#and how vanitas' theme has some of sora roxas AND ventus' themes in there

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Ahh! Green Requiem saying something like, "Why do I now feel like notes from Destati--which is Kingdom Hearts' "Darkness" song-- being in the Foretellers' theme was hinting that they were vessels of Darkness? (Because it was.)," is now making me feel and think so much.

[dahniwitchoflight]

KH: What is Namine Really?

See also my other post: KH: What is Repliku/Riku Replica Really? https://dahniwitchoflight.tumblr.com/post/649102821124440064

Since I’m continuing my sudden Kingdom Hearts kick sparked by me rewatching all the cinematics for all the games thus far lately and watching all the story cins for KH UX since that’s gonna be relevant to the next games

I just feel I have to re-make this post about what Namine really is, because calling her Kairi’s Nobody has never made sense from the start when you think about it

When Kairi loses her heart in KH1 in the beginning, her body and soul specifically doesn’t get transported to the world that never was like all other nobodies, it’s stays in the realm of Light because Kairi is a princess of Heart, we know this, we see Riku lugging around her corpse throughout the whole game, we keep tabs on it constantly up until the point Sora gives Kairi back her heart and Kairi is re-completed again

KH1′s lore will state that it’s at this moment when Kairi is recompleted that Namine was born, but from what?

Sora’s Body+Soul became Roxas, they make it clear in KH2 that Sora and Roxas is a half and half deal, and when they go back together Sora is complete again.

But in KH1 the only reason Sora was able to maintain his form, was because his Heartless maintained his strong will

Kairi couldn’t have done the same, because as a Princess of Heart she had no darkness, so she couldn’t have had a heartless form

so if Sora’s Heart = Sora

Sora’s Body+Soul = Roxas

Kairi’s Heart = Inside Sora’s Heart

Kairi’s Body+Soul = An Unconscious Kairi

So literally what is left of Kairi to make Namine?

Consider that Kairi has one thing that Sora does not have, a Heart with a Pure Light inside of her, and not just any Pure Light, the thing that makes her a Princess of Heart, and as of KH3, this Pure Light, one of seven Pure Lights, can and do move on to different princesses

The princess from KH1 are the old holder’s of the Pure Lights, the Pure Lights moved on to different princesses in KH3, while the originals still remain full beings pure of heart even without the Pure Lights, the Pure Lights are just a special thing that exists within them that can be passed on to others

but in KH3′s Kairi’s Pure Light stays within her Pure Heart, now why would that be?

A Pure Light, one that specifically cannot exist inside a heart filled with Darkness

Consider that, way back in KH1, when Kairi’s Heart first entered Sora. Sora had Darkness in his heart just being a normal dude, and the Pure Light could no coexist within it

So when Kairi’s heart enters Sora’s, the Pure Light crosses through Sora’s heart and then is ejected somewhere else, Castle Oblivion, and then continues to exist, as Namine

Consider that even though KH1 says Namine and Roxas started to exist at the same time, when Sora Released his Heart and became a Heartless,

We see Roxas’s origins, and he’s a complete zombie, barely existing at the start of Days

and yet Namine the first we see of her in Chain of Memories, seems to have already existed and already gained her own desires and feelings by the time CoM has even started

The whole game is put into motion, because Namine was manipulated into changing up memories to become friends with Sora and Riku

When you consider the timeline with Days, that would have to mean in a very short period of time

Namine would have to appear in Castle Oblivion, be found by Org 13, grow enough of a personality to want things, specifically, the feeling of loneliness, demonstrate her power to change memories in some way, and be manipulated into starting the plot of Chain of Memories, all while Roxas is still basically a zombie

To me, it just makes more sense to say that Namine existed at an earlier point than Roxas did

All this together, I believe Namine is what happened when Kairi’s Pure Light got dipped into Sora’s Memories way back at the start of KH1

and since as of Days we know a full heart can be seeded by nothing but a sprinkling of scattered memories as it’s origins, Namine’s Heart must have grown the same way

Also, it explains why Namine’s so pure white themed and has blonde hair, that can’t really be explained by a connection to Sora’s heart, because he’s a brunette, and even Ventus’s/Roxas’s hair isn’t as Light as Namine’s

But wait you say, A Pure Light can’t make a person, there’s nothing of substance to even make anything there

But DiZ himself explains that Namine is a special nobody, less then a nobody, less then nothing, the most fleeting of all the fleeting shadows

and then yknow, Vanitas is a thing

If all Vanitas is, is a manifestation of Ventus’s Darkness torn apart from him

Then why couldn’t Namine be a manifestation of Kairi’s Pure Light?

Consider also, that of all the people who could be said to be a part of another person, or a special other half, Vanitas and Namine are the only ones given special unique true names, when everyone else, even Xion, is given an anagrammed X name, from “No. i”

and they are the only beings that come with their own unique color schemes, specifically Black for Dark Vanitas, and White for Light Namine

and the only beings that have unique special powers stemming from their unique origins

Vanitas powers over dark emotions, stemming from how the darkness in hearts contain their negative emotions

Namine with her powers over memories, because shared memories are the pieces of light inside hearts that connect different hearts to each other

and then the final nail in the coffin for me, is during the prologue for KH Union X, when Kairi’s Grandmother is telling baby Kairi about the legends of the age of fairytales, when she gets to the part about talking about the “Pure Lights that exist in the hearts of Children” remaking the world

Namine’s Theme starts playing, ever so briefly, even though Namine is nowhere pictured in this scene or has anything to do with this story

Except, if you consider her Origins as a being made from a Pure Light

https://youtu.be/z6NVTZlqw1k?list=PLPCJnwphQDQcJOkD9OsmxxMHX7YHE4WP2&t=70

and since Namine is still within Kairi for all of KH3, Kairi’s “Pure Light” remains within her as well

So that’s my theory and I’m sticking with it

Namine is thematically and symbolically basically the full opposite of what Vanitas is

A dark flavored Sora made from ripping all the darkness out of a person’s heart

and a light flavored Kairi made from the Pure Light inside Kairi being ejected from a person’s heart

but while Ventus becomes half a being without vanitas, since the darkness is part of his own Heart, Namine can exist outside of Kairi, both being full beings of their own, since the Pure Light is something external that Kairi’s heart held onto for a time, and is something that she can live without *EDIT*

one last thing as well, to do with how Kairi went from Radiant Garden to Destiny Islands and how Namine ended up in Castle Oblivion when she was first born

when BBS Sleep came out, Kairi met Aqua and Aqua cast a spell on her saying “One day when you’re in trouble, the Light within you will lead you to the Light of another”

and people were content to assume this means Aqua is the reason Kairi ended up in Destiny Island’s one day since the spell took her to see Sora/Riku the keyblade duh

but then, Melody of Memory came out, and it was revealed that actually Terra-Xehanort purposefully kidnapped Kairi as a child and he sent her directly to Destiny Islands

so then, what was the point of Aqua’s magic spell?

well, for one, it was cast on “The Light” within Kairi, which this theory posits went on to become Namine

and well, Namine as the Pure Light had to end up at Castle Oblivion one way or another when she was first ejected from Sora and Kairi’s Hearts right?

So what if when Destiny Island’s fell to darkness, and Kairi’s heart went inside Sora, That’s when Aqua’s spell triggered for the Light Inside Kairi, and it sent that Pure Light to another “light” one that Aqua knew: Ventus!

Who at this point was sleeping inside the transformed land of Departure aka Castle Oblivion

Therefore, when Namine was “Born”, Aqua’s spell triggered and she landed somewhere near Ventus’s hidden room in Castle Oblivion

Ta-Dah!

~Things mean one thing in the present, and mean a different thing in the future!~

[beastenraged]

What are the favorite Dream Eaters of the Keyblade Wielders?

Hmmm, I don't know about favorites...but I have paired the Keyblade Wielders with Dream Eaters that I think they would like and fit the playstyles I've imagined/pieced together for them.

Riku and Sora, of course, start with Komory Bat and Meow Wow. I'm not touching that perfection.

Here are the others, with some explanation (I have excluded the Foretellers on purpose, I don't know enough about them in canon to guess):

Kairi- Tama Sheep. They’re also a beginning Spirit, like Komory Bat and Meow Wow to match that theme. Also, use Light and Physical like Kairi. Strong Sleep powers that seriously steal your time away (like a year of one girl’s life, maybe?)

Ventus- Pegaslick. Light focused Spirits. Also has wings that remind me of Ventus’ Wingblades. Airborne buddies!

Aqua- Iceguin Ace. These babies freeze me up like no other, perfect assholes. Fits well with Aqua’s Blizzard magic and dance-like fighting style. Plus, Happy Feet. Penguins dance. 

Terra- Drill Sye. Hate these bastards, they hit hard and dig holes to get away from you. Terra also hits hard and uses Earth magic. Both Strong and Beef. 

Eraqus- Cera Terror. Reminds me of Terra, much like Cera Terror reminds me of Drill Sye. Strong Light and Physical focus, like Eraqus’ fight. 

Lauriam- Woeflower. Flowers like Marluxia. Also, works by debuffing and poisoning to match up with Marluxia’s style of using Doom magic debuffs in canon. 

Strelitzia- Wheeflower. Flowers again. Buffs and heals, a perfect match to help with Lauriam’s Woeflower. Meant for a future team-up that never got to happen. 

Elrena- Electricorn. I keep getting run over by these things like how Larxene kept running me over in Chain of Memories. Electric and spikey, like Larxene’s knives. 

Skuld- Staggerceps. See, I don’t actually have a lot of thoughts on how Skuld would fight (outside of my Starpoints AU which is inherently VERY different from canon anyway, on purpose). So I thought I would give her a bug, a sturdy bug that can back her up as all her friends leave her. I considered giving her a Ghostablocky, to symbolize how she’s seemingly vanished from the narrative but that might be too mean. 

Ephemer- Cyber Yog. Is a goat, like how Ephemer is The Goat. Comes from a Noble Fantasy much like how Ephemer is a NOBLE in of himself for founding Scala. Shoots lasers from its horns. Much like how Ephemer shot a laser through Player’s heart. 

Brain- Halbird. Brain just has strong BIRD vibes to me, okay? Light focused like the Keyblade Brain wields, big enough to ride to see what the world looks like from above (to see what lies ahead, like in a certain book). 

Roxas- Ryu Dragon. Roxas has always has strong dragon connections in my mind, due to fighting Xion’s monster form which looks like a knight. Also, uses Fire magic, my boy Roxas loves fire magic (like his friend Axel). 

Axel/Lea- Tatsu Blaze. Color like Lea’s hair and uses FIRE. Yes, perfect. 

Xion- Fishbone. This Dream Eater constantly falls apart...like a certain person. Strong Water powers like XIon’s connection w/ sea shells and the ocean. Balances out her buddies’ Fire focused Spirits (also easily vanished away due to that. Who would believe that a Water Powerhouse would be friends with two Fire Powerhouses? :( )

Extras:

Xehanort- Skelterwild. Focuses on Blizzard magic much like we’ve see Xehanort himself do in his cutscenes. Also, has the form of a T-Rex which could prey on a a certain triceratops shaped Spirit...like Eraqus’ Cera Terror. 

Vanitas- as himself, but if I haaad to....Toximander. Let him poison everyone, have a Spirit so completely different from Ventus’. 

[warsmith-38]

How I would do Kingdom Hearts 3 pt.2

Aqua’s crusade has started in Vanitas’ wake.

She has actual planning and strategy to her attacks, as opposed to Vanitas’ wild flailing.

Less volatilely dangerous, but harder hitting in general.

The good guys convene at Yen Sid’s tower.

The egg heads put their egg heads together and come up with a plan to deal with Aqua.

They plan to, in this particular order, do everything they can think of to find Terra’s heart/mind, revive Roxas, sabotage Aqua’s defenses, defeat her, purify her, and then go out for hushpuppies.

That’s when Sora brings up the badass empty suit of armor wielding a keyblade he fought.

Everyone ask him why the holy hell he didn’t bring it up until now.

He didn’t know it was relevant.

Let’s just remind ourselves that Sora isn’t the sharpest tool in the toolshed.

Trinity Trio heads to the Keyblade Graveyard.

They find the Lingering Will.

They ask him if he’s Terra, if he knows Aqua, et cetera.

He says yes.

They tell him what’s been happening.

He tells them to send Aqua to him, he will sort her out.

He will be waiting in the meantime.

That’s that dealt with.

Trinity Trio and Riku + Mickey head to Radiant Garden to see if they can knock Roxas loose.

Kairi gives Sora and Riku a massive hug hello.

She’s been training her ass off this whole time.

She’s a little disappointed at missing her shot at Vanitas and wishes Aqua wasn’t the new problem.

Can’t do nothing about that right now though.

Even has repaired the restoration machine.

He has more fail safes set up this time.

Y’know, just in case.

Sora, apprehensively, goes into the pod again.

The process starts, Kairi takes her shot, smoke, and the process plays out as it should.

Sora walks out of the right pod this time.

The second one opens up and out walks Roxas.

Xion, Sora, and Lea all embrace him.

Roxas is brought up to speed, kicks Isa in the gut, and is ready to help as much as he can.

It is decided that keeping him away from Aqua proper is probably a good idea due to the nebulous connection to Ventus.

Keeping Aqua from getting more insanely pissed is a good thing.

The plan is for people to get to work testing and wearing down Aqua’s defenses, get a clean run at her, and then send in Terra for the coup de grace.

No rest for the weary.

Fifth World! (Technically this would be Sora’s fourth regular world since Twilight Town was special with Riku’s doings in The Realm of Darkness fitting as the proper ‘fourth world’ level, but whatever the fuck)

Aqua has taken control of all Heartless and is setting up ‘outposts’ on the various worlds.

Changes certain contexts in the world, but the general sequence is the same.

Go to world, meddle were you shouldn’t, fight Heartless, fight world boss who will either be a Disney villain and/or a big heartless fitting the theme of the world, and solve world problem.

We know how it is.

Sixth World!

It goes as it does.

Trinity Trio encounter Aqua working in the field.

Aqua happily greets her ‘apprentice’.

If she cares or is even aware that Sora is her enemy, she doesn’t quite let on.

Sora tries to reason with her because, while he doesn’t shirk when someone’s gotta go, he does think that if there’s a chance to save someone he should take it.

Aqua tells him that what she is doing is justifiable due to her end goals.

Ends justify the means, et cetera.

Sora tells her about Terra, or rather, the Lingering Will.

Aqua becomes enraged at Sora’s ‘deception’.

Terra is totally dead and Sora is bullshitting her because he’s a corrupted little bitchboy that wants to trick her, kill her, and take Ven for himself.

What would Sora even do with Ventus? Probably talk a bit or play a game or some shit. But Aqua is at the height of her paranoid delusions.

She summons a Primal Heartless and leaves.

World boss gets beaten and Trinity Trio moves on.

Seventh world.

Goes as normal except for the end.

Sora has a rematch against Maleficent, hoping that this will get her to finally get the freaking hint that she’s out of her weight class and has been for a few games now.

Point of view switch to Kairi.

She, Xion, and Namine have been working together as a Trio of their own.

Rather, Xion’s been doing the heavy lifting, Kairi’s been hitting as much as she can, and Namine is their Jiminy.

Namine wishes she could help fight, but she’s very much relegated to support and non-combat.

(This sure sounds like a proto-form of a future game that I will not be covering because I don’t want to)

They just finished clearing out stuff on some unspecified world and are heading back to Radiant Garden to rest and recoup a little.

They go their separate ways for their respective resting rituals.

Kairi takes a moment to walk through a flower garden, alone.

She’s getting some feelings about her memories.

Not quite full flashbacks, but more than nothing.

She hears someone approaching.

It’s Vanitas.

He’s rather pissed at having to put himself into Sora’s discarded replica body.

He’s considerably weaker than he was a few worlds ago.

He’s got his own power, but not Sora’s baddassery.

He wanted Ven’s pure heart in order to create the X-blade.

He’s now decided that it would be easier to use a Princess of Heart instead.

Kairi’s first playable section in the game is a boss fight.

It’s one of those win/lose type fights.

Either way Xion and Roxas show up to back Kairi.

Vanitas is warded off, leaving a handful of Unversed in his wake.

Xion and Roxas are distracted by the Unversed while Kairi chases after Vanitas.

Sequence with Kairi fighting through the streets against the Unversed.

She catches up to Vanitas in an alley that’s conveniently sized for a boss fight.

Kairi vs. Vanitas.

Vanitas is less powerful than he understands and Kairi is more powerful than he knows.

Not to mention that she’s able to use pure light based attacks on a being that’s almost entirely darkness.

Even then, Kairi just barely manages to defeat him.

She destroys his keyblade in the process.

Vanitas freaks out and leaves.

Kairi passes out and is found by Namine.

When she wakes up, everyone gives her a big pat on the back for actually beating Vanitas.

No one really thought she could do it.

She herself didn’t even think so until she actually did it.

Granted Vanitas was nowhere near as powerful as he was at the start of this mess, and due to the trauma of being forced into a weaker body had some other side effects.

Still impressive.

Sora and Riku rush in, worried to hell and back.

They are super relieved that Kairi is alive and as well as proud of her progress that she managed her first proper solo win.

Not as much progress as they’d hope on the Aqua front has been made though.

That’s when an explosion happens in an upper tower and a black shadow vacates the building.

Everyone rushes to see Xehanort passed out on the floor.

When he wakes up he corrects them.

It’s Xemnas.

He was attacked by Vanitas.

Vanitas torn his heart from his body to grab…something.

Vanitas got what he wanted, left, and Ansem Seeker of Darkness popped back into existence.

So…now they all have that to deal with.

Tracking programs and other scientific readings see that the Heartless are infighting to a harsh degree.

Many worlds are being wrecked in the crossfire.

Everyone comes together to take out Ansem ASAP because that’s yet another massive fucking problem and they can only mentally stomach one at a time.

He hasn’t gone full swing just yet, so they have a grace period to hit him before it gets too difficult.

Destiny and Disney Trios, the full Restoration Committee, and the former organization get ready to attack.

They all get going and get some déjà vu.

The difference is that it’s big ass Primal Heartless vs. big ass Emblem Heartless instead of Unversed.

Ansem shows up to taunt them before going back to duking it out with Aqua.

This is a bigger conflict than anyone is comfortable with.

The fighting starts and the good guys do a not insignificant amount of damage.

Not enough damage though.

The good guys are overwhelmed and almost killed outright.

Then a light shines out.

A light from the Keyblade Graveyard.

Terra got off his ass when the battle reached his ears.

The Lingering Will starts Sauron-ing through the Heartless.

Aqua thinks this is another trick.

That’s not Terra or Terra’s spirit. It’s a walking lie. The lies of everyone else have manifested into a living thing to attack her in the shape of her dead friend’s armor.

11+ years in Hell people, give the poor woman a break.

The Lingering Will finds everyone.

He is happy to see Ventus back in action.

Roxas corrects him.

LW then says that if Roxas isn’t Ven, then they need to find Ven and get his help stopping Aqua.

Best they can tell him is that Ven is in Castle Oblivion where Aqua is “Keeping him safe,” from nebulous danger.

LW will distract the Heartless as need be, they need to go get Ven.

He asks Riku to aid him in this, seeing them as the two best large scale heavy hitters.

He agrees.

Kairi takes The Restoration Committee sans the organizers back to Radiant Garden for medical attention.

Trinity Trio, Sea Salt Trio, Mickey, Namine, and the organizers head to Castle Oblivion.

Eighth World! Castle Oblivion.

Without anything fucking with his head, Sora can appreciate the architecture.

No memory trip, but there are some twists and turns.

And Heartless.

After everyone tears through the garrison, they find the Chamber of Waking.

Ven is sitting where Aqua left him. Unaging and unmoving.

After a brief scene of attempts to wake him up, Ven’s heart finds its way back to him and he wakes up.

Ven, in a phrase, freaks the fuck out.

There’s this Vanitas looking dude, a few old friends and people he once met but who are now older, and a dude that looks just like him but isn’t.

It doesn’t take a fight to calm him down, but he was freaking out quite a bit.

They catch him up to speed right in time for Ansem to show up.

Everyone, sans the Trinity Trio, get tied up against Heartless.

Trinity Trio get a long time missing rematch against Ansem.

Gameplay says they beat him.

In regards to the story, they’re still fighting him when LW kicks Aqua into the room. Riku comes in too.

Aqua is close to being a ravening monster.

Seeing Ven awake snaps her back to reality, but seeing Roxas, Braig, and such, shoots her back into her delusional lunacy.

Now she gets her boss fight.

LW and Riku fight Ansem and The Guardian.

Aqua fights her ‘apprentice’ and his duck and dog.

Corrupted keyblade masters aren’t the easiest thing to beat.

This is definitively a rookie killer fight.

Have you learned and mastered the combat mechanics? No? Then you’re going to be here for a while.

Aqua pulls no punches.

But, because video game boss, Sora wins.

Aqua still has enough power to keep Sora busy though.

LW and Ven kick Ansem’s ass, destroy The Guardian, and Riku gets the final blow on Ansem.

Ansem has some final words of wisdom, basically the same as canon KH3.

“There is more to seek, so go forth now and seek it,”

Due to the power of friendship and other powers, Terra’s heart ejects from The Guardian and into LW.

Abracadabra, he also gets a new body because friendship magic.

Terra is back.

This is what finally calms Aqua down enough for her to see reason.

Terra and Ven plead with her to, please, for the love of everything holy, just fucking stop.

She does so, and they purge the darkness from within her.

She’s back to normal.

All’s well that ends well.

But sudden…

Vanitas pops out of nowhere and cheap shots the severely exhausted and drained Sora.

Sora crystalizes and breaks just like a certain someone else in canon KH3.

Vanitas shows off that he’s wielding the No Name now.

That was what he ripped out of Xehanort’s heart earlier.

So, in total, he has an ancient and powerful keyblade, his natural darkness gives him the command of a massive army of Emblem Heartless, Pureblood Heartless, and his own Unversed, and the only people who can stop him are all exhausted with what he considered the biggest hurdle in his way now dead.

He tries to use Ven to create the X-blade then and there, but finds that, with Sora repairing his heart, a natural amount of darkness was re-added to Ven.

He’s now only as pure as Sora, which is still pretty fucking pure, but not 100%.

Yeah…

He then teleports away like a cunt.

Everyone reacts to this turn of events in reasonable and calm ways of course I’m kidding they all freak the fuck out.

Organization 2-12 start yelling at each other trying to find a way to fix this.

Roxas and Xion break down, feeling like part of themselves just died (Which it kind of did).

The Wayfinders lament that it’s just one damn thing after another.

Riku is quiet, juggling his own shock with ruing the fact that he has to tell Kairi.

The panic quickly wears off and the grief sets in.

The return to Radiant Garden is morose to say the least.

Kairi comes to see people back again.

She can instantly tell something is wrong.

Then she realizes that Sora’s not with them.

Riku doesn’t have to say anything.

Kairi falls into his arms and wails in sorrow.

Radiant Garden holds a memorial that night.

A great lament is heard throughout the world.

Scratch that, worlds.

Sora had a lot of friends everywhere.

All are sorrowful to hear what happened.

After an appropriate time of grieving, everyone has to get back to work.

[snowflake-of-destruction]

any fun, or maybe 'deleted scene' from Grass is Greener headcanons or scenes?

Let’s talk about Thanksgiving! Not quite a deleted scene, but probably something I won’t write now that the day is past. I had the idea/desire to write Thanksgiving themed GiG One-shots yesterday...in the middle of Thanksgiving when it was already too late (or seeming like it at least) to actually sit down and write them after cooking/eating/cleaning/lingering family time. 

1) The first one was going to be Roxas and Isa house. They would be hosting a family Thanksgiving, possibly the first year that they had completely taken over to be The Thanksgiving for all family, or maybe they had been The Thanksgiving before but it’s still a big deal that everything be perfect even more than it usually is for already perfectionist Isa and elaborate-planner-because-I-can’t-stand-to-be-bored Roxas. I hadn’t gotten as far as really thinking through whether either or both of Roxas and Ventus’s parents** stopped by, and Isa’s family were going to be staying with them over the holiday weekend, adding to stress, but they were also going to be made up on the spot. Ventus and Xion are definitely there and they bring a dish or two that are a combination of nostalgic and yet absolutely painful to include in the carefully constructed menu, something like sweet potato casserole made with canned yams and mini marshmallows and also some kind of veggie casserole with ritz cracker crust, both in dishes that clash with other servingware--and obviously that way on purpose. 

Axel and Kairi were going to be coming over for dinner. They had just been planning to do something small at Axel’s, just them and Demyx...and then somehow Demyx’s bandmates got invited. Their parents are off on some Counter-Thanksgiving getaway weekend and  Vanitas is (supposedly) flying out to his parents’ and told Kairi he thought it was best if she didn’t come, despite the fact that they are trying to reconcile and Kairi is in her feelings despite being the one that wanted a divorce. Roxas made an insistent invitation. Axel was reluctant but convinced. Isa questioned it even though Roxas framed it as inviting Kairi and Axel as an afterthought, but somehow was convinced idk how. 

So, the basic wants for this one-shot were:

Axel helping Roxas put finishing touches on something in the kitchen and reassure him everything is wonderful, and there just being this small, quiet moment in the middle of the domestic moment where it clicks how deep these feelings have gotten

In fun counter-balance, there would have also been a moment of Axel charming Isa’s parents and getting along so well with them that Isa is impressed and then realizes that it’s not exactly a detached, clinical feeling, which is made worse when one of the parents makes some kind of well-meaning/offhand remark to him in private about how relaxed he seems with Axel or something.

Some kind of heartwarming sibling moments

Roxas walking in on Kairi kissing Xion when the girls volunteered to grab dessert from the kitchen, and just being angry about them trying to ruin dinner/vowing to deal with it later, because he has enough going on with dinner, the parents, his own juggling and conflicted emotions, the suspicion he has about Axel and Isa after seeing them exchange a look at dinner, and he can’t get into their drama right now. . 

2) Big Xehaqus family meal. I didn’t have much planned for this one.Just Xehanort and Eraqus, with their kids. Aqua (and Terra) , Xemnas, and Ansem. Family fluff or drama. 

3) Sora and Riku dinner, which would be a ridiculous feast to feed far more than the number of people present. The real twist here is that Vanitas has not flown to see his parents. In a plot Shaky and I had discussed before and was supposed to unfold in the background at a slower/more natural pace, he is adopted, has known it for awhile, but in a move of trying to work out feelings/issues from his past, he's been trying to find blood relatives to add to his identity in his mind...and so tracked down Sora who is either a half sibling maybe or just a cousin or something. They were emailing and so he was invited for Thanksgiving (the only question here is how Sora wouldn't know the name Vanitas  and immediately already know or suspect he’s Kairi’s Vanitas. I mean, probably he’d only think it was happy fate, HOWEVER I don’t see him A. Not warning Riku, especially knowing that he has been counseling Kairi and Vanitas B. Not inviting Kairi along too in a misguided attempt that thinks it’s better if everyone talked)

THESE WERE JUST PASSING THOUGHTS YESTERDAY, SO, OTHER THAN SOME THINGS LIKE VANITAS AND SORA BEING BLOOD RELATED AND KNOWING IT WILL COME OUT SOMETIME WHEN IT’S MOST LIKELY TO LEAD TO AWKWARDNESS AND MELODRAMA, THE CANON-NESS OF THIS ALL IS DUBIOUS.

[mcalhenwrites]

I’ll be taking a hiatus from social media aside from a few exceptions, but I had a sudden KH theory come to mind involving Roxas and the MoM! I’m going to be 100% wrong, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to theorize. Theory: the Master of Masters looks like an older version of Ventus (and Roxas looks like Ven). Roxas duel-wields because of being a combination of Ven and Sora, but iirc, Nomura said there are some huge reveals about Roxas later, and we saw Roxas' symbol on multiple worlds in KH3 (Which is the "4" in KH numerals) as well as the "7" in worlds within KH3 (on the Leviathan and in Scala), which I think pertains to the "7 lights" theme in the series. Not only that, but the credits of Back Cover play “The Other Promise” and “Another Side, Another Story” - which also plays during the secret Yozora ending of KH3. I’ve noticed other instances where the music is relevant, and I’m wondering if this is no coincidence.  I have some weird “what if Ven’s like a clone of MoM” theory that branches off of this, but there might be another explanation.  MoM is still his own character, but he’s older in every way, including his appearance. And maybe Ven, Roxas, and the box, are all parts of some way he returns. I also still believe there’s more to Naminé, including how she obtained the power she has with memories. I think the Darkness still hiding in Ven that Sora encounters in the DLC has leaked into her, too, and she’s not just the nobody that came from Kairi’s heart when Sora became a Heartless, but she and Roxas also have been influenced by that hidden Darkness.  I theorized the bit about Naminé before the last KHUX update, and that update may have contradicted or strengthened my suspicions either way. Ven might just have lost bits of memories from trauma, but it’s also possible that Darkness didn’t just fool Ven by appearing as Ava, they may have altered some of his memories. Maybe it stored them in a separate “compartment” of the heart, and that compartment later transferred to Vanitas, who cannot fully access it. (I’ve heard that in one of the KH3 novels, Vanitas apparently has vague memories of KHUX but can’t really identify what they are?) Maybe the box contains MoM’s heart, and the MoM we see in some scenes (including the one Xehanort meets) is nothing more than a glamour meant to carry out certain acts before disappearing. When the box, Luxu, and the Foretellers (minus Ava) reunite, their memories are what are needed to bring him back. You need a heart and those who remember you to bring you to that time, right? Listen, my brain doesn’t grasp time travel very well, so I have to confirm that’s what’s going on here. 

Maybe the box also contains specific memories MoM has, a way he’s compartmentalized them. Perhaps Ven was a decoy for Darkness, and he needed to look convincing, because MoM poses a great threat to Darkness, but MoM wasn’t quite strong enough for him yet. Keyblade wielders during the keyblade war during Chi were “weeded out”, the Dandelions were supposed to bring about a greater age of those who held and maintained the light. Everyone was too weak during the Age of Fairy Tales, including the Master himself, and he had to hide away and wait for generations to pass before there would be enough guardians of light strong enough... and Roxas is one of them.  Enough to defeat Darkness for good. And maybe MoM wasn’t being silly when he said he was too afraid to take off the coat that protects him from darkness, even if that MoM is just a glamour echoing what the real MoM would say. He can’t afford to take it off. Even his glamour has to be undetectable to the Darkness for now. ...This sounds stupid now that I type it out, but I can’t wait for more updates on story to strengthen or weaken or totally annhilate my theories and give me fodder for new ones. 

[raguna-blade]

So, listening to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQqY7s1-pyo], and that got me thinking about Kingdom Hearts again as occasionally is the case. I’m still a bit steamed about 3 for one reason or another, and probably i should get the DLC down the line, maybe when/if I do a full series dive again since As i’ve kinda gone through it it’s occurred to me that i’ve been 1: Giving it an unfair shake due to personal disappointments, and 2: Giving it an unfair shake because god, please lord the story isn’t (when you get down to it) that complicated but these twists and nonsense make things really obnoxious and hard to track the themes and stuff which I think it does a good job on honestly but it makes it so hard to track sometimes i swear.

But this isn’t about that.

This is a fanfic idea, following the post game of Kingdom Hearts 3 and the idea is simple enough.

Sora falls into the Persona 5 setting, and ends up joining (or at least working with) the phantom thieves.

Including A Persona!

Including A Sweet Rebellion Outfit!

It’s Vanitas!

Wait, hold on.

So the general idea here is again, Sora ends up in the persona 5 world and ends up mucking around with that plotline. If anything, Persona 5R especially is probably a good fit for this considering Maruki and his goings on.

But really setting wise I dig the idea because first off the creatures in the heart of mankind are basically Heartless, Unversed, and Nobodies all kind of rolled up into one. One might make the argument if the worlds are supposed to be completely compatible that Persona’s are basically filling up the last part of the triangle of things that exist with Hearts/Heartless, Bodies/Nobodies, and Souls/Personas.

That last may seem a bit fuzzy since the Link doesn’t seem super straightforward, but it seems to be that the Soul in KH is an animating force in part but also keenly tied to thoughts.

Which lines up fantastically with Persona and Shadows! They’re basically entities made up OF thoughts really when you come down to it. Thoughts and feelings shape how they act, effect the world in general, and in great numbers and concentrations create absurd entities that are a sort of crystalized idea for good or ill.

So I think that part links up well enough yeah.

But what ends up happening though? Well for the moment, the general vibe is this. Sora, now set adrift and kinda just vibing out between worlds and of course desperately trying to cling onto something ends up losing his memories. Well...Not quite losing his memories so much as, he is incredibly damaged by the absolute clownery that he pulled at the end of KH3. That shit is not without consequences, and the fact that he’s not just hot erased really speaks to both Sora’s keen ability to do things that really shouldn’t be doable as well his other critical feature of being able to befriend basically everyone and everything if they’re willing to at least take a step along with him.

Enter Rage Form and Enter Vanitas.

Now I could probably do a whole thing about how Rage Form is essentially Sora tapping into the Powers of Darkness and yet not absolutely getting lost in the sauce like everyone else and why that is...And I will actually, you cannot stop me.

So my going theory in regards to using darkness in Kingdom Hearts is that Using Darkness is, as literally everyone points out, Absurdly Wickedly Dangerous...It is not, however, inherently evil as the games kinda make it out to be. We’ve seen several people use it without going full super villain, and indeed one of the major series leads Makes copious use of Dark Power.

The Problem with Darkness is that well...I guess the way to put it is, Darkness is basically concentrated Heart in a sense. It amps up E V E R Y T H I N G, to dangerous dangerous levels, and if you aren’t paying attention it will cause you to hop off the slippery slope in a hurry because you have to do the thing and you don’t feel any different so it’s obviously not effecting your mind. And it doesn’t precisely, effect your mind and make you evil....But it does cause you to lose restraint, to more or less give into passions to absurd dangerous extents that you may as WELL be evil.

Take Riku for example. He’s probably the clearest cleanest example because he has a whole arc with it, but fundamentally when he starts using darkness it doesn’t exactly make him start being an evil jerk it makes him do the exact same thing he was doing before (looking for his friends, looking for sora and kairi and trying to wake up Kairi especially at the time) and kind of not think, to not consider things that are patently obvious because it doesn’t jive with what he’s feeling at the time.

Basically Darkness (as I think is said at some point? but certainly implied) causes hearts to rage out of control and if you’re dumb with it, if you’re not highly extremely cognizant of this fact you absolutely are going to lose it.

Back to Rage Form, back to Anti Form. Anti Form first actually, and then we can go into Rage form.

See Anti form when it was a thing explicitly was never a thing Sora really had control over. It occurred with Drives yes, but it was always an accident (and notably get’s cancelled out when you fuse with Roxas in the Final Form but another thing) which tracks with the general antics going on with it. It nukes your drive gauge (which let’s you fuse with Donald and Goofy) and it’s actually rather weak on it’s own, in no small part because part of Sora’s whole thing is series wide is obsessively IGNORING how frustrated and angry and all that he is.

Kid has no idea how to actually use his rage in a constructive useful way. As a result, antiform while edgy and possessing some interesting qualities, isn’t really actually all that useful for untrained still stupidly uncannily powerful Sora (Like...I know it’s probably a whole other discussion but I kinda feel like the games both underplay how ridiculous Sora actually is while still at least kinda nodding at the fact that yeah this Kid has single handedly absolutely and somewhat literally decimated every single foe he has come across with disgusting ease? No one takes him seriously and then he’s basically breaking you across his knee, it’s hilarious)

But Rage Mode...? Rage Mode is actually QUITE handy. Offer’s a quick health boost, lots of teleport shenanigans (combo wise yes but hey) offer’s a move to get stronger at risk of health and is an emergency save both in game and story, and while the exact reasoning that he has it is never stated outright, I think it’s also fair to say that Sora as of 3 Is both Coming to grips with the frankly Absurd amount of bullshit that is laid at his feet when he really just wants to chill out with his friends and fuck off for a while (It’s a little unmentioned since Sora spends a large amount of time knocked the hell out but I’m pretty sure from his POV it’s been like the most hellish year possible)

Rage mode is Sora acknowledging the bullshit of his life and actively using it to do things and accomplish his goals, which at the time were basically beat the living hell out of heartless, nobodies and Xehanort (13 times)

It’s an active deal with darkness that may yet actually have severe consequences, but for Fic purposes, we connect from Rage Mode to Vanitas.

Now Vanitas is, for whatever else he may be (and the Unversed Certainly are weird), still a part of both Ventus and Sora’s heart. His Mirroring of Sora appearance wise (and indeed being the opposite of him in that While he may work with others he is decisively something of a loner I think, to contrast Sora’s Friends Everywhere thing).

And I thought, personally, when he was fading away at the end of KH3 that there was something of a lost opportunity. Vanitas was perfectly happy being Darkness, whatever that may exactly mean. But hey, if we’re going with my idea that Darkness=Heart Unrestrained here, then I think it’s not unreasonable to track what’s going on here.

Ventus and Sora both got extremely raw deals, and Vanitas unlike them was able to express that anger, rage, and just...Immense seething I suppose. Taken as a whole really, that’s more or less what his role WAS, to be the outrageous out of control fury of Ventus and Sora, targeting everything that hurt them which, frankly, was pretty much everyone and everything constantly (to say nothing of whatever is going down with the Mobile game for ventus who apparently is involved there so that’s you know...Not helping)

Vanitas being Satisfied as the Darkness of Sora and Ventus (and of course his own being) tracks then. He really would be fine kicking it because he was spent basically. Those two had more or less at that point burned out the rage and fury and overwhelming emotions, had brought it to heel, had taken it under control and all that.

But I can’t imagine Sora willingly letting someone fade like that. It’s not that he’s soft, or won’t put down bad guys. He absolutely will and does. I don’t think he’ll be happy about it, but he’ll do it, and I think if he has any idea of what’s gone down with Ventus and Vanitas he would be willing to, if the opportunity arose, basically give Vanitas a place to crash for all intents and purposes.

So. Remember when I said Sora has a Persona, a Rebellion Suit, and that it was Vanitas?

Part of the entire thing with Persona is, in fact, dealing with your shadow self. Shown primarily with dealing with negative aspects of yourself, but it involves all untapped aspects of you right?

Vanitas is a near perfect Shadow of Sora, being about as far on the opposite side of the spectrum as you can get. Arrogant, Self Absorbed, Callous, Lonely, yeah? But also, genuinely skilled and powerful, more than capable of reading others, and a solid lone operator. And thus, as a Shadow of Sora he’s basically perfect for a kid who is now on his own.

But Persona’s aren’t shadows precisely. I mean they literally are, but they’re shadows put to purpose, controlled, a specific mask put forward to the world to deal with it.

And Sora right now, alone, forcibly separated from his loved ones again, and much more permanently this time, turns to someone who he took in in his heart for perhaps not kinship at least commiseration. And Vanitas in turn responds in kind. Sora’s a nice kid but he’s not really properly in touch with the darker aspects of himself. This is a problem, not because ooooooo you gotta have darkness edge edge edge, but more because Sora has already USED darkness before. At the time it was safe enough because he was focused had a goal and all that.

But Now? Oh now Sora is basically in a situation where he might reasonably reach out for those dark powers and he is not in the right headspace to try and do that safely 1 and 2 I don’t think genuinely has a good enough grasp of his own less than great inclinations that could lead to him SCREAMING off the slippery slope into bad time junction.

Now Vanitas isn’t really fully doing this out of the kindess of his heart here. He want’s to do what he wants and that’s cause a degree of mayhem, get into fights, just in general kind of fuck off and do his own thing in the same way that Sora does except you know kind of more maliciously (though I genuinely suspect that a Vanitas without an immediate thing to do probably would just kinda...go somewhere and be moody. He seems the type. With a task though well different story, but sans one? And hey, the old man isn’t around to push him around anymore)

So Vanitas functionally becomes his Persona Here, which ties back to the way earlier mentioned point. Sora is a little broken here, but he has a certain understanding of both what’s going on with Tokyo when he get’s there (something stupid is happening at the bottom of mementos involving a heart. Guess it’s Heartless Stomping Time) even if he’s not fully on board with everything because of yet more missing memories, but for the moment, he doesn’t have the full power’s he really had before. He needs to lean on darkness here not just to stay as a whole person, but to also find his way home. And of course, this requires darkness.

Some of you may be seeing the grim and stupid pieces lining up here, so for you, just hold your head in shame and prepare the finger wagging.

So we have vanitas as a persona, more or less. Cool, fine.

And predictably, his rebellion outfit would more or less be a flavoring of Vanita’s armored up form, albeit probably a bit more kingly given Sora’s king motif.

But he’s not a royal here no. He’s looking for something. Going after a thing hidden deep in the darkness.

And as a proper phantom thief needs a code name, Why not call the guy who’s seeking something in the darkness. Why not call him a-

Why not Code Name Seeker for Sora the Phantom Thief eh? eh?

And that’s about the limit of what I got on this idea honestly. I know that Sora is still his lovable goofball self in a general sense, because Edgy Angst Sora isn’t really fun or I think true to the character really, but I think he’d probably be at the very least a touch more bitter than he has been, and perhaps for once in his life, just not feeling making friends at the outset. Up until a problem occurs and he see’s these other kids dealing with both unmitigated bullshit and being absurdly way over their heads.

Also, Yaldabaoth getting his carefully cheated game absolutely derailed, perhaps much sooner letting Maruki do his thing, perhaps letting him do a slower more thorough and less rushed job of things and having the Phantom Thieves + Sora + Akechi Have to deal with it is kind of fun.

Especially since Maruki as Antagonist in this case would be interesting considering probably 1, Akechi would Almost Certainly Be Alive (unambiguously), 2, Haru’s Dad would probably be alive leading to Shido getting his shit wrecked way sooner (I would expect that Haru’s still going to mostly deal with the same general problems given her dad would be in jail albeit still alive. At least in a broad sense, the specifics will very certainly be different), 3, It’d let Akechi get in on the fun of having his “dream” world realized in gaining the phantom thieves as perhaps genuine friends minus at least the baggage of him being the murderer of someone they personally know. He’d still need to atone, and I can’t imagine them letting him off the hook for that, although in the immediate sense absolutely yes they would because Maruki pulling antics (probably more hidden this time I would imagine), and until they fix things at least it’s not like he actually CAN turn himself in because Idealized World is bending over backwards to absolve him which is probably still bullshit in his eyes (He did the crime he’ll do the time damnit!)

And meanwhile Sora is busy dealing with his PTSD basically, while Vanitas crashes on his mind couch and occasionally steers while Sora deals with the mess going on on the inside.

yeah.

Feels good to get that out of the system for the moment.

[kitsoa]

The Duality of Ven

Speculation of a Potential Split-Personality Plot Twist

I’m a big Ventus fan, and Ven’s involvement with Khux has been a maddening scenario for me because a lot of the time, it feels like his role is laying the groundwork for whatever tie-in khux has with the next chapter in the kh saga. He’s an observing force meant to bring the questions to the forefront of the main characters. After all, we’d know what his deal is by now right? 

Well dissatisfaction with that line of thought can probably be traced in the Ven is the Murderer theories that have risen in alarm and it is from there that I found myself captivated with the idea that something major is happening with Ventus in the khux story. And I think it’s gonna hit us upside the head honestly.

This is not a “Ven is the Murderer theory”. I’m actually not in that camp, but if this helps the believers so be it. No, I’m gonna compile my walk through of the idea that Ven’s got a split-personality. And I’m probably gonna walk through my speculation on how that ties in with the logic of the greater plot of khux and the circumstantial evidence left in our understanding of Ven’s future in the series. 

We’ll start from the beginning, analyze Ven’s character, connect that to the process that drives the theory, speculate some details, take a stab as to why and finally glance at some circumstantial hints. You know, a long post.

A Heart Half Dark

The birth of most all of Ventus’ suspicion theories lies in the fact that we have had a glimpse of the exact ratio of dark and light in his heart. The BBS scene shows at least a third of his heart was gouged out but Xehanort’s experiment to create Vanitas. As this is a lot of darkness, the train of thought is to conclude that Ven must be hiding something. It’s the reason Ven’s got a following as a suspect in Strel’s murder. 

I don’t necessarily see this capacity for darkness as indicative of Ven’s guilt of course. But alongside other hints in the narrative, we are forced to consider that this darkness in him is not something to dismiss, both based on Vanitas post-split and the mysteries presented in the age of Fairy tales.

We are in search of this potent darkness. We begin with the evidence of Ven’s personality and we watch the conclusions unfold alongside what I believe are hints at this possibility. 

What is “In-Character”

Ventus does not have a lot of scenes as a complete person which makes this aspect of the analysis something worth returning to, but if I had to make a blanket statement on Ventus’s pre-split personality... it’s that it really didn’t change much at all. 

We’ve known this for a hot minute. In the flashback of Xehanort’s experiment, Ventus is pleading in frightened surrender. He doesn’t believe he is strong enough and he collapses at the impressive threat. This is the image of a frail, sensitive personality that persists post-split. So frail that it makes him weaker than a minority portion of his heart. But say it’s the amnesia. Let’s look at Ventus before the time-jump. 

He is introduced as a lonely, down-on-his-luck key wielder. He is soft spoken. A follower with low self-esteem. This much is true in his very first scene. He doesn’t understand why he was chosen as he does not have excellent rankings. He expresses his wonderment and surprise at the prospect of having friends. 

This pretty much matches up with the short glimpse of pre-split, post-amnesia Ven (uh... the khux amnesia not the trauma amnesia gdi nomura). 

Ventus is timid. So much that when he stands up for a strong belief, it surprises and amuses everyone in the room. Overall, this is not the personality of a selfish, cruel, albeit very troubled dark personality that would eventually create Vanitas. I’ll get into why he may potentially have these strong values and the impressions this entire plot could lead toward in the narrative but let’s parse it down to this.

Ven’s personality doesn’t match up to create Vanitas. It’s too night and day.

Opposing Argument: “It’s an act”

The potential of Ven’s khux personality being an act for the sake of some kind of ruse is troubling for a multitude of reasons. First of all, it’s too good of an act. He’s got the self deprecation and he’s made no suspicious moves or actions for it to be logically foreshadowed. But let’s say he’s as good as he seems-- the only suspicious error he’s made thus far is...

“Failing to read the rulebook”. Which, is a very grave error. Like one that wouldn’t happen with an honest, strategic infiltration. I’ll get back to this exact error later. But if he’s a lying liar, he’d be too good to make this mistake.

Finally, if it’s an act we have a conundrum as to where exactly post-split Ventus’ personality derives from. It’s far too similar to his khux behavior and we know for a fact that post-split Ventus is an honest good boy. That’s his personality, albeit with some childhood amnesia.

Manifestation of Darkness

Khux Ven has darkness, that much is undeniable, but how does it manifest? 

Well it’s worth considering how darkness manifests naturally in a person in kh. Riku is the best example, harboring jealousy, rage, and a lust for power to manifest his darker powers. We also know that loneliness, sadness, and isolation are a form of darkness as seen with Aqua. These are natural and only when those emotions take over do we have the heartless phenomenon and corruption jazz happening. 

So where is Ven’s darkness?

Well, it’s very likely suppressed. Like we are talking more suppressed than Sora’s darkness. Missing Ache is probably the greatest indication of a very real, very crippling habit of shoving one’s bad feelings in box and this is because of the keyblade’s symbolism and history. See, it’s not just there to give him another connection to Roxas. 

Missing Ache is a keyblade from Day’s that Roxas wields and it fits right along with the depressing themes of everything Nobody we’ve become used to. But the name is important. For a Nobody, who doesn’t feel anything-- being unable to feel the heartache of pain is just another reminder of what isn’t there. The keyblade is touting the power of the pain that is missing. A bit of a conundrum for a Nobody but ultimately indicative of their real and growing hearts or even their desire to have hearts (even the pain they come with).

So for Ventus to wield Missing Ache kind of suggests that he’s missing some kind of pain. He’s not feeling something. And knowing that pain often buds darkness we can assume that this missing ache is the very darkness in his heart that we know he harbors. Ven has gone through some things, even before Khux introduced him and that pain has been suppressed in his heart so much that his keyblade reflects that absence. 

Gameplay wise, Missing Ache is a rather dark leaning keyblade in khux from my understanding (this part is not my forte) so that supports it’s name more so than anything. Because when you start pushing down darkness and refusing to feel it or let it pass, it logically finds outlets to escape (think of anti-form and rage form for Sora).

A Darkling Conundrum

As Khux has established, Darklings are Keyblade wielders who have succumbed to darkness. They are basically a heartless variation that is unique in that they have more sentience than a typical heartless with the ability to speak and less mindlessness. They are visually distinct and there have been nods to their appearance in modern examples of keyblade wielders bathed in darkness suggesting a universal darkling transformation process. 

So say, Ventus has been suppressing his darkness big time. It grows and festers, becoming stronger. We don’t know what exacerbates his darkness (though I do think there are hints as to what his shtick is) but it’s probably persisting and we know this isn’t healthy. But it creates a very interesting conundrum.

If Ven’s refusing to feel the pain of his darkness, if he’s rejecting it so much that he’s ignoring it to this point, he’d theoretically be unable to actually succumb to it. It wouldn’t go away, it would just... get stronger. And now his heart has this paradox. Ven should be a Darkling. But he isn’t.

So this is my speculation. Instead, a second personality develops. Ven doesn’t fall to darkness, but the overwhelming strength of the darkness in his heart hijacks his heart and that other self is born. This is basically Ven’s Darkling self. And in a narrative this dark personality will most likely have goals. But Ven basically lives alongside this other personality with a questionable level of awareness of said personality. 

An Enemy Within

A second personality, a heart that is basically a Darkling in human skin, logically wants to act upon the heartless-like instinct we see from the former keykids in the previous entries. And while that is vague at best, it does not see the light favorably and seeks conflict. But the best way to devise the ambitions of Ven’s secret personality we have to wonder what kind of darkness actually created it. 

(the above hilariously compiled by @twilightsthorn on twitter)

And Ven paints that picture very clear. 

Loneliness. 

I speculate that Ven is the product of the Daybreak Town system. We see this with Skuld’s story with Ephemer, and Strelitzia. The keykids of Daybreak Town have this superficial concept of friendship. Making allies to complete missions and moving on without any real friendship or connections. It’s a culture like this that completely ignores someone like Ventus who clearly has not been able to keep a party and feel the connections of friendship. He’s lonely. And that pain’s probably stirred resentment against his fellows and the system. Maybe even Daybreak Town in general.

An Inner Battle. 

So one of the aspects about Ven’s personality is his very strong pacifism. Something that also doesn’t mesh well with the Daybreak Town system or the system that the New Leaders are tasked to put into place.

He reacts dramatically to the concept of PvP. The idea of pointing keyblades at each other is unthinkable. And as I’ve noticed before, his atypical keyblade stance enforces this unwillingness to fight.

By wielding his keyblade in the reverse-grip he is incapable of pointing his keyblade at another. It’s a part of his belief system. A very dedicated. Very honest belief system. Which brings me back to the most suspicious things Ven’s ever done.

The rulebook thing. He specifically ‘fails’ to read the passage about the PvP. And while his flimsy defense paints him as a lazy reader, you could also read it as Ven having disliked the idea so much that he simply... suppressed it. Now it’s up in the air how much Ven is aware of this personality. The other possibility is that the pacifism comes in response to his knowing that the darkness in him desires that kind of combat. 

Enemy Without

And this brings us to the ultimate conclusion of this second personality. It becomes Vanitas, through and through. Meaning that at the time of his split, Vanitas was essentially already a separate entity born from Ventus’ heart. Even Xehanort’s verbiage supports this.

‘Riven’ means ‘to be split from.’ Which makes sense as he is a broken off piece of Ven’s heart but it can also suggest that it was already there and attached to the whole to begin with. But now that he’s split from the body and light half of his heart, Vanitas begins to prove his strong association with Darklings. 

His darkness suit, in much the same way as Riku and Anti-Aqua, hearkens to the visual design of the Darklings-- (the black and red, textured hands, and tattered clothes, though anti-aqua fits this link the best). 

And if the speculation about Missing Ache is logical, this darkness comes from a stark sense of loneliness and a rejection that Ven buries and refuses to feel, meaning Vanitas bears all of that pain and it consumes the entire personality as darkness would consume the heart of a whole person. 

A pain that is Ventus’s through and through.

While this aspect of the theory is almost pure speculation, I draw this connection to place Vanitas and this dark personality of Ven’s on a side in the khux conflict. At this moment the darkness has served no purpose in machinations of MoM, Ava, Brain, or the mysterious murderer, but the darklings move about nevertheless. Despite being pulled by more basic instincts, the Darklings and any associated force can’t be underestimated as either having a goal or being manipulated toward someone else’s goal. 

Sleeper Agent

‘Peace is but a dream’ and the Darklings are still an at large, unaffiliated force in khux. The connection with Ven’s dark side would add a substantive face and power player to the entire narrative. It either gives them an edge, provides a leader, or simply infiltrates the system needed to consume the most lux. And from my perspective, the most advantageous thing the forces of dark could do is start the keyblade war (again). Where best to do that than from inside the Union’s sworn to prevent that from happening?

It’s an inside job. An infiltration. This is where you start to wonder if Ven is the outsider in the group-- The Virus in the Master’s system. Honestly, I don’t think any of this turning true would conclude that necessarily. See, for all we know MoM could be invoking the war even with the intent on ‘stopping the wars for good’. I wouldn’t put it past him to set the Dandelion’s up for a sham scenario so planting a Darkling Agent into the Union Leaders is on the table for him to have authored. But from the ‘dark perspective’ (for the record, I don’t think the darkness is a conniving force) Ven partially falling to darkness would work in the interest of all things dark and make him an ‘agent’. But I consider it more happenstance than actual scheming.

Thematic Associations

aka: less concrete forms of support or hints

Box Art Proximity

So we know there’s a ton of secrets hidden in the kh3 cover, one of which most amusingly being the Nomura’s cat, standing guard next to Ven as a reference to Chirithy. But I’m more interested in Ven’s proximity to the Darkling as well. We never get a complete idea of the Darkling’s symbolic purpose and I still think it’s up in the air, but it it’s drawing a connection to the Dandelion under it’s gaze, that would be indicative of it’s purpose. 

Void Gear Symbolism

I am not alone in seeing Void Gear as a potential reference to the clock tower of Daybreak Town. From here things become speculation central but knowing the Darkling’s desire to consume the light and the value of instigating the Keyblade War in that ambition, Vanitas’ essential homage to the clock tower is potential a nod to his goal, or perhaps success in using that clock for it’s fated purpose: which is to toll the start of the war. 

Ven’s Character Design

Since we understand that Nomura is clearly working backwards, we can’t take his character design as hard evidence that he’s got a split personality but I do think it’s worthy to serve as corroboration. Ven has a unique black and white theme with his jacket that perfectly represents 2 equal halves-- 2 selves. Yes, he’s fashioned to be the light half to an equal dark half, but you might think he’d be styled more toward the white/light colors to contrast with Vanitas’s dark color scheme. They would then appropriately compliment each other as a pair then. But Ven holds the body of the complete being. The original being that was styled symbolically to represent two equal halves and his former incarnation in khux is consistent. 

Ven’s Actions Going Forward 

Now again, Ven’s awareness of this second personality and the exact nature of it’s ability to interact is still in question but there’s a lot of a angles it could take. For example, it could be a body hijacker, acting and moving things toward a specific goal at opportune times, potentially acting as the Ven we know in temporary situations. This means that we can start being suspicious of who is in control of Ven’s body at a given time.

Then there’s the more passive method which simply has the personality observing and gaining strength through Ven’s suffering until it finally breaks free at some crucial time. This means we can expect a surprising twist when things get heated.

Whether he’s aware of it or not, Ven’s behavior should be considered separate from this force. It has the double benefit of keeping Ven’s hands clean.

Finally we have to consider the reasons for Ven’s selection in the Union Leaders. At first I thought maybe a second personality could create this double life for Ven that would qualify him with the arbitrary powerful keykid excuse for the position. But with a more passive role being just as viable, there’s a very good chance that MoM selected Ven with the intention of creating tension or tempting the rise of darkness with the Daybreak Town experiment. Whether MoM is earnestly trying to prevent the endless cycle of darkness destroying and light reviving the world or simply trying to invoke it for his own gain, we can at least be assured that there’s no sacrifice he wont make. This is assuming Ven is one of the selected and not the impostor (But I’m pretty sure Brain’s the impostor).

This is ultimately why I kind of dub Ven as a ‘sleeper agent.’ While harboring this second personality, he could very well be the infiltration of the forces of darkness which until this point have behaved as a mindless force of nature. Be it circumstance or not, he is for all intents and purposes a ‘sleeper agent’ in that regard. And while I don’t personally believe this makes Ven the murder of Strelitzia, I do think this makes him capable of anything.

Conclusion:

There’s a lot of speculation but the mystery is very much there and I think there’s enough to assume that the question of Ven’s darkness is very much something we need to be asking. Now we have additional strands this idea could branch into consider what this means for Ven’s role in creating the X-blade and may explain why he was so specifically poised to be the vessel for that project. And then we have to wonder what this means for Ven’s future. Was it a good thing that Xehanort separated Vanitas? Is Vanitas redeemable? What does it mean for Ven to get his memory about this back? 

Overall, I have my eye on Ven. He’s still a good boy in my eyes. But he could be the very thing that brings the khux world into chaos. 

(A big thanks to @kaweebo​ for some of those screencaps)

[goldenchocobo]

This was actually the second set I drew after the Destiny Trio, but held off posting as I wanted to post the ‘official’ trios first. I had a hard time choosing flowers for the Lost Trio; Repliku especially and I don’t believe  the choices I made for him reflect him as much as Vanitas’ and Namine’s flower selection did, but I did my best with what I researched and found.

The Lost Trio’s extra flower theme is ‘surrounded’.

Foretellers and Flowers

Destiny Trio

Seasalt Trio

Wayfinder Trio

All flowers and meanings are under the cut:

Vanitas: Thorns,Petunias, Black Rose

Thorns are undoubtedly representative of suffering and pain. Vanitas both utilizes his own pain and suffering- in the form of his unversed in order to cause others pain aswell. The petunias growing from the thorns (literally growing from the pain), although pretty and delicate looking connote anger and resentment. On the flip side they also symbolize longing or desire, as Vanitas wishes to form the X-blade with Ventus. The rose, being a dead looking black colour has the obvious symbolism of death.true black roses are almost always never created naturally- much like how Vanitas’ ‘birth’ was unnatural. Having some red colouration within the petals of the rose however, symbolizes rebirth.

—————-

Namine: Witch Hazel, Rainflower, Mushroom (White button)

With a name such as ‘Witch Hazel’ the connection to Namine is obvious. Witch Hazel represents mysticism and witchcraft, but it can also mean protection. While not the strongest, Namine does her best to protect and help Roxas and Kairi in Kingdom Hearts 2 and sends ‘someone’ to protect Sora and friends at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3. Rainflower, while not common can mean forgiveness and atonement, with it also having a secondary meaning of ‘To never forget’. Mushrooms are the last thing you’d think about when you think about flowers, flower arrangement or floristry in general. However they do have a meaning; Loneliness and self-doubt, emotions that Namine unfortunately knows all too well.

—————-

Riku Replica/Repliku: Thornapple, Marigold, False Indigo

The thornapple flower looks elegant, pretty and delicate, however it, and the fruit it bares is highly poisonous to eat or even touch. Repliku started to fall into a horrid mindset when he was first created, so this flower represents that start in life. Marigolds represent a wide range of emotions, the reason I chose Marigolds for Repliku is that they can symbolize jealousy and despair, but also gaining friendship and respect, which reflects his arc from both Chain of Memories up to Kingdom Hearts 3.

The last flower I chose for Repliku was the False Indigo; mainly for its name as the only meaning I could find for it was ‘protection’- whilst Repliku does protect namine fiercely, there are a number of flowers I could choose that also mean ‘protection’. I chose the False Indigo because Repliku is also a ‘false Riku’ so to speak. False Indigos were also used to create dyes, and Repliku himself was used by the organization and callously tossed aside when his use was up.

[nadziejastar]

In the best way you can describe it, how do you KH3 could have been better? (maybe more in terms of story-telling that seems to be KH3's weakest point).

The biggest problem was that all the characters felt like emotionally hollowed out husks of their former selves. KH2 was a lot slower paced, and took the time to devote to its characters. KH3 took NO time to actually slow down. If it did, there would have been another 3 hours of cutscenes, easily. In a series that’s very character and relationship driven, the lack of character and relationship development had a very detrimental effect. None of the characters had much of an inner journey. It felt like there was outside pressure to cut down on the amount of story and only focus on the absolute bare minimum to move things forward.

The theme of KH3 was “Face My Fears”. Each character needed a moment in the spotlight to face their fear and resolve their inner conflict. This problem wouldn’t exist if KH3 actually focused on what it was supposed to: the power of waking. Diving into someone’s heart and getting really intimate with them and healing their pain. Each character should have gotten to use the power of waking and been playable.

Riku

“You’re afraid of the dark! You’re so scared of the darkness inside yourself, you don’t even know what to do!”

The Replica saw what was in his heart as if he could read it like a book. This fear of the darkness inside him—his terror. The Replica was a copy of Riku, body and mind, and he knew everything. But the Replica didn’t know what it was to feel fear. He didn’t need to. He had no self of his own—so he just had to become Riku.

Riku was swallowed up by the Demon Tide and knocked out in the beginning. That should have been the opportunity for Mickey to dive into his heart to wake him up. I’m pretty sure that there was originally supposed to be a boss fight against Riku’s shadow with Mickey playable. When the boss is defeated, it clears up the stained glass station of awakening, freeing Riku’s heart. Riku’s inner development gets focused on. He faces his fears, reintegrates his shadow, wakes up, his gazing eye Keyblade is broken–meaning he’s free from Xehanort following him everywhere now. He’s conquered his inner darkness. Much longer segment of character development focusing on his emotions and bond with Mickey.

Mickey & Aqua

Shadow Aqua: Do you have any idea how lonely it is here? How frightening it is to have no one.

As a Disney character Mickey didn’t get a shadow self. His character arc concludes dealing with Aqua’s shadow. Her fear was being trapped in the darkness alone. Before this battle, the Demon Tide swallowed Mickey up, knocking him unconscious. I think Riku was supposed to dive into his heart and the Dark Aqua boss was part of Mickey’s nightmare. Mickey’s fear was that what happened to Aqua was all his fault. So, Riku is playable in this section. Then Sora dives in the water and enters the real Aqua’s heart. Then in the parallel dimensions, Sora and Riku defeat Shadow Aqua together. Riku and Sora use the combined attack that they used in KH3D.

Carl Jung, on the symbolism of water. Water is the commonest symbol for the unconscious. The lake in the valley is the unconscious, which lies, as it were, underneath consciousness, so that it is often referred to as the “subconscious,” usually with the pejorative connotation of an inferior consciousness.

The part where Sora dives in the water to save Aqua was completely glossed over. They showed him picking up Eraqus’s Keyblade that washed up on shore. And it was meant to be a clue. It was like Kairi’s letter bottle. It washed up on shore in the dark realm. Sora realizes that the realms are connected by the water. Aqua fell in the water and lost her Keyblade. So he jumps in after her.

Of course it’s not gonna be that easy to just dive in there and pull her out, though. If that were the case, why didn’t Riku or Mickey just do it? Their connection wasn’t strong enough to locate her in the deep abyss. Sora wasn’t close to her either, but he had Ven’s heart inside of him.

So, when Sora dives into the water, that should be important. It could have been the time when he awakens all the subconscious memories sleeping in his heart. The ones that were talked about in Re:coded and KH3D. Roxas, Xion, Namine, Ventus. Then, with the unconscious memories brought to the surface, all the characters can be revived who SHOULDN’T return physically.

Xion

“How many days has it been since you got here?” he asked Kairi, squinting his eyes as he watched the sunset. Their training had only just begun.

“Why do you keep asking, Lea? You’ve said that every day.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“And you keep apologizing, too.”

“It’s just…I feel like there’s something I need to remember.”

“Master Merlin said time doesn’t really exist here. Still, maybe it’s a good idea to keep track of the days. Today would be the seventh. But you got here before me, so—”

THIS is when Xion’s story should be resolved. In the novel, Lea and Kairi’s training was a reference to 358/2 Days. They started counting on Day 7. Lea spends all his time with Kairi feeling like he forgot something important and sees Xion’s face in the sunset. Then they watch the sunset together at the end. There should have been some payoff to that. 

I'll never forget today's sunset. Even if Roxas and Axel do, I won't forget.

On the 255th day of their training, it’s almost time for them to finish. Show Lea and Kairi remembering Xion when they watch the sunset. Show Kairi remembering the promise she made to never forget on Day 352 “Sunset”. Xion was shoehorned into the Keyblade Graveyard, and had no meaningful dialogue. It’s more natural and emotional if they remembered her while watching the sunset. Plus it gives them both time to actually talk about their feelings. This gives more depth to the Axel/Xion and Kairi/Lea relationship.

Ansem & Twilight Town Kids

Hayner: We can’t be together forever… so we’d better make the time we do have something to remember.

The other character who would be remembered after Sora’s dive is Roxas. There should have been MUCH more closure given to Hayner, Pence, and Olette’s relationship with Roxas from KH2′s prologue. This whole scene wasn’t dedicated to Roxas or his relationships. It was just used as an excuse to insert Subject X into the plot. Get rid of Subject X and only focus on Ansem the Wise’s remorse and Roxas’s bond with his friends.

Once the kids fully remember Roxas, they should have gone to the Data Twilight Town to look for him. There they would find Ansem the Wise. All he wants is to atone to Roxas. Then they can have meaningful dialogue about Roxas. Ansem was the one who prevented them going to the beach. Ansem heard Roxas say their names in his desperation during the Struggle. This scene should have been used to give closure to Hayner’s group, Roxas’s pain during his summer vacation, and also Ansem the Wise.

Then they lead him back to the real world. In an earlier scene, Ienzo set up sharing between the two computer networks. When Ansem the Wise returned in Radiant Garden, it looked like he came out of the Datascape transporter, which I don’t think was a coincidence. It was probably originally storyboarded that way and they just left it like that. Then he meets his apprentices and they can reconcile.

Ventus

Roxas: It’s scary to think I could lose you guys.

Axel: Scary? Scary’s a feeling, man.

Roxas: Yeah, I know I can’t feel, but… It’s still a scary thought.

Sora still seemed to have no clue how to use the power of waking at this point. Aqua should have used it on Ventus in the restored Land of Departure. Then as she’s delving into his heart, that is the opportunity where you confront all of Ven’s trauma, both as a human and as a Nobody. You resolve both Ven and Roxas’s inner pain at the same time.

What was Ven/Roxas so afraid of? Losing his friends. And if you accept that Ventus was Roxas, it happened to him several times. Ven’s heart first collapsed and he forgot everything. Then he met Terra and Aqua. Then Eraqus told him he shouldn’t exist and he wound up going to sleep. Then when he woke up as Roxas, he made friends with Xion and Axel. He forgot them and woke up in the data Twilight Town. Then he’s told by Namine that he was never supposed to exist and he has to disappear for Sora to come back.

Aqua should have had the Vanitas boss fight inside of Ven’s heart. He’s Ven’s shadow. Then in real world, the real Vanitas shows up and Ven would save Aqua from him while she’s asleep.

Axel: Simply amazing, Roxas.

Roxas: Axel.

Axel: You really do remember me this time? I'm SO FLATTERED. But you're too late!!

I think the Respite scenes were some of the only good character moments. Aqua and Ven watching the stars and Sora and Kairi sharing a paopu were both good. But there was absolutely no good reason for Saix to show up on the clock tower when hes supposed to be fully Norted at that point. Instead, Lea should have gone there with Ventus so they could resolve his relationship with Roxas, which ended on a pretty poor note with Axel trying to kill him. 

It’s funny to me in KH3 that Lea was expecting Ventus to remember him and continue the relationship they had as Roxas and Axel. He just assumed that Roxas was Ventus, and that Ventus would have all of Roxas’s memories (which I always assumed, too). It really shows that he never saw them as different. His friendship with Ven felt the same to him as his friendship with Roxas. They were interchangeable to him. And that’s how it should have been. 

If Ven and Lea went to the clock tower, they could talk about their feelings, their best friends Terra and Isa, and finally get to know each other. Show Lea apologize to Ventus for trying to eliminate him in KH2 and have them make amends. Roxas returns in the Keyblade Graveyard, but he felt like an empty husk shoehorned in for fanservice. His relationship with Axel got no closure. They didn’t talk about anything. Just BOOM! They’re instant best friends again.

The Promise with Terra

A promise Riku made with Terra during his boyhood days regarding the succession of the Keyblade. Terra had promised that if Riku were able to reach the place where he was, he would teach him how to protect the world and those he cared about.

Why is Riku talking with his Replica in this scene? Give him closure to the promise he made with Terra. Show him remembering his childhood. Develop his feelings about Terra.

Eraqus: Terra, you mustn’t be afraid of losing. Fear leads to obsession with power, and obsession beckons the darkness.

Ventus was supposed to face Vanitas in the Keyblade Graveyard. Aqua was meant to face Terranort. Aqua defeats him with the help of the Lingering Will. “I will set this right”. Then Ven should have used the power of waking on Terra after Aqua defeated him in the physical world.

Then after diving inside his heart, Ven would be playable and have a boss fight against Terra’s inner shadow. Something interesting during Terra’s boss fight: he said “You no power over me.” Why is he so obsessed with power? Because his greatest fear was losing. He’s afraid of disappointing others. And he sought power as his way of coping. He needed to deal with all those feelings before he woke up. KH3 spent no time actually developing the characters’ feelings. They all come back or get redeemed so easily.

I thought that I didn’t need you with me anymore. That’s why I sacrificed myself to that man. If you didn’t need me, then I no longer held meaning.

Day 150 is called “Fear”. This is the day Saix started to become nasty with Xion. Isa’s fear was that Lea wouldn’t need him anymore and he was taking it out on Xion. I hate how Roxas and Xion took ALL the spotlight for this fight, even in ReMind. They felt like Gary Stu and Mary Sue.

Once Kairi and Lea defeated Saix in real life, Lea should have dove into his heart. Then you should have gotten to play as Lea as he defeats Isa’s inner shadow and then this whole conversation about how he lost his purpose should have taken place. Lea would helped him confront his fear of abandonment, then he’d wake up. NO time was devoted to Saix’s feelings. He was just instantly redeemed.

Have Kairi be playable when she saves Sora when he’s fragmented. She’s the one who collects his pieces and prevents him from fading away in the Final World. Give her a boss fight, too. We shouldn’t have had to wait for Re:Mind to play as her.  

Kairi: You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I’m ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here. Right?

Sora: Yeah, of course!

Kairi: That’s good. Sora, don’t ever change.

Then later, Kairi’s heart is the only one Sora doesn’t save from the Lich. So he has to dive into her heart, even though he doesn’t really know how to use the power of waking. Then he has to confront her shadow, Namine. Have Sora finally thank her. Have Kairi face her fears so she can fully merge with Namine once and for all. Then Kairi rescues Sora and they go back to the real world.

[zephyrises]

character sheet.

full name.  ventus pronunciation.  ven-tuhs (which is not at all how the latin word is actually pronounced but don’t worry about it) nicknames.  venty-wenty

height.  5′5″ age.  verse dependent. 12 in ux, 16 in bbs and going on 17 in post-kh3. zodiac.  taurus, with his new birthday. original unknown. languages.  japanese. everyone understands everyone else in kingdom hearts anyway, though?? doesn’t matter which world they’re on. it’s that Disney Magic(tm), ig.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

hair colour.  golden blonde that edges towards platinum. eye colour.  forest green. skin tone.  pale with yellow undertones. body type.  slight, but athletic. accent.  none, per se, but he will shorten words, mash words together and use some slang. dominant hand.  ambidextrous. he tends to stick with his right, though. posture.  very lax and casual. in battle, he uses a unique and antiquated, backhanded stance. tattoos.  none in any of my canon or canon based verses, even though he likes the idea of it! but in my collegeverse, he’s saving up to get lines drawn between the birthmarks on his back so they look like constellations. most noticeable features.  definitely his eyes, freckles, smile and the armor he wears on his feet, upper arm and abdomen. i’d say that the way he moves around is pretty attention catching in and of itself, considering how speedy, floaty and bouncy he is even without necessarily needing or intending to be. he’s also a bit small for his age, both in terms of height and weight.

CHILDHOOD.

place of “birth.”  daybreak town. hometown.  likely daybreak town. birth weight / height.  unknown.. manner of birth.  as weird as it sounds, necromancy. first words.  unfortunately, “yes, master.” siblings.  luxu could technically constitute in uxverse, depending upon how the both of them would view their situation. otherwise, he starts to think of terra and aqua as his older siblings sometime before the events of birth by sleep and then forever onward. parents.  in a terrihorrible way, the master of masters. if he had any parents before his body was re-animated, then it would be impossible to trace them now. he thinks of eraqus as a father figure, but his feelings on the matter are a big ol’ can of worms. parental involvement.  mom locked him up and used him for experiments. eraqus locked him up, good intentions notwithstanding, and tried to kill him. in other words, not the best!

ADULT LIFE

occupation.  post-kh3, he’s a guardian of light and keyblade master in training. the way aqua and yen sid have it slated, he’ll be taking his mark of mastery exam when he turns 18! current residence.  the land of departure, for now. even though he wouldn’t say it aloud to terra or aqua, he’d really like to leave and live somewhere new someday. close friends.  based off current canon, terra, aqua, lea, isa, sora, minnie, stitch, lilo, cinderella, jaq, hercules and peter pan. i see him having really good chemistry with vanitas, kairi, naminé, roxas, xion, ienzo, riku and demyx too, barring some development and circumstances! relationship status.  i don’t portray ven as having been in any romantic relationship or harboring romantic feelings towards anyone up until post-kh3. what happens from then on is a toss up depending on who i’m interacting with. i.e., right now, he’s dating @midnightpapllion​​ and has a budding crush on @rxcusant​​‘s vanitas! he’s a good-natured cutie, though, so other teenagers have flirted with him plenty during his travels. he’s just inexperienced and completely oblivious to the intent unless it’s spelled out for him, which tends to discourage most. financial status.  eraqus left a small fortune that he, aqua and terra use exclusively for groceries and supplies for missions. otherwise, he’s got a modest amount of spending money from traversing the worlds. he just doesn’t spend it on much aside from snacks and souvenirs. driver’s license.  cars are Completely nonexistent in his world. he only rides a keyblade glider and, even though there prrrrrobably should be, there’s no actual license required for that. criminal record.  this one time, he harassed some old men in the woods and beat up a cat about twenty times his size. those instances aside, he’s not necessarily above crime or violence as long as it isn’t Too uncouth and serves a purpose, so he’s probably got at least a little more on his rap sheet.

SEX & ROMANCE.

sexual orientation.  pansexual. romantic orientation.  demi and panromantic. preferred emotional role. submissive | dominant | switch |  unsure preferred sexual role.  submissive |  dominant  |  switch |  sex repulsed libido. turn on’s. turn off’s. love language.  even though he’d fail to notice a lot of the patterns himself, ven’s would consist predominantly of physical touch, acts of service and gift giving. as of terra and aqua’s involvement in his life, he’s become a huge touchy feely type. shoulder, arm and back touches, hugging and hand holding are all pretty normal for him in any sort of relationship, but lingering touches would be the big cue where romantic attraction is present. longer or more common hugs as opposed to just short lived hugs of greeting, parting or comfort. increasingly consistent tapping, leaning, nudging or hand holding for no particular reason other than because he gets a random urge to instigate it. acts of service would mostly just boil down to doing a lot of cooking or baking, but if he was in a position to and it wouldn’t be Weird to do so, he’d happily tidy up for someone or do their laundry, too! since the person in question would be on his mind a lot, he’d feel inclined to grab something up if it reminds him of them. probably stuff like flowers, pretty rocks or shells, accessories, snacks, things they’ve mentioned/he’s Noticed they enjoy, etc. etc. relationship tendencies.  mileage may vary for all of this depending on his partner’s personality and boundaries, obviously, but i’m willing to bet he’d be doting and clingy. he’s clingy with pretty much everyone once they give him an inch anyway, so i don’t think anybody would be too surprised or put off if they’ve already been hanging around long enough for him to develop feelings. definitely a little shy when it comes time to say i love you, kiss, go out or snuggle non-platonically, but not awkward or uncertain. the friendship that came before would be the foundation, after all, and he wouldn’t view a romance as something separate from that. more like another layer on top that they can navigate and define together. baseline, his flirting style is a combination of undisguised adoration and big time teasing. aaaand generally, he’d also be very attentive! he accounts for the tinier details, even if he can’t always make sense of them without posing a question or two.

MISCELLANEOUS.

character’s theme song.  i love the canon version of his theme, but i’m linking project destati’s version in particular because it’s orchestrated and extended and kills me dead. hobbies to pass the time.  adventures, walks, star gazing, star charting, flower pressing, bird watching, cooking, ukulele, and the biggie.... NAPPING. mental illnesses.  depression and ptsd. physical illnesses.  you could definitely argue that having his darkness stripped from him is more of a spiritual or mental condition, but to me, it’s a physical one. i think of it like having an organ removed from your body (say, a chunk of your goddamn HEART) or being on the receiving end of blunt trauma. there are mental and spiritual effects, sure. it contributed to his ptsd, depression, and an amnesiac episode, but xehanort stabbed him to make it happen and he’s got the scar and near death experience to prove it, so we’re calling it a physical illness in my house. a reaaaally strange, completely unparalleled, chronic fantasy illness. left or right brained.  right brained for sure. he’s really imaginative and artsy. fears.  being abandoned, especially by those he holds dear. not being smart or strong enough to prevent someone from getting hurt or worse. being deprived of control over his own body or decisions.  self confidence level.  veeeeeery low. when he acts confident, he’s just faking it until he makes it,.which, unless he addresses the root of the problem, won’t be anytime soon. but i’m behind the wheel so this kid’s not going to let being abused define him forever. mark my words. vulnerabilities.  impulsive and bad decision prone. he’s not very physically strong or durable, either. fast, sure. definitely determined to stick it out until the very end. but once you get a couple of good hits in, he’s down. he’ll also undermine his own value and throw his life and safety away on the off chance that it could help someone else, so jot that one down.

tagged by: @kissafist​​ THANK YOU!! ♥ i had so much fun with this. tagging: in addition to livi and sammi who i already pinged above, let’s do @localmagicalboi​​, @feraliix​​, @galaxycrxss​​, @blackasteriia​​ and YOU! but only if you feel like it!

[dragonborn229]

My Kingdom Hearts 3 Review and Thoughts.

(SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!)

These are my PERSONAL opinions and thoughts on the game, everyone has their own opinions.

Very obviously HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD SO DON'T READ IT AND COMPLAIN YOU WERE SPOILED, You've been warned~

Packaging:

Ok, So I bought the "Deluxe Edition" of KH3 for the Xbox and first of all I Love the Packaging, so pretty! The Steelbook is nice and simple, nothing crazy. The art book could've had more in it but it is still a welcome edition to my collection, now the Collector's Pin looks a little weird to me, it's like they took the pin and made it without Sora's eyes and nose and they where added later? It's nothing major but my OCD noticed it.

Story:

Now I've seen a lot of people complaining about the Story but honestly I thought it was pretty good, now that doesn't mean I love Every little detail but I do think it was done pretty well.

For Example I absolutely hated how they portrayed Kairi in this game, where's her Tomboy Attitude?? Why did she train using a keyblade then kill like 2 heartless than get killed off?? I felt like that was pretty badly written honestly.

What was the deal with the 13 keys?? I thought Ventus and Vanitas had to forge the X-Blade?

And why can't we play as Roxas 😭 jkjk

Other than that yeah the story is pretty confusing but it's Kingdom Hearts 🤷‍♀️

GAMEPLAY:

The gameplay is very smooth and fluid, it's a bit annoying until you get air recovery but once you do you're good. Combat is fun and cool to experiment with. Snd the Cutscenes were amazing little movies!

Personal Moments:

Ok so I only played 358/2 days YEARS AGO when I was like 9-10? And played it all the way through. I loved the game and got attached to Roxas and Xion, I absolutely love these two♡

But anyway, I'm not gonna lie when Roxas showed up at the Keyblade Graveyard and his theme started playing I actually started crying hardcore, I was so happy to see him again after so many years and hearing his theme again pushed me over my emotionally unstable edge.

When Xion was in the ending with her new outfit I almost cried again seeing that she was happy with Roxas and her new friends it physically hurt my soul 😭😭😭

When The Original Baymax was brought back from the other dimension I was so shook and so happy to see he's ok!!! And was so happy seeing 2 Baymaxes in the garage!

Controls:

Controls were good, no real problems personally for me. Good mapping, Good camera and enemy locking.

Graphics:

STUNNING. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. I didn't expect the game to look so stunning on the Xbox but hoo boy I was BLOWN AWAY by how pretty it is~ the "Let it Go" sequence was particularly Gorgeous.

Post Game Content:

Ok At the time of writing I'm still working on 100% completing my game, but I'm only 5 achievements away from doing so!

The post game has lots to do and honestly it's pretty fun to do, you can do things like:

Synthesize the Ultima Weapon

Get all the Achievements

Replay the minigames

Find all the ingredients and cook all the recipes

Travel Space and Fully upgrade the Gummi Ship

Find all the Lucky Emblems

7. And Do all the Flantastic 7 games.

There's more as well but just some highlights.

DISNEY WORLDS:

The Disney Worlds were very nice and I loved experiencing them and exploring them, but I did feel like Arendelle, Twilight town and Scala ad Caelum were cut short but other than that the other worlds felt full of life and were all gorgeous on the newer consoles.

FINAL REVIEW:

Ok so In the end how do I feel?

Well I personally enjoyed every single minute of this game (even the hard as hell Flan games)

And will most likely play this game again on the future!

I highly recommend this game to anyone who is curious and guarentee you'll enjoy it.

FINAL SCORE:

STORY: 7/10

GRAPHICS: 9/10

GAMEPLAY: 8½/10

GAMEPLAY: 7/10

CONTROLS: 8/10

POST GAME: 6½/10

DISNEY WORLDS: 7/10

These were My opinions and I'd love to hear yours! Feel free to discuss things you loved/hated I'd love to see!

[dahniwitchoflight]

KH: What is Repliku/Riku Replica Really?

Follow up post to “What is Namine really?”

Because of all the people that get to be saved and exist on their own by the end of KH3, Repliku isn’t one of them? Why is that?

What if there is a real reason why he actually couldn’t be with everyone?

and why wouldn’t Repliku appeared to have aged the same alongside Riku?

What if he wasn’t kidding when he says to Riku that “They already have you?”

Consider this

Throughout the series, whenever someone talks about the replica program, never do they actually ever say if they were successful at recreating a Heart, even a fake one from Data

This is something that Zexion attempts for Roxas from the data inside twilight town, but all he can gather from there are Roxas’s memories of the fake twilight town, his actual heart is still inside Sora

and this is something that Riku Replica in Chain of Memories claims that Vexen did to make him

but Zexion claims to be working with the data that Vexen had stored from Chain of Memories, where he was unsuccessful in doing so, since Zexion had no idea how to do so for Roxas

and Vexen himself, never actually claims that he was able to create a heart, it’s a feat that no one, not even Ansem the Wise has claimed to fully master

The purpose of the replicas was always only as physical vessels for an already existing real Heart, for the eventuality of KH3′s final battle where all the various forms of Xehanort from across time would abandon their bodies in their pasts and time travel as hearts to the future, which was enabled by all the body replicas waiting for them to inhabit

and as we see with Xion, seeding a heart from bits of memories given form and experience, was both unexpected entirely and unintended for the replica program and not something that they knew could happen yet with Repliku, since by the time they even realize what happened with Xion in Days, Chain of Memories was over and done with already

The intention with Xion was only ever to have a physical copy of Sora, a puppet with no heart or will that they could command as they pleased that contained all of sora’s powers and memories, but not his heart, having a Real Genuine Heart, again, was never the Point of making the replicas

Namine built all of Riku Replica’s memories from scratch sure, but a real genuine Heart was a canvas for those memories that had to come from somewhere else back during that time, it was something they Needed for the early replica program to work, not something they were able to Make for the replica program

sooo... then how exactly did they make a replica version of Riku’s Heart?

Well, they couldn’t, obviously, so then the real question is, where or when rather, did it come from?

The answer is Repliku’s Heart isn’t as fake as we think, in fact, I’m very sure it’s actually really Riku’s Heart

or at least, a version of Riku’s Heart

Travelled back from the past, when Ansem still had a presence in Riku’s Heart back before the end of KH1

Repliku was actually their first successful experiment not just with replicas, but with the replica’s intended purpose, of transporting a person’s heart from the past, and allowing them to exist alongside the same person’s heart in the present via a replica body

and even better

you know how Repliku looks in KH3? All glowing and without a physical form?

Doesn’t this look a little familiar?

Little blurry, but it’s exactly what Sora did in the Remind DLC

Threw his Heart through time, to a place where it already existed, and he exists in a form that’s basically just his Heart from another time, caught in this sort of glow

Now, Repliku never changed or did anything or broke any sort of causality like Sora did, jumping all through other people’s hearts and trying to change the future, all Repliku did in KH3 was time hop to the future briefly and then go back without changing anything, but the method was the same

He hitched a ride with KH3 Riku when they met in the timeless Dark Realm, to see something important through, and when Riku defeated the Evil Repliku brought to be here as one of the 13 darknesses, Good Repliku and the defeated evil one disintegrated together and faded back to whence they came

So you kind of have to ask, what exactly was even the point of showing that good Repliku still existed within Riku in KH3, if KH3 was never going to revive him to exist alongside the other fallen folks like Roxas Xion Ventus and Namine?

We didn’t need Repliku to find a replica for Namine, Riku and friends were already doing that

Instead, the point was to show that Repliku has always been Riku the whole time, just a version of himself from the past, flung to the future

Confirming that he was never meant to be a separate Riku from Riku, and that all of Repliku’s feelings and memories are genuinely Riku’s from the very beginning

basically, with all that in mind

Rewatch this scene where the Evil Repliku from KH3 meets with Maleficent

https://youtu.be/LbXiZdKUo4s?t=324

and I think this becomes even clearer

Maleficent recognizes Evil Repliku in KH3, saying he is the same as the one she knows from KH1, though she couldn’t say from “when”, and this Repliku acknowledges her back, saying she’ll fall to the darkness “again” 

if it was just Repliku recognizing her, it wouldn’t mean much, since we know his memories are fake anyway

But Maleficent returning that recognition? With all that she knows about darkness and hearts? Means that even the first Repliku from Chain of Memories, is a Riku she would recognize

She knows Repliku is just a version of KH1 Riku, but from a different “when”, this to me is the key for this theory

This line doesn’t stick out the first time you watch this scene, because in this scene we don’t know yet that Evil Riku is actually Evil Repliku, the player is led to believe that its just Riku from KH1 time traveled to be here, it’s only in the final confrontation with Repliku that it’s revealed to be Evil Repliku, making this scene with Maleficent stand out A LOT and have a different meaning

So to recap:

The linear timeline of where and when Riku’s heart was throughout the series?

Young Riku in KH1 gets his heart infected with Ansem’s darkness and eventually falls into the dark realm

During his short time in the dark realm, Ansem time travels their heart a short while into the future, into a replica in Castle Oblivion, and Namine does as she’s told and rewrites his memories to suit the Org 13′s purposes as the puppet Repliku, proving both the memory and the time travel replica experiments a success

The original Riku wakes up in Castle Oblivion on his own and meets with the Replica version of his time travelled past Self, Repliku

At some point during this time, (likely the point where Namine had scattered his heart) Repliku gets time travelled by Ansem’s Darkness into the future, in KH3 where he is Evil Repliku, one of the 13 darkness’s

Once Evil Repliku is destroyed in KH3, he goes back to where he came from post-Namine scattering in Chain of memories, and he goes on to face the OG Riku trying to prove his realness.

He fails and falls to the dark realm, where his heart sat waiting in the timeless darkness, and eventually Old Riku from KH3 shows up, and Young Repliku’s heart tags along to the future and does all the things Good Repliku does in KH3

It’s after merging a little bit with the Evil Repliku in KH3 and leaving the replica body behind for Namine, that Good Repliku rejects Riku’s plea to take the replica for himself and exist in the future, since Good Repliku knows that his place is in the past, since he is Riku and he doesn’t need to be here in KH3, since he’s already here as KH3 Riku

and so when Evil Repliku is destroyed and goes back to where he comes from, Good Repliku chooses to go back to the past, all the way back to the very first point that Riku ever time travelled via Ansem’s influence and live on from there

and also when everyone is KH3 questions if it’s Young Dark Riku or Evil Repliku that is this version of young Riku, they’re both correct

and, just like Young Xehanort, before he ever met his future self, standing on the beaches of Destiny Island, knowing somewhere deep in his heart that more lies out there, the memories of his future adventures all throughout time as his other selves remain inaccessible, sleeping in his heart. They unconsciously direct his actions in the future and in the past, and is indeed the first thing that makes his heart feel that his world is just too small, and that there must be something beyond just these Destiny Islands...

Young Riku first builds a raft with his best friends because this world is just too small, and his Heart somehow feels and knows that there is more than just these Destiny Islands..

Fitting dontcha think?

So when it comes to feelings for Namine, it’s the same between Sora and Riku

the memory of Namine exists somewhere within their hearts, and even though it stemmed from how Namine changed their memories, and it was revealed to both that the memories were fake, both individually decided that regardless of the memories being fake, their feelings and choices were real and they choose to continue having affection for Namine

Sora as a close friend, and Riku as someone close to her

all that just to explain why the heck Repliku didn’t get revived in KH3 and why it’s Riku who gets with Namine in the ending instead lol

The answer was: Because it was always the same Riku and the same Heart and the same affectionate feelings all along!

*edit*

one last thing to add to this...

Of all the battles with the 13 darkness’s, each group that is fought always had some sort of connection with eachother

Marluxia, Larxene and Luxord - Luxord was actually supposed to be appear in chain of memories, but ended up being cut and moved to KH2, but otherwise all three still share that theme of the Cards from Castle Oblivion

Terra-Xehanort and Vanitas - They were the bad guys from birth by sleep, pretty obvious connection

Saix and Xion - The major emotional players for Roxas and Axel from 358/2 days. Saix is the one who rejected Xion and Roxas the hardest due to jealousy, was originally friends with Lea as Isa, and Xion obviously is the third in the trio with Roxas and Axel

Xemnas, Ansem and Young Xehanort - All time travelled versions of Xehanort

and then finally we have Riku Replica and..... Xigbar?? What? What could possible connect the dude who suddenly revealed he was actually a time travelled version of another character all along and we never knew until now? And even had multiple time travel adventures? To Riku Replica?

Hmmm What Indeed 👀

[rebelcourtesan]

KH4 Wishlist (SPOILERS)

Finished Kingdom Hearts 3 and I have to say its a stellar game.  Definitely the gave we’ve been waiting for years to arrive.  And I’m looking forward to the second installation, though I do have a wishlist.

Below are spoilers for Kingdom Hearts 3.  Do NOT read any further if you haven’t finished the game and/or don’t want to be spoiled.  

THERE BE SPOILERS BELOW!!!!

1.  A Smaller Cast of Characters (excluding World/Disney characters)

    Don’t get me wrong.  I love the characters of Kingdom Hearts, but the problem is that it became congested with too many characters with their own stories and plots.  Some characters are actually extensions of other characters.  Roxas/Ventus/Sora and then there’s Naimine/Kairi.  Not mention Riku/Replica Riku/Darkness Riku and Xehanort/Ansem/Xemnas/Young Xehanort and so on.  You see where it can get confusing.

The cast needs to be reduced by about 75 percent so we have a more simple story that’s not convoluted web of plots and backgrounds.  The best solution to this is to let these ‘cut’ characters retire to their happy endings or be reduced to background or minor characters.  Let Lea/Axel, Xion, and Roxas live happily together in Twilight Town with Haynar and the gang.  Have Ansem and the redeemed members of the Organization do research on Radiant Garden.  Pick a core cast and expand that cast’s backgrounds and slowly introduce new characters. 

 2. New Protagonist

    I might get flamed for this, but bear with me.  I like Sora as much as anyone, but while playing KH 3, his personality grated on me.  I understand he’s the protagonist with the heart of gold and boyish charm, but watching him interact with the other Disney characters was like eating spoonfuls of sugar and washing it down with syrup.  I understand that his ability to make friends with whomever he meets is a special ability that makes him stand out in Kingdom Hearts, but it gets annoying after a while to constantly hear him introducing himself and his companions over and over and over and over and over again and again and again!    

Don’t get me wrong, there were good moments such as when he, Donald, and Goofy jumped on Davy Jones for stabbing will Turner and when he was upset at the idea of losing his friends showed a rare depth of character for him.  .  

But for too long Sora has been like this KH savior with no flaws save for not being as bright as others.  His personality has changed very little since his first introduction way back in the first KH.  In fact, he was more interesting in KH1 because he had self doubts about his capabilities which he overcame to confront Riku and regaining the Keyblade.  

I feel that Kingdom Hearts series is in dire need of a soft reboot, and the best way to do that is to replace Sora as a protagonist.  He’s had a good long run across six games and 17 years, but now it’s time to pass on the torch to another. 

3. Aqua as the Next Protagonist

 I adore Aqua.  She’s a mature, beautiful, talented, brave, and loyal female character in Kingdom Hearts.  My favorite play through of BBS is playing through her storyline and I wish there was more worlds for her to explore.  I enjoyed the scene when she insisted on trying on the glass slipper in Cinderalla’s world to buy time for Jaq to free Cinderella.  When she went to Olympus Coliseum she was flirted with by both Zack and Phil.  

The interactions with other World characters would be far more interesting when the protagonist is a capable young woman and not a ragamuffin boy who gets slotted as the new kid and friends.  

What Aqua has that Sora doesn’t, is that she has more of an edge in her backstory.  She spent ten frickin’ years in the Realm of Darkness!  That has got to carry some scars for our blue haired warrior maiden and it could have even corrupted her.  The experience could have given her PTSD, (GASP!  A female character with PTSD that isn’t the result of sexual assualt?).  She could go on a journey to other worlds to find a way to remove the corruption or to find Sora who has disappeared at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3.   

By extension, Aqua need not go it alone . . .

4. A New All Female Trio

Again, assuming they go with Aqua (or a female protagonist), instead of iconic Disney characters like Goofy and Donald accompanying the lead, let’s have female characters go on the journey instead.  Of course, your first thought would be Minnie and Daisy, but they wouldn’t be well suited as Aqua’s companions.  

For starters, both characters are female version on their love interests.  Hell, they were originally created so Donald and Mickey could have girlfriends.  Besides, both of them are rooted in the Disneyland world with their respected paramours.  The more suitable companions would be Disney women who don’t have love interests tying them down and would make for excellent comrades in battle.

Merida from Brave could offer range attacks and support.  She has a bold spirit with an impetuous nature that could offset the other women and sometimes get them into trouble.  I can see her hopping on a Gummi ship just for the adventure of traveling to other worlds.  

Elsa would be the ‘mage’ of the group with Ice magic.  She would bring diplomacy and calm that could clash with Merida’s fiery personality.  You’d have to convince her to leave Arendelle behind for advantage, since she’s the first Disney Queen who isn’t the mother of a princess nor evil.  

We need more positive female friendships for young girls to emulate.  Setting aside Disney characters, the bromance in Kingdom Hearts has been done to death with Riku/Sora, Riku/Mickey, Sora/Donald/Goofy, and many many others.  Very rarely so we see the female characters together in the same room and hold a positive conversation with each other.  Yes, we know, guys can be the best of friends to each other and girls, but how about we see girls being besties with each other.

5. Maturer Storylines that aren’t so Heart centric       

That being said, let me explain.  As I mentioned before, watching Sora interact with Disney characters has been like eating raw sugar.  It’s sweet, but sometimes it was terribly too sweet.  

When I say mature, I don’t mean Adult Situation, Sexual Content, or Gore and Violence.  I mean a story that deals with darker themes than just the power of friendship.  Just as dealing with loss, betrayal, self-doubt, trauma, and conflicted feelings.  

Aqua could go from world to world to experience an array of emotional problems and come from it a stronger woman, mentally and emotionally, with the support of her companions.  It would give her the strength to overcome her past traumas from her time in the Realm of Darkness.  

We keep getting hit over the head  about Hearts connecting people, which is a powerful message, but good grief, it gets old after a while.  I get it, it’s in the title Kingdom Hearts, but can’t we focus on something other Hearts?  Connection between people is important, but there are other connections other than friendships.  Brotherly or sisterly love, parent/child, rivals, enemies, lovers, comrades, coworkers, etc.   

6. Let the Protagonist have more Influence in the Worlds

In Kingdom Hearts 3, the worlds I enjoyed most were the ones that didn’t follow the central plot in their respective films.  These are all popular movies most people have already seen prior to playing the game and I found myself becoming a little bored when I see the same scenes replay themselves in the game.  

On a side note, I really appreciate the care and detail that Square Enix put into recreating these iconic scenes.  I REALLY REALLY DO!!!  Especially with Pirates of the Carribean.  But I wanted to see more interaction between Sora, Donald, and Goofy and not have them be observers to the story.  In some worlds, they were outsiders looking in, especially in the Frozen world or tag alongs as they were in Tangle and Pirates.  

The best worlds were Monster Inc, Big Hero Six, and Toy Story which didn’t follow the movie plots, but had their own stories for the game.  Sora and gang has better interaction with these groups of characters.  Buzz was suspicious of them, they were practically adopted by the Big Hero Six, and helped Sully and Mike protect Boo and save the company. 

Best moments for me was when Sully and Mike threw Vanitas through the doors and Jack Sparrow’s bad breath sent Luxford overboard.  

  6. World Wishlist

Assuming that I get my dream team of Aqua/Merida/Elsa, these are the worlds I would love for them to explore.

Tron Uprising - it’s still considered canon, though it lasted one season.  I can see Aqua wearing blue circuits, Merida green, and Elsa with yellow. 

Zootopia -  A world with a transformation magic. Aqua is a blue bird, Merida a bear, and Elsa as a snow leopard.  

Star Wars - Team up with Ahsoka Tano to take down Separatist droids and/or Sith. 

Marvel Universe - Meeting the Avengers

Gravity Falls - I can see the DreamTeam aiding the twins in an investigation of a new mystery of the town.

Wreck -It - Ralph - Let’s have video game characters meet iconic video game characters.  

DuckTales (2017 Reboot) - Aqua has already met Scrooge McDuck, I can see him enlisting her to help in a quest.

Mulan - Always a plus to see strong women teaming up with others.  

Gummi Bears - This old gem deserves some love.

Last - Let this Journey be more about Self-Growth

Heroes save worlds and people, but the hero’s journey is about discovering what one is capable of.  Discovering and drawing lines, overcoming challenges and fears, and finding inner strength.  

Let’s see a protagonist learn a lesson from each world she visits and take that lesson into her core and reaches the end of her journey as a stronger person.  Let this journey be one of self-discovery and not just to oppose a growing threat, though it would be alright if there was one lingering in the background.

Aqua’s journey could be to conquer her own darkness, much like Riku had in his own journey.

That’s all I have for this wishlist.  Or maybe I just outlined a Kingdom Hearts fanfic.  *shrugs*   

[silverwhisp]

I’ve Completed KH3 And I Have Thoughts.

I have finished KH3 short of the side stuff like the ultima weapon, classic kingdom, gummi ship stuff, battle portals and the cooking. I have some thoughts. First off, I loved this game allot. I only have a couple of complaints gameplay wise and three story wise but all in all, I loved every minute of this game. For those who don’t want to read everything I’d give the game a solid 8.5/10. It was amazing but a few small flaws and the three story issues I had made me bring the score down. First I will discuss the issues cause I feel that’s what one should do when critiquing art. I will offer solutions where I can. 

I will discuss my gameplay complaints first.

The manual lock on is ass while the auto lock on is decent. I almost never used the manual lock on due to the fact it can just drag the camera where ever it wanted. Especially if enemies start flying. This is largely due to how often you spend in the air while in combat. The auto lock is good though and doesn’t seem to change targets unless you make it or bump into another enemy. The manual lock is good for human sized bosses though. Short of making the camera tighter this may not be able to be fixed.

The game is to damn easy. I had this issue in BBS and DDD after I got to level 30 and beyond. The game becomes easy even on proud. This is largely due to bad enemy health scaling. They still can hit damn hard and enemies like the Ice Dragon still are dangerous. But since the enemy’s health and defense don’t scale up better the game becomes real easy after level 40. I don’t doubt they will patch in a critical mode which may be a better way to play this game. Just better enemy scaling would fix this problem.

That’s all my gameplay complaints now for story ones. SPOILERS will be discussed so leave while you can.

The game has bad pacing in the Disney worlds. Some like Olympus, Toy Box, San Fransokyo and Kingdom Of Corona have great pacing while Monstropolis is meh and ones like Pirates and Arendelle were just awful. Why are you cheering for Anna and Elsa Sora? You didn’t do anything you turd. This could have been fixed if they added intervals in between all the worlds to reset the pacing and if they just followed the movies from start to finish in their entirety instead of jumping around.

Twilight Town is more of a bus stop then a world. They should have made it bigger and included old areas to explore. Even an expanded sewer system would have been fun. No story reason needed it just exists. Oh well.

These next issues ARE MAJOR SPOILERS so leave now if you don’t want to be spoiled.

What the fuck is Nomura’s issue with writing a good arc for Kairi? I mean they set her up to be training to become a bad ass and we don’t get to see either the training or a decent fight scene. We fight with her once, she gets kidnapped, and then fucking dies!? I’m starting to think Nomura doesn’t know how to write female characters. That may be one of the reasons they dropped him from FF Versus XIII since females had big roles in the story. He fucked Kairi over and made her the least likable and cared about character in the fucking finale of this Saga to me. What the hell? This alone may actually get me to start my own series on something I’ve been thinking about for awhile. Jesus. The death isn’t the issue its that there was no build up for her.

The last story complaint is a small one. I saw Sora’s “death” coming since death seemed to be a theme in allot of the world’s we went to. Flynn, Anna, Jack, and Tadashi were or are dead at some point. Even Young Xehanort hinted at it when he said, “There is a high price to pay for wielding such power recklessly (...) There is no saving you.” The issues I have with the “death” of Sora is that it means nothing. Nomura said he will be the protagonist for the foreseeable future. If he didn’t say that then the death would be okay. The main complaint about this is the final scene on Destiny Islands where everyone sees Kairi and Sora but Sora just gets Thanos’d. That shouldn’t have been in there. There are two scenarios that would work way better than that one in my eyes.

One: Everyone is just looking out to the sea and the music goes quiet. All you can hear is the sounds of the waves and it zooms to Riku and he just smiles.

Two: Same thing but Kairi comes from the ocean in tears and Riku helps her up. They all look at her and she shakes her head. Everyone gets solemn until Riku chuckles. He smiles and says, “That knuckle head always getting into trouble. He’ll be back. Even if I have to drag him home.”

Maybe its stupid but if you removed the scene where Sora turns into smoke or whatever, the ending would have allot more impact.

Those are all my complaints for the game. Like I said solid overall but with a few issues that could easily be fixed.

Now for the stuff I loved about the game. Gameplay Is First

All the worlds were so much damn fun to explore. I easily spent and extra couple hours in each just looking around for chests, emblems, Easter eggs, and ingredients. Even Pirates was fun and I was worried it’d be gimmicky due to the ship mechanic but nope it was so much fun. The only one that was less fun was Monstropolis but since it takes place in a factory its okay. It seemed more into hidden paths than open places which is fine.

I haven’t had that much fun with a combat system since playing as Vergil In Devil May Cry 4 Special edition and that’s saying something. His combat was so smooth and easy to experiment with I didn’t think it could be beat but KH3′s comes close with transformations and grand magic. The attractions are a bonus though I didn’t use them allot. There wasn’t a need at later levels.

Thank god for combo cancelling with dodges and slides. Against the Gigas, which are the only enemies that pose a threat now, its a god send.

Flowmotion is fun to use and not over powered like in DDD. No more spamming air slam at early levels.

The party members all feel useful. Not many died in combat and seemed smart enough to back off when they’re in danger. Donald also heals based on need versus what he did before. Like if I was out of magic and potions he would heal me over goofy even if we had similar amounts of health.

There wasn’t a single boss I didn’t like short of Dark Baymax since it felt so slow. Skoll is now my favorite heartless design finally surpassing the Wyvern from Kingdom Hearts 1.

That’s all for gameplay since I could go on and on.

Now for story stuff. SPOILERS INCOMING! All the original story stuff for the KH characters was amazing. Anti-Aqua’s theme was so heartbreaking and beautiful and what she said as we fought made me feel like shit even though it was Mickey’s fault for leaving her there. Vanitas’ voice is god like and his scenes are so good. Him calling Ventus and Sora a brother to him makes sense yet unsettled me with the tone he used. ALL OF THE TRIO’S BEING REUNITED!!! I cried when Xion, Roxas and Axel hugged and cried. I was so happy they got to be together. Aqua’s reunion with Terra and Ven was also beautiful. Xehanort’s story beats were great and the man they got to replace the late Leonard Nimoy is amazing. Sounds more sickly and dying like he should at this point. The twist where Terranort wrecks everyone before we go back into time was a fucking shock and amazing. THEN LINGERING WILL SHOWING UP! The voice for Lingering will was amazing. DONALD’S ZETAFLARE HOLY SHIT! All the foreshadowing of Sora’s “Death” or “Disappearance.” Death was talked about allot and Young Xehanort even said Sora couldn’t be saved since Sora uses the power of waking so recklessly. All the Disney characters who met organization members being sick of their shit before they even talk. Woody especially. “I bet you’ve never been loved.” and “That makes you more hollow than any toy.” My son I am so proud. All the instagram style posts were so cute. The epilogue was mind blowing. I knew that sarcastic sniper knew way more than he let on but him being Luxu was a fucking shock. Amazing. And the secret ending seems to be hinting that Sora’s been given a second chance in the form of The Reaper game from TWEWY. Either its going to be DLC which Nomura said if he did decide to do he’d do free stuff and/or one big dlc that adds to the experience in a big way or the next game opens with The Reaper Game. Riku being in Verum Rex is interesting to me. Maybe he realizes Sora isn’t in the realm of light and after talking with Goofy and Donald he learns of Verum Rex and how Sora was tossed in so he goes looking for him there. And finally the Master of Masters looking at the moon and forming a heart with his hands. Is he looking for a new plain of existence for everyone to live on but before he can move people there it needs a new Kingdom Hearts? And is that what’s in the box? I’m excited to see. All in all I love the game and would recommend it to people who want a good JRPG.

8.5/10

[ac-liveblogs]

Weird KH3 Narrative Choice #2

It strikes me, a lot, how fundamentally KH3′s writing disconnected feels from the story established from Olympus-Twilight Town. Twilight Town especially meant like it was setting up a totally different direction for KH3.

which sort of feeds into my “the script pre-toybox was written for a different KH3 thean the one we got” theory, but whatever. 

Setting aside the “gotta get the power of waking!” *proceeds to not do that* aspect of the game, Twilight Town is... weird. In a good way. 

Roxas is treated as some mysterious ethereal being that Sora’s trying to track down, even to his own detriment. He’s some strange shadow that’s difficult to hold onto, that no one really knows and no one really knows how to reach. The scene where Sora briefly flickers into Roxas in front of the old mansion is powerful. 

But, see... this world rightly says that trying to save Roxas isn’t necessarily a good thing. Sora has no idea what saving Roxas would entail or what it would look like. His plan is to relocate Roxas into the data Twilight Town, and I genuinely don’t think he realised that he’d be moving Roxas from one prison into another. Xemnas and Ansem tell him, to his face, that the only way to save Roxas is to lose his heart to darkness - they summon Heartless, mock him to go ahead and do it, if he’s so determined.

In response, Sora delivers the most haunting line he gives in the entire game - “It’s not darkness if it’s to save him.” 

In that instant, I was sure Sora was going to be chasing Roxas down rabbittholes, that he’d make some awful mistakes in the name of bringing him back in whatever form. We know Sora has a tenuous control on his darkness at best, so whatever Sora was going to do? Could end badly. 

Xemnas and Ansem stand by on a rooftop and monologue about leading Sora into a trap, how they still want him (or Roxas) as a vessel. It’s all... so ominous.

And then? Nothing. I cannot stress how much nothing follows. The first time I played this game I had no idea I was meant to leave Twilight Town, the narrative cuts off so abruptly. Pence and Ienzo are finding a way into the digital Twilight Town to hunt down clues about Roxas and then - nothing.

The search for Roxas? Dropped. Roxas just magically appears at the end of the game, none of the consequences that the start of the game implied happening even remotely. We just fuck off into the Disney worlds and do nothing. Hell, we don’t even contact Axel at any point about this - not even when Sora asks Hayner, Pence and Olette to try wishing Roxas back to speed along the process.

It’s so... hollow. Like Ventus’ heart leading Sora to Aqua, Roxas has a potentially interesting plot mentioned and then immediately shelved in favour of the least interesting way of pursuing that plot possible. And honestly? I really, really don’t like it. 

Ventus and Roxas’ emotions are acknowledged to be able to influence Sora’s actions somewhat - Roxas crying when Sora left Twilight Town in 2, Ventus pushing Sora to go to save Aqua or recognising Vanitas - but that’s barely even a factor in this game. And it’s a real shame, because dealing with Sora’s heart should’ve been a much bigger and more consistent theme than it was, but it kept getting brushed aside in favour of More Disney Worlds!

i’m sure nomura had very different plans for kh3′s original plot than the one we saw, and i would give just about anything to see them.