pointing at Sora. Blue eyes widened.

Sora was bright and warm as the summer sky. "Hi, there! I'm Sora."

Riku took a much calmer approach. "Sora, we're not supposed to scare her."

"What? I was being friendly. You're supposed to say your name." Sora said this like it was an obvious fact to the world. A sigh from the older boy. "I'm Riku. Nice to meet you."

The girl shuffled nervously, hands behind her back. "Hi..." Came her small voice.

Sora beamed at her and began to launch into questions. What was her name? Where did she come from? Why was she on that beach?

A thunk hit his head from Riku, causing the younger boy to glare at his friend.

And beneath it, Vanitas did the same, but for different reasons.

Now he knew why he didn't like Riku. With that girl over here, he sensed a similarity between them. Keyblade Masters had performed the ceremony to bequeath upon them their own keyblades.

He knew little of the ritual, but he could sense the mark of the keyblade upon both of them.

So... was the girl called to by Sora? Or by Riku?

What a wonderful light...

This situation was familiar. An older boy, a girl full of light and the odd younger boy left out who respected the older boy...

Specific memories eluded the dark half but he knew this situation, a very specific deja vu. At this rate the cycle could repeat, and, if his old master was indeed alive, he would find these keyblade users, and manipulate them like Ventus and his... friends. It would be just another cycle of manipulation.

During this time, since Sora found that girl of light, Vanitas had been thinking, struggling to stay awake when the light of Sora's heart called him to ease. And thus, Vanitas had needed the constant source to fuel his hatred when staring where Ventus slept.

He thought about his position as the old man's apprentice. How things could have been so much different... But back then there was little choice.

It wasn't as though Vanitas actually liked his master. Him and Ventus are probably the two people in all the world's Vanitas loathed the most.

And that was saying quite a lot.

Seeing as how he loathed a lot of people.

Back then, it seemed like the only way the dark aspect could escape the painful existence was to follow his master's orders; to merge with his light half and become the X-blade. It was his only hope.

But that failed.

He had been too scared of what his master would do to him if he opposed. For him... there was no other way but to obey.

In the end, it was all for naught. Vanitas lost everything.

Yet...

And yet he found something else.

Though this light may not be his, he was not willing to let it go. If possible, find a way to get take some of this light if there was a way to get his own body...

The old man (wherever he was) would be attracted to two potential keyblade wielders. If this girl came from another world, that was potentially destroyed... Then it would eventually happen here.

And that meant...

He would become a pawn again. A puppet to his Master's whims.

Cold fear, flashes of pain and misery, and the heat of weeping tears and despair. If he needed to breathe in this realm, his breath would have caught in his throat from the sheer terror of the mere implication of going back to how things where. 'No...' Not anymore.

Vanitas refused to dance to anyone's demands. Refused to be a mere thing.

Even if Sora could not use a Keyblade... there are ways.

Ways to use this boy to his own ends. And prevent the former master from repeating history.

His master must still be in a weakened state, or something else. Even if the old coot could predict most things, there was no way he could predict a boy like Sora and for himself to survive.

He could wait.

He had time.

And he would utilize this heart.

This would not be a repeat of Ventus.

For now, with that in mind, Vanitas could rest.

The two boys were only able to get a few words out of Kairi and thus opted to try to talk about themselves so she would become more comfortable with them. She told them her name was Kairi.

Eventually, it was time to leave and though they bid the girl goodbye, neither of them had the intention to have it end there.

Sora strived to visit Kairi every day, his parents allowed this, both as an award and as an adjourned punishment for him sneaking out. Instead of going to the island to play, he would be helping Kairi get more comfortable.

It was less of a punishment and more reward for Sora, as this is what he wanted to do anyway.

Riku joined in as well since the two boys were nigh inseparable. They tried for a few days but only they were able to get simple sentences from her. Kairi did not seem to mind their company so that was a plus.

It was when Sora got there early with some crayons and paper that the bond began to form. He asked her if she liked drawing, and that seemed to break that shy shell she had.

Riku came in and seeing his friend and the new girl asking him more questions about what he does, the white-haired boy instantly joined them.

Sora drew crowns, swords, and stars.

Riku drew swords, fire, and armor

Kairi drew stars, flowers, and hearts.

As days passed and Kairi's condition and confidence improved, the two boys learned more about her.

She liked fountains and gardens. Her favorite thing to do was looking for neat objects and go on scavenger hunts. Her favorite color was blue. She thought swords were cool too. Her favorite food were strawberries.

Riku liked sunsets. His favorite thing to do was run. His favorite color was purple. He wanted to see new things. He was a fan of chocolate. Sora loved the sea. He loved to swim too and climb trees. His favorite color was red. He wanted to go on an adventure. He liked fruit in general.

Soon enough Kairi joined them in school. She was instantly accepted in their age group. Tidus, Wakka (being the oldest kid who hung out with them), Selphi. There were not many kids their age in their section of the little community.

It was when they decided to take her to the island, where they play, Sora and Riku made a startling discovery.

"You can't swim?" Sora all but yelled in shock.

Even Riku looked confused at the concept of someone not swimming.

Kairi looked embarrassed. Her face now as red as her hair. "I never seen so much water." She admitted looking out to the ocean. She was also nervous getting on one of the boys' boats, neither knowing how to row or, as stated, swim.

And thus, the newly formed trio was left on the mainland beach looking out as the sun started its slow descent towards the horizon and ocean.

Riku quirked his head. "They didn't have water where you live?"

"Oh no. It's not that." Kairi corrected. "Where I was... there were lots of fountains and waterways that went through it. It helped water the gardens. But... I-" Kairi took on a dazed look suddenly as though her mind halted.

"You still don't remember?" Riku asked noticing. The girl shook her head.

"No. We never had oceans in my world-..!" Kairi made a startled gasp upon remembering that. Something about... someone told her something about how there are many words.

Riku's eyes immediately brightened. "Another world?"

Sora caught up on this, an exciting feeling growing larger and larger in his chest. Little did he know it wasn't just his own excitement.

Kairi thought long and hard. "I... think so... wherever I came from...Felt... Different." She looked uncomfortable at this point. All that was left to remember was dark... cold... scary.

Sora reached out, sensing her distress over not remembering. "Hey. It's alright. I'm glad you're with us so we got to know you, Kairi." Sora thought long and hard. "Wait! Maybe we can find a way to get you back home!"

Riku was immediately on board with this idea. Memories about the stranger and the old story of the boy leaving the islands came flowing back to his mind "Yeah! We'll go exploring the worlds and we'll find yours!"

Kairi still was quiet.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked getting closer.

"Well... I like it here." Kairi mumbled looking at the two shyly.

The two boys looked at each other in silence.

... "Well... We can wait... maybe when we're older..." Sora looked at Riku.

The boy shuffled. "Yeah. We still need to learn more at school. And... get stronger and stuff."

"Yeah! And teach Kairi how to swim!" Sora finished up looking more excited than ever.

Kairi giggled despite her nervousness. "Thank you. Both of you." The three children smiled with hope and adventure in their hearts.

The adults had to teach Kairi how to swim as all the Destiny Island children had been swimming practically in diapers and teaching someone who didn't know was almost incomprehensible to them. They also helped her learn to row and Riku's dad had built her own rowboat to go with the other kids. Eventually, they took her to the island where Kairi found a new interest in finding different seashells and showing them to her friends.

"What's this?" Kairi was holding up a small speckled shell up to the boys. They were on the beach, near where Sora found the girl. She liked this spot.

"Um..." Sora began to think.

Riku considered as well. "I think... that's a... Bonnet."

The redhead giggled at the cute name. She held up another one that looked like a pale teardrop.

"That one's easy." Sora said. "It's a paper fig."

"Let's see if we can find a conch shell. I bet Kairi would like that." Riku said gesturing out to the ocean.

"We'll have to swim." Sora said casually turning to their newest friend. "Kairi, do you think you'll be okay?"

She nodded. "Yep! I've been learning lots of lessons from my Mrs.-... I mean, my mom."

"Her mom?" Sora whispered to Riku

"I think she got adopted Sora." Riku whispered back to his friend, unsure how Kairi felt about this.

However, it seemed that the girl got the gist of what they were saying. "It's okay. She and the mayor are really nice and look after me. And... I don't remember my actual mom and dad or... anyone else."

A stony silence followed after this. The two boys unsure of how to address Kairi's situation.

"So how do we find a conch shell?" She asked the two breaking the muteness.

The two boys proceeded to lead her into the sea, she was wearing shorts and a shirt like they were. And dived into the salty water.

Kairi would swear both boys were part fish; they flowed through the water without hindrance. While she wasn't bad herself, considering she only started a month ago, the feeling of being left behind... was prominent. She would keep up with them. One day.

"Hey, Sora! Betcha I can find a shell first!" Riku shouted from across the water.

"You're on!" came Sora's reply before he dived down in the water. Riku followed closely behind.

"Oh c'mon!" Kairi complained. She had gotten used to Riku and Sora's consistent contents. More so the fact that both of them seemed single-minded determination to beat the other.

She floated around before spotting a particular raised land formation with a ladder leading up to it.

"GOT IT!" Riku cried out clutching a fighting conch in his hand.

Sora burst out of the water only a moment after, holding a king crown conch. "Aw C'mon! I found mine right at the same time you did!"

Riku merely grinned. "Too bad you're a slower swimmer than me!"

"Not true! I won the race last time!"

"That's because you're a sore loser."

"So are you! Fine then! We'll do another! Kairi can you-" Sora noticed their newest friend was nowhere to be seen. "Kairi?" His voice grew small and worried.

"Don't worry. She's up by the tree." Riku pointed to the miniature island that was connected by the bridge.

The brown haired boy immediately swam over to the ladder. The two boys caught up with their friend who was staring at the crooked palm tree.

"What is this?" Kairi asked her eyes wide at the pretty star-shaped fruit. She was sure even in her forgotten memories, she had never seen anything like it.

When she turned to the two, both their faces were bright red, their eyes shifting off to the side.

"What?"

Sora gulped. "Well... it's... y'see... Um..." He seemed to be at a lost of words.

Riku spoke up but hardly any better. "Paopu fruit is for older people... it... special."

"Very special!" Sora added.

"How so?" Kairi asked even more curious.

Both boys stuttered to answer.

"If... you share it... with someone you care really, really, REALLY, deeply about... like how mom and dad care about each other... then you're..."

"Connected forever." Riku said. "No matter how far you are apart. You're connected. That's why the sailors make charms out of thalassa shells in the same shape for a safe voyage."

"They did it a lot long ago. But some still have them. My dad has one. My mom made for him." Sora said to them.

The awkward silence was creeping up on them again.

"So... did you guys find a conch shell?" She asked them.

Startlement and horror crossed the two boys' faces. Realizing they had dropped them on their way here. They stared at Kairi, and then at each other. Back at Kairi, and once again at each other.

Both of them dove off the Island.

"Hey!" Kairi called out again, bewildered at their antics.

"No...n-no fair!" Sora called out panting to his older friend. They had been racing to school and once again Riku beat him. The score they had has been taking a steep turn in Riku's favor recently.

And Sora... felt a great irritation in him. He hadn't seen Kairi recently due to her getting along with others, he didn't feel too well and... this.

"C'mon Sora. I won fair and square. Stop looking so grumpy. It's just a race."

Sora knew it was never 'just a race'. Just like it how it was never 'just a swim' or 'just a climb' and especially never 'just a sword fight'.

Riku was his friend, no doubt, but for some reason, Sora began to fear losing like this. Like... if he kept losing... something he cares about will be lost.

Something precious.

Sora didn't want to lose that.

He wanted to get better.

He needed to get better.

In school, they all did their normal school work as they discovered more about their own abilities. Kairi was good at Arts and Crafts. Sora held a fondness for making plastic models. Riku had a knack for working with wood like his father.

Then it was the sick season.

One day, Riku came down with a fever. It was common for kids his age to get during this season.

Riku hadn't been sick in so long though, so seeing this... was a shock to Sora. He only saw Riku briefly. Face red and slick with sweat. Breath shallow with harsh coughs and eyes unfocused as the fever took a toll on his body. To see his best friend, who he thought was stronger than any other kid, taken down like this... was very shaking to a small young boy.

Even if Sora strived to be better than Riku, seeing the guy he admired taken down a notch like this... brought a very startling reality to his small perception.

Anyone could fail. Anyone can be weakened.

He felt like he broke a promise.. that...

He had to protect... Riku...

Did he promise that? To who?

His worry about Riku distracted him from many other things. Primarily in school. Luckily for him, Kairi was by his side. So they often tried to get treats over to their friend as they recovered.

It was just ill luck that as soon as Riku could come back to school, Kairi came down with a flu. Also not uncommon at this time of year. What was, was Sora's inability to get sick.

Even with this small blessing, the parents still kept him away from Kairi. And despite not being sick, Sora felt like a mess seeing how an integral part of his life now, was missing.

He touched the crown necklace he had.

He could hardly remember what life was before Kairi. Only a few memories of the 'pre-Kairi era' existed and most of them concerned him playing with Riku or his family.

It didn't feel right.

It felt like he had lost something.

It was different from when Riku was sick. Sora didn't know how it was different... but it was.

Everything just seemed a little bit dimmer.

That night he had a bad dream. A horrible awful dream.

It was a torrent of darkness swallowing him. A wave bigger than any he had seen in the sea during a storm.

Everything it came across it crushed it. His house. His family. The island. His friends. Riku. Kairi.

No matter what he did, nothing worked against it.

And those in authority told him nothing was wrong even as they too were swallowed up.

It crashed over him, washing away the ground underneath his feet, the air from his lungs. The horror of losing everything was embedded in the wave.

No matter what he did.

He lost.

Lost against a force he did not know about.

Because he was weak.

Because he thought he was safe.

He saw stars, they did not fall but wink out of existence.

He had to...

He had to protect the light.

His light... He had to be...

When Sora awoke the next morning, he didn't remember the dream. No darkness or any stars disappearing.

He seemed fine.

And yet deep in his heart, those shards of darkness had grown ever so slightly bigger. And a desire that would change him.

Nothing would steal away what he cherished.

So he would get stronger. So even things like that darkness would think twice before messing with him.

End of Chapter 3

#kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts fanfiction #sora #vanitas #sokai #a fragment of a fragment #kairi #fanfiction

5 notes · View notes