Under the Paopu

"My friends are my power, and I'm theirs."

Suddenly, the focus is not on Sora's light, which we all know well, but on the darkness he hides so well that it lurks even behind his strength. Because Sora is like Ven; he is his friends' power. Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, the King, none of them can live without him. Why doesn't Sora understand that?

I'm thinking back to Dream Drop Distance, and how Sora said the line again to Xigbar before falling into the deepest abyss.

"I know the Keyblade didn't choose me, and I don't care. I'm proud to be a small part of something bigger-- the people it did choose. My friends: they are my power!"

Sora is dangerously imbalanced. He thinks far too highly of his friends, who are just normal people, and far too little of himself, the greatest hero the World has ever known. His light comes from the fact that he can connect with any heart, and his darkness comes from the fact that he's begun to doubt his own importance to that process. By believing he is insignificant to the big picture, Sora can drown his perceived inadequacies in the positive traits of the people he helps, never realizing that he's destroying his identity in the process until all is lost.

He was 100% wrong in DDD. The Keyblade did choose Sora. It abandoned Riku, the apparent child of destiny, to be with him. Pure light from the age of fairy tales traveled through time to rest in his heart, so he has actually been chosen by the Keyblade TWICE, and it would have been thrice if Aqua didn't notice Riku already had one.

On GOD. If Sora has no dickriders, it means I'm dead. Even though his lack of self-esteem is literally precipitating a unprecedented crisis, I have nothing but faith that he'll get it done. I mean, even though he's fictional in his own universe, that feeling of faith that Sora will find a way back to his friends can and will transcend everything.

entanglement.

FINAL FANTASY XVI Fanart:

Jill - Snow White

Doodled a bunch of my faves!

Xion definitely has insulated sleeves just for ice cream.

Hi, hello, I'm back with these since we got some more Missing-Link news. And I mean...there aren't a lot of ML fics, but they are there.

Psianabel (@psianabel) - A little secret and Too much Light

Psianabel honestly writes some amazing stuff, and these are no exception. The first fic is a really bittersweet story of Player 2 sending a letter to Ephemer; the second is about a fun theory where Brain's corrupted by light. Both are quick but fun reads, so check them out!

sixwingedbee (@sixwingedbee) - The Night's Sky

sixwingedbee honestly has a TON of ML fics (they are the official ML fic writer in my mind haha), so I just stick with the first, which is a really emotional look at Brain's first night in Scala. Their AO3 has a ton of other fics, though, so check them out!

Starlight_Wayfinder (@starlightwayfinder) - Disconnection and Chain Reaction

Disconnection's another awesome fic about Brain's arrival in Scala--though this time, it focuses a lot on a letter Ephemer wrote to Brain. Chain Reaction happens a bit later, and goes over Brain figuring out the defense mechanism for the Land of Departure. Starlight also writes some awesome stuff, haha, so definitely check them out!

Reyn_XIII (@reynxiii) - Feelings of realization

Another take on Brain's early days in Scala, this one focuses a lot on Brain's internal struggles with how he left Daybreak Town--as well as some comfort he gets from his new-found friends. Very nice hurt-comfort fic.

Blue_Eli (@blue-eli) - Rest Your Brain

This one takes place a bit in the future, haha, but it's a sweet fic with interactions between Brain and Player 2. Just a very good feel-good fic with some of our favorite characters!

roxasthatsastick (@roxasthatisastick) - promises written into stone

even when i lose my head by elmocult (@elmocult)

An Unfortunate Little Girl and Farewell to Innocence by Miss_TC_Nova (@miss-tc-nova)

Counting Rose Petals by TeaAndFics04 (@teaandfics)

Deep End by kwoojii (@kwoojii)

Fragments of the Past by Psianabel (@psianabel)

Probably one of my favourite scenes in the whole franchise.

About 17 hours in the making.

NOTE : Here, the player is Damian. He belongs to damo279, who directed the amazing KHUX fandub movie. Go check it out, it's really worth it! Him and the team deserve all the praise!