#You ever just look at the bad ending in Re:Mind and go like 'No'

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Can I be honest?

I really do not care about Missing Link.

I'll admit that the most recent trailer probably made me more interested in it than I ever have been before, but even then I'm just kind of like... ehh.

And this is for a few reasons, I think.

A large one being that it's a mobile game. And I shouldn't have to explain why that's a huge reason as to why that's helping to kill my interest in this game, even though it looks like this game should be a lot better than KHUX and Dark Road, thankfully (but I'm also somewhat reserving judgement on all of that until we get it).

The fact that it's a game like Pokémon Go was also sort of ruining things for me, since I really can't walk well anymore. But according to the trailer and Nomura, it seems like that you don't really have to travel in order to do things in the game. So we'll see how that pans out.

But I guess I'm just getting to the place where some casuals were before, were--in some ways--if it's not about our main cast, I almost feel like I can't be bothered (and I do feel bad about that, in some ways).

I'm somewhat tired, I suppose, of having to play a million different games, in order to understand the next mainline installment. And I know this is just one between III and IV (if you don't count the Re:Mind DLC and Melody of Memory), but it does sort of feel a bit like "same old, same old" to me.

I also just... I don't know. Really feel like we didn't need this part of the timeline filled in? And I would almost prefer if that wasn't happening, so it could be a mystery and we could imagine it for ourselves? I feel like the only reason it's being filled out now is because of the Scala ad Caelum stuff in KHIII. And probably because this next saga is partly going to be saving the people from the KHX saga. But if we didn't get Missing Link, that plot point could have been delivered in another game.

Now we're just going to get more characters introduced, and clutter up the roster even more, and gah!

I know this game is surely to partly tide us over until KHIV, which is definitely nice. But IDK. I, personally, would have rather had one of the plot lines they teased at the end of Re:Mind as a game (Kairi's training with Aqua, Mickey in Scala, the Wayfinder trio in the Realm of Darkness, or Naminé looking for clues about Sora's whereabouts in Roxas and Xion's memories). Or waited a bit more and just gotten KHIV and then the Verum Rex game (both as console games, of course), because you know they have to be making both of these games right now.

I really don't mean to complain. Because I know a lot of time and work has surely gone into this. And it's something. And I'd rather take something over nothing (for the most part. Don't start giving me KH NFTs, Square). But unless something changes, there's nothing about Missing Link so far that's really grabbed me, personally.

And maybe it will. I'm sure it will, eventually. It won't take much to do it. But the fact it's a mobile game will always hurt it. It's weird to say, but I kind of miss the days of the handheld KH games. At least they were better quality. Oy.

Edit: And back to my one point, I feel Missing Link is going to add even more to the KHIV stuff now, when there's already so much it needs to conquer that I have no idea how it's going to do it all. Like, I was thinking that maybe some of the point of Missing Link was to flesh out this new saga... but there's already so much going on here.

Edit 2: However, Missing Link, and all the stuff with the story of Scala ad Caelum, seems to be a story Nomura-san wants to tell. And that is most definitely his right.

[starcharmfunzies]

Could you please explain to us, in incredibly insane,DEEP detail, why you hate Mickey? From point A to point Z. I’ll get my popcorn ready.

under the cut cause this got long and I'm very passionate about the topic

---

okay so the year is 2010

BbS came out and the fanbase is heartbroken (including myself) over what happened to Terra, Aqua and Ven. At this point in the franchise Mickey although shady seems like a decent dude, so I didn't have any strong opinions towards him, only that he was this mysterious and seemingly OP king. Let's recap though.

In KH1 he wasn't very communicative with Donald and Goofy, but when he finally showed up at the very end it was to close Kingdom Hearts and ngl it was a pretty hype moment. So far so good.

In Re:Chain of Memories he again does not approach Donald and Goofy -and Sora- even though they were still looking for him, but it was for a very good cause as he stayed with Riku to help him fight Ansem Seeker of Darkness. Here I actually thought well of him.

In KH2 he's still being beyond secretive but he finally joins the gang to explain some things and fight alongside everyone to defeat Xemnas. Honestly he's got no bad record so far; he may be a douche sometimes since he barely explains himself but I could understand because of the circumstances.

So BbS happens. We get insight on how he was involved with TAV and I actually felt kinda bad for Mickey since he hadn't been able to do much to help them, and for all he knew in the worst case scenario they all died.

But then in 2011 Re:Coded came out, and with it its secret movie.

In the secret movie Mickey and Yen Sid have the following exchange:

M: Yen Sid, I think we're finally close to figuring out where Ven's heart is.

Y: Is that so? Then that leaves only Terra.

Hold the fuck up. Only Terra? As in, they already knew where Aqua was?

Why hadn't they gone after her then?????

This secret movie left a bitter taste in my mouth. I started questioning everything. For how long had they known? Why hadn't they done anything? What the fuck were they waiting for?

Sadly in 2012 with DDD's release I didn't get answers to any of these questions, and when Mickey told Xehanort that he hoped TAV sacrificing themselves hadn't been in vain it just got me more angry.

How dare you talk about them as if they were dead. How dare you utter Aqua's name when you know damn well where she is and you know damn well that it's almost fucking impossible to get out of that place without help. YOU could help her Michael. But no, you're just talking about her like she was just a bad memory you wanted to forget.

I was pissed.

And I stayed pissed for the next 5 years, with no main games coming out and only my memories of the past games to look back on Mickey's behavior. Since when had he known that Aqua was in the Realm of Darkness? Since KH1 when he helped Sora close the door to Kingdom Hearts? Since Re:Chain of Memories when he was helping Riku overcome his own darkness? Since KH2 when he was infiltrating the Organization? Since way before KH1? Just how long had he been walking around knowing of this and deciding to do nothing about it?

But not only was I angry at Mickey. I was desperate. How long would I be waiting until Aqua was saved? Would she even be saved at all? Information about her was scarce, and BbS volume 2 seemed nothing but a distant dream, but with DDD being the prelude to the final battle against Xehanort I was hopeful the next main game would finally have her involved again.

So you can imagine how excited I was when we got the first trailer for KH 2.8 that included A Fragmentary Passage.

That image of the back of her head gave me hope. Hope that she was still okay, still fighting, and that she would be saved soon.

And on January 2017 we finally found what had happened to her before she made it to that fateful beach.

And boy I wasn't happy.

The reason Mickey knew Aqua was in the Realm of Darkness was because he met her there, right before he helped close Kingdom Hearts. And of course I don't blame him for getting separated from Aqua, it was the demon tower's fault and I understand he couldn't do much being in a hurry and all to get to the door.

But shouldn't he have tried to find her right after???

I get that there's only so much Nomura can tie back to plot-wise as he writes along, but the matter of fact at this point is that:

Mickey stayed with Riku after closing Kingdom Hearts and didn't say a word to him about Aqua.

We don't know whether Mickey tried to search for her or not, but it sure as hell didn't stop him from leaving the Realm of Darkness when he had the chance.

So after escaping the Realm of Darkness Mickey eventually went to Yen Sid and told him he found Aqua, and Yen Sid told him to not try anything yet as they were unprepared to rescue her.

And OF COURSE, this is the one time Mickey decides to listen to him. Not unlike ALL the other times he went around and did whatever the fuck he wanted. Like when he ran away with the star shard in BbS despite Yen Sid telling him not to get involved, or when he went to confront fucking Xehanort and only got saved because of Ven, or when he abandoned Disney Castle without warning to do things by himself and just left a shitty note with a half-assed explanation, or when he jumped after Xemnas into the dark corridor and left behind everyone in Radiant Garden.

Nah, it's this ONE time in particular that Mickey decides to be a goody-two-shoes and not do anything reckless for a change.

Wasn't Aqua his friend? Didn't he form a D-link with her because they got close? Hadn't he done all the dangerous things he did in the past because he wanted to look after those he cared for and loved?

And not only did he decide to do nothing, but he didn't say a THING about her to anyone. So what if Sora and/or Riku planned a reckless rescue? Mickey had already done worse than that! And BESIDES, Sora and Riku did manage to get out of the Realm of Darkness once so they could have very well done it again a second time.

BUT HEY at least 0.2 ended with Mickey and Riku deciding to finally go get Aqua, so there's hope. That is until 2019, another 2 years later, that KH3 comes out. Mickey and Riku finally go to the Realm of Darkness to look for her, but when they get to the beach and find she's not there what does Mickey decide to do?

HE DECIDES TO LEAVE AGAIN.

It's been 10+ years already what's a little more time am I right fellas???

Reminder that Mickey supposedly considers Aqua a friend btw.

Michael you were there in the Realm of Darkness, you know how dangerous it is, you saw how at the verge of giving up Aqua was, and you decide to keep her waiting even more? What the hell is wrong with you?!

It's like he doesn't even care about her at all. It's so unsettling how carefree he is about it.

And you know what? Had Mickey decided to go save Aqua sooner they might have actually gotten to her before her confrontation with Ansem Seeker of Darkness, and they would have spared her plenty of suffering.

But what do I know.

Anyway, Aqua gets saved (by Sora btw, not Mickey), and in the process she calls Mickey out on his bullshit and he agrees he messed up. He even apologized. That did make me feel better, it was cathartic, and although I was still sore about everything he did now that TAV was back together safe and sound I was considering cutting Mickey some slack. I'll give him credit, I did get a little impressed with what he did in Re:Mind. Credit where credit is due.

But then Melody of Memory happened.

sigh

The moment this asshole found out that Riku went by himself to search for Sora to this strange world of unreality what is the first thing he does?

He bolts to the fucking door ready to go after Riku. And had it not been for Donald and Goofy tackling him to the ground he could have very well ran off.

Why wasn't he this worried over Aqua? When he found her she had already spent 10 years in the Realm of Darkness, a very VERY dangerous place. And yet when he made it out he wasn't worried at all and let her stay 2-3 years more in there?? Riku had left like a fucking hour ago and it was enough to have Mickey panicking COME ON. Biased much?

So there you have it. No matter what Mickey does in the future of the franchise I don't think I'll ever have the heart to forgive him. I was willing to do so, but of course he made me change my mind rather quickly.

I'm glad newcomers to the series share these feelings of not being fond of Mickey, but I don't think they'll go through the same experience that the people that followed the games did. Most of us liked Mickey at the beginning, but through the years we realized with horror that we had been deceived, and we were left to wallow in our rage while we hopelessly waited for someone, anyone, to save Aqua.

[phoenix-downer]

Now that we know for a fact that Xehanort not only knew Kairi was alive and didn't senselessly murder her for the sake of his plan in KH3, but was continuing to use her as his final insurance, how well does the English version of his speech hold up on its own?

I’m guessing you mean his speech to Sora at the end of the game? I’ll go ahead and link the post I made for it after KH3 came out here because I have an analysis of the English version, the Japanese version, and a more literal translation included in that post.

Looking back over it, I don’t think the new reveals in Re:Mind about Kairi’s fate change anything about the speech itself. Xehanort’s motivations are still the same; he still wants to start the world over because he thinks it’s corrupt. If anything affected the interpretation of this scene, I’d say it’s the new scene where the MoM talks to Young Xehanort, because it establishes where Xehanort is coming from when he talks to Sora during his speech. 

(I think I must’ve missed a line of dialogue here maybe, but anyway, continuing on): 

(Okay but I have to wonder, why is the MoM shown grasping his hands here when Xehanort says this last part? I have so many questions. Is he “a sheep pretending to be a wolf” as well? Who knows. “Wolf in sheep’s clothing” is a common metaphor in English, and it’s interesting how Xehanort flips it on his head to talk about sheep in wolves’ clothing. I’d need to look at this scene again more closely to be able to speculate about it better). 

But going back to Xehanort, purging the world of the weak because they have darkness in their hearts and giving the World a fresh start has been his motivation all along, ever since he was young. Granted, I think it’s a retcon and isn’t very consistent with how he was in BBS and DDD, IMO, but that’s getting more into my personal opinion/interpretation. This is what Xehanort’s motivation will be going forward from the sounds of it, so I’ll interpret his actions in light of that. 

As a side note, Nomura seems to be going with the “Xehanort was corrupted” angle now, which makes sense. He’s like KH Lucifer/Satan, right down to the goat armor, and considering who goat imagery is associated with, it checks out. 

Xehanort the corrupted light-bearer is an interesting angle, and I’m curious if Nomura will explore it more. 

Notice how Xehanort’s eyes only have a little bit of gold around his pupils in this shot, to tease at his temptation/corruption. His irises still have a little bit of the original silver color left. Again, I’m getting super “Xehanort has acquired the knowledge of good and evil” vibes from this scene. 

Now, addressing what happened to Kairi. This is a bit of a personal tangent and only sort of related to your question, but I wanted to talk about it anyway. Does knowing that Xehanort didn’t actually kill her make his actions less “bad”? 

No. Absolutely not. He let Sora think he murdered her and didn’t correct him. That is a horrible thing to do to someone, and Sora is clearly traumatized over it:

Xehanort purposely let Sora think she was dead to motivate him, showing a callous disregard for Sora as a person as well as Kairi, who he still just treats like a tool instead of a human being:

JP きっかけを与えよう

EN You require motivation.

TR I’ll give you motivation. / Let’s give you motivation, shall we?

Xehanort used Sora’s suffering to further his own ends, so yeah, still terrible behavior. Plus, I know Kairi was asleep while this happened, but I still think that getting your heart shattered into seven pieces would suck. 

That is not the pose of someone who is okay. And we know Ven getting his heart shattered resulted in him falling into a decade plus coma, so without Sora’s intervention, Kairi could’ve been stuck in seven different pieces indefinitely, which is pretty horrifying when you think about it. She was as good as dead once Xehanort was gone and before Sora began his journey to rescue her, because she couldn’t just put herself back together, and Xehanort had the only key to her whereabouts until Sora found it.    

Plus, Sora had to relive watching what happened to Kairi all over again. Even though he knows there’s a chance of saving her, even though he’s lived through this before, his heart speeds up as he watches what happens again. 

If that’s not a metaphor for PTSD and re-experiencing trauma, I don’t know what is. He’s literally reliving a horribly painful experience, and he feels it so deeply it makes his heart race. 

That’s not to go into all the other anguish and suffering he went through during Re:Mind to save Kairi, which makes Xehanort look even worse… but it also reveals Sora’s true nature. We’ve now seen proof of the lengths he would go to save Kairi, and it demonstrates how much he loves her and how willing he is to sacrifice himself for her and put her needs above his own. By showing how horrible Xehanort is, we better appreciate how wonderful Sora is. We also better understand the depths of his love for Kairi, and I think that’s why KH3 feels so much more satisfying for me now with the addition of Re:Mind. 

Thanks for the ask!

[kyndaris]

Dearly Beloved

The Kingdom Hearts franchise has always been dear to my heart, ever since I first saw ads of it on TV back when I was just a little one. The infusion of Disney with Final Fantasy had be hooked. Mostly because of Disney. It was only later on that I fell in love with Final Fantasy. And the rest...well, as they say, is history. 

It should also not come as a surprise that I have great respect for the Goddess that is Yoko Shimomura. Since my early days of playing video games, she’s managed to capture the essence of the Disney worlds and bring them to life as Sora has traipsed through, destroying Heartless everywhere he went. I mean...look no further to my old posts about Final Fantasy XV and you will see that I basically worship anything that she throws out into the world.

So, though I was burned by re: Coded and its rehash of prior events, I still picked up Melody of Memory with the full knowledge that any relevant lore drops would most likely be at the end and just be enough to tide me over before the next bigger release (and honestly, after the dumpster fire that was Kairi’s entire character arc in Kingdom Hearts 3, I would have liked to see her uplifted a little in future instalments). And because the game is essentially a celebration of the work Shimomura has poured into the series.

As soon as gamers pick the game up, they are thrust into the ‘World Tour’. There’s little explanation for why the characters have ended up in a musically-themed game, but as soon as you unlock the first recap cutscene, it becomes clear that Kairi is summarising the series.

A lot of the music are top-notch and easily recognisable for anyone familiar with the series. Whether that was Bustin’ on the Beach, Destati or L’impeto Oscuro. Others were a little bit harder to pin down - mostly because they never truly impressed upon me during my initial playthrough, such as Access the Grid (which also did not seem to hit my beat centres so I felt as if I was too heavily reliant on the visuals to pull me through).

Melody of Memory only contains approximately 140 or so songs. That meant that not all of my favourite songs were present. In particular, Tears of the Light, which is my  go-to melancholy song to make sad things a hundred times sadder. Still, there was quite a bit of variety, though there were also quite a few remixes of songs, such as Traverse in Trance and Scherzo di Notte. All of them brought a little something extra to the pieces on display, so it did not feel like I was playing through the exact same song, even if I thought that it was cheating. At least, a little.

I will admit, though, that the limit of one song for each world in the Kingdom Hearts 3 portion of the game was a little disappointing. Even if Let it Go is a bop, I would have preferred additional field and battle music. 

What came as a shock, though, were ACTUAL DISNEY SONGS that could be unlocked. Like: A Whole New World and Beauty and the Beast. All, of course, from the ACTUAL ANIMATED FILMS! 

I mean, I had expected Utada Hikaru - because the singer has become synonymous with the series, but one does not simply throw in Part of Your World, okay? At least warn a Disney geek!

The gameplay is reminiscent of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. However, as none of the consoles that can play it have the use of a stylus, it’s mostly button presses with the occasional flick of the thumbstick. The presentation is also vastly different - with the four different teams running towards enemies and hacking away at them to the rhythm of the music. This took me some adjustment as my natural inclination was to hammer away at X (or A, as I was playing on the Nintendo Switch) as soon as Heartless/ Nobodies/ Unversed or Nightmares appeared. Of course, that often resulted in a ‘bad’, hurting my poor characters and depleting my health bar.

The controls for the game keep it quite simple. There are three buttons that can be used to attack (which are helpful when the occasional simultaneous attack occurs, as you need to press either two or all three), one is for jump (and if you hold it down, you can glide) and a final button to use magic/ special move. At least, those are for the general tracks.

There are also two other different types of tracks that one can play through. Boss battles and movie tracks have singular hit notes (red), hold notes (green) and thumbstick flick notes (yellow). Most of these are to the left or right of the screen rather than centred, as with the general ones. But unless I was playing on beginner, most of my attention was focused on what combination of notes were coming up ahead - desperate to not miss a single one in my chain (particularly on Proud).

Once I had gone through all the worlds, I was rewarded with discovering that the entire game had been Kairi reliving her memories in a desperate bid to find Sora. How something like that would help in reality is questionable, but THIS is Kingdom Hearts. I’ve stopped trying to apply logic where the franchise is concerned. After remembering her traumatic childhood and being ‘rescued’ by Terra-nort, she is put into a machine to find a keyblade wielder. Researcher Terra-nort says a few obscure words and Kairi is back in THE FINAL WORLD. Where, of course, a phantom of Master Xehanort appears. They fight. Kairi, for some random reason, takes on the form of Sora, defeats Master Xehanort and then she wakes back in Radiant Garden with Diz, Ienzo and Even looking on.

It’s not too long before Riku appears and then THE FAIRY GODMOTHER! Some revelations are dropped and all three are whisked away to the Final World (which I thought was where hearts on the cusp of death went, but anyhow, they manage to travel there) to meet with the Nameless Star. She is revealed to come from the ‘Other’ world. A place of fiction and ‘unreality.’ It is then that she reveals a city called Quadratum, wherein resides Noctis Yozora of Verum Rex fame. Riku, as always, heads in to rescue his good old friend and Kairi stays behind to train with Master Aqua.

Thus ends Melody of Memory, paving the way for where the story will go next.

I’m not entirely sure how the Lost Masters will feature in Quadrutum or what role they’ll play in the inevitable sequel. The Re:Mind DLC seemed incredibly focused on Yozora and the unreleased ‘fantasy based on reality’ Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Somehow, though, I’m sure Nomura will make it all fit and still have fans scratching their heads. Hopefully, though, we’ll get to see more Riku AND have a proper strong story arc for Kairi. The poor girl needs to catch a break instead of being a walking plot device cliche that only serves to motivate the main protagonist.

Now, back to whether or not Melody of Memory is worth playing through and purchasing. If you’re a Kingdom Hearts aficionado that also loves the music and doesn’t mind rhythm games, pick it up. If you said no to any of the three, particularly if you hate rhythm games, then don’t. You might as well just YouTube the ending to get your daily fix of Kingdom Hearts lore that’ll keep you informed and give you a modicum of knowledge for what Kingdom Hearts 4 may bring. 

Ah! Who am I kidding? The next title after this won’t be Kingdom Hearts 4. It’ll probably be another indecipherable list of numbers or words that are just jammed together because it sounds cool. NOMURA! LOOK AT THE CHAOS YOU HAVE WROUGHT!

[cori-writes-fanfic]

I have a lot of Thoughts after the reveal of the new Dark Road kids, and most of it isn’t directly about the kids themselves and more kind of crazy predictions about how the story will go.  (This may be a little bit of a jumbled mess as I try to organize my thoughts, so…bear with me.)

So we know that:

We don’t really see any of the Dark Road kids in the future besides Xehanort and Eraqus (or, at least, that we know of).

Eraqus is stationed at The Land of Departure, rather than Scala.

Literally nobody talks about Scala in the future.

Eraqus was a “blue blood”—i.e. descended directly from Keyblade wielders (most likely Brain)—and Xehanort was an off-worlder who was made an apprentice and desperate to Eraqus’s equal.

We don’t really know much about what Scala was like, but we can guess, based on the size, structure, and the information about Eraqus’s family that it was likely a thriving city at one point.  We know that it was built on the ruins of Daybreak Town, and that many of the citizens were likely descendants of Dandelions.  I’m running on the assumption that not every citizen in the city would be a Keyblade wielder (though many are, and the “blue bloods” are often expected to take up the blade).  That said, my guess would be that many times masters would take townspeople as apprentices, and they’d only really take on off-worlders if they showed a lot of potential (which would really drive Xehanort’s desperation to prove himself).

As for the kids themselves, I’m going to jump on the bandwagon for two of them: Bragi being Luxu and Vor being Kairi’s grandmother.  For the first, I think it’d be interesting to see Luxu interact with the other apprentices, knowing what he does.  …Well, that, and the name is way too similar to Braig, so if they’re not the same person, I’m likely just going to get them confused.  For the second, it’d give an explanation for why Kairi’s grandmother knows that story about the Dandelions (not that it’s technically needed, but it’d be kind of fun).  That said, I’m thinking they aren’t blue bloods like Eraqus, but from regular families around the city (and I’m sure that’s going to be proven wrong soon, but…oh well).

Story-wise, I’m kind of predicting that things will start off mostly with just general training, we’ll get some references to the Dandelions/X-blade/etc. through Bragi, and MoM will pop up at some point to speak cryptically to Xehanort and stoke his ambition/fear.  I’d guess that The Land of Departure is some sort of outpost for the Keyblade wielders (perhaps one of many) that either a) a couple of masters and apprentices live at full time, or b) masters and apprentices are on a rotating schedule for who stays at an outpost and maintains it at any given time.

At any rate, about half way through the story is when I think the big “Scala calamity” is going to go down.  Essentially, I’m guessing that Bragi/Luxu is going to spur this on (presumably in order to make sure Xehanort ends up as the “scape goat” for whatever his plan is, though I’m not sure how exactly that would work).  This ends up killing and/or scattering the Keyblade wielders, and either flat out destroying Scala or basically taking it out of this plane of existence.  Xehanort, Eraqus, Urd, Hermod, and Eraqus’s/Xehanort’s master manage to escape together and head to The Land of Departure for safety, hoping to find other Keyblade wielders there. When they don’t after a time, the master head’s off to check the other outposts.

Meanwhile, the kids are stressed because they’ve just had their home destroyed, many Keyblade wielders are missing—including one of their closest friends—and the other betrayed them.  Xehanort is particularly antsy, which is partly because he’s feeling somewhat inadequate; he wanted to prove that he was good enough to be a Keyblade wielder, but he couldn’t do anything to stop Bragi, couldn’t protect his new home and friends, and now he’s not even allowed to look for them and Eraqus is insisting that they stay here because the master ordered them two, and Xehanort just doesn’t understand—

And then MoM shows up again. Xehanort vents his frustrations, and MoM does his usual thing and kind of manipulates Xehanort into leaving.  This is ultimately what ends up prompting Xehanort’s “world tour” as he calls it in Re:mind; his desperate attempt to find what Keyblade wielders are still out there, and to prove that he’s still good enough.  Unfortunately, none of this actually gives him the time to, you know…process the traumatic event that he and his friends have just gone through.  So when he travels the world, he can’t help but notice the bad things; how so many people will lie and go behind the backs of people that they claimed to love (like Bragi), how so many people claimed to be strong but when it came down to it they couldn’t protect anyone (like him), and how sometimes those mistakes end up leading to dire consequences (like what happened to his home).  Ultimately, this is what ends up fueling his philosophy that the world needs to be restarted, even if his reasoning is faulty; if people are horrible, and they’re just going to cause more suffering (and force others to go through what he did), then they should just be saved the trouble.  And he’s going to do things right this time. He’s going to make it better.  He’s going to prove he’s not weak and maybe be able to make sure nothing like this ever happens to him again.

Back at The Land of Departure, the kid’s master has basically decided to take up permanent residence there.  He hasn’t had much like finding other Keyblade wielders; he only found one, a young master named Yen Sid, who was so traumatized by the fall of Scala that he decided to give up the Keyblade, though he’s promise to keep an eye out for other Keyblade wielders and send along any information he could get.  The master decides that the best thing he can do is keep this outpost in good condition and train his apprentices in order to make sure they’re prepared to go out into the worlds on their own. Eraqus, in particular, works like crazy in training, and adheres to his master’s teachings almost religiously; like Xehanort, he’s still grieving from an event that none of them have properly worked through, he’s just handling it in vastly different ways.  His family’s the one that was descended from the Union Leaders; he’s the one who needs to pick up the slack, to lead, to make sure that everyone’s okay.  He can’t let the others know how bothered he is by all this; he has to be strong for them. (But in the back of his mind, he’s still thinking about the darkness that Bragi brought to their shared home, and how it had destroyed everything he’d loved.  He still has nightmares about it.  It terrifies him.)

After Urd and Hermod become masters, they decide to travel the worlds, like Xehanort, with the purpose of both trying to protect people and see if they can find other Keyblade wielders (even if, by this point, they know it’s unlikely).  Eraqus wants to come with them, but they gently refuse; the master is growing weaker, and someone needs to make sure this outpost stays standing.  If anyone should be taking charge of this, it’s Eraqus.  He agrees, albeit reluctantly, and his friends head off.

Urd and Hermod visit The Land of Departure much more than Xehanort does (though all of them return for the master’s passing).  At different points, the two appear with a child in tow (Terra and Aqua).  Maybe one or both of them are their kids; maybe they just found them.  Regardless, they can’t bring them with them, and the kids have nowhere else to stay, so they have to come to The Land of Departure.  Then, at some point, Urd and Hernod just…stop coming back.

And Eraqus is troubled. He’s worried for his friends, but he can’t leave to look for them, not when he has two very young children to look after, not when for all he knows he’s the only Keyblade Master left. So he stays in The Land of Departure, and he raises—and later trains—Terra and Aqua.  He never talks about Scala; Terra and Aqua never experienced the place, never had to deal with the heritage they’d lost, and he can’t bring himself to burden them with his own traumatic memories.  (Though, if he’s truthful with himself, he can admit that’s partially because he doesn’t want to relive them, either.)

And then Xehanort reappears. Out of the blue, like nothing’s changed. Eraqus is overjoyed.  He hasn’t seen any of his friends in years, he thought he was the only one left, but now one of his friends has returned, and he’s desperate to learn more about what’s happened in the outside world.

But Xehanort…isn’t quite like Eraqus remembered him.  He’s talking about bring about another Keyblade War, about whether or not they’re worthy (he’s worthy), and Eraqus doesn’t understand.  (Why would you want to force others to go through the same thing they went through?)  Xehanort doesn’t really explain, and of course, Eraqus attacks him, and Xehanort gives him his scars.  (It’s like Bragi all over again.  The darkness corrupts people.  It takes his loved ones away from him.)

Xehanort, of course, disappears for a few years, and then comes back with a young boy named Ven. Eraqus…isn’t quite sure what to make of this, this time.  He’s not going to turn the boy away (and maybe even recognizes the name, depending on how much Bragi/Luxu told them), but he’s also…a little wary after the last meeting with Xehanort.  But…Xehanort is also the only other Keyblade wielder he knows, besides his apprentices. The last member of their group still standing.  And no matter what Xehanort had done, he can’t bring himself to completely sever that friendship.  He doesn’t entirely believe Xehanort’s given up his plan, but—maybe if he keeps a close eye on Ven, then he can make sure it never works out.  And maybe if Ven is here, the last of his friends will stop by more, and he can try and change his mind.  It doesn’t work.  It was never going to work, but how could he have known that then?

…Aaaand I’m going to leave it there because this got…really out of hand.  This is almost definitely not going to be canon, but, hey; it’s fun to think about.

[aliceslantern]

Retribution, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 13

Newly a person again, Ienzo is weighed down by guilt and his humanity. He's prepared to do whatever it takes to atone... only to find unexpected solace in a familiar face. With more insight into the bonds between people than ever before, Ienzo reaches for a dangerous element from the past to help Kairi and Riku in their search for Sora. What is his life if it means saving another, brighter light?

Zemyx, background Sokai, post Re:Mind

Chapter summary:  Ienzo begins to have doubts about his conviction to save Sora, and tries to find its origin.

Read it on FF.net/AO3

---

“...Do you have a moment?”

Aeleus looked up from the puzzle he was working on. “I was looking for a way to fill my time,” he said. He gestured to the seat across from him.

He and Dilan shared common spaces in their apartment. The furniture was comfortable, broken in. Aeleus seemed to be growing some flowers and herbs in a small planter box; Ienzo went over to examine them. “It’s you that’s been working on the gardens,” he said, with realization.

“I like making things grow,” he said simply. He put another piece down onto the table in front of him. “What is it on your mind?”

“I suppose I wanted a more… objective opinion, on something.” Ienzo sat down. “Aeleus, has your heart ever told you with certainty to do something?”

He set aside his puzzle. He, too, looked odd without the frame of his uniform. “Why is it you ask?”

“I thought my heart was telling me I needed to save Sora, and do whatever it would take.” He touched his breastbone, which was still a bit too touchable despite all his attempts to eat enough. “But lately, I’ve had… doubts, in that conviction. Namely, that I am violating nature. And is that not what I’ve done before?”

“What we’ve done, you mean.” He sighed. “Tea?”

“...Please.”

A few minutes later Aeleus handed him a ceramic mug that smelled of jasmine. He sat on the couch across from Ienzo’s chair. “How do you feel when you think about it?” he asked.

“About what?”

“Doing this.”

“I’m afraid as of late my gut hasn’t been very reliable. The anxiety,” he explained, at Aeleus’s baffled expression. “Even with the medication I’ve been given, it’s hard to tell what is purely stress and what is a warning from myself. All it does… is make me feel sick. I…” He looked at his one hand, the veins visible in the early afternoon light. “I had thought at first that it would be worth it, to sacrifice myself for him. But this is bigger than just me. This is… Kairi, too.” He bit his lip. Aeleus’s expression was mostly stoic, aside from a quickly-masked flicker Ienzo thought was concern.

“You started to see yourself as having worth,” he said softly. “And now you have things to live for, aside from the guilt.”

“Well… yes. I wish to… be with Demyx, more than anything. But it goes and goes in circles, Aeleus.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Kairi feels this way for Sora. The thought of doing purely nothing when I can make change is…” Ienzo bit his lip. “It’s abundantly clear that our scientific research is getting nowhere and will get nowhere. It’s been almost a year. I--”

Aeleus stirred his tea. “Have you considered,” he began, “that perhaps this is not your responsibility? Sora made this choice knowing the price. He would not want you to risk yourself for him.”

“I… I know. But I… I owe him for… if not for the experiments, for what I explicitly asked for, none of this would have happened.”

“Xehanort manipulated you,” Aeleus pointed out. “You were… how old, Ienzo? Six, seven? He asked you to do that and made you think it was your idea.”

Ienzo was shaking. He could feel tears in his eyes. “And what of what I did after?”

“What of what I did? Of Ansem or Even or Demyx? We’ve all done awful things.” He reached over and squeezed Ienzo’s hand. “Ienzo. There are other ways of atoning.”

“But he’s lost,” he said. “Lost, and alone, and--”

“Sora will find his way home if he’s meant to. If that never happens… we must grieve, and move on, and stop trying to force the impossible. All that will do is hurt all involved. Don’t you think?”

The tears ran over.

“Whatever you decide, Ienzo, I will support you completely. But are you doing this to save Sora, or to save yourself?”

The realization was rattling him, yet it was so obvious. “I… I’m not sure.”

Aeleus handed him a cloth napkin for his face. “Think about it,” he said. “Though I must admit my bias and say… I don’t wish for you to leave this life. And perhaps that is selfish. I have so much to make up to you, Ienzo.”

He sniffled. “Like what?”

“If I had done a better job protecting you--”

“...I’d still be Zexion. That’s not necessarily a good thing. I just don’t want this suffering to be in vain.”

“It won’t be,” Aeleus said. “We’ll make sure of that.”

---

Every time Ienzo tried to think about it, it gave him such intense anxiety his heart would palpitate. He turned his focus instead to Demyx, to the bits of life that he wanted. Ienzo was by his side as he finally got his back taken care of, and the few days they spent together as Demyx rested were very nearly happy. Ienzo enjoyed the excuse to nurture him. He hadn’t realized just how much time they spent having some kind of sex until they temporarily couldn’t. All the more reason to encourage what was below that to grow.

(But wouldn’t that be sadistic, should he go through with this?)

Don’t think about that, Ienzo.

“I don’t know how you put up with this,” Ienzo said to Demyx. His bed was uncomfortable; even in the few minutes Ienzo had been lying next to him, his bones started to ache. He could feel the springs acutely.

“Eh, could be worse.” His hair was loose against the pillow, making him look like someone else. “What’s worse than the bed is having all this time to think. Can’t really play music when I’m supposed to be laying down. Which narrows my options.”

“...I don’t like thinking either.”

Demyx scoffed. “Aren’t you a scholar?”

“Yes, but lately my thoughts are so… messy.”

“Being human is a mess.”

“That is true, isn’t it?” He propped himself up on an elbow. “Messy… unexpected. Wrenching. Yet… I feel as though… I’m being offered choices for the first time in years.”

Demyx squeezed his hand. “I know what you mean.”

“You’re so different.”

“How so?”

“You care about things.”

“It’s… hard not to,” he said. “Doing what I do… I see the impacts of darkness. The pain in people’s eyes. I don’t know if I was just ignoring it before… or if I were too oblivious. I’m tired of being oblivious. Tired of being alone.”

“Is this what you want to do forever?”

“What, deliver packages?” he barked a laugh. “Hardly.”

“Then what do you want to do?”

Demyx looked up at the ceiling. “To be determined,” he said softly, with a shrug. “I used to live by the seat of my pants. But that just gives me anxiety now. Maybe…” He breathed for a moment. “My music helps me. If I could teach people… that might help them work through all this.”

“Would that make you happy? Helping people?”

“Maybe.” He sighed. “There’s another thing.”

“Like what?”

“I’ve been… trying to pick up some magic,” he admitted with a slight grimace, as though embarrassed. “White magic. I’m actually not that bad at it. What if I were to… use that to fix people?”

“That’s a hard calling.”

“I know. But… weirdly, I feel determined.” He turned his face back to Ienzo. “I think that’s your fault?”

He laughed a little. “What, I’ve instilled in you a work ethic?”

“More like…” He knotted his hands against his stomach. “Actually being attached to someone made me realize… I’ve been so selfish. And selfishness might not be part of… the real Demyx. Whoever that is.” A sigh. “I thought staying under the radar would keep me safe, but I’m not safe from the memories. Or from myself. If I want to actually enjoy life, I’m going to have to get my hands dirty.” He wrinkled his nose. “Instead of hiding or taking things away from people, if I give them… music, or help them heal… maybe I’ll help me heal too.”

“That’s very astute,” Ienzo said softly. He touched Demyx’s cheek, which was scratchy from a few days of stubble. “I often wonder… the same.”

“If helping people will fix you?”

“Yes. I think it may begin that process. But… who, and how?”

“Words,” he said. “You’re a storyteller.”

“I’m a scientist.”

“Your weapon wasn’t a beaker--it was a book,” Demyx pointed out. “What’s a memory if not a story about you?”

Ienzo felt something like a thrill. “That’s rather poetic. I suppose I could… tell the stories. About what we did. About how I feel. Maybe I can help them realize the narrative--the narrative of Xehanort. And help give it more than just a bittersweet ending.” He cocked his head. “How do you know how I feel about words?”

“I’ve read your reports,” Demyx said simply.

His eyebrows shot up.

Demyx pointed to the phone. “You forget I’m connected to the network too? I just… I dunno. Sue me for getting curious. The way you write… it’s much more alive than the way the others do. That, and… come on, Ienzo. You invented a way for people to share pictures--which are stories too.”

He blushed. “That was mostly for reconnaissance,” he admitted.

“Yet your first post was in and of itself… a story about your future. Stories can make or break a heart.”

“Yes,” he said softly. “The… future. I hope…” He trailed off. “The people we’ve hurt. Their stories are important. What they’ve witnessed. It could help them heal. I could… gather those stories. They deserve so much more of a voice than Xehanort.”

“So do we,” Demyx said.

He wasn’t sure why this felt like a revelation. “Aren’t we also perpetrators?”

“We want to do good. Helping one person won’t make up for the many people that… well, got hurt.” His eyes crinkled. “That’s not how things work. But to not do anything… is worse. Don’t forget he hurt us too. You and me could have been normal. You were a kid and I was an amnesiac. Do you think we would’ve chosen this life if we’d known?”

Ienzo blinked.

“Some things are our fault. But he was the one who pushed that out of us.”

“Demyx, you’re…” he shook his head. “Have you always been this wise?”

He laughed a little. “No.”

“I love you.” Ienzo leaned in and kissed him gently. “I’m so glad we… took this risk.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

[krisseycrystal]

rated: t

fandom: Kingdom Hearts

prompt: “Big Sibling” + Kairi & Isa (& Wayfinder Trio)

requested by: @alounuitte

I HAVEN’T WRITTEN KH IN AGES. ARE THESE GUYS EVEN IN CHARACTER? DAMN I HOPE SO

BIG thanks to my friend who requested KH, specifically Kairi & Isa and “Big Sibling” which is SUCH an interesting take but I am LEGITIMATELY DIGGING IT and y’know what? Hell yeah it’s Isa redemption hours. Hell yeah. I mean, they still got a lot to work through, but it’s happening.

this takes place between KH3 and uh that “year later” thing in RE:mind ENJOY!

- o - o - o -

Avidya [Read on AO3]

- o - o - o -

When Sora is gone and Kairi doesn’t know what to do with her empty hands because the one that used to hold her right has disappeared and the one who used to hold her left chased after him in the hopes of bringing him back, Kairi puts herself to good use. Riku is Riku and refuses to take her with him, so Kairi takes Sora’s gummi ship and seeks out her own adventures for as long as she thinks it’ll help.

She doesn’t need to--will not--wait for Sora to be found when she can look for him herself.

She just…doesn’t know what to think about the ever-present shadow that stubbornly hovers at her back.

- o - o - o -

Kairi swings Destiny’s Embrace in a strong, downward strike. After the wriggly heartless under her boots bursts and dissolves, she spins around. Her mouth is curled into a dark, frowning curve; her keyblade snaps out to strike another leaping at her from her right. The flowers along the edge cut through the shadow’s throat, ripping it into nothing. “I don’t need your help.”

“That was never debated.”

Kairi rolls her eyes. She digs the heel of her boot into soil, grabs the hilt of Embrace with both hands, and shoves it forward into the heartless soldier scrabbling at her. “Then stop following me.”

Isa’s blue hair fans around his shoulders as he moves. He is not used to the keyblade in his hand; he keeps trying to wield it like his usual claymore.

To be honest, she can’t even believe the thing is in his hands at all.

With a growling cry, Kairi cuts the last shadow down and releases a deep sigh. Destiny’s Embrace glitters away, but she would be lying if she tried to say she wasn’t tempted to keep it ready at a moment’s notice with him around.

“There. They’re all gone now,” she says and fists her hands at her sides. “I’m fine. You can go back to Twilight Town.”

Isa doesn’t say a word, so Kairi turns around again. He stands with his arms crossed over his chest, feet shoulder-width apart, a yard or two behind her, like he expects her to be okay with him here in the first place.

“I said,” she stresses and extends her arms at either side, “you can go back. If you were waiting for something like permission, then there it is! You have it! Bye!”

When he still doesn’t say anything, Kairi makes a grand show of rolling her eyes and spinning around to walk down this world’s beautifully forested hill. She doesn’t have the time or patience for him.

So why the hell can she feel him following her descent?

- o - o - o -

The gummi ship’s rockets putter as it comes to a stop. Space is vast and infinite around them, an endless expanse of stars and criss-crossed nebulas that look like the smokey efforts of a child finger painting with watercolor. It’s gorgeous. It’s immense. It’s serene. It’s exactly what Kairi needs right now.

“Okay, dude, we need to talk. It’s been three days. When are you finally gonna get off this ship and leave me alone?”

Kairi’s cheek is bunched against her palm as she lounges in the driver’s seat. Her other wrist hangs loosely over the steering, eyes lifting to the glass dome above them and Isa’s frowning reflection she can see the faint outline of.

Isa doesn’t answer.

Which is exactly half of the problem.

Kairi turns, tossing both of her feet over the side of the pilot’s chair. “Why aren’t you answering me?”

“There’s no answer I have to give that will be satisfactory to you.”

“That’s--” Kairi almost bites her tongue. It’s frustratingly accurate. That pisses her off, too. “Look. I can try, okay? I can try to understand but that’s only if you have a good reason.”

“You speak like you already think I’m not here for a good reason.”

“I have it in good faith that you’re not here for Sora and that’s the only reason I see that’s good right now.” Kairi glares hard into citrine eyes; for some reason, they remind her of acid. “So no, I don’t think you’re here for a ‘good’ reason.”

Isa’s look is enough to communicate a single, humbling word: Exactly.

“You say you’ll try,” he mutters quietly. “But pre-condemning me based upon your presumptions seems to hinder that effort.”

Kairi’s lips slam together.

In echo to her silence, something in Isa softens. He turns to look out at the endless stretch of space surrounding them. There’s a glimmering, sunset-painted world surrounded by flower petals a fair distance away. “If you wish to know, if you care to…” he does not finish that thought; perhaps it’s because he cannot finish it. “…I wish for atonement.”

“…what, now?”

Isa’s sharp, angular features harden. His mouth slips down into a frown. “I said, I--”

“--no, no, I heard what you said! It’s that you actually think that’s going to happen.” Kairi’s voice shakes a little. Her hands ball into fists. There’s a tremulous pause in her speech, a moment that teeters on the edge of something, and then it bursts. “Ugh! I was kind enough to let you join me for a few days, but if I’m being honest? I thought it was because of this. I had a gut feeling it was because of some…misguided attempt like this to get me to forgive you for what you did. And I thought, ‘Sure, why not?’ anyway, because that’s what Sora would have done!”

“Kairi--”

“--but everytime I look at you, I get so angry!” Kairi’s voice tilts; it tightens and changes. “I guess that makes me a hypocrite, doesn’t it? I want to be angry at you for kidnapping me, for how you treated Sora, but he isn’t even here right now, after he made himself disappear from saving all of us! From saving me by using the power of waking again, and--!”

“Kairi!”

Kairi’s fist, thrown to the side, knocks against the gummi sheep’s steering. With a violent yank to the right, Kairi and Isa spill over onto the floor and side of the lopsided ship. Kairi’s knee bangs against the other co-pilot chair. Her back crashes against the steel wall of the cockpit siding. With a short cry and hiss, she grabs at her knee with both hands and bows her head over her leg. Her back curls.

After a long moment, Isa slowly rises to his feet first.

He climbs to the steering and sets the gummi ship right side up.

After an even longer moment, Isa walks over to kneel in front of her. “Kairi.”

“…I’m sorry…”

“Kairi.”

Kairi sniffs and blinks up at him. She hates the way her eyes water and the way her lower lip trembles. She hates how tight her chest is. “I’m sorry,” she gasps again and she hates those words but right now, she thinks she hates herself most. “I’m such an idiot. What right do I have to be angry with you anymore when it’s my fault the two most important people to me are gone?”

Isa’s hand falls on hers and gently pries away her hands from her knee. A big, wide bruise is purpling and mottling, forming a cathartic ring of blue-black.

“I think…” Isa begins and gently releases her hands to cast cure over her knee. “…you will find that you and I are more alike than you think.”

Kairi blinks up at Isa.

“It seems we both must learn to forgive ourselves.”

Kairi takes a deep breath in and feels the way her lungs swell with it, with air. For the first time in three days, the knot in her chest finally begins to loosen.

- o - o - o -

“Can you believe it’s already been over a month?”

Kairi winces. Hard.

Ventus straightens up and quickly puts out a hand on her arm. He gives it a gentle squeeze. “Oh, I didn’t mean that in a bad way! Ugh, I’m sorry. I should’ve been more thoughtful…I meant it in like a--”

“--no.” Kairi shakes her head and puts on a brave face. She puts on a good smile and covers his hand with her own. Gently, she pulls it away and sets their hands down on the counter between them. “I know what you mean. You’ve been reunited with your family for over a month now and that’s…really wonderful, Ventus. I’m happy for you. And I know that wherever he is, Sora’s happy, too.”

It’s funny watching the emotions that fly over Ventus’ face at the mention of “family.” He’s so much like Sora and Roxas that way; he wears his heart so visibly. He’s so easy to read.

It is so warm in this kitchen, too, Kairi thinks. So light and airy. Just being here, sitting with friends again after traveling and fighting for so long with no leads, is more rejuvenating than the warm coffee cup she cradles between her hands. Ventus, Aqua, and Terra have done well for themselves, she thinks. They have a lovely epilogue together.

It’ll end soon, she knows. The three have already told her they have plans to help join the search for Sora, intending to dive into the Realm of Darkness as a “just in case.” Just as she has finally decided she intends to take Ansem up on his offer of a year-long sleep so he can study her heart. It’s the most frustrating decision she has ever had to make: to try to help by, of all things, resting, when really she wants to fight, fight, fight--but if something in her slumbering heart holds a key to finding Sora again, well.

She did say she’d do anything.

It’s with an endearing blush that Ventus raises a finger to scratch at his cheek. “Y-yeah. My family…”

Kairi raises an eyebrow. A small smile stretches her face. “What, you don’t agree?”

“What?”

“You wouldn’t call them that?”

“Oh, no, calling them my family’s perfect! I mean, really, Aqua and Terra have always kind of been big siblings to me, so I guess it makes sense. It’s just funny to hear the word out loud and not in my heart, y’know?” Ventus smiles. He looks over Kairi’s shoulder to the trio awkwardly talking beyond them, in the lounge area of their home, however temporary it may be. “But I guess…what else would you call people who have your back no matter the bad you’ve done?”

Kairi thinks about the month she’s spent searching for Sora. She thinks about all the adventures she’s been on, all of the heartless and unversed and nobodies she’s fought. She thinks about the one person who chose to be there through it all, however much she fought him on it at the start.

And for the first time, she thinks maybe Isa really does deserve the keyblade he wields.

Her eyes land on him, frowning and clearly uncomfortable between Aqua and Terra. Isa looks back and meets her eyes in turn with an expression that bends the scar across his face in a pitiful read of, Please. Save me.

Kairi laughs and takes a long, slow sip of her coffee. She raises her other hand to give him a…friendly gesture.

When he raises his hand to give it back, she thinks maybe there’s truth to what Ventus says.

[yo-namine]

Okay, time to talk to myself about Re:Mind and Limit Cut Episode. 

Spoilers galore under the cut!

I'm just gonna start off by talking about how the DLC handled my biggest gripe with base KH3, which was obviously how Kairi was written in the last few hours of the game. Like I said in my other post, Re:Mind doesn't totally fix those problems, but... Well, here's what we get:

Kairi's "murder" is reframed a bit in the DLC. Base KH3 presents it as Xehanort killing her just to provoke Sora et al. into "clashing" with him to make the final key. In Re:Mind, we learn that Xehanort was actually stowing Kairi away (by "crystallizing" her, which... means she wasn't dead? But Sora still takes all the steps Chirithy gives him that are specifically for restoring a heart from death, and it works, so...?) as a fail-safe of sorts in case he needed another Light. Xemnas foreshadows this a bit when he says that Kingdom Hearts needs the Princesses of Heart in case the whole 13 Clashes of Light and Darkness thing doesn't work out. And for what it's worth, I do think this is a little better for Kairi as a character just because it shows that she was "killed" due to something unique and special about her, rather than what she was to Sora. She's still being used, and she's still sapped of her agency, but presumably no other character could have worked in that role against Xehanort, so... that's something, I suppose.

During the Xemnas/Saix/Xion fight, there's an added scene where all the Lights get to take a shot at Xemnas, and Kairi actually broke that motherfucker's guard and made him stumble when no one else could... And then she got captured, bloop, but at least this time it was because she was actually fighting and simply got bested. I can appreciate that. I liked seeing her shield Axel from Xion's attack, too.

And of course, she does get the chance to take on Xehanort later. She has a nice battle set-up (a sort of warp dash ability similar to Riku's and Roxas's, shotlock, reflect, and a GORGEOUS link attack with Sora), and it's a little cathartic to play as her taking Xehanort down. However, I don't think she ever learns that Xehanort took her as a safety measure for his plan or why she was the one chosen for this in the first place. She doesn't speak to Xehanort at all, which makes her big battle with him at the end feel rather... impersonal? And never mind him "killing" her in KH3; Xehanort's ultimately responsible for her losing her family when she was four years old, as well as the destruction of her home world. I'm not saying Kairi and Xehanort needed to have some long overwrought conversation or anything, but there definitely should've been some dialogue between them.

Kairi's actually involved in Naminé's restoration after all!!!!!!!! I remember the Ultimania's explanation of Naminé's return leaving a bad taste in my mouth because it seemed like they framed Kairi's death as ultimately a good thing, because hey, at least her murder freed Naminé from her heart. But that's not what actually happened; instead, Kairi and Sora go to Radiant Garden at the end of the game, and she lets him use the keyblade to release Naminé's heart from hers. And honestly, that scene right there? That was probably my favorite part of this entire DLC. The fact that Kairi really did play a part in restoring her Nobody is a much better payoff to her earlier lines in the game about wanting Naminé to have her own experiences. She wanted to give Naminé her life back, and rather than that being something wrenched from Kairi against her will, it was something she did for Naminé of her own volition.  I just. 😭

/tl;dr thoughts on kairi

As for everything else in Re:Mind:

I loved the background moments with Sora and Kairi in the ending cinematic. Each one is framed so that you can't see their faces, so they all feel like you're looking in on something secret. The "Behind the Curtain" trophy name is pretty fitting (and just downright cute, lol). And like I said above, I loved the scene where Kairi and Sora restore Naminé's heart. You just see him pull the keyblade away from her chest, and then she cradles Naminé's heart in her hands and fjsldfjskd. I teared up at that. It was just such a sweet and gentle little moment. Sora and Kairi taking Chirithy to Ven (and Sora even giving them a little push, lol) was really sweet, too. I loved their body language while they watched Ven run off, how you see them turn toward each other just slightly.

I also like how Sora and Kairi's relationship evolved from "Even if we're apart, our hearts are always connected" to "Heart connections are nice and all, but I'd much rather actually be with you."

Demyx and Riku interacting was something I never knew I needed. Riku's like "PLEASE be careful with that vessel, it's very important--" and Demyx is just "Bro, I got this," and hoists it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Sora and Roxas actually talk to each other! I liked the scene where Sora's Station of Awakening starts to peel away to reveal Roxas's, and you get little glimpses of Roxas's memories. And it turns out that Sora actually did release Roxas's heart from his, and it wasn't just Xemnas kicking Xion into his chest that did the trick, lmao. I like that change.

Xemnas mentions that the original Organization doesn't remember Xion, but they do have records of her. That's a nice little tidbit to have for my Day 4 AU. 👀

Saix says the Guardians must be desperate if they're getting a Princess of Heart involved in the war, and Axel's like "Nah, she's our trump card." Aw. I also thought it was interesting how Saix purposefully uses Axel and Roxas's names to try to trigger Xion's memory of them.

I had to watch the recusant's sigil bit like four times before I understood what the hell was happening, lmao. The sigil represents the Sea Salt Trio's actual connection to one another that they had to "reclaim" from Xemnas, which... okay, but why was that needed? The thing I always liked about this trio is that they're the only one that we see develop fully from the beginning to the end of their relationship. They were always the most believable (canon) trio to me because of that, so throwing in this whole "The sigil binds us together!" thing just seems kind of stupid and unnecessary. They're friendship is good enough as-is. You don't have to add in this nonsense to represent their bond; their relationship development itself already did that. But whatever, they still had a really cool combo attack.

Scala ad Caelum is expanded on! I really enjoyed exploring it and solving the little puzzles to put Kairi's heart back together.

I LOVED THE GUARDIANS VS. NORT REPLICAS BATTLE SO MUCH I HAVE TO YELL ABOUT IT. I ACTUALLY DIED THE FIRST TIME BUT I DIDN'T CARE THAT I HAD TO REPLAY IT BECAUSE I WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN. THE TAG TEAM ATTACKS!!!!! AQUA, XION, AND MICKEY'S COUNTER-ATTACK!!!!!! EVERYONE ACTUALLY WORKING TOGETHER!!!!!!!! IT’S ALL I EVER WANTED!!!!!!!! 

There are so many cute dialogue exchanges during the Guardians vs. replicas sequence, too! Ven and Roxas compliment each other, Aqua scolds Axel for talking too much (twice, I think? Axel fusses at her the second time, lmao), Terra says something to Riku that I couldn't quite catch, and Riku's like "All thanks to you!" It's just so cute and charming, and it really made the Guardians finally feel like a team.

Mickey Mouse straight-up Boromir-ing his way through the Nort replicas was... I think I loved that? Yeah, no, I loved that. I was laughing through half of it because I kept getting knocked back, but it was a great sequence (visually and gameplay-wise).

Connecting all the keyholes was very satisfying, and was just a beautiful visual altogether.

Sora and Kairi's reunion was adorable. And then Sora sees Goatanort enter the scene, and he just looks at Kairi and is like, "You ready, B?" and Kairi's like, "FUCK yeah, I'm taking his trachea through his kneecaps!!!!!" Okay, not really, lmao. Actually, Kairi's surprised when Sora asks her that, like she didn't expect him to let her help, or maybe she felt like she wouldn't even be able to, but she says she's ready anyway. Kairi’s under-confidence in her fighting skills is a little more apparent in the DLC. Like she says "I can do this" right before the final battle, but it comes off as her trying to reassure herself. She even has a counterattack where her battle quote is "Please work!" and I don't remember hearing her say that in the base game. Girl knows how outclassed she is compared to most of the other Guardians (and Xehanort), but she fights like hell anyway. Attagirl. 🎉

And as for Limit Cut:

Aww, I love that Terra calls Riku "a great leader."

Cheers to David Gallagher for saying "Are you sure about this?" with the exact same inflection as the John Cena meme.

Riku's a master now, right? When will he get some spiffy keyblade armor???????

Okay. Riku is having dreams about looking for Sora. Sora is dead (?), and "the edges of sleep and death touch." Kairi has been asleep for the past year so that the Radiant Garden team can study her heart in effort to find Sora. Nomura? Nomura? Nomura. You cannot fuck this up, man. You can do this. You can write the Destiny Trio working together again. You can write a full story in which Kairi has an active role. You can write her and Riku interacting. You can do it. I believe in you.

The data battles are so hardddddd. I wound up just watching all the LC cutscenes on youtube, lmfao. But I do want to try to beat at least some of these bosses. Tragically, Riku is TRAPPED IN MERLIN'S HOUSE, so you can't leave to grind or anything. Boo.

I don't really care about Yozora. I think we got a confirmation from Sora that Nameless Star is Stella (?), and that's cute for her I guess, but I genuinely don't care, lmao. But I definitely understand the compulsion to include beloved characters from old cancelled projects in your newer ones, so I hope Nomura has fun with that. ...That sounded sarcastic, lol, but I meant it. I hope he gets to do something cool and creative with this recycled cast. It just might not be a story I'll end up following, is all.

Data greeting is SO much fun. I sank a couple of hours into that the other night just creating scenes and playing with effects. The controls are really easy to use, and it's even fun to just explore environments like Radiant Garden and Scala ad Caelum without messing with photos at all. I hope we can unlock more character outfits and poses in the future, but I can definitely enjoy it as is for now.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this DLC. True, about half of Re:Mind is a rehash of the Keyblade Graveyard scenes with some extra content here and there, but it's sort of justified story-wise since we're in a timeloop. I enjoyed the extra Kairi scenes and the interactions between the Guardians the most. Limit Cut is mainly just bonus bosses, but like I said, I do want to actually beat those once I can figure out a strategy for them. And I'm obviously having way too much fun with Data Greeting, lmao, so yeah. Not a bad update.

[darkzeruda1214]

Kairi deserved better.

Oh, boy this is going to spark up some debates.

Now I want to CLARIFY before I start.

I DO NOT. Under any circumstance hate. Or dislike Kairi. Personally I think she was one of the few characters that actually have an interesting background and has a lot of potential as a character. And I really do like Kairi, but I think the rest of the fandom can agree with me.

She. Was. Done. Dirty.

Seriously. Does anyone in the development team even like or want her in the series?!

This girl deserves better. As well as give her some spotlight and some much needed personality!

*Canon Kairi is just really... unjust. The fandom does a much a better job portraying her character! (TAKE NOTES NOMURA Dangit! You could learn a few things from the fans!)

Anyways...

Time to get to the topic, (also thanks for my cousin for allowing me to use their exact words for this argument).

(SPOILERS FOR KH3)

So after finishing KH3 I was left unsatisfied and just plainly angry at the ending. And after what happened to Kairi, there’s nothing more than I want is for her to get some redemption because what happened to her is utter bullshit. One of the things that really pissed me off was how they handled her.

And yes, I’m talking about the final battle, but one thing I think many people tend to overlook is her treatment in the trailers.

Now I know some of you are confused by what I mean. But the trailers really deceived fans about what Kairi was going to offer. A lot of fans speculated, argued and theorized that Kairi was FINALLY bulk up and be ready to fight. She was finally going to be useful.

Now to be fair she isn’t and act totally useless. I mean she did save Sora during the Final World arc. (But you know, Square totally missed an opportunity that could have given Kairi more substance, but that’s for a totally separate debate for another time).

The trailers made it seem that Kairi was going to be part of the final battle. Now that part wasn’t a lie, but they clearly only gave her the spotlight for a couple of scenes, she’s a party member for the first part of the battle and then that’s it. We don’t even have her throughout the ENTIRE battle. She’s just cast away, because PLOT!

Utter. Bull.  

But another thing that really degraded her character as a whole is the lack of personality.

Kairi used to be a snarky and sarcastic character in KH1. And I really enjoyed what kind of character she used to be during my second play through.

(Though I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t have any attachments to any of the character -not including Disney exclusive characters- in my first playthrough until later on in the story. Riku was the only one I was more intrigued about).

Back to Kairi, even with the few seconds she was in, she had something that made her feel like fleshed out character. Not by much, but there was something. And all of that was nearly taken away in KH2, now some of you are probably ready to argue that KH2 was her best version. I’m incline to disagree, now while Kairi was mostly asleep in KH1, she had more personality in the first game compared to the second. Because in the second game, she becomes less sarcastic and more bold when it came around action.

This is where I feel Kairi started to fall as a character and more as a plot device. Because as we all know it, she get’s captured. At least in the first game she had purpose and a reason to be there.

In KH2 she had absolutely no reason to be there.

As much as I hate to say this. Her character direction fails in the second installment, because the only time she’s relevant (not including Naminé) is the Roxas telepathy conversation and the bottle scene. After that, the only way to keep her in there is by having. Her. Get. Captured. 

She’s ‘the fire’ that keeps Sora going. And at that point she’s only there as a plot device for Sora. Who he himself wouldn’t be relevant either had it not been for the Keyblade and for Roxas. But since he’s the playable character he’s obviously important. But… the same can’t be said for our Princess of Heart. While they managed to keep something in for Kairi in the second game, it was completely tossed out entirely in KH3. Honestly, the only thing I got from her is that she's heavily infatuated/in love with Sora (which isn't a bad thing, it's just that’s ALL her character had to offer in the third installment). And just in general I think her development went in the wrong way.

So we finally get to the title of the rant.

I know a lot of people are going to disagree with me and that's fine. Since we all have the right to our opinion, and to disagree and agree.

But I think she didn't need to have a Keyblade.

Or at least in the way how the writers decided to give it to her.

Reason I say that? She didn't even EARN her Keyblade. Yeah, I said it. 

She didn’t earn it, Riku gave it to her like a gift card. Like: here, it's yours. (It’s pink. So I don’t want it. It matches your clothes though).

That’s it.

They just handed her a Keyblade. That it. She didn’t even have to WORK FOR IT. (Not even a joke since the franchise is handing those things like lollipops) Now. If they had allowed her to manifest it. I dunno, actually EARN it, like how Sora and Roxas did. (Heck, even Riku got it, off screen, but he still got his). And addressing the Wayfinder’s Keyblades, it’s pretty obvious since they were training to be masters at the time. And don’t even get me started on Union X and Ven.

But Kairi was just given the damn thing like a kid given candy. Not through some rigorous trial of heart, mind or soul. Not through battling. No. Just handed one. 

I mean yeah sure you could argue her coming to another world could work for her favor, after all she traveled from one world to another. Being brave to help out Sora despite being in danger herself. But again, she’s just given the Keyblade by Riku. Not by her own power. She’s just gifted THE DAMN THING!!!!

I’m sorry. But I don’t think that’s how KEYBLADES WORK!

Look at Axel/Lea! He manifested the Keyblade in his hand! Sora’s appeared to him at first, but then he earned it after showing that his heart is strong and his power is through friendship. 

Roxas earned Kingdom Key through Sora, but later he earned his own Keyblades after his strong promises and from battling. One from defeating Xion and the other from the sworn promises.

And it’s no doubt Riku got his from all the hard work of fighting the darkness and helping Sora in his journey. 

But Kairi. Didn’t.  This pisses me off.

Honestly... at this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised that the writers (actually I think I want to blame Nomura for this) don’t like Kairi. If they don’t even bother to put any effort in making Kairi a fighter. Why on earth did they have to give her a Keyblade?  

Again. If they allowed her to manifest it, or let her go through a small trial of some sort like everyone else, or test the power of her heart then I wouldn’t be arguing this topic.

I’m not saying it’s intently bad that they gave her a key. I’m saying the way how they did is simply lazy writing and makes Kairi look useless.

Because of her Keyblade, I think that’s the reason why a lot of people wanted her to fight. And honestly, I feel that was the wrong direction to grow her character.

I can name a good number of cartoon, game and anime characters who don't have ANY fighting experience but are still amazing characters.

And I think that’s a problem in pop culture in general. What most fans of any series don't realize, is that well-written female characters aren't just those who kick butt and shoot stuff.

They don't have to be a badass to be a good character!

And I think that's what really screwed Kairi over in the end. (That and what Nomura did to her). But the moment they decided to give her a Keyblade to fight, it really tipped her off badly.

So going back to the trailers, since I clearly forgot to remind myself, the trailers really made it look like Kairi was finally going to be able to help in physical part of the battle.

They emphasizing so much on her training, that it made it seem like Kairi was going to be a stronger character "physically.” But… once the game was released, there wasn't anything to back it up all that “training.” In fact we didn‘t even get to see her and Axel train at all.

And to me that was a shallow move. The only thing the trailers served was a cheap extension to encourage people to buy the game. I think they tried really hard to sell the game by releasing too many trailers too early in the year that not only spoiled the story, but made fans wait even longer for a game that didn't even feel complete.

All that’s left is the Re:Mind trailer. (Edit ReMind fixed her character. About DAMN TIME!)

But that's just my opinion, if you don't agree with me, that's fine I respect your opinion. I don't mind at all Kairi having a Keyblade or learning how to fight. But I don't think that's what she needed in order to be a good character. She really needs a fleshed out personality and some interests/hobbies outside of simply being in love with Sora.

No hate to Sokai ship. It's a good couple, just... was poorly executed in cannon. Fandom works have better stories and delve into the relationship and characters (better than Nomura ever could write) I'm sorry. But I'm still bitter to what he thought would be a good thing to add in KH3 especially after how many years fans waited the game's release.

*I know there are other reasons as to why Kairi looks and is treated as a bad character. But her poor development discussion has been overdone so many times that it’s practically common knowledge for any Kingdom Hearts fan.   But again that's me.

I really needed to get that out of my system.

[bluerosesburnblue]

“When I get my proof?” What proof? You never sent anything over. You just said “you’re one of the people who said it to someone else” without telling me where or when (EDIT: Actually, hold on. I just noticed that the numbers in my ask box aren’t matching up. If you did send it, then Tumblr ate it. But it could also just be from this message. No idea. It was fine yesterday)

I did look through my asks. Were you talking about this?

Because yeah, I did have a “That’s what I thought? Or something that I’d considered a possibility” at the front, but I also wrote this after having briefly glanced at the trailer once and then wrote this during my lunch break at work because I was more focused on answering the anon’s question. Once I got home and rewatched it, I changed the answer and I admitted to doing so in the tags

I fully admit that I didn’t read the question all the way because I was preoccupied with other things. I rushed it out because I realized that the initial post it was about needed clarification and also that I might not have been able to find the original post I was referencing when I got home. Should I have rushed it? No. But I’ve also been answering asks at a rate of 3-per-day since the Re:Mind trailer came out and I’m not going to be in internet range for a week and a half in a week and I’m trying to get the ask box cleared out as fast as I possibly could so I prioritized speed over accuracy

But I did what you do when you make mistakes. I fixed it. I admitted that what was in the post wasn’t what was there originally. That I’d changed my stance once I had more than half an hour to process the trailer

And maybe it hasn’t occurred to you, but if a polite anon takes the time out of their day to send me their own interpretation of something, then I’m not going to brutally shut them down? I’m very careful with my wording which is why, even in the original I had the “It’s a possibility” line. Because I wasn’t fully on board with it even then but I didn’t want to shut them down without proof. Proof that I couldn’t get at that second because again: 15 minute work lunch break

I called you out because you came in with no proof other than your word. If you’re calling someone out it’s not their job to read your mind about what specific instance buried under 20+ messages you’re talking about. And when I looked for the proof myself, I found an instance where I had already revised my stance and apologized and none of the other asks had any sort of endorsement of the idea

Again, you

Strawmanned the question when you called me out

Did not in any way indicate which instance or message you were talking about where I said what you claimed

Did not send me any way to find said message

NEVER ONCE sent me which question you were talking about like seriously “when you get your proof you refuse to share it?” Not a SINGLE person sent me proof or directed me to where it was and for all you know I could have A. missed it on accident or B. didn’t realize that my words could be interpreted several ways and what you got out of it wasn’t what I meant

Put a really rude and unnecessary laughing emoji at the end of that first ask, again, without giving me a chance to explain myself or my stance. Thanks. I’m the rude one? I just mirror the attitudes in the questions I’m given. You want me not to be rude to you, maybe don’t come in acting like a jackass

Then proceeded to again, not indicate what the hell you were talking about because, hey, I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING WHICH ANONS ARE WHICH. I had NO WAY to tell that “Hypocrite” anon was the one who called me out. I had 10+ anons in the box and I get more every day

And the fact that you responded with “Hypocrite.” without making it a discussion just proves that you’re the rude one here. I gave you a chance to send me whatever you wanted to prove me wrong and that’s ALL you sent. Because you’re more interested in making me look bad than you are giving me a chance to explain something or even admit that I was wrong because I’m not. Going. To admit to something. That I think is BASELESS

So I’m sorry, given the typing style was I supposed to assume that the first ask was you? Without you ever saying “hey you said that to me”? And then I could say, “oh yeah, sorry, I rewatched the trailer and changed my answer, check it again.” Again, I admit that I changed it. I have that in the tags. The only thing I’m guilty of is not making a bigger deal out of it when I edited one line and the formatting I guess

It’s not hypocrisy for me to say “I legitimately have no idea what you’re talking about and don’t appreciate your attitude.” And if you never once provide what post you’re talking about, that’s on you for not giving me a chance to consider your point and apologize. And telling you so isn’t an attack either, because I’m not the one who attacked first. It’s defending my stance

Burden of proof is on the accuser. You accused. Your burden

[kayura-sanada]

I'll reserve full judgment until the remind DLC comes out. But I am annoyed it seems like once again we're going to be focusing on "Aqua was in the dark realm". I hope they at least give the same amount of focus on Terra losing literal control of his body and his heart being forced into the guardian.... But I don't really trust Nomura that much.

Controversial opinion, so be warned:

A lot of people are praising Re:Mind for looking like it’s answering a lot of fans’ criticisms on KH3. To me, this seems dangerous, foolhardy, and overall insulting.

Why not listen to what fans have been excited for for the past several years as we waited for KH3? Why not incorporate these things before ever ‘finishing’ the game? Why only wait now, when it’s already obvious you failed as a writer? What, to make it seem like you care about our interests? To make it seem like you are a good writer, after all?

Then, of course, there’s the problem of listening to popular demand. Popular doesn’t mean right. It doesn’t mean everyone will like the changes. It may even mean listening only to those screeching the loudest and not actually a majority desire. I know very well that Aqua stans (and fans) are very vocal in their love for her. I also know anyone who doesn’t share this view is immediately beset upon by fandom. I’m not a big name, and even I have been attacked over and over again by both Aqua and Kairi stans. The loudest fans are usually not nearly as popular an opinion as those listening to them think they are. Catering even more to Aqua fans while ignoring Terra fans is crass.

More than crass, however, it’s an insult to the story up to now. The more Nomura caters to what people want, the less he maintains his integrity and the integrity of the story. How many characters and their stories, how many sideplots and developments, have already been erased or ignored for the sake of The Next Big Thing? This is how bad stories are written! You ignore everything you’ve created, everything you’ve led up to, in order to cater to either the fans’ whims (usually bad, I mean the whole ‘Soranort’ and ‘Ventus and Roxas are the same person’ things were huge in fandom, and both of them were proof of fandom’s propensity for Bad Writing) or your own selfish desires! ‘I want to focus on KHUX.’ How about focusing on finishing your other stories first? Hm?

This DLC is looking more and more like it’s nothing but a marketing ploy. A way to make more money. And never, ever say that that’s what this game has always been about, since it’s been placed on the market. No. That’s what games without plots are about; Call of Duty has a farce of a plot in its games. That’s something originally made just to get another quick cash grab. Stories exist for the plot, they receive money based off the plot (and the game design, when it’s a game, but even bad game designs have been lauded because of their plot). Writing a story means taking on the burden of that story. The burden of writing it to its end, in a satisfying way that, even if it has a sad ending, has the readers/viewers going, ‘yes. okay. well done.’ You can’t abandon your story at some point and expect those who have been following said story to be okay with it. Now that it’s begun circling around just marketing, the story has been completely dropped, just for the sake of getting more money off the name ‘Kingdom Hearts.’ And it’s becoming more and more obvious with every release.

And perhaps the worst thing? This entire DLC is an AU.

Don’t bother to disagree. It all circles around the ‘if-then’ of that ridiculous ‘black hole’ theory Nomura cooked up. ‘What if Sora had to go get Kairi’s heart back and needed to leave the graveyard battles to find it?’ Amazing. Something that didn’t even happen in the original story (that would be KH3′s story, btw), and we’re still supposed to think it matters. Amazing. Wtf.

I… I could continue ranting forever, omg, I’m so sorry. Just. This whole squealing about Re:Mind going on in the fandom has begun fraying me at the edges. I’ve unfollowed practically everyone I used to who blogs about Kingdom Hearts, because I just can’t believe how easily people have been pulled into this. A part of me wonders how long it’ll take before they get as disappointed as I am, and whether they’ll feel as betrayed, and I legit worry about them. Another part just wishes they’d get there faster so we could all stop seeing this farce of a story continue. Kingdom Hearts is going to continue on like all other media does these days, and instead of going out with a bang, it will go out with a whimper. Re:Mind is just proof of that.

Sorry to everyone excited about it, but your excitement is just making me more and more annoyed with the upcoming release and the fandom in general.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Doctor - A RokuNami Story for RokuNami Day 2020

Summary:  Even though I ended up "finishing this up" and polishing it up for RokuNami Day this year... Tbh, this was the first thing I started writing after KHIII came out (right after I'd only watched the ending once, so I even got some things wrong about it. It's the same ending, but kind of told differently? And especially now with what we know from Re:Mind), when I was a bit sad that there was really no RokuNami in the game and wanted a fic where Sora was found and rescued. So I went "Why not combine the ideas?!" and this fic was born, but I won't be continuing it because I decided to write another RokuNami instead and I have too much on my plate now. But I hope you all still enjoy! "Yozora is Sora" theory at the end of this fic. Dedicated to BlueRosesBurnBlue, because this is the RokuNami story I told her I was writing her AGES ago. Look! I finally finished it! ...Kind of.

Doctor Roxas’ PoV Roxas—through Sora—had looked at the white curtains that flew in the breeze of Twilight Town—at the beginning of this journey—and he’d thought of Naminé and the words they'd shared there. …It had been a trying time for Roxas, when he'd first met the white witch: a time that was made even moreso that, when she had told him that he wasn't meant to exist… and Roxas had resented her for it. How could he not have? But now Roxas appreciated the blonde’s brutal honesty there, and her giving him a truth he had needed to hear. That he had wanted to hear, really, as no one else had been being honest with him. Roxas even respected how Naminé had been his guiding light, when he'd been lost in the fog of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. And now... now in this “Final World”, he, from within Sora, wished he could do more for Naminé, like she had him. And Roxas would carry that thought with him, even when he came back to save Xion and Axel. He would focus on the battle—because there would never be any other choice for him. His best friends were in danger! Axel in particular, since his Keyblade was broken and he was being tormented by his former best friend… and even Kairi had been kidnapped, and Sora was falling because of that now—but in the back of his mind, he'd think on how Naminé had been so certain that no one missed her… That thought of hers reminded him a lot of what he’d thought when he left the Organization, but it wasn’t true. Had never been true, and it wasn’t true for her either! And when Sora was saying he needed to go to save Kairi after Master Xehanort had killed her? Roxas decided then and there that he needed to go with Sora to save both girls! Because he cared about Kairi, he did—and his heart ached for how his Other felt in the loss of her—and because a world without Naminé in it wasn’t a world that Roxas even wanted to fathom. But when Sora said he had to go it alone, Roxas had to accept his decision—like Sora had once accepted his returning to him—even though it was killing him inside. But it was when two days turned to three, and Sora still wasn’t back with Kairi yet, that Roxas knew he had to risk calling Sora on the gummiphone... wherever he was. "Sora, I know this is a really bad time... but have you found Kairi yet? Naminé's body is ready, and-" "Uhh..." Sora breathed then as he ran away from some Invisibles with Kairi, who seemed exhausted—Roxas could see all of  this from the screen on the gummiphone—“I don’t think we’re close enough yet for us to try and send Naminé’s heart to Radiant Garden. I don’t want to risk injuring Kairi, because she’s still not doing too well. “But… if data can grow hearts, due to the imprints it’s based on… I almost wonder if Kairi could make a new heart for Naminé, by talking about her heart to the empty Replica. Roxas, press the gummiphone to the Replica’s ear.” And he did just that… and he leaned in, too, and heard everything that Kairi was whispering about Naminé: how she, unlike Kairi, loved mushrooms… that surprisingly, Naminé wanted to try wearing red, if she could ever get around adults who would be okay with her wearing color…  and how she apparently loved him—Roxas—because to her, he represented the brightest part of the day before it went dark. “Kairi… thank you,” Roxas found himself whispering now. “I adore you because Sora does… But I won’t lie… for some reason, I imagined you as selfish. And I thought that if you had to talk about anyone here, you’d talk about yourself. But thank you for doing this and talking about Naminé instead.” And then Roxas saw blonde hair starting to spout from the doll, and he realized all their hard work was paying off. And he held Naminé in his arms even before she woke up. But he had to admit that it was muchbetter, when he saw pale blue eyes and felt arms squeezing him back. And once Naminé was free and created again—and outside stretching her wings, so to speak—Riku helped her get into a much bigger gummi ship than the one Roxas had, with all of the millions of belonging that Ansem the Wise had just given her. And so, Roxas ended up hating Riku a bit less. But just a little. But though he despised Riku less, he would later berate himself for being the one selfish here… and caring so little about Sora and Kairi’s fates—as they tried to help him, from even beyond death—when it would end up so badly for them.

… "Yeah, everything’s great, guys. I promise. Naminé’s as good as new. And, yes: so are Xion and myself, still. No worries. Anyway, we'll talk to you guys later. Okay? Get home safely.” And he disconnected his call from Sora… and—little did Roxas know it at the time—but it would be the last time he ever got to talk to Sora on the phone. But no one was thinking about dire things now: they were believing Sora’s words that he’d return home with Kairi faster than they could blink. And instead, everyone was caring about Naminé on the beach, as they had missed her and it warmed Roxas’ heart to see. He knew that his girl had worried about not having a single friend group to call her home. But really, because of that, she was everyone’s friend, and he almost wanted to joke with her that that was the better deal. “Roxas told me about you two’s story on the way home from the Graveyard, you know,” Xion was saying now—as she tried to help Naminé down the zipline and he was right behind them; he was already rolling his eyes, in trying to anticipate how she’d make him sound like a fool to his new girlfriend here—“and I think it’s beautiful. But he really didn’t tell you ‘See? We meet again, like we promised’ when he woke you up?! That was a missed opportunity, Roxas. You hear me? A missed opportunity!” Everyone laughed at this—because, yes: Xion was talking so loudly, that all those gathered (Hayner, Pence, Olette, Riku, Lea, Isa, Terra, Ventus, Aqua, and King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy) could hear her. But while Roxas wanted to be somewhat mad at Xion for this—and play punch her in the arm—he thought that maybe it was okay that everyone was laughing at his expense. They had all just come out of a grueling war, after all. And they still didn’t know where Kairi and Sora were- And right when the last name entered Roxas’ head, he had a splitting headache and knew that something was wrong… wrong… so horribly wrong. And out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that Naminé, Xion, and even Ven were feeling the same way. As Roxas fell on the floor of the zipline area, alongside Xion and Naminé, he tasted blood in his mouth… and tried to say his former Other’s name and reach out his hand to him… but no dice. And then Roxas promptly passed out. … "Wha- what happened?” Roxas asked days later—he assumed it was days later, based on how hungry he was, anyway—as he woke up in a hospital: he knew from Sora’s memories that it was exactly that. “Roxas… I don’t know how to tell you this,” a kind lady doctor, with brown eyes and the same colored hair to her shoulders said. “Especially since I’m only starting to learn about Nobodies—former Nobodies, in your case—and their connection to their Others… but- but your Other died. And you and some of the others felt that, and that’s why you’re here… I’m Doctor Aki Ross, by the way.” “He- he what?! No. No! It wasn’t supposed to be like this! It wasn’t!” and Roxas buried his face in his hands and cried. And he could tell the doctor wanted to reach out to comfort him, but also held off on doing so… probably because she didn’t want any lawsuits against her. But it was okay. Roxas had hands that he’d no anywhere wrapped around his shoulders now. “Shh, shh. It’s okay, Roxas. I know,” Naminé tried to soothe him, as the doctor quietly and gracefully left the room. “It’s horrible. Oh, so horrible! I know you all apparently knew there was a risk with Sora going after Kairi… but hearing about it, and dealing with the reality of it, are two completely different things. So…” And here Naminé trailed off. And Roxas wondered if she was regretting that she was back now, and that Sora had ever gone to fetch Kairi… And to say that Roxas felt like he was going to throw up at the notion, would've been an understatement. He was upset about Sora—he always would be; and he was going to try and find some way to bring his brother back—but it wasn’t these golden girls’ faults. It just wasn’t. But grief also made no sense. Because even while Roxas was thinking those thoughts that would free Naminé and Kairi from guilt, he was blaming himself… for not insisting that he go with Sora… for caring only about Naminé while he and Kairi had clearly been in danger, and for hanging up on him… And for existing now at all. Was Sora’s death the price of him being here? Was it really true that the two of them couldn’t co-exist? And if- if he had stayed assimilated with Sora, would he have been strong enough to survive whatever had done this to him? Roxas was just about to ask if Naminé if she could help him return to Sora again—because maybe it would save him!—when Kairi entered the room. And if Roxas thought that he and all of Sora’s “Others” probably looked dead without him, that was nothing on how Kairi appeared now. It was clear that she’d been crying. And Roxas would wager that she hadn’t eaten or slept in many, many days. She also looked like she’d been hurting herself some… but Roxas knew he wanted to get some actual information about if that was true, before he judged. “Kairi, I-“ Roxas said, as he got to his feet and resisted the urge to bow to her—something he didn’t think she would like much—since it just felt like Kairi needed some sort of assurance that she was worth it, after what had happened. But then she was the one who reassured Roxas and Naminé instead, acting much like the monarch she might have been in another life. “Roxas, I’m so glad to see that you’re okay! I thought that after Sora, you might- Anyway, Naminé I came to tell you both that you’re more than welcome to stay at my house. My parents already see you as my sister, Naminé, from what I’ve told them... “Roxas… I know you probably want- want to be Sora’s sibling. But since you might find it hard to speak to his- speak to his parents a-a-after… you’re welcome to stay with me too, if you want.” Kairi had always glowed with such confidence and light—even when she’d been more concerned with Sora’s name than his own, and had actually been somewhat rude about it, she’d handled their encounter so well, that Roxas hadn’t been offended at all. So, seeing her like this… where she was stuttering and surely hating herself, was too much for Roxas to bear. And he could understand perfectly why Sora would sacrifice his life to spare this poor soul from even more pain. He probably would have even done the same. “We’re- we’re going to find him, Kairi,” Roxas promised the redhead then, as he stood up from his bed and took his hand in his own and put an arm around Naminé. “Naminé and I together, I mean. We probably have the deepest connection to Sora—aside from you and Riku—so I’m sure we could locate him if we really tried, and you’re welcome to come with us.” “Yes, Kairi,” Naminé backed Roxas up—and how he loved her for it—as she ran a hand through her sister’s hair and then brought her in for a hug as she cried. “Don’t let this eat you up. Do something about it.” And Kairi spoke so quietly, that Roxas could barely even hear her words. But still… hear them he did, and that was more than enough for now. “Let’s do it,” she’d said. … Roxas let the Three Good Fairies size him, Naminé, and Kairi up for new outfits, and to tell them exactly what they should do to activate their new powers in the clothes. And while a lot of this was helpful—getting even stronger was always good in Roxas’ book—he couldn't believe that Sora had so easily put up with these women fighting over colors… and Master Yen Sid’s lack of know-how and respect. As usual, it seemed like the wizard had no idea how they’d find their friend. And instead of admiring Sora for his sacrifices that had quite literally saved the worlds, the Master was instead blaming Sora’s current disappearance on his recklessness. And it took all that Roxas had, to not beat the former Keyblade Master within an inch of his life and he could tell Kairi—and heck, even Naminé!—was almost there herself. "All we can say for sure,” the Fairy Godmother was telling them now, “is that though your and Sora’s journeys may be separated now, you’ll find each other in the end.” “Can we skip to the end, then?” Roxas asked helplessly. And Naminé and Kairi giggled for the first time that Roxas could remember. Any time before Sora’s death felt like a lifetime ago to everyone. “No, Roxas, it’s pretty clear we can’t. Don’t you see how Master Yen Sid has a book on his desk, detailing the Beginning, Middle, and End?” Naminé asked. But Roxas could tell she wasn’t being serious… and was as done with the old man as he was, as that book was about Sora’s first journey, his time in Castle Oblivion, and his first battle with the Organization. None of it seemed relevant now. But Roxas figured that that was just Yen Sid for you. But still… the three gathered were good at acting and pretended that they weren’t the three angry teenagers that they really were. So, they thanked the four women and one man, bid them adieu, and hopped onto the gummi ship. And it was only there that it suddenly struck Roxas that he had no idea what Naminé was going to fight with on this quest, since she didn’t have a Keyblade. He knew she had her memory powers… but would she be able to use that on the offensive at all? Roxas reallyworried about that when he landed the gummi ship on a dark highway—where he could feel the faintest connection to Sora—where no soul was in sight… it was as if everyone in this world had already been killed. And if so… what had killed them, and would Naminé stand a chance against the threat at all? But before Roxas could freak out too much, Naminé was already answering Roxas’ question by summoning golden chains that lit up, and suddenly made this new world seem less foreboding. “Kairi’s asleep in the back, Roxas. And though I know we should wake her soon—because this world seems dangerous to me, too—let’s let my sister finally catch a few Zs before we return her to this nightmare.” Roxas nodded, not having to be told twice because he felt the same about Kairi’s situation right now. The poor kid… But perhaps she wasn’t the only one he was thinking about protecting in some way. Putting a hand over Naminé’s where it rested on the dashboard, Roxas motioned for her to angle her body so she could look at him. And she did. “You know, Naminé… this isn’t exactly what I wanted at all—how could it ever be?—but I did imagine taking you to other worlds with me, even before this. Because I thought it wasn’t fair how little of this beautiful world you’ve gotten to see… Even less than Kairi. And wherever you were, it was always with a gun pointed to your head. So even though this situation isn’t ideal… I’m glad we at least have this moment.” “Me- me too, Roxas,” Naminé admitted as she rested her head atop his. “And, I mean, I want to see worlds, too. And even when I thought I couldn’t… I knew I’d be content in having my world in you—and seeing the worlds through your eyes, when your face lit up in talking about one of them—and that hasn’t changed. You’re- you’re an amazing being, Roxas, who was meant to be here. And if anyone can find Sora, you can. I love you.” And as the two kissed, in the background was a blue and red-eyed man who had become their Sora, that they would soon learn.

[didsomeonesayventus]

okay long time spending in gestation but I imagine that someone out of the followers I have wants to know my onion on KH3 is 

Overall, good!

so consider wordbarf of very repeated and tired onions no one actually actively asked for below:

Alright so I’ve been trying to figure out how to make these words and what my opinions even are considering this game has been out for almost a year now (KH3 existing is wild imagine it turning a year old) so this will be. mostly bullet points + incoherent and unorganized rambling forgive me

BAD THINGS FIRST lets get the salt out of the way

Literally everything with Kairi was oof. I still feel her relationship with Lea is incredibly rushed given the last time they were interacting in canon he was literally kidnapping her but go off I guess nomura they’re brother/sister friendsy now at least the fandom can sell me on that better than you can. I seethe with rage recalling that they didn’t even try to hide that killing her off was a classic case of fridging (“You lack motivation” FUCK OFF) and I have been angry since the day I was spoiled by leak stuff accidentally. I wouldn’t have minded her getting her ass handed to her if they made it look like she tried and gave us some moments where she did defend herself and get some victories and not conveniently cut away from the actually badly needed training montage (surprise! this is why we have training montages!!!!) and I get she was instrumental in rescuing everyone and the fact she wasn’t THAT bad speaks for how much she improved but it still just. bites that she still feels more like a satellite love interest than ever. 

Kairi was bad enough to get her own thing but tbh everyone who isn’t Sora also.. really suffers. The writing is really Sora-centric here and that’s not inherently bad (see good list) but it leaves a lot to be desired, especially since they dog pile the extended cast moments in at the end. There was no big confusion at Ven and Roxas sharing a face, no talks between characters who would have interesting interactions given their histories and circumstances, no obvious sign of development from anyone except maybe sea salt family and Aqua. They’re here to be more one-note than usual and resolve their arcs. Ven in particular (I’m totally not biased clearly /sarcasm) I feel is a big example given he was kinda in a really rough mental state at the end of bbs?? and 3 is exceptionally vague on just how conscious ventus was during his nap so I can’t even answer if he was able to give himself therapy the past 12 years or whatever

Anti Aqua is a damn cool concept but ultimately kinda pointless and I think we could have received it better if it wasn’t spoiled in trailers and wholly out of left field. Plus Sora coming in after what was pretty clearly set up as a Riku moment- while it gave us the incredibly gay press triangle to Sora + use a big keyblade made from ur love moment -was uh! really cheap!!!! and ruined what was clearly set up for being Riku’s thing with an almost nonsensical SIKE ITS SORA (it’s saved from being wholly nonsensical by 0.2′s opening foreshadowing + it still kinda makes sense for sora to at least help but damn if the narrative wasn’t leading us towards a riku moment)

Also everyone was hit really hard with the nerf effect in-narrative so unless you’re the dream team you’re screwed I guess and that. doesn’t quite work since it makes everyone else look... not great. And I think this is kinda a miscommunication on part of Nomura and the fans (IM MAKING ASSUMPTIONS TAKE WITH SALT) in that we kept saying we wanted people “saved” but meant having their arcs resolved in a reasonable way that preserved their agency and power and relationships, but got interpreted literally as “alright Sora comes in and solves every problem, is tough on stains, and makes julienne fries”

And yet there’s also a lot of mean spirited “oh no sora’s dumb and helpless w/out a second braincell” which was kinda funny the first couple times and I failed to pick up on it first go I’ll admit, but honestly? Yeah. they pick on sora too much. Donald and Goofy are the most guilty, and everyone else by virtue of not seeing Sora that much actually in-narrative are off the hook from me because they probably didn’t know how much teasing he’d been getting from his pals, but it felt kinda like they didn’t know what to fall back on between the three besides “oh donald and goofy pick on sora” which is cute once or twice but the amount he gets and how it clearly leads to his breakdown at the end is uhHHHHhhhHH hm.

As always the pacing is pretty awful where the disney worlds are somewhat relevant at best and then the end is 0-1000 but that is a usual KH gripe so its pretty low on the bar

Attraction flow is cute and neat at first but it gets.. really wearing towards the end and in the serious fights at the Keyblade Graveyard BOY are they a mood breaker

the “repeat the plot” worlds- Tangled, Frozen, Pirates -REALLY stick out like a sore, ugly thumb compared to the worlds that went out and did their own creative thing, and Big Hero 6 was.. cute? but kinda maybe too much of a breather.

Frozen also get an extra award for “Audio mixer most in need of firing!” because who the hell allowed the do you want to build a snowman scene.

They did nothing with Scala and I want a refund on that aesthetic if they’re not gonna do anything besides a framing device with it

HEY WAIT THERE WAS GOOD THINGS TOO!

Good news point that may or may not come to pass: Re:Mind DLC might fix some of the above salt! We shall see and probably know by the time this post is a year old sfjhdsakjgh

SORA! Sora was actually a character again!!!! holy cow they pulled up from the utter nose dive that was DDD!! god i love this dork and it was really fantastic to see him back to normal.

The graphical upgrade lost a lot of the squish and stretch that the OG graphics had but you know what? pretty. tastey. good graphics and better at doing more subtle emotions and hey have i mentioned Pirate’s glow up? Pirate’s glow up. The details in Olympus to recreate the swirly aesthetic of the clouds and explosions and lava is a great touch.

Worlds as far as levels go?? really good! They feel legitimately like worlds and explorable and with their own flavors and I LOVE battle and field themes x2 its really great I’m down for less worlds if they keep the quality. Hell we have NPCs!! maybe even too many npcs.

Writing OVER ALL/ON AVERAGE I’d say has improved a lot! It’s still not a literary masterpiece or anything but I found the disney worlds really cute and easier to get invested in even if long term they were less relevant than I hoped they would be. In every world there was at least one scene I found myself actually invested in. Like there was something to the writing that was legitimately more endearing than usual on average, and toy box and monstropolis were strong contenders for really good overall imo

honestly there were moments that- as moments -were incredible. Wayfinder reunion scene will haunt me, and Sea salt’s was good too, final world and rescuing everyone was jaw dropping, getting the LoD Back was also good, Union X, Xigbar exiting left stage pursued by a bear, wayfinder trio making a grave for eraqus, all the gummi ship scenes had great chemistry, beach party ending, hanging out with rapunzel for the first half of Corona is adorable as hell, all the nods to scenes in the movies, the easter eggs, like the game is not consistently amazing but it is peppered with stuff that I feel in a bubble ignoring surrounding context just work really really well

Damn if the end boss rush wasn’t thrilling as hell and honestly??? really good. Hard to parse out first flush but I think this was a good decision and added a lot of blood roaring urgency and wild turns, and even if I want to overhaul a number of things about the endgame I think this can definitely stay

Kingstagram is a beautiful gift man

OST? A fucking banger all around and I love how they’ve made cutscene-specific tracks that play with the leitmotifs throughout KH’s illustrious musical history

Over all there’s some really glaring issues, but overall it’s KH really at its best. I’m not sure if it’s my favorite entry and I’m still really mixed + befuddled on just how exactly I feel and I think a lot of that is I had pretty high expectations and my own ideas of how it would play out since like. 2012. it’s really hard to detach from those feelings and ideas sometimes. But KH3 wasn’t bad! It could’ve really been worse, and the fact that it got out the door in the state that it was is a good deal

now here’s to the wait for Re:Mind and to see if it’s basically the content we’d get in Final Mix that could definitely bump up my opinion

[pmiller1]

We’re Always Connected Debink.

You know, maybe there do shipped SoKai, I mean there saying it right here. Sora and Kairi are always connected. Maybe I was wrong. that these people are not so blind and want there SoRiku to be canon in someway. Maybe I was wrong.

Too bad that the theory isn’t that good. So let get start with the other half of new update.

Oh wait, yeah there still claiming that Kairi is Darkside. Instead of Sora’s inner darkness. And that Water is still part of Darkness. Never mind I had my hope up here.

And what? Wouldn’t you want to keep your friend close. Sora sure does want to keep his friends close, It more of making a memory with your friends. Not like Kairi  is metaphysically inside Sora heart again like she was in KH1. It more of the bounded then having someone inside your hearts.

Ah! Now I see where @angel-with-a-pipette was getting at. Maybe Kairi is inside Xion. That would be something... Or are you saying that Xion is Kairi. Ahaa! Guy! I’ve cracked the code! Xion is Kairi!

Or not...

Look, even if Xion was made from Sora memory that have taken a Black hair Kairi as her form. That doesn’t mean that she only connected to Sora. Hell, she haven’t even met him before, Only Roxas and Riku. She could have met Kairi, She sure was aware of her.

I mean, Sure she could have his memory of Kairi at the time, but the fact remind that she and Kairi had some connected to each other. Why wouldn’t she had a connected to the girl that she made a face from?

Oh jeez. Not this again. @bluerosesburnblue already point this out, HE WAS TALKING TO BUZZ AND WOODY!

There stain of being a part of Andy! Sora is behind Power Giga. You can’t even see him. What more if he want to know how Sora feel with a separation, then he already done so with DDD. Being apart from Riku. Remember?

Oh my god. I was wrong, There aren’t aware that Kairi was keeping Sora safe with her believed alone! There still saying it was all 7 princesses of heart power. All 7 of them, Her, Anna, Elsa, Rapunzel... em... wait, this maybe a obvious questions, have we met all of the new seven princesses? There seem to be three short.

If we gonna had all seven (or six) new princesses, shouldn’t we had world for all of them each. There only two worlds there new seven princesses. Just two, out of nine worlds.

Here the thing, The New Seven Princesses of Heart, Was a backup plan! A back up plan, just in case Sora and the other fail to bring Aqua and Ven into being the Seven Guardians of Light. Infact, The Org would have taken the princesses if there refused to take part of the master plan. The other wouldn’t want to risk them harming the Princesses. It was ever risking them to harm or there safety.

And another one I had to take from Liz. Keyblade wielders had some awareness when a Princesses of Heart. 

But for all we know, he was just having a normal heart attack. I mean there on top of a cold mountain, where nothing of short and vest on. That isn’t warm.

I mean it make more sense when could had a strong Empath to a Princesses of Heart.

Also, I wouldn’t think that Anna wouldn’t get herself hit by another Princesses of Heart! Given that one, I would think even there sub-remembered what want down here and that Elsa wouldn’t risk Sora existen by given Anna a cold heart.

So what reason for all the lynchpin to be removed, I would think there Kairi wouldn’t just give up Sora like that. Even if the six other didn’t know, she would the the only pin that would keep him from existing.

What? You got nothing for me? Okay.

Hold it. Hold on a litter here. Isn’t Kairi still inside Sora Heart? Would she not exist too without Sora. Would she still be inside Sora even when Sora is in the Realm of Sleeped?

I get what you saying here the both can’t exist at the same time. But it not like Kairi couldn’t take to Sora. What shopping from talking to him by hallucination. That is what your going with this, that she back as she was in KH1, Back inside Sora Heart?

Oh gods. By that logic, Sora is inside Kairi’s Heart then being in “Sleeping” Shibuya.

I get what you mean, it is parallel like in KH1 ending. But that just sad. This is even worse than saying that she even darkside or a Chirithy.

Maybe I just don’t get this theory and what it saying? I mean, I guess not fully grab it. All I know that there so many thing wrong with it that it not a solid theory.

I’m sure I’m not the only one that don’t get this theory and how everything fit to place.

Then again the whole idea what that “Kingdom Hearts 3 is lying to you (Well it’s pretty deliberately misleading, at least)”. As if a game could lie to you (and mislead you).

I just hope that Re:Mind make it clear and maybe debunk this theory over all. Well that all for that so far. If there anything you like to add or corrected. Let me know.

And if there anyone that strongly disagreed with my debunk of this theory. Save yourself the trouble and be calm about it. Okay.

[valorxdrive]

“Sorry, but I don’t lose.”

Proof behind such declaration could be the miniature rivers of crimson spilling down his opponent’s body. Pain unending, seemingly everlasting, for a fleeting moment all of that raw grit finds itself cracking under a fight he truly couldn’t of anticipated. Nothing but wavering vision is what fixates him onto the figure carefully stepping towards his fallen prey.

Sora had nothing but the smattering heft of blood to expel from his lips. So so so much. Energy felt as if it was bleeding alongside of the natural liquid of his being as he’s pressured down onto a single knee.

‘Can I really..?’ With one singular thought did the ascension to his end finally begin.

The promised crystal begin to creep from the ether, pristine, prominent all while holding a cosmic force not yet fully known. No amount of attention could be grated to such a design, nor to the fact it’s gradually restricting his movement.

♕ - What swelled into mind and heart was a torrent of relief. Any hardship sustained was gradually being drained as the encroaching sharp edge continued it’s warpath, gradually sweeping over his legs, up the extent of his arm and soon seething along another. In a way it’s mystifying, a forceful calm taking away the agonies of life itself as it begins to fully draw him into a ‘savior’s’ embrace. Heterochromatic eyes would be the last witness upon the keybearer’s fall. Any struggling remnants of willpower was made to bring himself higher.. But for what? As the comfort only intensifies such sensations of serenity... Why had he been struggling to such maddening degrees to begin with?

Why fight when a safe haven was enveloping him entirely, removing the burden, allowing any thoughts united with his purpose to seep like the spilled crimson his body once ushered?

Crossing over what he believed to be his vision would be blinding white.

....

........

Comfortable. Somewhere. Anywhere. ..Nowhere? Mindless thoughts found themselves melting away as nothing but pleasant serenity pervaded every nook and cranny. In untold ways it was soothing, unnaturally so to find himself wading through a gentle ivory abyss. Any urge to allow those cerulean eyes to be hidden from the world was overbearing, barely outweighed by emotions that haven’t yet found rest. How could they when the giddiness ebbed into soul lifting contentment? Nothing but the sweetest memories begin to pepper Sora’s heart and mind as everlasting crystal encases him.

Rest. There was no need to fight, no need to struggle, that was the continuous demand drawn as a silent hum commands. Focus on what sprawls before his sight, what nostalgia grants the ears and the effort of letting all p--n escape. A lingering moment of seconds stretched an eternity’s worth of memories in the pool of his heart. Carefree days spent dreaming of heroism alongside of his dear friends, the quieter instances, grandiose moments underneath a starlit sky as hefty smoke and chimes of laughter signaled another camp out. The pristine shine of Destiny Islands and the many, beloved faces it held and revealed to him, all revealing their shamelessly bright smiles towards him.

His parents. R--u, K---i, Tidus, Selphie and Wakka too.

Another turn of the turbulent pages had revealed times that were.. static-y? Splintered fragments of memory were attempting to fight through an invisible force. Sights of a shield whose love protected any ally from harm, the stalwart beat of magic made through a wand, bending the elements to either desolate it’s foes or offer life giving magics when he needed it most.. Who did these belong too?

Smiles. So faint, so hard to remember, yet the feelings that gave brings a nostalgia so potent it nearly brings tears to his eyes then and there. D----d, G---y.

Soon the beat of the memories begin to swim by faster as more hazy recollections were desperately scraped by. Times in a town once drenched.. No, one that always held peace, shining with a pristine radiance as the prominent city of light. Many worlds that held many people, all who held no problems.. Problems?

When did he..?

Why... Was he relaxing so much in this moment?

A terrified lunge of the heart stirred an awakening beat that roars through the entirety known as Sora. Grating within his ears if the harrowing howl of a power loosening it’s grip of control, desperately vying to give positives back into the set of emotions bubbling akin to a cauldron’s fury. Emotions introduced awareness, this very awareness brings back a very cradled and important truth to the wielder of the keyblade. All this was feeling too good, too right. The very source of what brought him here was fading away fast.. Too fast, almost as if a force was attempting to tear away any weight from his beloved burden.

The pain that allowed him to connect with so many precious people in his life.

“....No.” The instant denial of arriving paradise was a rebellious curse spilled from his lips. From the view of an outsider as the mysterious transgression takes place, the one known as Yozora who intends to close the curtain found himself rendered into a pause while a gloved palm rests upon the crystallized Sora.

“...!!” Realization dawns. Charging underneath build of this power was settled in the realm deigned impossibility. A familiar beat, one so foreign yet so brutishly true, one that draws lethal promises in terms of resolve. Despite having carefully placement upon his knee, the resonating beat of that caged heart felt like shattered shackles. Another, more powerful beat causes the miniature garden of crystal with it’s latest piece to be violently interrupted, a harsh gale spilling from the frozen body, causing Yozora to stumble back as the lost feelings of heart managed to briefly echo within the depths of his own unknown.

Drawing across the pristine mark of the statue as a fierce press of abstract chaos would be webbed cracks. Splinters of crystal, iridescent rays pouring from every crevice forcefully drawn before a loud crash echoes out. What first draws it’s freedom would be his hand, arched in such a fashion, grasping onto life from the jaws of peaceful death itself. Following would be a firm jut of the head, leading to the eruption of a face etched in a furious scowl, caring naught of the mysterious strength that attempts to give him a peaceful end.

No. To rid of his pain, another means of connecting him to the power he adores...

That would be a fate worse than death itself.

“Just who do you.. Think you... ARE!” Plowing through the entire arena would be a strength that even hijacks the surrounding dominance of this mysterious city before them. The illusion would find itself shattered, similar to the very cage that aimed to forever lock his heart away. Ripples of strength would draw the ‘steel’ to melt away, for the night’s sky to crackle and shatter from the skies above, revealing the very station that such a battle was taking place. Right now, what was involved was the heart of Sora.

A heart that intends to pay the Ultimate Price and survive.

Blistering energy erupts to the surroundings with ‘precise’ force of a natural disaster. It could truly be considered an incarnate of chaos as light, darkness and the power of bonds coalesced around the newly healed figure of the Keybearer as he remains skyborn. Light spilled from muscle, sinew and Keyblade akin to a freshly snapped bottleneck. Right now the many people who were depending on him, who he depended on, the very belief of self was riding on a fight that aimed to steal it all within a heartbeat.

To eternally freeze him on the path he intends to walk.

Hovering above the resting caricature on the station of his very heart, a passionate blaze was incited in those eyes, peering down to the speechless figure who braved so many trials to reach this very spot.. To accomplish this goal of saving Sora. Just.. Who was he saving exactly?

Before his eyes was a sleeping dog truly awoken. One that intends to never lose sight purpose that the paradoxical vastness known as his heart instilled in him.

“You’re not staying in my way!”

Round 2.

[sakamichidiary]

New Year's A Comin’~! What Are Ya Doin’?! Tomita Suzuka

Member: Tomita Suzuka Source: Second generation Hiragana Keyakizaka46 blog Post date: 2018/01/01 12:09

Good Paripi-ing〜🇫🇷 It's the 2nd gen Hiragana Keyaki member Tomita Suzuka, also known as Paripi ☝(°👅°`☝)ﾊﾟﾘﾋﾟ~❄ Huh? I'm writing this blog while thinking "Has it been nine days already?" This thought has probably crossed the minds of the other members too. There's something I'm deathly afraid of right now! 2018 is scary! It's extremely scary! I'm scared of drawing my fortune. I didn't go visit a shrine for New Year's in 2017. And when I went to Sensoji temple1 in April, I drew a fortune of "bad luck." That's why this year, I'll go visit a shrine on New Year's Day, even if I have to go by myself! I'll be going with the full intent of receiving a "great blessing" fortune. Dear God and Buddha, I'm counting on you guys, so please treat me well🙇🏻‍♂️ But even if I pull a "bad luck", then I can only get better fortunes next time, so isn't that surprisingly lucky in its own way? I can think of it that way too💁🏻‍♂️⭐

This Year's Confessions 1. Summer homework ↑This was what I have left undone this year. I hope that I'll be able to complete it in 2018🤞🏻 2. Cleaning up my wallet of point cards and receipts ↑Even though I don't use them, they're rapidly piling up, especially receipts! That's why for 2018, I'll use them ecologically, to polish my nails and as oil absorbing sheets for my face. Feels like I won't remember to do this, when I'll try to think about it though(;´-ω-)a" Whatever, I'll try my best next year!

For those who haven't watched Re:Mind yet, please be careful about what's below🤫 ☆☆☆☆☆☆ The last episode of Re:Mind has finally aired(*_*)! It was a conclusion that absolutely nobody could have expected, right?🤫 And episode 13, which is a spin-off special episode, is available on Netflix�� Since I've watched this from the first episode as a regular viewer, it's a strange feeling to see myself in the spinoff episode, or rather, it's creepy to see myself acting:(´◦ω◦`): We also each received our own uniform, and I had the white one which was the best🤩 I wonder if it stood out?🤩 I also had some lines, so how did I do? I acted while keeping in mind "this is definitely how I'd be like, if I was at school"＼( 'ω')/ I put on plenty of the JK2 feels＼( 'ω')/ Right after I was admitted, we were told that there would be auditions for an important role in Re:Mind, and that only one out of the nine of us would be chosen. The way we were told about this, I really thought that we were being pranked! Miho ended up being chosen from this. To tell the truth, I was really frustrated! After the auditions, I thought "Ah... This is totally something I won't be able to do." I was frustrated at the me who ended up thinking like that! Miho's really so much better than me at dancing, singing, acting and even studying😺 (lol). And furthermore, because of her character, she's someone who really brightens up the mood. Just having Miho there, you're totally guaranteed to have a good time! That's why I've admired her, even before I successfully became a Hiragana Keyaki member. In the last round of auditions, we ended up being in the same room. Ever since then, I've thought that this girl was wonderful, right down to her core. I'd like to become Miho, if I could🤷🏻‍♀️. With all of the latest technologies that are being developed, I wonder if that could happen🤷🏻‍♀️ Miho's been appearing more and more in Re:Mind, and I saw her solo gravure in magazines too. Miho's carrying the weight of the 2nd gen members on her shoulders, and she's looking fabulous while doing so. I genuinely think "She's so awesome~ She's so cool~" All nine of us are fellow members, but we're also rivals. It's hard to think of it as "keeping on winning over yourself," instead of "winning over others!" To start off, I set my goal as drinking two liters of water a day. So I'll give it my best not to lose to myself✌(´>ω Miho, thank you for all your hard work! I hope you'll quickly be able to play with me! I wish everyone a Happi-Paripi New Year!🐶 Today's blog was all about Miho! Well then! Pari Peace ('ω')v P.S. It's surprisingly hard to drink two liters [of water]! My stomach's gets so full!

I was half expecting a love confession from Paripi, as she was praising and being so rabu-rabu with Miho so much😅

Sensoji temple is Tokyo's oldest temple located in Asakusa, Tokyo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sens%C5%8D-ji ↩︎

"JK" stands for "joshi kousei" or "female high school student." It's a term used to refer to current female high schoolers. ↩︎