Still doing those Unchained King designs so have a Zootopia Sora (yes this is heavily based off his Pride Lands form bc im a lazy hack shut who doesn't draw animals often shut uppppp)
I did one of these for UF a while back so I figured I might as well do one for Keys to the Kingdom while KH is Currently Trending. So hi! Are you looking for a fully finished, very long and meaty Kingdom Hearts fic to sink your teeth into while you wait for KH4? Look no further than Keys to the Kingdom!
Keys is my first big Kingdom Hearts fic, written to be something of a replacement/AU sort of thing for Kingdom Hearts 3 (not an outright rewrite because it diverges HEAVILY from KH4 and KH canon as a whole by the end). This post is meant to serve as a general introduction for anyone who might be curious when it comes to Keys, as well as those who have read it and want to know what its future is going to look like. So with all that out of the way, here we go!
What the Heck Is This Bigass Fic?
Keys to the Kingdom, as I said, is meant to be a stand-in for KH3. Pretty much everything leading up to the start of KH3 is still canon to Keys, but not a lot of things that happen in 3 are. The general gist is that its an AU where Xehanort's attempt to convert Sora to his side at the end of Dream Drop Distance (aka "nort" him as the fandom calls it) ended up actually working. Throughout the entire fic, Sora is struggling with the darkness growing inside his heart while also searching the worlds for the mysterious Keys to the Kingdom, which are said to decide will decide who can control the ultimate power of Kingdom Hearts. Alongside our big main plot, there's lots of other stuff happening too, like the search for the lost lights, Maleficent and her scheming, lots of character relationship stuff, and a TON of other things. Like a LOT happens in Keys but its all a lot of fun if you ask me. I won't dare spoil all of the many twists and turns throughout this fic, you'll just have to read it to figure them all out for yourself (and throw rocks at me after you read them).
What can I expect out of this whole thing?
Right, so tone wise, Keys is... heavy. I don't have to hold to any of Disney's standards, so I don't really hold back on bad things happening throughout the fic, especially to Sora (I love the boy, but he's so damn whumpable). There's a good bit of blood and violence and angst and trauma and the occasional themes of self harm and all of the things you need to be aware of are in fact in the tags of the fic. I will say Keys really does get pretty damn dark at some points, so if you aren't ok with that, this probably isn't the fic for you. But it's not super depressing all the time. There's plenty of fun to still be found within the Disney worlds especially, lots of sweet litle moments along the way, and an ending that is... hopeful. I'll leave it at that wihtout spoiling anything.
Destiny Trio? More like Destiny Polycule
I'm just gonna outright state that the endgame ship in this fic is Sorikai (Sora/Riku/Kairi). Yes, they are a polycule and they're all in love equally. If that ain't really your thing, again, this probably isn't the fic for you cause I do not pull punches about that.
So what about Keys Lore?
Keys, much like canon KH, has its own set of specific lore. Basically, I take a lot of things that are only ever implied or hinted at with canon and get a little funky with it, to make it fit the plotline I want to tell. Hence why things like the 13 keys to the kingdom exist, or various other elemnts of the plot like the way I explore Sora's family history (yes really), or the nature of Kingdom Hearts itself. I suggest going into Keys with an open mind because you will probably notice things that clash with what's going in canon (especially stuff that will probably make me look real stupid when KH4 comes out). But hey, that's what fanfiction is for, right? Messing around with canon and seeing what happens? And I def do a wholllle lot of that in Keys.
Over a million words? And its complete? Damn
Yup, that's right! Keys was fully completed back in 2023. I couldn't be prouder of it tbh, I still adore what I did in Keys so much and I think I kinda peaked there (hopefully not but as of right now, I have). But don't worry! Just because Keys itself is over doesn't mean this is the total end of it all. So lets get into...
What's next?
Plenty, actually! First of all is something of a "midquel" I'm working on to bridge the gap between Keys and its sequel (I'll talk more about that in a second. This short little three part fic is called The Cast Off Crown, and I'll withhold talking about what its about for the sake of new readers. But if you want to see the first part of it, you can click here to check it out!
Now, let's actually talk about that sequel. I've finally settled on a real name for it that isn't just "Keys 2". Instead, its now officially The Unchained King! I won't say too much about what I'm planning for it, but just know its self roughly 3 or so years after the end of Keys, and will be filled with a TON of stuff that I'm really excited about. I'm currently in the planning phases for it and my hope as of right now is to try and start it by the end of this year, but no promises. As for anything after that... tbh I don't currently have plans for a Keys 3 but we'll see what happens.
Got any other Keys goodies to share in the meantime?
I sure do! I've actually written a lot of Keys related oneshots and drabbles and AU content, all of which you can find in the Keys series over on Ao3. You can also look through the the Keys to the Kingdom tag right here on my blog to check out all of the art I've drawn for the fic over the years! And if you're interested in learning more about the various Keys AUs me and my friends have created over the years, you can find a semi-complete (and sort of old) list of all those here.
If you're interested in even more Keys content, including updates and ideas I throw around for The Unchained King as I continue developing it, my Discord server is the best place to go! And of course, if you're even more curious about Keys, please hit up my inbox! I'm always happy to chat about my beloved little KH project with ya'll.
For anyone who's just diving into Keys, welcome! I hope you enjoy and I'm so sorry for the emotional wringer you're about to go through. And for any longtime Keys fans, get ready, because very soon, there will be more to come... :3
Been saving this for a project that I’m no longer doing, so I thought to finish it up and post for the excitement! Let’s goooo! I can’t wait for the panel later today!
List of characters I’ve shipped with self-insert ocs x3
In chronological order and “/” means at the same time:
Mickey Mouse (platonic to this day), Mario/Ash Ketchum (when I was a kid don’t cancel me lul), Bowser/Shrek/Jumba Jookiba, Optimus Prime/Starscream, SkekMal, Din Djarin, Goofy.
And the crushes that didn’t last to develop a self insert oc:
Pete (Disney), Shadow the Hedgehog, Link, Cloud Strife, Al-An, Fl4k
So yeah! Mario and Ash were my first fictional crushes but they didn’t last long enough for me to start drawing my oc because I was a kid lol. I feel nothing romantic for any of them now, except for Goofy, but I still like them as favs! Especially the Transformers and robots ^^
As promised the rest of the duck family I have designed!
Della is still a work in progress not satisfied with hers, I think it’s to do with her beak? I will see~
Donald, Della, Huey, Dewey and Louie are all Manky Mallards! While Webby is a Mallard! For keen eyes those are duckling designs you can expect adult ones.
While the triplets are identical right now their adult patterns definitely make it 100% easier to tell them apart.
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