#If he can't remember all that Riku means to him he might as well not even be able to remember his name

[xiiidarkside]

hey has anyone talked about kh2 Winnie the Pooh and how his and Sora's character arc could potentially be foreshadowing/paralleled in the future with Sora not having his memories of Riku and Riku being by his side and Sora knows he's looking for something- someone, in fact- but he can't quite remember who and hello new friend Riku so nice of you to travel with me and help me look :)

[karla-the-elemental-dreamer]

🪢 KH-OC Week 2024 🪢 - Day 5 Package

Prompt: What's one Kingdom Hearts / Disney world I should visit? You're the OC. Recommend me your favorite.

This is Dinh-Yu asking here. And as the OC, I am to give him my opinion. Now obviously for him alone, I would have the 'golden preference 🏆', but for the sake of KH-OC Week, I am providing the Top 3.

---

Preference #3: Traverse Town

At first glance, someone might think "what a boring world", but then what makes Kingdom Hearts, hey? Traverse town is where you start out in a sense (excluding Destiny Islands), so like everyone else, Dinh-Yu needs to get a taste of Traverse Town, especially if he doesn't know where to start or even what Kingdom Hearts is about. I'm imagining to bridge this to an OC idea that in a KH storyline, he could meet Natasha and Erika there. I'm imagining Erika being the welcoming one, and Natasha's either suspicious of him, or like she couldn't be bothered being in the scene she's in. As Erika's all inviting, Natasha is saying something serious or foreboding, but then reluctantly goes along with the other two and loosens up further in to the journey.

I also imagine that due to the Day 2 designs, Natasha and Erika already have their keyblades. And shortly after they wielded theirs, one appears on Dinh-Yu's hands [he is getting a surprise design for Day 7 as a thank you present. No one tell him] but he doesn't know what it is. The girls tell him what it is and teach him how to use it. Natasha would be the more in the lead with this task, and Erika would chime in with little quips here and there.

Also, finally, the idea, remember, of Traverse Town being a refuge for those who do not have a place anywhere else in Kingdom Hearts; so a really cozy world if you think about it.

---

Preference #2 (🏆): The Land of Dragons

I mean Dinh-Yu's Chinese, so of course he's got to swing by the Land of Dragons and meet Mulan and Li Shang! Perhaps they'll be having secret conversations behind my back that I don't understand, that being in their native language. Once again, Natasha and Erika would be by his side as his 'Donald and Goofy', and just like in KH2, one of them can be swapped out for Mulan if the player wants.

It's time to see how well Dinh-Yu can combine his Kung Fu skills with a keyblade and kick the Emperor's butt in the main square. Or try not to get rolled over by the avalanche on the mountain unlike his bad encounter in Flashfreeze Cape. Instead of penguins, he'll be facing wasp-like heartless here and potentially a rude man in a black coat that he doesn't realise was his interviewer back on 13 May this year.

Side note; I can't seem to find too big-a-role for Natasha and Erika in this world. I guess it's like the actual KH2 story where the side party are really only more prominent in the bigger worlds. But hey, feel free to contribute some great dialogue/cutscene ideas for them!

---

Preference #1: Twilight Town

This has always been my favourite world in Kingdom Hearts, and not JUST due to the residing trio itself. It's funny, because both my KH dream guides come from other worlds, but the one where they're not from is the one where I feel most at home.

Well, that's a clashing idea as Terra has managed to ease me into the Land of Departure and has made me feel at home there. But I can't necessarily do heaps of stuff there.

So it's like no matter what other worlds I might be in, I seem to keep revisiting Twilight Town time and time again, which is likely also why Lea has befriended me and acts as a supporting figure to Riku and Terra if you will.

I remember in 2020 and early 2021, asking Riku to take me to Twilight Town lots of times and I bonded with him there more than I did on the islands. So in the dream world, it has mainly been just Riku and I (and Namine on some occasions). But in waking life and in general KH-OC Week lore, Selvian and Sierra have also had a large part to play in this world. In-fact as a bonding experience, Riku would take me up to Namine's mansion and we'd do things over there with her (so as a threesome as it were). Like Riku was very short and snappy in 2020, but in times where were at the mansion, he'd ease up there... Maybe because there were two girls around him? I can't say much for Terra in this instance because I haven't been to Twilight Town with him near as much [he and I used Neverland]. But this world was a memorable foundation for Riku and I, and once again, is revisited from time to time when I my IRL body and mind can catch a break from spiritual bombardment / retrogrades and the 'spiritual grind' 😅.

Neverland is among my favourite worlds for the above reason. But as this is recommending where Dinh-Yu should visit, there are higher preferences.

So for Dinh-Yu's case, there is a lot to do in Twilight Town and you will make friends with at least one if not more of the locals. As part-time participants, even Selvian and Sierra enjoy spending time in Twilight Town and the two eat Seasalt Ice-creams as they walk up to the train station or down to the sandbox with me, or both me and Riku. In a sense, Riku, myself and those two may sometimes have 'family outings' there and occasionally meet up with Lea. The teddies have never been seen on the clocktower. Either they have just never gone there, or as little teddies, are scared of what would be extreme heights for them, moreso than a person.

Remembering from my IRL dream archive, Twilight Town is actually the place where Sierra first manifested her keyblade. She would definitely invite Erika to hang out with her there one day.

Now for if Dinh-Yu was going to Twilight Town, my recommendation would be to befriend the Seasalt Trio. He used to interact with Roxas more until I got lethargic, so he does know him. Only Xion he hasn't really gotten to know. Also, opportunity for Kung Fu and/or Keyblade training on sunset hill... Away from the locals. And please don't terrify anyone travelling underneath the train station network.

---

Discussing the 'worlds' prompt is now finished.

Now just for disclosure / a reveal to Terra's situation. Day 3 and 4 have prompted a need to review the situation with Terra's teddies and there has been a change-over:

Terra now has guardianship over two Obwana siblings.

Terra's teddy buddies, as of 4 AUG 2024, are as follows: 1. MR. MABO OBWANA - INFP 2. MISS NASHA OBWANA - ESFP

Again the prior dynamic clashed and Terra slowly got neglected. Terra has met Mabo before, even if briefly, and the two bonded instantly, so I think Terra will be really happy to find out that Mabo will be working with him as one of his closest friends (different level to Aqua and Ventus). And this is consequentially I guess Terra's birthday present for 2024.

Also, as Siblings and a strict parental foundation, Mabo and Nasha will likely get along, and there will be less motivation for Nasha to fight/argue with anyone.

MABO:

---

I thought now would also be an ideal time to show off Sierra's Heart Station as I did say that any further bonds with her and Erika would be explored over time if ready. I drew it a few months ago, but edited it just now to include her sister:

I thought it'd be a cool concept to have the teddy that it's centred around, in their human form.

Her connections (L-R): - KARLA B: Her creator/'The Mistess'. - MISS ERIKA TAPALADOS: Her younger sister. - MR. LESTER ZHANG: Her husband. - MR. RIKU CAELUM: The Dream Guide that introduced us to Kingdom Hearts. And took Selvian and Sierra under his wing as well when he finally came to terms with me.

Sierra and Lester have 3 children, but this would be too much to add on to her station, and dad and the kids are more in Warioware, whereas mum's gone to Kingdom Hearts. Hey maybe Lester and the kids can visit her in Twilight Town.

Oh God, I just realised that the instance and direction of KH-OC Week 2024 is facilitating a family reunion for Sierra 🥲, even though she still remains much loved and a solo powerhouse in Kingdom Hearts. Selvian is an excellent work-partner towards her and makes her not be homesick (hubby and children regardless of franchise).

---

Okeeeey I'm done with Day 5. Man am I going to have anything as equally as engaging for Day 6 and 7? 😅

[eradicatetehnormal]

I Don't Think Sora Should Forget His Memories of Riku

For those of you who don't know, some people theorize that in the new timeline created by Sora in 3, he has forgotten, not just Riku's sacrifice, (referring to the scene where Riku steps in front of Sora and the demon tide in the keyblade graveyard) but his memories with Riku entirely.

DISCLAIMER: This is not exactly the same theory, but they tend to be talked about in cohesion with each other and by similar types of theorists.

My thoughts are down below:

So Gametrip and his audience have had me thinking about Sora and Riku's relationship. More than usual. So I was thinking about KH4, Sora's arc, and how Riku could play into that. Someone probably remembers me saying that I hope Sora doesn't lose his memories of Riku entirely in KH4. That being said, if they go that route, I see why. At least from a growing-up pov.

As you get older, the repetition and monotony of everyday life begin to weigh down your sense of enthusiasm and passion. You start to homogenize with those around you in order to keep the balance of your area and maintain your comfortable position. You start to disconnect from friends, not because you're not interested, but because you don't have the time or emotional energy for them. Then you talk and it's like you're talking to an alien. It's not the person from your memories. It might as well be someone else.

It would also be interesting to see Sora and Riku have to recontextualize and rework their relationship. As it is now, their relationship is fine, but it does seem to be carried by nostalgia. We know that Riku's treatment and actions of Sora in KH1 traumatized him, and having to essentially kill two people and gaze upon the vegetable state of his friend, probably didn't do good things for Riku's psyche either.

A lot of people have pointed out that in the Realm of Darkness in KH2, while they made up, a lot of things and emotions still went unaddressed. Even in DDD, Sora found out that he was essentially Riku most precious person and that doesn't make him think about anything. Perhaps it's a testament to how strong their relationship is that Sora isn't even surprised that he means so much to his friend, but it could also be a signifier that they don't want to and can't talk about it (tbf, they didn't exactly have the time).

Also, think about them as characters. Sora has consistently remained stagnant, in large part due to his overconfidence up until 3, and in small part due to his fear of the darkness. Depending on how you see it, Riku has reverted himself into being a beacon of light. He has accepted the fact that he's still a kid and has become more like Sora. He's following his heart instead of isolating himself so that he can lead people.

So when you think back to the realm of darkness, they might still hold some trauma regarding each other and some fear, but they chose to stay together anyway because they're best friends. That's how it's almost always been. They don't know what their life looks like without each other. (I mean, even when he was on his own in CoM and 358, Riku spent most of 358 protecting and restoring Sora, and the thing that almost brought him to his breaking point in CoM was an illusion of Sora. Also, in 3, who's the first person who volunteers to go look for Sora upon finding out his whereabouts? That's what I thought).

All this being said, though, KH has established its position on what a person is to some extent. A person is their memories. In CoM, a big part of the narrative is that Sora is becoming a completely different person throughout the game. Someone who's more aggressive and shortsighted, because Namine and the organization's manipulation had convinced him that Namine is singlehandedly his precious person. If Sora were to lose his memories of Riku, he'd essentially lose some of his core memories of growth, joy, and pain. He'd lose something fundamental to his journey and would likely end up a completely different person. Sora doesn't have a strong sense of self. His most iconic phrase is that his friends are his power. KH4 should be about Sora confronting his darkness, finding comfort in being alone, and coming to terms with more grizzly parts of his consciousness. If he has to become someone else in order to be able to achieve that, it would just confirm the negative side of Sora's ideals. That he IS, his friends. That he IS nothing without them. That the only way he could ever change for the better is if he stops being who he is. That's why, if the story takes a similar route in the narrative and has Sora and Riku struggle to reconnect, then I would like this part of the story to be treated with a bit more realistic.

[airawisteria]

See, Kairi might not be my favourite character from KH (though, she's really fun to draw), but, like, the way she is so insecure about her friendship with Sora (I would say Riku as well, but let's be real here, those two could barely be considered friends, maybe acquaintances by this point, honestly) is something that would be so interesting to explore. I'm assuming it's probably from the trauma of losing her home world and everyone she cared about, like her Grandma, when her world was consumed by darkness—but, wow.

Even in KH1 where she and Sora are, in my opinion, the closest they've ever been shown to be, she's going on about leaving alone with Sora, the way that she immediately gives Sora a good luck charm the second she knows he's about to leave again, the way that she reaches out to Sora so desperately as if to say, "Please don't leave".

Then, in KH2, she straight up just forgets (not that it was her fault) about him and goes on with her life perfectly content. Once she realises, however, she immediately tries to remember him with such desperation that you have to wonder—why does she care so much for Sora but was perfectly fine staying on Destiny Islands instead of looking for her world or desperately trying to hold onto her memories of her Grandma? I think, at this point, some people would brush this off as 'her romantic feelings for Sora', but, like, is it really just that? I think it's more so about how she doesn't want to lose Sora completely as she did with her home world. She almost lost Sora completely, memories and all, and I think that after you've experienced losing your loved ones and the world that you've grown to love/have always loved almost completely at the ripe old age of a nursery kid. That leaves scars (obviously). So, when she realises she might lose someone she knew she was close with—she does whatever she can to get him back. Kairi wasn't able to do that with her home world, but maybe she could with Sora?

So! She immediately writes Sora a letter, puts it in a bottle and lets it float away. It's also probably why she takes such an active role in KH2, especially compared to KH1 where she was passed out for most of it and when she was awake she wasn't really doing much (like, Nomura, mate, couldn't you have had Kairi at least try to fend off some of the heartless??), but here she might still be getting kidnapped and stuff, but!! She's actually actively searching Sora out, trying to find him, fighting Axel, fighting the heartless with her keyblade, she's even the entire reason Sora even fucking found Riku, in the end. Now, let's fast forward to the end of KH2, Riku and Sora are stranded in the Realm of Darkness while Kairi is in Destiny Islands. She's alone, again. Imagine, finding two of your closest friends in the past, and then, bam! They're gone, again. And, again, you're helpless to do anything about it. That has to do something to your self-esteem, right? You've almost lost your friends twice, lost your world twice (kinda) and you couldn't do anything about it both times. It's like you're destined to be the only one left behind, the only one who can't take part in the Mark of Mastery exam, the only one who isn't in the Realm of Darkness or fighting Xemnas, the only one in the Realm of Light, and, the only one who will never be able to catch up with your friends.

So, the Mark of Mastery happens and Kairi's busy learning how to wield a keyblade with Lea/Axel. Just like how Sora's failures are getting to him, Kairi's incompetence is getting to her—I mean, have you heard her voice lines? She even fucking cuts her hair not because she thinks it's getting too long or something, but because she thinks Sora might like her more with short hair. It isn't about her, it's about how she needs to keep up, how she needs to be someone the others can turn to, how she needs to be on the same level as everyone else—because if she isn't, how will she ever be able to be there for her friends? How will she ever be able to stop being the 'damsel in distress'? She doesn't send her letters to Sora anymore, probably because she thinks she and Sora are no longer the same friends who could connect easily and talk to easily—she thinks Sora and her have gained some distance. Distance that could probably be shortened over time, maybe, but distance that is stopping her from being able to open up to him. Then, there's the whole paopu fruit thing where she gives Sora another good luck charm because, like in KH1, she's scared to lose him, again. So, she intertwines their fates, because what other reassurance does she have?

And, then, the whole thing with the Keyblade Graveyard happens where Sora has a mental breakdown, and Kairi isn't strong enough to be there for Sora—but, Riku is. I don't think she remembers that bit, but during the first timeline, she reaches out to Sora specifically. Maybe it's romance, or maybe it's her trying to be with him so she won't lose him again.

But, anyways, onto the second timeline. Sora loses Kairi again cause Xehanort's being an asshole as he does. This time, Sora has to sacrifice himself for Kairi to return—and so, she loses him, again. Only this time, it's all her fault (not that it really is, just what I think she thinks about the matter). And within seconds, her self-esteem probably crumbles—she's lost someone again, someone precious again, someone she couldn't save, someone who had to save her, just like how it was with her Grandma.

Okay!! Rambling about Kairi over, but, like, I could go on and on about how much losing her home world was like for her and all that jazz.

[deltaengineering]

Winter Anime 2023: Reborn In Another Season As An Isekai Enjoyer

oh nooooooooooo

Idolish7 Third Beat Part 2 (Appendix 1)

The third extension of Idolish7 finally found the opportunity to end, or should I rather say, stop. At one point, I quite liked Idolish7. I don't know whether the show got significantly worse, or whether I just grew tired of it - likely both. In any case, this season was mostly just remarkably boring. Most of it is preoccupied with getting Trigger over - which I can't even call a failure, but it just takes them from annoying jerks to blandly affable. Revale have been sucked dry of anything interesting previously, and Idolish themselves are mainly just going through the motions, more circular histrionic Mezzo drama included. And the new guys, Zool, just fill the newly vacant "annoying jerks" niche. Though to be fair, Toma's slow realization that he's in a band with a bunch of selfish assholes and a cartoonishly evil manager is probably the best legitimate thing this season does. The unintentional high points are rare as well - sometimes the silly drama drops into silly silliness so hard it becomes funny, such as when a murder attempt is the perfect launchpad for some terrible manzai. The epic speeches can have some cringe appeal as well. But the best single moment in the show is when Iori calls Tsumugi in the middle of the night to talk at her on the roof about how Riku has become so moe he might destroy the world, while Tsumugi seems to be trying to figure out how she can leave without turning her back to him. That's some Babylon-tier entertainment right there, but of course it amounts to nothing. Everything amounts to nothing, it's just a soap opera at this point. I don't think I want to find out in exactly what way the upcoming Nagi drama also amounts to nothing, to be honest. 4/10

Trigun Stampede

I've said before that I only watched a bit of Trigun and barely remember any of it apart from not being a fan. What I do remember though is that it's nothing like this remake. I hear that the original gets more dramatic later on, but even so the appeal is probably finding sudden depths in a silly action comedy. Stampede on the other hand mostly resembles someone's awful Trigun x Advent Children fanfic (see attached picture). Which makes Orange's decision to painstakingly recreate the animation tropes of 90s action comedies in 3D puzzling, because as good as they are, now they're in a show where they don't belong. Also, it's nice that Orange have figured out how to make appealing 3D animation in general, but I really don't care how much you spin your camera if you're spinning it around uninteresting characters in an uninteresting, generic desert setting (to be replaced with a uninteresting, generic tech hallway setting later on). It's still watchable, especially early on when the content is more episodic, but it never amounts to "enjoyable" unless you're awfully interested in how to apply production wrong. 4/10

Nijiyon Animation

Nijigaku never was the most interesting Love Live, and its "full" version already trended towards the contentless side. Nijiyon is just an even more stripped down version of that. Not that that's a surprise, I suppose it's pretty much average for a tie-in short, but it certainly doesn't reach the highs of a Garupa Pico. The adaptataion of Miyako Hito's character designs to 3D animation also leaves quite a bit to be desired. On the other hand, 3 minutes a week don't need to be good to bother with, and there is a few episodes that are a bit more creative than not at all. Overall, barely acceptable for what it is. 5/10

Koori Zokusei Danshi to Cool na Douryou Joshi

Now this is a case where I don’t even know what to say. This show is so insubstantial that I had to spend the season with a team of particle scientists at CERN to even determine with 3-sigma confidence whether it actually exists. Now, lack of much of anything means there’s nothing to take exception with, so it’s not a bad experience in the moment, but in hindsight it becomes hard to argue that there wouldn’t have been better ways to spend the time - especially since the ending is somehow the least committed part of it. It does have its occasional moments, but even those are mostly happening in the periphery with the supporting cast. It’s cute and not annoying, but that’s not really the standard anything should aspire to. 5/10

Ooyukiumi no Kaina

So here's the other adventure anime of the season, and since I talk about it later, it's better than Trigun (and no, Hikari no Ou will not show up later since it was too bad to pick up). It doesn't have the luxurious character animation, or to be more precise, it has actually pretty bad character animation courtesy of Polygon. But on the other hand, the environment is worth showing in the first place. In fact, Kaina's gorgeous and interesting setting may be its biggest asset, since the characters are fairly bland and the story is extremely basic and somewhat flimsy too - it's hard to describe since languid pacing isn't exactly a rarity, but this one just doesn't feel slow, it feels lacking in content. this gets better towards the end, but even then it's just barely enough. So no surprises coming from Nihei. And yeah, there's a bunch of Blame references too. So, not exactly great but unlike Trigun, at least moderately engaging. 6/10

Benriya Saitou-san, Isekai ni Iku

They did it, the absolute madlads. Now, Handyman is not the first isekai story worth watching, but it may be the closest to the average basic bitch isekai that pulls it off and the first to have the curse-word in the title. That said, it still isn't really one of those (if it was, it would be terrible by definition). What it actually is is a fairly widely scoped fantasy parody, and since isekai is just the prime trope in fantasy nowadays, isekai takes a fairly major role but it isn't what really defines it. I'd describe it as somewhat like early Discworld through the lens of LN fantasy ca. 2023. And then it just stops being a moderately funny comedy and turns into moderately engaging drama, mostly centered around senile wizard Morlock. Like Kaina, it isn't outstanding or anything but it does feel pretty special for making this work at all, starting with a cursed genre and then pulling off the hairy feat of changing tones. I respect it. 6/10

D4DJ All Mix

This seemed like a pretty safe bet, and I can't say I'm disappointed. Another competent Sanzigen adaptation of a Bushiroad gacha franchise, what a time to be alive. That said, All Mix is not as good as First Mix mostly on account of First Mix actually having something resembling a story. All Mix now features 6 bands and especially early on, all it can do with it is giving all the characters a chance to do their gimmick in turn. Thankfully that gets better later on, but even then it's only episodic mini-plots with one or two bands. Lyrical Lily gets comparatively the most attention, and they're a pretty likeable bunch, but they're still no Happy Around. So All Mix has all the Umamusume focus problems while not even having the occasional real standout subplots of that show. It's cute enough, but very insubstantial even compared to its hardly profound predecessor. 6/10

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale

Conventional wisdom says that a romantic comedy doesn't need much more than two good leads, and by that metric Sugar Apple Fairy Tale certainly delivers. Ann and Challe have a good, sweet and spicy dynamic going on that's consistently entertaining. So far so good then, what's the catch? The catch is that this isn't a romantic comedy and often tries for drama, and on that front it doesn't do so well. But first, I'll say that this show's takes on slavery and misogyny aren't so hot. Not that I expect nuance or complexity from a thing that has "fairy tale" literally in the title, or that I think they have the wrong attitude, but if all you're saying amounts to "it sure is bad", that's not worth the time this show spends on it. All it does is fuel the drama, and as stated, said drama is not the highlight anyway. The cast beside the main two is a mixed bag as well, especially the moustache twirling villains, who just keep stealing Ann's sugar for moustache twirling reasons. The setting is functional but not much more than that. So in the end, this show has quite a bit going for it but instantly gets into trouble when it tries to do anything more meaingful than cute fluff, which is fairly often. 6/10

Mou Ippon!

Mou Ippon is extremely easy to describe: It's a very simple but competent sports shounen manga adaptation with a notably strong cast. That right there tells you everything you need to know, good and bad. The bad is limited to the "sports shounen manga" part, because that kind of storytelling just never quite works for me in animation. Whenever sport is taking place, expect an intense amount of sideline commentary and minutes of flashback in the middle of every other throw. It just is what it is. The "simple" part is already more of a benefit than a detriment though, because Mou Ippon knows what it's good at and stays in its lane, which is giving the characters room to do their thing. And all the characters, including all the opponents, are likeable and fleshed out just enough to make them seem fully realized, without overcomplicating things. This leads to some nice positive seishun vibes, and while the simplicity limits how good this show really can be, when executed this well I'll take it over misguided ambition everyday. It's just enjoyable. 7/10

Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei

So after Handyman Saitou was pretty decent, this one is the real twist. Sure, it doesn't have "isekai" in the title, but that's only the top of the list of garbage LN source material tells, and "tensei" is right behind it, just ahead of "yuusha" and "maou". So imagine my surprise when the "reincarnation" part of this show is entirely limited to about a minute of conversation in the final episode and even then its relevalnce is questionable. That's as good a way to do it as I've ever seen, question remains if they really had to pull a ruse like this. I've seen plenty of pointlessly isekai shows before, but they were never as minimal as this and more importantly, they were never good anyway. And Tensei Oujo is good indeed, it's a solid romantic fantasy drama with a setting and characters strong enough to carry that weight, and it's simply fun to see trash queen Anisphia and cool princess Euphie develop their relationship through trials and tribulations that are neither too farfetched (for a fantasy story anyway) nor too generic - mostly. Yes, the base content delivers, but there's still too many underwhelming lazor fight scenes that add nothing and aren't exciting in their own right, there's too many plot arcs that repeat too many of the same beats, it's a bit too talky and slowly paced, and the drama flips into melodrama occasionally, especially towards the end. So it is indeed a light novel, but I won't hold that against it too strongly when it delivers the one thing I didn't expect, namely a real ending. And that ending has everything one traditionally expects from a proper ending too: closure, denouement and lesbian sex. 7/10

[mushroom-winners-proof]

I totally get the Devil wears Prada vibes from this. But might I also raise you Aggrestuko vibes? Such as Luxord being a little shit, at the last Christmas party spikes Riku's drink (just booze nothing else) and Riku ends up going off on Ansem about he's such a shitty boss.

The next day he dreads going into the office only to find everyone has a massive hangover, including Ansem, and thank Darkness doesn't remember his rant. Or does he...? 🤔

there ALWAYS has to be a Christmas Party Incident youre so right

good ol uncle luxord really just sees how miserable riku is sometimes even if riku hardly ever comes up to his floor, never mind even around the holidays and just shrugs and offers him one (1) drink. he doesn't even make it too heavy considering riku's just a kid, just enough to have him be a bit loose and actually smile for once yk

'bit loose' really just means he's yelling his heart out like five minutes later while staff's just gotta stand there holding their breath knowing damn well riku's going to hear about it tomorrow. luxord cant tell if this was a good idea or not but he can't help but snickering all the same especially when riku says some particularly scathing stuff

[goldenwitherphoenix13]

Its time for a probrably wrong union X theory!

Welcome to my first ever attempt at a theory.yall are here to watch ne be wrong. Lmoa.

Union X is coming to an end and its time share with you my big end game theories connecting the dots of kingdom hearts 3 and Re:Mind to Union X. And that is by using some solid evidence from the games and from the light novels. Yes. I'm going there.

This first bit is to do with the idea that Vanitas is the Darkness that possessed Ven in Union X. Now, this could easily be disproven right? Well I think I can actually bring validity to it.

Fist there's the obvious evidence that Vanitas claims that "what I am is Darkness" in Kingdom Hearts 3 and hes been a part of Ven longer than he thinks, he was only extracted is something he mentioned in Re:Mind. This can be written off by him being all the pure darkness in Vens heart, but could be taken as him being the entity darkness.

Ok. So, remember how I said I would talk about the light novels? Well, in said light novels, Vanitas is said to originally have no face/true corporeal form, having the form more like dark Rikus outfit thing, but thanks to Sora touching Vens heart, he gained a more humanish form.

Well.... darkness in Union X...

uhhhh....They have... no form. Just a cloud of purple and black with a figure resemblent of a human form in the center, if you look closely.

And if it were extracted from Vens heart by Xehanort to make Vanitas, that means darkness returns to lay within Ven dormant after the Union leaders defeat it, even when he travels to the time of Birth by Sleep! That or it has left remnents of itself within him to ensure darkness will follow into the future. Either way, it or part of it was in Ven until Xehanort took it away along with the natural darkness of his heart.

But if that's the case, then that would mean Vanitas wasn't technically a part of Ventus, but had resided there so long that that's what he believed. Because memories are stripped when they time travel. Does that effect darkness? Making it thinks its always been Vens darkness and Vens Darkness alone all this time.

Now for things to get a bit wonkey

There's still a big question lurking. What the hell is up with Dark inferno X? (chi pronounced key) its picture is below.

The bio from Re:Mind states "The darkness that erupted out of Ventus's heart and turned into an aggressive heartless. But the voice that was heard at the time intimated that it was "darkness" itself. What did that mean..."

INDEED WHAT! 

Well, let's not forget the basic rule of the Kingdom hearts universe. If your heart is lost or Overcome by darkness it becomes a heartless. 

Xehanorts heartless, Ansem, possessed Riku in Kingdom hearts 1 when it became a weak heart like spirit... who's to say other heartless who are strong enough can't do the same thing? And the design... who is one person with similar attributes like... a scarf, that Ventus at least encountered or knew?

Ephemer.

Quick point I'll refer to later, but remember, we see Ephemer help Sora with the light of the past later on in kingdom hearts 3. The keyblades all come to life with the hearts of the fallen weilders and stuff and Sora surfs them because video game. Now, this bit is a little confusing. What was Ephemer doing in the white void? Was that a ghostly form of his nobody or something? An appiration? Just his ghost? The moment he arrived in the future?

Well, the moment of him arriving can be crossed of I think. Where did he go if that were the case? Ephemer appearing in that moment does throw a spaner in the world, but I might be able to pull it out and fix the theory prediction.

My theory for this part is that the Ephemer we see in KH3... is Ephemers nobody in a ghost like form waiting for his heartless, Dark Inferno X.

His heartless must of found a way to hide or travel through time and went to hide within Ven's heart like Ansem did to Riku, but it has to be after Vanitas was removed. Otherwise, Dark inferno X would of been extracted by Xehanort too. The entity of darkness or its remnents, however, was with Ven when he travelled through time.

I think the best answer is Ephemers nobody died in the travel or after, is now a spirit, and helped the heroes of light. He's just waiting for his heartless to be destroyed so he can return as his somebody. And now that Sora has defeated it... who's to say we won't see him soon.

Oh and I think the secret Dark Inferno X boss in 3 was just a test for the remind one and went through a minor design change. Image comparison below, pictures from Google.

Kh3 Re:Mind

The unversed floods did the same thing between birth by sleep, bbs final mix and 3 after all going blue to purple and back to blue (I like them purple).

I really don't want to believe that it was Strelitzias heartless and that she might be able to return. I'd rather her remain a permanent death like the keyblade wilders of Union X, Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort. Its nice having a concept of death in Kingdom Hearts.

Where was I? Oh yes. I think Dark inferno X is Ephemers Heartless.

Now for one more problem. How Dark inferno X got to Ventus.

From what I see, it has 2 routes.

1: use the Ark and escape into the future. This leaves only a broken pod in the Union X time so Blain can not join the other leaders. Ephemer just has to wait. The only problem here is how Dark inferno X located Ven and got into castle oblivion without a hitch. Though I guess it did have 10 years to look.

2: hide in someone's keyblade. We've seen hearts contained by keyblades so I don't see why it can't happen again. A curse to the masters defender. I think it atratches its heart to the keyblade and thats how it escaped into Ven. When Aqua left him in Castle oblivion, the heartless snook away and hid within him, waiting for Vens heart to arrive so it could hide better and we could get the scene in Remind.

Either way, thats where Ephemers heartless would reside until it was reawakened.

So, to summarise what we've discussed into a timeline.

The Union leaders battle and defeat Darkness. Maybe temporarily, maybe for good. We don't know until its too late. It probably starts talking about some cryptic stuff, quoting things yet to be heard, who knows. This is where I believe Darkness overtakes Ephemer and turns his heart into dark inferno X (hence why it introduced itself to Sora as Darkness in Re:Mind. In a panic, Skuld and Blaine probably carry their unconscious friends out and flee to the ark, the time travel pods, darknesses remnants inside Ventus's heart and stays dormant until they are brought out. After waking the other 2 up and healing them Skuld, Lauriam and Ven go though the Ark pods, possibly joined by Elrena, and Blaine then stays behind and searches for Ephemers nobody. Hoping to reunite and reconnect the dark inferno X to Ephemer. 

Dark inferno X then hides away or travels to the future. I mean, I don't expect it to fit in the ark pods, but it might hide away in there or something. If it does then heres the first scenario.

There is one broken pod left. Blaine does his best to fix it, but its not safe enough so Ephemers nobody dies going through and it ends up as a spirit thing, waiting and searching for its heartless. Oh! And Blaine doesn't figure out how to properly build the things so he decides to remain in this time.

Dark inferno X then searches attaches to Ven to hide away.

The other scenario is it hides away in masters defender and slips by then. Blain sends Ephemer through, but since he's a nobody, things don't go smoothly and Ephemers Nobody probably dies in travel.

The generations pass and everything happens.

Dark inferno X is defeated by Sora.

The end game is coning.

And that's it. That's the whole theory. Here's to hope the Union leaders come out on top in the Union X finale, Sora is saved in the next game and Ven finally gets therapy once he recovers these memories. Actually let's order therapy for everyone! 

Also speaking of Ven, Nomura, if you hurt my boy again, I'm gonna punch you.

Theres a reason I made this cringy meme! (art of Ventus by me its one of my older arts of him)

Phoenix out!

(Ps: reply or reblog with inaccuracies)

[smartzelda]

(Wow, I wish I could kill tumblr for messing up and making me rewrite this whole thing from scratch)

Hi, bros! I've gotten so much of crit done this week, so there's a LOT to talk about

Let's start out where we left off in Toy Box.

So like, the Riku and Buzz parallels are so good, like, the Buzz being afraid of being taken over and hurting his friends. Buzz being more skeptical of people, but trusting of his friends and just trusting Woody a whole lot. I love how he just trusts Sora, Donald, and Goofy by the end and they're friends and stuff

The Sora and Woody parallels are so good too, like, Woody trusting Sora and friends right away because they seem to be good guys, fighting the enemies (it's such a Sora thing to trust people just cause they seem good) and really trusting Buzz. Woody doing the angry sassy while talking to YMX/the organization

And bro, like...the Soriku parallels...the softness...

This has so many kh2 Soriku vibes

SAME PICTURE DIFFERENT ANGLE. YOU CAN'T TELL ME OTHERWISE.

*clears throat* Ahem, um...anyways... I was thinking about when YMX tosses Sora into the Verum Rex Gigas minigame. 1st off, I beat it a lot faster than I did my first play through the game on proud mode, so that's helpful. I'm glad that having done this before is helping me learn to be at least a little less stupid and do some things easier because of experience. 2nd, YMX's role in kh3 is very interesting. The hole time I get that he knows more than he's letting on. I feel like he, like Sora, can remember everything between the demon tornado, Riku's sacrifice, mass death, and Sora saving everyone's hearts before the timeline being rewritten and turned back to before everyone dies, and assuming the SRT holds up, he even seems to know the events of the first go around of timeline set before the kh3 we play. It's in the SRT too, but like, him saying "Not this time" and being able to dodge Sora's attacks like he already knows. Then there's YMX's line before the boss battle where he's like, "Find the hearts connected to yours." We could take it as him guiding Sora, getting him to find the seven guardians of light. I'm feeling like it might be foreshadowing or like YMX leading Sora to his end because it could be foreshadowing of remind (I mean, I won't know till I can play) or it's referring to the future of Sora saving all the hearts from the lich. Back to him knowing what's going on in the timelines somehow with that whole leading aspect, then there's during the lich segment where YMX is there somehow and tells Sora about how he'll pay the price, then YMX's "death" where he says that Sora's time in the world is over, indicating he knows what Sora's done and has to pay the price for

So, unlike the gigas thing that went surprisingly well, the possessed marionette and the flying saucer did not, and the flying saucer was the worst. I learned that, unlike in my proud run through, I couldn't just try to beat a gigas as just Sora that easily, considering a gigas could oneshot me (I kinda suck, so I honestly couldn't beat em at all without commanding a gigas myself on crit). So, it was very time consuming, considering I couldn't use a gigas to finish it off and shoot it from afar, and I had to evade all like four gigas and the scattered heartless (it was especially bad if I was about to die and needed to heal) while trying to attack it (needless to say, Donald and Goofy did most of the work in the final stretch while I was trying not to die and also attack the enemy that would warp away if you got too close). I did it though

Okay, final boss battle! Ngl, just...I enjoy the angry sassy of Woody when YMX is like, "See, look buzz fell to darkness blah blah" and Woody is like, "I don't care. Put buzz back the way he was." (Y'know, totally not a Sora attitude and totally not a parallel to CoM when Sora's telling Vexen "I don't care! Just put Riku back!") And YMX like talking about hearts and Woody like, "I don't think you've ever been loved before, because you know nothing about hearts and love." The final boss battle was easy compared to the other boss battles in Toy Box.

Also, I just...enjoy Buzz finally being friends with Sora, Donald, and Goofy and caring about and trusting them now

Now ownards to Corona!

So, starting in the forest just before getting to the tower, I opened a treasure chest with an item that gives sneeze protection (I got a shield for Goofy that does the same thing after I finished this world) which...I... Bro, I'm stupid I like didn't get this item my first run through nor did I know it existed, but playing through this world definitely was easier without sneezing Sora, especially the final boss (but we'll get to that later)

Gotta love that Flynn Rider charm.

"So, I've made the decision to trust you."

"A horrible decision, really."

Hi, I'm Flynn I hope you expect me to run away from battles and have Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who are totally my bodyguards, do all the work and make me look good Rider

Rapunzel after getting out of the tower and her enthusiasm is so Sora like, but ngl, I'd say she's a Riku parallel in this segment. Later in this world, they remark that the tower is a prison for Rapunzel. In this moment she has a lot of conflicting feelings.

"I'M SO FREE!"

"I'm such a terrible person..."

"This is so fun!"

"Oh, what would Mother think...? I should go back..."

"I'M NEVER GOING BACK!"

She's being pulled two ways. Part of her is excited to see the whole outside world and ready to live her dream, defying Mother Gothel, while the other part of her urges her to go back to her prison with Gothel where she'll be safe. This is much like in DDD with the Quasimodo and Riku parallel where Riku tells Quasi that it's not because of Frollo's rules or because Frollo said the outside world would harm him, it's because something in his heart holding him back. Most likely, it was from fear. In Riku's case, he said it from experience because he too is struggling with something where it's his heart holding him back, nothing else (probably his feelings for Sora are the thing he won't set free)

I like how kh3 is like, self aware or like, aware of the kh lore like when Donald and Goofy mention Data Sora, or in this case where Sora, Donald, and Goofy don't remember Marluxia because castle oblivion and he's like, "Such a pain. Whatever. It's not like you need to know." Kh3 shows that Nomura remembers the things he set up before.

Also, Goofy: "I think the 'has-been' prefers Marluxia" 😂😂😂

The heartless chariot was just as terrible and time consuming as always because of how much I died.

I did surprisingly well at the dancing section compared to past attempts, so that was cool. Rapunzel and Sora are just so adorable though and Rapunzel with the flowers in her hair is just😔👌

Okay, I like, I love the lantern scene because it's just so beautiful. Like, I just love those shots of all the lanterns and of Flynn and Rapunzel and of Sora, Donald, and Goofy watching them. Also...Flynn lowkey being given the choice between Rapunzel and the crown and basically choosing her

"I should've given it to you before, but I was just scared."

"I'm starting to." And Flynn pushes the satchel away, focusing on Rapunzel, choosing her.

Also, thinking that this part is a parallel to Riku in the RoD because Riku got the strength to protect the one he cherishes most (Sora) and now he's not afraid anymore, even in the RoD. He feels stronger and more confident. For Rapunzel, after spending time with Flynn and traveling, she's not afraid of the world anymore and she becomes more confident. She trusts Flynn and gives him the satchel (which in the movie I believe she originally withheld and hid out of fear of him going back on their promise)

So, then, Flynn and Rapunzel release their lanterns into the sky, and they twirl around each other as they fly up

Seem familiar? It's almost like...

HEARTS IN TUNE BAY BEE

SORIKU PARALLELS

Also, rip Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They just wanted to watch the scenery, but got interrupted by nobodies

Bro, it's really sad, like, I feel so sad for Rapunzel because she really trusted Flynn and Mother Gothel framed Flynn, breaking Rapunzel's heart because she thought it was all genuine, that Flynn really wasn't going to hurt her and meant the things he said. Then, Gothel takes her to the tower

Sora still being able to be awoken from a lick to the face from an animal like in kh1😂

In my first run through of the game, I got to this part with all the heartless and nobodies on the way to the tower and the section between everyone starting off towards the castle and reaching the castle I tried to go through as fast as possible and skipped fighting the heartless and nobodies I could. This time, I managed to clear the whole area after making it my goal for leveling up purposes, so that was cool👍

And now we reach the tower cutscenes and a very niiiiiiice Soriku parallel, which I'll have to put in the next post due to the photo limit

[angel-with-a-pipette]

A lot of ppl say "Kairi is sassy in KH3" but hey, I can't really see that like those ppl. She's not sassy like kh2 or 2 or it's just Alyson couldn't make the sassy line sassy and more boring/emotional? Can u show me the lines that they're "sassy" or something? At least when someone tell me "nah she's not," I'll show him/her

I’m genuinely surprised you see a lot of people saying that because even Kairi fans have started going against her. Not to say that you are going against her by saying you don’t think she’s as sassy anymore! Sometimes it’s just heartbreaking to read people’s opinions on KH3 Kairi…

Now this matter is a little bit complex. I don’t believe Kairi is as sassy as she is in KH1 or KH2 which might have been what Nomura went for since he has this whole “growing up” theme going on. I also believe that it’s partly Alyson’s or the voice direction’s “fault” that Kairi sounds softer than before - which again, since Japanese representatives are deeply involved in the English dub despite certain parts of the fandom claiming they are ignorant of it, could be a conscious choice of Nomura.However, there are also scenes that show some of Kairi’s past sass which is why I want to propose this explanation:

There’s a time and place for everything - and sadly, there was little time for Kairi’s sass.

Now what do I mean by that? Fact is Kairi has very few scenes - if Gamer’s Little Playground really caught all of them, she’s only in one hour of the ten hours of KH3 cutscenes and that counts the full scenes she makes an appearance in, not her absolute on-screen time. And of these scenes, even fewer are suitable for some sass, naturally.

What kind of scenes does Kairi appear in?

She has two scenes in the beginning with Lea

She is seen with the whole cast at Yen Sid’s study as well as on the Keyblade graveyard in several scenes

She is alone with Sora on Destiny Islands and while they’re rewriting reality

She is seen shortly when being abducted by Xemnas and when killed by Xehanort

She is seen shortly when being abducted by Xemnas and when killed by Xehanort

Let’s start with her last scenes first. I think it’s obvious why she can’t be sassy when Xehanort kills her although I wish she was - they should have let her die heroically, defending Sora, metaphorically spitting into Xehanort’s face because that’s the tough cookie we saw in KH2 when she faced off Saix with Naminé. That doesn’t mean however that she should have been a war machine and that her behavior during the Xemnas encounter was OOC for her because as much Kairi jumps into the fight, she also gets intimidated rather easily. Remember in KH2 when she was suddenly surrounded by Heartless after she just jumped down a balcony to save Sora? Imagine how scared she must be with her shoulder in excruciating pain during a fight she herself described as “our toughest yet”. I think it makes perfect sense she didn’t pull out her sass (or any risky moves that would result in breaking her arm and rendering her useless for combat and more of a tool) in this scene.

She is seen with the whole cast at Yen Sid’s study as well as on the Keyblade graveyard in several scenes

There’s also sadly not much of a chance to bring it up when the whole cast is together. Now I wish she had more of an interaction with Sora and Riku especially since her character and her sass and teasing nature shines when she is alone with her boys, but the script didn’t give that to her. It’s a wonder she got to talk to Aqua as it is. The entire scene in Yen Sid’s tower was too crowded, too filled with character meetings that should have been spaced out over the game for the sake of the characters.What I think is kind of interesting though is that we have a scene where Kairi could have pulled out her sass on Sora, as she did several times in 1 and 2, but didn’t:

Here, the cast just talked about how Sora did NOT make Master in DDD - something we know is a very sore topic for him over the entirety of the game. Now what do these little assholes do when the biggest asshole of them all points it out?

They all laugh. It’s meant to be in good nature and Sora takes it like a champ, but truth of the story is that it makes the player very uncomfortable, knowing how much Sora has been picked on over the entirety of the game, by friends and enemies. In light of that, I think it’s very interesting that the camera doesn’t pan over to Kairi and Lea who stand behind Sora. Normally, the camera would pan over everyone, showing their laughter, and it does later on when Donald makes the Half-Pint joke:

I might be biased, but I don’t seem to hear Lea’s and Kairi’s chuckles and giggles during the first scene while I definitely hear both during the half-pint scene. So it’s interesting that this time, the camera pans over all of them and we hear them.

Of course, this is not definite proof, but it hints at Kairi (and Lea) not laughing at Sora’s expense - at a mean joke at Sora’s expense, too. And that, too, fits with Kairi’s past character as shown by @phoenix-downer​ waaay down in this post when she analyses Kairi asking Sora if he’s okay. It’s an ongoing theme with her to be concerned with Sora’s well-being and letting him off the hook when she suspects he needs a break of being teased could very well explain why she didn’t add to the others making fun of him. And boy, does he need a break from it.

She has two scenes in the beginning with Lea

Kairi absolutely sasses Axel in KH2 when he tries to abduct her (again - when he does succeed, she is actually in a position to struggle because he only grabs her wrist - he doesn’t twist her arm behind her like Xemnas does which could have easily popped out her shoulder - and who knows, maybe she was close to it). So why doesn’t she sass him here?

Just like with Sora, it’s not the time and place. Lea is troubled, Kairi tries being open with him but still struggles to get used to him and so both carry around some emotional baggage before they truly warm up to each other. And when they do? She does tease him!

Yes, Alyson’s delivery could be better here and I partly blame the voice direction because in 0.2, she proved she could sass Riku around just fine, but alas, this is the old Kairi. She absolutely teases Lea with his own catchphrase and Lea chuckles at her impersonation of him.

And yet, this is all she does, because Lea continues to say he is worried and Kairi knows he doesn’t need teasing, he needs encouragement, just like Sora does in the aforementioned scene. Kairi might be sassy, but she values the well-being of her comrades over being teasing and a little mean to them. In her eyes, this is the time to be supportive, not to nag.

She is alone with Sora on Destiny Islands and while they’re rewriting reality

Kairi’s shining moment of sass and teasing comes when she offers the paopu to Sora.

It’s a short moment and she softens pretty quickly because she knows that this is serious. This isn’t a joke, neither to her nor Sora, that’s why she grows more serious about it when she explains her motives, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that she kind of dares him to share one with her expression. She wants him to do it, she urges him on with her smile, “Do it!” it says, but ultimately the choice is his.

And if you want to read between the lines, she has a very similar expression on here:

Now, I know nothing about how Risa delivered the scene, but I can absolutely imagine if Hayden did this, she would have delivered it with sass. After all, Kairi told him he’d be safe with her. Why is he surprised? ;) Especially since as @phoenix-downer points out in the same above mentioned post, she turned the Declaration of Protection on its head back during the paopu scene and now underlines that yes, she did it. She kept her promise. Literally “told” him so!

TL;DR: 

There’s a time and place for everything and Kairi’s time was cut too short to give her a lot of opportunities to be sassy

She loves to sass people, but she also makes sure they’re safe physically and emotionally and won’t beat down on someone who needs emotional support, thus keeping her sass in check

The English voice direction (possibly the Japanese one as well) doesn’t do her favors despite some scenes clearly being written with her sass in mind

She has sassy moments, but they get lost because so much is happening around them and the voice direction…

I know I went a little overboard with this, but I hope this answered your question!

[lotus-sketchings]

The very fact she was hearing that, the fact she didn't have to forgive Master Ansem and the two from Castle Oblivion, made Namine gasp a little. It was easy to get wrapped up in the idea that *everyone* deserved to be forgiven. It was practically built into the girl's DNA being part Sora as much as Kairi. "The thing is though...I hurt Sora. I took all his memories away and added myself in. He momentarily forgot *Kairi* because of me...and Riku, Riku was hurt the most too. They forgave me. They're... my friends, even though they're not here. I want to for Ansem, but I just...can't. Its like, I don't have a *reason to*."

She stopped for a second as her answer she found herself sunk in. "I...don't. He may have brought me and Roxas back, but he could have just done that to clear his conscience. I fixed Sora because it *hurt me* to do that. When I saw Riku in pain I *felt* it. I *know* what that loneliness is like, so I wanted to fix it for him, and to help Sora remember the person he cherishes most. Ansem...he's only ever treated us as tools, and just because he brought me back it doesn't mean he won't see us like that again." Lea's next words only further assured her, that she wasn't wrong to feel afraid and hurt, and if she kept telling herself she shouldn't she'd just be hurt by herself more. "You're right. It hasn't helped any and I probably should have seen that sooner." Her face drooped back to its downtrodden state.

This however was short lived as the redhead declared himself not only her knight, but also by his other name. Lea...she liked the sound of it. Namine had never heard his original name always referring to him by Axel as even Sora Roxas and Xion had only called him such. The gesture earned a sweet giggle from the princess, her hand covering her mouth. "Hehhehe~ That sounds....nice~" With a small clear of her throat Namine decided to play along, grabbing a felled branch that lay on the ground and assumed proper princess posture. "Very well, if though shalt kneel, I appoint thee Sir Lea of.....um...." Namine broke character momentarily as she thought of a proper domain for him to have. Seeming to think of it, she placed the branch on one of his shoulders and carefully tapped each one. "Sir Lea of Sunset~" She took her 'sword' back placing it back where it was and turned back to him, honestly debating hugging him again for how he lifted her mood. No, he might be uncomfortable she decided. So she settled for a very sincere and heartfelt "Thank you~"

lotus-sketchings‌:

Axel’s words- that it was great to see her- truly touched the girl, and made the hesitant little grin bloom into a full on delighted smile across her porcelain features. Even better so, he didn’t get mad at the hug. She had a lot to thank him for, as she did Sora and Riku and Kairi, especially now as he said he wanted to check up on her. In castle oblivion a bit but more so in the mansion of twilight town, Namine used to have little wants of spending days up on the clocktower with those three. Even if they didn’t acknowledge her to just…be there.

More so it stemed from her desire to be wanted, to be cared for, as more than just property or a means to an end.

“I’m…really glad…~” it made her emotional too, seeing the soft smile Axel would give his friends now aimed in her direction. A single tear fell showing so, but quickly dropped off her cheek to hit the cobblestones bellow.

Who better to listen to her confusion about herself indeed.

“It’s all so different, yet so similar. Everyone is nice to me, and I even genuinely enjoy Aeleus Dilan and Ienzo’s company. Even’s more reserved which I can respect, but he never seems upset by my presence. He doesn’t just treat me like a successful experiment either which…I’ll be honest I’m surprised he doesn’t.” Maybe that was due to too much time spent around Vexen.

“But, even with this pure light inside of me, the light I’m keeping safe until she returns,” Namine was sure she didn’t even have to specify who ‘she’ was considering all the time he’d spent with her, little knowing that at times like Roxas with Sora Namine would peek through and feel his warm company for just a few moments in the guise of her other’s form. “There’s one person I….I can’t completely forgive. Well, there’s three, but I have yet to see the other two. When I’m around him, or I even think of them…I feel like I’m in a room that’s shrinking every moment, and I’ll do everything including scream and kick the walls to stop it. That’s not…me. And its certainly not how a princess is supposed to behave, let alone one with a pure heart. I just don’t know what to do Axel…”

Lea’s eyes widened upon seeing her shed a tear, and his hesitance at being there disappeared, replaced by a guilty feeling. He should have come here sooner. He would’ve, if it weren’t for the way returning to Radiant Garden made him feel. That wasn’t fair to Naminé, though. Everyone else had other friends looking out for them and making sure they were okay, but the closest friends Naminé had were either MIA or busy dealing with lost friends, in Riku’s case. And then there was him.

This wasn’t about him, though. Lea listened patiently as Naminé explained her feelings about her situation. It was good to hear that Aeleus, Dilan, and Ienzo were being kind to her, and that Even really was making good on his desire to make up for everything he’d done. Becoming a Nobody had twisted everyone in the Organization into their worst selves, but Lea was still relieved to know that they were all capable of changing if they chose to.

The only person in the castle who didn’t have that excuse was the Master, and the more Naminé spoke, the more the more Lea’s concern at not coming sooner grew.

“You don’t have to forgive people who hurt you. It doesn’t make you any less pure to be scared.” He really hoped that was something she’d been mistakenly telling herself, and not something someone else had told her. “Besides, telling yourself how you should feel won’t make those feelings go away. It’ll just make ‘em worse. Trust me.” He’d forgotten that fun little aspect of having a heart, but man, did he remember it now. And as he said it, the words rang a familiar bell in his memory—they were like something his mom used to say, though he couldn’t recall the exact words she had used, only their sentiment.

“If you don’t feel safe, well, we gotta fix that. Princesses need knights, right? Just call me Sir Lea.” He grinned, trying to lighten the mood again. He didn’t want her to think he wasn’t serious, though, and as uncomfortable as it made him, for Naminé’s sake he said, “I mean it, though. You don’t have to figure it out alone. I’ll help you.”

[naturexzone]

Elemental Wars Book Of Wishes Chapter VII: New Student|The Sword Of Combustion

Friday Morning at school in 1st period class (Math Class), the new student introduced him to the rest of the class. "Greetings everyone, my name is Zak Sakagami, I'm new to this school, please to meet your acquaintance." Zak took his sear next to Anstice.

Few hours later at 5th period (Gym Class), All Boys and Girls, Freshmen To Seniors participated in the Boys vs Girls Relay Race. Riku vs Allison, Anstice vs Elena, Zak vs Sukina, and Lastly Junis vs Kimichi.

Riku tagged Anstice, Allison tagged Elena, Anstice tagged Zak, Elena tagged Sukina, Lastly Sukina tagged Kimichi, Zak tagged Junis. Junis and Kimichi was neck and neck in the Boys vs Girls Relay Race.

"Well we are halfway close to the finish line." "Indeed, we got this far but one of us will be victorious." "That will be me." "We will see about that." Junis and Kimichi ran at super speed, passing the finish line, they stopped at the entrance of the gym.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a winner! 1st in place and winner of the Boys vs Girls Relay Race is Junis Yakamura!" "2nd in place in the Boys vs Girls Relay Race is Kimichi Ishikawa!" "3rd In the place in the Boys vs Girls Relay Race is Sukina Akamine!" "4th in place is Zak Sakagami." "5th in place is Anstice Galanos." "6th in place is Elena." "7th in place is Allison Dominique." "8th in place is Riku Griffin." The boys hoisted the Boys vs Girls Relay Race Trophy, congratulated the girls for the hard work and effort.

Later at 6th period (Lunchtime), Junis and Kimichi was eating Strawberry Cake, drinking Frost Flurry Cocktail together. "How was the meeting at the Nightclub with your mother?" "The meeting was successful, her boss from her second job decided to give my mother a raise." "How about you?" "Hmm?" "I heard the jerk tried to rape Akamine San, and he hurt you." Junis was silent. "Yeah, but I don't know what happened, when he tried to rape her, I snapped and killed him." "Yakamura Kun?" "What happened to you that night?" "I can't remember."

Both Yakamura and Ishikawa changed the subject and talked about something else. "What else happened?" "Mother and I trained at home in the basement." "What kind of training?" "Kendo Training." "What is Kendo?" "You're kidding right?" "Not at all, I'm serious." "Very well, I will teach you everything about Kendo." "Listen carefully to what i am about to tell you."

Junis listens as Kimichi tells him the history of Kendo, the meaning, and the rules of Kendo. He was surprised, gained a lot of information about Kendo. Later after school, Mrs. Ishikawa took Kimichi and Junis home, cooked Chicken Alfredo, White Rice, Black Eyed Peas with Iced Tea as both of them took their seats. They started eating their dinner, it was peaceful, enjoyable like it should be.

After eating dinner, Kimichi wanted to speak to Junis alone. "Yakamura Kun." "What is it Ishikawa San?" "Do you know or have you met Sakagami?" Junis looked at her and shook his head. "I'm afraid not, I never met him before." "I don't have any memories of Zak Sakagami."

She was sad that she don't remember Zak, especially never meeting him in the past. "I'm really sorry I couldn't help you, maybe next time okay?" Junis said as he went to bed. Kimichi started thinking of a way to help Both Yakamura and Sakagami regain their memories. She knew that she couldn't do it on her own, she went to bed.

Saturday Morning 11am at the bakery in Shenzhen, Principal Akamine and Mrs. Ishikawa began talking about the two students. "Ishikawa, explain why are we here?" "We are here because of Mr. Yakamura and Mr. Sakagami." 'What about them?" Mrs. Ishikawa needed a moment to think about it.

After thinking about it for 15 minutes, she began explaining to her about Junis and Zak. "Did Mr. Yakamura and Mr. Sakagami meet each other in the past." Principle Akamine glared at Mrs. Ishikawa really uncomfortable. "Answer the question, did they meet before." "Yes or No?" Principal Akamine got up, slammed her hands on the table very irritated.

You seriously have the guts to asked me a unusual question. "We are not going to be here all day, are you going to answer my question or not?" Principal Akamine sighed, sat back in her seat to continue the conversation. "Fine, but nobody should know about our conversation, especially Mr. Yakamura and Mr. Sakagami." Principal Akamine said. "My lips are sealed, i won't tell a single soul about this." Mrs. Ishikawa said.

Meanwhile in Tokyo, Japan, Anstice and Riku was talking about something new until Junis showed up 10 minutes early. "Good morning guys." Junis said waving at his friends. "Good morning dude." "How's it going?" "Good." "What's going on here?" "Well we was talking about the history of the blade called Nenshō burēdo (Combustion Blade)." "Legends say that the Combustion Blade is located inside the dangerous volcano here in Tokyo, Japan called Mount Fuji.

Riku told the entire story of the Combustion Blade, Mount Fuji, and the guardian that protects the blade waits for the hero to take the Combustion Blade and become the hero to slay evil. Junis understood everything Riku and Anstice told them.

"When should we go and obtain such a legendary blade?" "9pm is the time we will go, are you sure you can deal with it?" "I'm absolutely sure." "Let's chill out for a couple of hours."

10 hours passed, Junis and Anstice arrived at Mount Fuji. "There it is, Mount Fuji, where the Combustion Blade sleeps." "Woah..." "That is cool." "Wait where's Riku?" "He stayed home 2 hours before the time he was supposed to meet us here." "But don't worry I invited somebody that will join us." "Who?"

Zak showed up and waved at Junis and Anstice. "Hello guys, I'm here." "Oh shit, I sent the wrong person." "You didn't sent him here?" "No." "Well, Akamine San sent me here." "Should I go back?" Anstice was about to deny his request of help but Junis decided to chat with him. Excuse us for a second. They started whispering so Zak couldn't hear it. "I'm taking him back home." "Anstice you can't do that to him, he's our friend, he can be very supportive." "But, but." "No buts, either go along with this or I'm going home."

Anstice sighed irritated, agreed to go along with Zak helping him and Junis. "Fine." Few moments later, the guardian fought Junis, however the guardian was defeated when Junis and Zak worked together. "Thank you Zak." "Glad to help you out Junis." "You know what to do Zak."

Junis jumps and Zak threw him into Mount Fuji feeling intense energy coming from the blade. "Is Junis okay Anstice?" "I trust him, he will find a way." Junis walks close to the Legendary Blade, witnessing the glimpse of its power. The Temperature of Mount Fuji was rising from 80% to 98%, Anstice and Zak was freaking out. "Junis please hurry!" "Hurry!!!" Junis grabs the top of the blade and tries to pull it out of its pedestal. "It's stuck, I can't..."

"Don't give in Junis!" "Remember who you are, I believe in you!" "Zak believes in you!" "Kimichi believes in you!!!" Junis starts to pull harder, having memories about the monster who killed his mother, his father, and his brothers. Junis growls and his right eyes glowing bright red. "I won't give in to that monster..." The legendary blade almost released, he pulled it out with all his might, raised the Combustion blade up in the air, roared loud like a dragon, everyone in Japan and China heard it.

Anstice and Zak was shocked by his power. "Oh my God." "That was amazing!" All of the Heat,Smoke,Lava, and Ashes were absorbed by Junis. Junis put the Combustion Blade behind his back and got out of Mount Fuji by himself. his right eye turned back to normal once he got out.

1 hour and 45 minutes later, Junis arrived at home late, Kimichi was shocked and hugged him. "I'm really glad you came home safe and sound." "It's a long story." Junis explained everything that happened. "So that's where the roar came from, you had a vision of the monster who killed your family?" "Yeah..."

"Well is there anything I can do to help?" "Well since you asked, there i one thing." "I want to test my blade against you." "Wait, what!?" "I mean it, in our first battle, what do you say?" "Deal, but Mon-Tues after school, how does that sound?" "Sounds like a excellent idea, I'm in."

"However, I will be strict with you." "I will treat our first training montage like a war." "Do you understand, Yakamura Kun?" He was silent for a couple of minutes, but he took the risk because he was to be stronger and save everyone. "I understand, I won't let you down, I will give in my all." Junis and Kimichi went to bed.