#Kairi. Roxas. then Ventus and still Roxas

[ajdrawshq]

@ your tags on my post, i am shaking you like a maraca and yelling "YESSSSS"

i wanna see how kh3 tackles that whole thing because it's so eerily similar to what happens in the manga. and in the manga, he is in so much pain and agony, AND HE'S STILL FIGHTING. ROXAS IS THERE WITH HIM, HIS ONLY COMPANION, and then kh3 just tripped and fell on the glass table.

also, i think about this constantly, i want them to do something with it so bad.

YEA i cant wait to see the rest of kh3 manga chapters and how they handle everything, i especially loved the manga versions for days and kh2 and the way their stories were told - even tho kh3 has a Lot going on that might be hard to show well.. amano's been good at it so far tho so i have faith :]

but yeah that whole thing with Roxas is just . oughh. im not gonna lie even i forgot that Roxas was like. still there with Sora when he perishes until i thought abt it writing those tags but now that ive realized that. why the hell did they not take advantage of that!!!! like ok i get that it was more focused on the destiny trio in the ways i talked abt in the tags but yknow. what happened to "he makes up the difference"?? that wouldve been a great moment for it to shine!! ik they already make an example of it during the Xemnas n Saïx fight but still!!

part of me wishes Roxas couldve have more outward influence on Sora the way Ven did. granted, he arguably had an affect on Sora back in kh2, and while i dont remember if it was canon or even intended, that could be applied to both his appearance (his lighter hair, mostly) and his behavior (his hostility towards the organization members; ive seen this argued both as smth Roxas had influence over and purely based on Soras experiences thus far, and i believe in both personally) but Ven in kh3 was literally able to speak and somewhat act through him. im pretty sure this was meant to show that Ven was fully ready to awaken or smth like that, and that wasnt sonething that was needed for Roxas; hes alright, just needed a body/vessel for himself. but i still think itd be a cool way to express the earlier sentiment. and it wouldnt necessarily have to be Roxas "taking over" either, the manga shows very well how Roxas gives Sora strength from within and that he definitely does make a difference

to be fair tho...... whether that wouldve helped Sora in the moment that he gives in to his despair, im not sure. in kh2, both manga and game, hes in a very different mindset than kh3. in that part of the manga especially, despite thinking everyone (except Roxas) is gone for good, he still has the belief that they can live on within him. and that, plus the literal strength hes getting from Roxas, is keeping him going despite it all. in kh3 his self confidence is beyond fucked, and he truly believes in that moment that hes lost Everything, not just his friends. thats hard to come back from

i wonder if he were to remember that Roxas were still there, if that wouldve helped. whether for comfort in the way that hes not really alone then, or for motive to keep living bc if he dies then Roxas is gone too, or whatever reason, i think it couldve changed something, even if its just a little bit. hell, itd have been great if something like that happened afterwards in the final world. id like to think Roxas had a hand in Sora surviving ..... not sure how but its a nice thought. either way i do wish Sora n Roxas' connection and that moment they have in san fransokyo had more....... More. in kh3. it was a great opportunity that they didnt use/forgot about n im now sad abt it forever

[cynnoct]

wish things could stay like this forever

[empyreasheart]

i need to sleep but im imagining the kh kids excitedly opening all their presents 😭😭😭 the fact that santa is real in the kh universe makes it so much better tbh

[transselkie]

Started thinking about Kingdom Hearts character classpects and now that KH3 has given Sora a new aspect to fill I have honestly never had characters slot so cleanly into unique classes and aspects before. Enjoy my self indulgent mental experiment:

Sora - Rogue of Time (one who steals from time for the benefit of others)

Kairi - Muse of Space (one whose agency is denied but inspires the actions of others)

Riku - Seer of Life (one who benefits themselves with knowledge of life and uses it to guide)

Roxas - Heir of Heart (heir of identity/self/soul)

Xion - Sylph of Doom (one who heals for others through death/fate/doom)

Naminé- Thief of Mind (one who steals mind/thoughts/consequence)

Axel - Page of Blood (one who creates bonds/provides others with bonds and serves the bonds created)

Saïx - Lord of Void (one who has command over emptiness/commands the emptiness of others)

Vanitas - Witch of Rage (one who creates negativity/creates using negative emotions) OR Bard of Blood (one who invites destruction through bonds)

Ventus - Maid of Breath (one who provides freedom/confidence, one who tends to freedom/confidence)

Aqua - Knight of Hope (one who serves and protects hope/ideology)

Terra - Mage of Light (one who arms themselves through the pursuit of knowledge/one who is manipulated through their pursuit of knowledge)

[dreamdripdistance]

sneak peek :3

would i be burned at thr stake for making a kingdom hearts in stars and time au.... lol......

[starlightwayfinder]

I got the sudden urge to share about an AU, and I actually think it’s one I’ve never talked about here before?

Anyway, it’s just for fun, but a while ago I decided to make a Pixie Hollow AU. I liked the first couple Tinker Bell movies a lot as a kid, so it’s fun for me to revisit that world now. (The AU takes place in Pixie Hollow/Neverland, but the characters themselves are all from KH. Most of them would be KHUX-style keykids, but they’re not exclusively from any one point on the KH timeline)

As far as world building goes, it’s mostly the same as the movie. The fairies are born from dandelion seeds + children’s laughter (perfect, right?) and end up in Pixie Hollow. There, they choose their talent and work to prepare for the change of the seasons. There’s a minister who oversees each season, in addition to a ruler over all of the fairies. (I think in the later movies they made it so the winter fairies are separate from the rest, but I’m choosing to ignore that since… it wasn’t really a thing back when I was watching them.)

They do still have Keys, but they’re lost keys that become magical when they appear in Neverland. They can all open any lock, but additional abilities will depend on the wielder’s talent.

So now to the fun part—assigning talents! 

First, the seasons: 

Ava is the Minister of Spring, Gula is Minister of Summer, Invi is Minister of Winter, and Aced is Minister of Autumn. Similar to his role in Back Cover, Ira is the king in charge of overseeing them. (And yes, Aced would still prefer to have Ira’s role as leader!) 

I made concept designs for them when I first came up with the AU, but now I’d probably change the masks to make them simpler. Dust-keepers:

Sora

Skuld

Player

Vor

The Dust-keepers store/distribute rations of pixie dust. It’s a somewhat mundane job, but all of the other talents depend on them to keep things running. Sora of course is happy to have a role supporting his friends, and Player and Skuld are known for being dependable helpers as well. Vor is the most unsatisfied with her talent, and will often get in trouble for flying off to do fun things with the others. 

Garden talents:

Kairi

Lauriam

Strelitzia 

Sigrun

These four are chosen for fairly obvious reasons, haha. They help to plant and grow flowers on the ‘mainland’. Lauriam and Strelitzia are still siblings, in the sense that they’re seeds from the same dandelion that were enchanted by the laughter of two human siblings. 

Water talents:

Aqua

Hermod

Xion

Roxas

Water talents are in charge of rain, morning dew, ponds, etc. Xion spends her free time with Roxas looking for seashells around mermaid lagoon.

Frost talents:

Xehanort

Urd

Baldr

Heimdall

Frost talents are in charge of making snowflakes and ice. They’re great at what they do, but have a bit of a rivalry with the garden fairies after an incident of freezing their flowers... Baldr and Hoder are ‘siblings’ like Lauriam and Strelitzia. Hoder chose her talent first, and Baldr almost picked the same to stay with her. However, he ultimately felt more called to be a Frost talent.

Light talents:

Eraqus

Hoder

Vidar

Elrena *

Odin 

Light talents are in charge of storing light, making rainbows, guiding sunbeams, and looking after fireflies. They’re also the ones who melt snow when it’s time for spring to arrive—so there’s a bit of irony in Eraqus and Xehanort’s friendship. Hoder probably would’ve preferred her brother becoming a light fairy, but they still spend plenty of time together outside of their roles. Elrena is something of an odd one out, as she creates lightning and works with the water fairies to make storms. Odin is primarily a ‘supervisor’ figure for them.

*edit—apparently Storm talents are a thing, so Elrena is one of those now 🌩️

Fast-flying talents:

Ventus

Vanitas

Vali

Vala 

The Fast-flying talents use wind to transport seeds and pollen. They make deliveries and send messages thanks to their incredible speed. They also guide newcomers to Pixie Hollow. 

Vala and Vali are close friends, but Vanitas and Ventus don’t get along well. Vanitas is competitive, while Ven is much more easygoing. Sora was a fairy Ven guided, so he got to see him choose his talent.

Tinker talents:

Ephemer

Brain

Naminé

Remus

Tinkers are in charge of everything that needs to be made or designed. Ephemer and Brain are always working together on a new gadget to help the other talents. Naminé is more of an artist, so she’s interested in finding and restoring lost things. She often helps people to remember something they’ve forgotten by returning their lost item. (I put Remus here even though we don’t know much about him, because he seems to have an interest in ‘lost things’ as well.)

Scout talents:

Riku

Terra

Helgi

Bragi

Last but not least—the scouts! They’re in charge of keeping an eye out for hawks, pirates, and any other potential threats. It’s the most dangerous talent by far, but they’re determined to protect their friends. (Bragi in this AU is not ‘Luxu’, he’s just himself!)

Starlight. Where are the animal talent fairies?

So, they exist, but they’re mostly just the generic keykids I mentioned before. I’m honestly not sure who out of the main characters would fit as an animal talent…

Regarding other characters: I’ve limited the fairies to just the Keyblade wielders, excluding Lea. The others exist in the AU, but they’re either mainland humans or pirates, haha. Roxas and Xion would eventually befriend the (human) Lea and Isa, but that’s a story for another time.

[strayheartless]

Vanitas and the Chaotic Good learning curve:

Leaving complete darkness behind isn’t hard exactly. After having Mr. Giddy goofy light bringer (Sora) witter in his ear for a good nine hours about the “benefits of not being evil” Vanitas isn’t willing to say he caved…. But he caved.

Besides if little miss “How can I face everyone” Martyrdom (Riku) can find the balance, how hard could it be right?

Turns out it’s not hard, it’s just… interesting. He’s observed a lot from those light bringers who still have to find a balance with the darkness in their hearts. Here’s what he’s learning:

Dawn (Riku) is not above small acts of violence against Sora. Whacking him with a paperback, flicking his forehead, tripping him when he gets up to do to the bathroom. It’s all fair play apparently.

It is not acceptable to firaga people for annoying you, but that doesn’t mean Kairi hasn’t.

The real-boy (Roxas) can hit HARD and no he won’t apologise for braking something if he thinks you deserve it.

Raggedy-Anne (Xion) has a higher kill rate then Vanitas does… which is only mildly disturbing.

Biting people is bad, but Terra and Aqua always seem to be covered in Bite marks anyway. He has been informed it’s a different kind of biting. He doesn’t wish to explore that further.

His own natural eye colour after possession is red, and ain’t that a kick in the teeth.

Dawns a bitch when he’s grumpy and apparently the way to deal with him is to be a bitch back. Kairi is very good at being a bitch back. Sora just wishes everyone would get along.

The-real-boy and Dawn have serious history and it makes families dinners tense sometimes. Vanitas would not like a repeat performance of helping Ven drag Roxas into another room whilst Terra heals Riku’s fractured cheek. Roxas apologied but Riku still didn’t get out of bed for three days after.

Spikes and fire (Lea/Axel) apparently has the power to kill a man with the snap of his fingers. ApPaReNtLy he has killed someone with the snap of his fingers.

Moon boy (Isa/Sïax) has a limit beaker that could level city blocks. Wild.

Cry baby dislikes Cloud Strife for reasons only Ventus, Aqua and Hercules (apparently) know. Vanitas is pretty sure not even Cloud knows what he did. Van recons it has something to do with the big sword and the… Squats???

“I will not summon Floods until Xion and Sora cry. It is bad and I will apologise for it” … In Vans defence Naminé thought it was hilarious.

Dawn blindfolds himself when he’s upset about… something?

He gets along surprisingly well with Roxas… apparently shared trauma and distaste for stupid people goes a long way. Neat!

Raggedy Anne knows there is a spot on the back of Axels neck that if you dig in hard enough he passes out…. Isa showed her this.

Sora it not above throwing things at Riku and Kairi when he’s overtired and upset. He gets more upset that he threw the thing at them though.

Apparently master water slide (aqua) can still open dark corridors, she just doesn’t.

Dawn knows how to access dark gear. He’s done it exactly once in Vans presence and they didn’t see him for DAYS afterwards… that’s how Vanitas learned about the blindfold.

Naminé can get in your head. She hasn’t but she can. It makes for tense moments between her and Sora when she says something she shouldn’t know.

It is acceptable to throw water at Axel when he gets “fired up” during training. This was a delightful discovery.

Upon being introduced to the restoration committee it is not acceptable to point out that Leon looks like if Simba was a person… but it does make Sora and Aerith laugh so hard they end up crying on the floor.

Cloud strife is apparently more trauma then man and now Terra feels bad for hating him.

It is not acceptable to to tell Winnie the Pooh that forest fires are caused by thinking too hard. Sora and Ventus will slap you in the head and it will hurt

And possibly the most disturbing discovery of them all in Vanitas’ opinion… Sora has a Rage form AND an Anti-form. And they come out to play regularly in training.

Ultimately what Vanitas is learning is that nobody is amine to the darkness. He’s learning that it’s not about being evil or good by nature it’s about deciding who YOU want to be. For all he makes fun of them and calls them soppy lights, it’s…. Good to know that there is hope for him, even if it means he can’t get rid of the darkness. He can still exists in the light.

[aitsuheart]

When talking about Kairi I always thought she should interact with more characters because it could lead to some interesting interactions, but then I realized a lot of characters don't interact enough out of their small little groups.

Kairi only interacts with Sora mainly, sometimes with Riku, and then she is given some nice interactions with Axel which I really like.

Then we have Riku he mainly interacts with Sora, a tiny bit with Kairi, some with Mickey, and a bit with Terra but it's still not enough. Oh and he had a tiny conversation with Naminé in COM.

Ventus only interacts with Terra, Aqua, and Vanitas. Oh and somewhat with Sora too. It would be nice to see him interact with Roxas since they look alike or even Axel because they could have been friends like the interaction in BBS. Him and Kairi would also have good intentions because they are both only light.

Aqua doesn't interact outside her trio either, but she probably will interact with Kairi more. I hope we actually get to see her interact with Kairi along with some of the Twilight Town Trio.

Naminé actually interacts with a bit more characters however it's not that much. She talks with Roxas on nobodies, she talks to Xion, and then she talks a bit to Riku and Sora as well.

I'm just going to say most characters interact with Sora. Sora is the character that interacts with everyone and binds them all together besides the fact they have a common goal.

Even in organization 13, several of the members don't interact. I would have loved to see Vanitas interact with Dark Riku. It would be nice to see Vanitas interact with the other members of Organization 13. Marluxia and Larxene basically only interact with each other too.

There are so many other characters and examples but I would love a lot more interactions for more characters.

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

your khux finale post makes me unwell (positive) and it also made me realize how in kh even though several of the bosses are friends fighting each other khux is the only one (that I can think of) where the playable character is the one on the “bad” side. sora vs riku-ansem, aqua vs ventus-vanitas and later terranort were ones were you fight a character who’s possessed and not fully in control of themselves. in days and kh2 roxas wouldn’t have fought xion or axel if they hadn’t forced him to. but with player vs ephemer and skuld YOU are the one “possessed” and forcing the others to fight. a fun new layer of tragedy!

YEAH YEEEAHHH!!!! It’s so juicy in so many ways, especially from a gameplay/video game media standpoint

khux starts with Player as a more or less blank self insert and slowly and subtly builds them up as a character with their own agency. They’ve probably sometimes said or done things that you yourself wouldn’t do, but it’s usually not a big deal. You’re still the one in control here, you’re still the player.

Like you said, in the other kh games, you fight as the character on the “good” side. You want to win because you want to save Kairi, or you want Terra to snap out of it, or you want to protect somebody from getting hurt, etc etc. You know you’re fighting for a good cause.

But the khux finale forces you into an uncomfortable position. Suddenly all that control you have over Player must be used to hurt two beloved characters, their friends, your friends. You must win, even if you don’t want to. You, player, are the villain here, and you have no choice in the matter.

Of course we learn after that Player was also fighting for a good cause. They were on the “good side” all along too. But no one else knew. It’s a lot like Xion’s fight in Days actually. There wasn’t really a right vs wrong. Just friend vs friend(s) and the circumstances that forced them into this impossible situation. And it didn’t feel like anybody won in the end, even though a larger crisis was ultimately averted/delayed.

It’s incredible. A fun new layer of tragedy indeed!!

[gulava]

You know, I was only really thinking of Riku feeling Terra within Ansem SOD when it came to the "a true friend will see you for who you, no matter the face you wear" quote at the time but...that also pertains to quite a few more moments.

He initially sees Xion with Sora's face but he still acknowledges her as her own person and treats her as someone with the agency to make her own decisions. He recognizes Ansem the Wise even though he wears Ansem SOD's face and recognizes Namine even though she was wearing Kairi's face.

(It kinda makes Ansem the Wise's treatment towards him even sadder.)

Riku sees Ventus in 3D and realizes he's not Roxas.

Riku only considers Roxas as truly Sora's Nobody once Sora responds from within Roxas despite ATW telling him directly that Roxas is (meaning he saw him as his own person) and Riku tells Replica Riku he's not him despite Replica Riku's claim otherwise.

In KH3, I feel like Riku was teasing him by saying "the other me" bc this above was one of their last interactions in COM and it's actually in character for him to do that to people he's fond of (he even leaves the guy a weapon to defend himself with). It wouldn't make an ounce of sense for him to act like Replica Riku is another him after all of this. He treats him as someone with agency in KH3 ("take the time you need"), continuing his thread of behavior like with Xion.

I also want to suggest that maybe Riku was more susceptible to Ansem SOD because of all this. He trusted Terra after their meeting in BBS and Terra was very much present the entire time.

A, uh, perhaps not so happy extra note is he failed to notice Kairi inside Sora in KH1. As far as we know, of course. If he did know, it'd reframe an incredible amount of the game so I wouldn't be too shocked. Whether Riku knows what Kairi smells like is kind of up in the air because of what he says in COM and RE:COM. He could've simply been talking about the illusion of Kairi as it wouldn't make much sense for Namine and Kairi to smell the same...as they are different people and he recognized Namine as someone different.

Otherwise, Riku was simply saying they smell the same and somehow he told the difference despite that. Not quite sure that checks out. Why would he even bring up their smell at all if so? Could he feel their hearts were different or something? Where's the original Japanese for this? I tend to read this scene as the former because Riku failed to recognize Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, and Kairi as mere illusions in COM Destiny Islands until they disappeared. He also, quite sadly, thought Zexion was truly Sora at first. That could've been simply because he was desperate to see him though. Sora was the person Riku wanted to see the most, after all, and Riku does end up smelling Zexion (someone he ends up interacting with quite a bit in KH3).

So what's the point of this post? Nothing much, I guess. I just really like this aspect of Riku's character. He'll say positive things about others that could easily be applied to himself too. Humble guy. I'm looking forward to his relationship with Yozora.

Maybe he'll see his true face.

[storm-driver]

imagine, if you will, the Final World segment of KH3, but shortly after Sora wakes up, he remembers everything that happened. he recalls Ventus' corpse getting thrown, Axel being pummeled, Aqua giving into despair, Kairi swept away, Riku dissipating into darkness.

He starts to tear up, barely able to realise where he is. Just remembering how everyone got ripped away from him. How ready he is to give up, without his friends...

But out of nowhere, someone speaks up for the first time in a long time. When Sora opens his teary eyes, he can actually see him there. Wearing that same black coat, knelt down in the endless watery sky, hands reaching out to grab hold of Sora's shoulders and provide any comfort he could.

Despite everything being lost to him, Roxas still hadn't left Sora. Roxas was always here for him, and if Sora ever faltered, he would make up the difference.

[refulgent-penumbra]

Character list

Taken:

Aeleus

Aerith Gainsborough

Aqua

Cid Highwind

Cloud Strife

Dilan

Eraqus

Even

Isa / Saïx

Joshua Kiryu

Kairi

Larxene / Elrena

Lea / Axel

Luxord

Myde / Demyx

Olette

Riku

Sephiroth

Squall (Leon) Leonhart

Vanitas

Ventus

Vincent Valentine

Xehanort

Xemnas

Xigbar

Zexion

We are still looking for:

Ansem Seeker of Darkness

Ansem the Wise

Donald

Fairy Godmother

Goofy

Hayner

King Mickey

Marluxia / Lauriam

Merlin

Naminé

Pence

Replica Riku

Roxas

Sora

Terra

Tifa

Xion

Yen Sid

Yuffie

[empyreasheart]

honestly it would have been a lot cooler if xions appearance wasnt based off sora's memories of kairi and rather something distinctly hers. her face isnt even hers. :(

[yoroshiu]

There's something so cruel about how Sora had to carry the weight of multiple people's feelings alongside his own.

We, as people, already struggle to handle our emotions but imagine feeling two, or three, or four or more people's emotions as well. Like in Dream Drop, imagine taking in Roxas's grief and trauma within a single moment. Or feeling Ventus's own urges to save his friends throughout KH3. It's not shown as much with Xion or Vanitas, but I'd like to imagine that he felt echoes of what they felt in waves. And heck, while we're at it, how about anyone who was in his heart for some time, like Kairi.

Even if Sora wasn't feeling all of those feelings constantly, could you imagine being just overfilled with others' memories and the emotions they felt directly as if it was you experiencing it?

I think about that moment with Roxas a lot and remain in awe that Sora could keep moving forward after that. That game had him getting hit with a barrage of people and emotions, and he still kept fighting until it literally broke his heart enough to make him susceptible to being possessed by darkness.

That one quote from Xigbar about putting too much power (or in this case, feelings) in one place might break it haunts me in my dreams.

[tapioca-puddingg]

The Future of KH Characters

Hey y'all, I know it's been a while. But lately I've been having some feelings about the future of KH and I wanted to share them. These are just my own baseless speculations and wants, i don't know nothin about nothin.

So the future of these characters have me concerned. I'm glad that characters like Roxas and Xion got revived, but I'm concerned about how they're gonna fit into this new story. Like, what are their new roles going to be? The problem I see here is that most of the heroes have had resolutions. Unless they introduce a new threat in the KH Universe.

So Sora, RIku, MoM, Luxu and Strelitzia have already been confirmed to be in the Lost Masters Arc. Riku isn't in Quadratum yet, but he will be soon. This'll be the first time that Sora will be isolated without his friends by his side (until he knows Riku is there), so I would like to see how he navigates that loneliness

Kairi

Kairi will be trained by Aqua, which is one of the best decisions they could've made for her character imo and I'm really excited to see their dynamic. I would love to see her and Aqua travel to new Disney worlds as part of her training. I think it would make the most sense for Kairi to be the one to travel to these new worlds since she hasn't had that journey yet

Maybe she can temporarily live at the Land of Departure too!

Ooh maybe she can eventually get keyblade armor too

She can become friends with the disney princesses and learn from their stories

Maybe the princesses inspire her to be stronger

Speaking of stronger, there still isn't much clarification on what her powers are exactly. Her powers have been only shown for the convenience of the plot, such as when her belief in Sora is what allowed him to keep his physical form in the Final World

So I would like full clarification on her abilities as a Princess of Heart and to possibly see those abilities applied to her moveset. I really just wanna play as her again okay

Aqua

Aqua will be Kairi's new master, like I said above

She finally gets to have a little sister!

I feel like having a pupil makes the most sense to be the next step in her life

I would still like to see more issues she developed from her time in the Realm of Darkness. It was a great touch that she got triggered by the swarm of heartless in Re:Mind

Also I'd like to see and her, Terra and Ven are processing Eraqus' loss

And just more friend moments between the three of them

Ventus

So it's implied that his memories have been restored, as he welcomes Chirithy with open arms at the end of KH3. Literally

That opens up the floodgates of hell

If he hasn't already, he's gonna have to tell Aqua and Terra the truth about what happened back then. I wonder if that will cause some tension in their friendship

Speaking of tension, maybe he'd want to find Lauriam and Elrena and reunite with them to talk things out

Terra

I can see Terra being a mentor to Kairi alongside Aqua

We know that he was disappointed that he couldn't act as a mentor to Riku, so this could be a second chance for him

But I can also see him going on his own path to getting stronger and mastering his darkness

Maybe Aqua and Ven disagree bc they want him to stay with them to get stronger. But he insists on going it alone

Maybe he finds a teacher (new character?), or he just does some solo self-reflection

Random thought but it'd be cute if he revisited some of the worlds in BBS to meet up with his old friends and see how things have changed

Speaking of which, wtf happened to Zack. Please don't tell me he died in this universe too... the last shot we see of him is hella eerie

Anyways, I want for that journey to end with him becoming a keyblade master

Lea and Isa

There's still the matter of Subject X, which many speculate is Skuld

That was their whole motivation for joining Organization 13 to begin with, so they gotta spin back on that

Now that Ansem is back in action, they're gonna have to press him about what happened to her

It's funny bc Ansem SoD was also searching for her in KH3, but we don't know why

Mickey

He was tasked with going to Scala Ad Caelum to investigate the Lost Masters

i hope we're able to learn even more about the past. Maybe we'll learn how MoM and the Foretellers were able to hop between dimensions

Unknown

As for Roxas, XIon, and Namine, I have no idea what their roles could be in the future. If anybody has any ideas, do let me know. I'm open to hearing more speculation

[wilygryphon]

Some ML fans are hoping that Season 6 will make everything from the season 5 finale clearer, that the finale is supposed to set up the next season. Respectfully, I disagree. Setting up the next season should be a secondary purpose of the finale. The primary purpose should be resolving at least some of the previously-built-up plotlines. Especially when the finale is supposed to resolve a multi-season arc, particularly in defeating the overarching villain and dealing with all of the plot points that were directly tied to them, particularly when one of the main protagonists (the villain's son) is left out of the whole thing and never told the truth about both his father (who he's finally started to stand against) and the villain he's been fighting for five seasons. Doing a poor job of wrapping up those plot points should not mean that the next season is left to deal with what should have already been tidied up. Sequel baiting should not override finishing the story that was already being told. There is a reason why Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were criticized for putting too much focus on setting up sequels.

Compare this season finale to Kingdom Hearts III, another "end of an era" installment and the resolution to the Xehanort Saga. That game put a lot of focus on setting up the next saga, but it never forgot what its purpose was. Everyone who was lost and left to a bad fate in previous installments was rescued and made whole. Each villain was given a proper sendoff, even the ones who we would expect to see again. Everyone got to face their particular nemeses again and in some cases vanquish them personally. (Roxas, Axel and Xion fought Xemnas and made peace with Saïx; Aqua and Ventus faced Terranort and Vanitas again, and Terra reclaimed his body and eliminated that incarnation of Xehanort for good; Riku AND Riku Replica overcame the physical manifestation of their dark past selves and mistakes; Sora and Riku (as well as Mickey) defeated Ansem and Xemnas once and for all, and they also defeated Young Xehanort even though the earliest version of the villain was unconcerned; and Sora, Donald and Goofy fought and defeated Master Xehanort. Re:Mind even gave Kairi the chance to fight by Sora's side and defeat another incarnation/Replica of Xehanort.) Now let's talk about the final battle. Sora, Donald and Goofy, with all of their friends helping keep Kingdom Hearts stable, fought and defeated Master Xehanort. Despite being barely able to stand, Xehanort did not want to give up, before Sora and the heart ghost of Master Eraqus convinced him to let go. What did Xehanort do then? He entrusted the light to Sora and gave him the χ-blade, then faded away to enter the afterlife with his old friend. Then Sora fixed everything, and went off to recover Kairi while sacrificing himself.

Would you look at that? Kingdom Hearts III resolved all of its major plot points while still setting up future conflicts. No one kept secrets from their friends, everyone had their moments of catharsis, the villain was not vindicated even if the game turned around to try to make his goals sympathetic at the last minute, and the heroes. Actually. Won.

Oh, and while there are still mysteries and things left to interpretation, the game still made a point to clarify what was going on in front of us.

A later episode in a season can make earlier episodes make sense, but it shouldn't be left to the next season to explain things that the season finale refuses to resolve. If the next season is necessary to make this season good, this season was not and never will be good.