#but that when i saw that braig was one of the final bosses in aqua's story i honestly got very anxious in a bad way

[aeondeug]

honestly with the way i have eaten through the few kingdom hearts games i have played it is kind of strange that i still have only ever played four of these things. i have been aware of like the greater plot for years by way of reading and watching things. but i just never got around to playing most of the games because i dunno. i just haven't. maybe it's like bleach and i just let the consensus i was seeing of people going "thing bad and cringe" get to me.

which is very silly when my feelings on things like sonic vs. mario and bleach vs. one piece are what they are. i like stylish disasters that speak to my heart. and as a result i am probably going to end up one of the vaunted few who can love playing days. if i am especially cursed, as i often am, it will end up being my favorite kingdom hearts.

i think i am going to try riding the adhd momentum from bbs as far as i can take it. maybe this time i will actually be able to beat fucking xigbar.

[nadziejastar]

An old headcanon of mine was that during the experiments Xehanort gave both Isa and Lea Keyblade inheritance ceremonies. To explain Lea's Keyblade and Isa's when he inevitably got one. I figured that if he was intending to turn them into vessels being able to wield would make them more useful in the clash. But for some reason in KH3 the Darknesses didn't have to be wielders but the Lights did.

When King Mickey stopped time, Young Xehanort began to move. Since he can control time, was he breaking the King’s spell?

Young Xehanort wasn’t using his own power at that time. The King’s magic was broken because Master Xehanort was assimilating with Young Xehanort. Only “Recusant Sigil” was added by Organization XIII.

It was when the figures started appearing in the thrones.

Indeed. Time was stopped just as Master Xehanort was materializing. So he moved his consciousness to Young Xehanort’s body. Reacting to this, King Mickey exclaimed, “Oh no. Are you…” Young Xehanort was holding a Keyblade that he originally wasn’t able to handle thanks to Master Xehanort’s power. Though the keychain on it is different, the Keyblade he takes out is Master Xehanort’s.

I see. Young Xehanort himself is still on the Destiny Islands and isn’t able to wield a Keyblade yet.

Right. Even when he appeared as an additional boss in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, he wasn’t using a Keyblade.

Ya know, you raise a good point. But I’m not sure Xehanort would have even needed to perform an inheritance ceremony on his vessels. I think they automatically gain the ability to wield once they share a heart and consciousness with him. Young Xehanort could wield when Master Xehanort transferred his consciousness into him, even when he couldn’t have ordinarily.

But yeah, I had always figured that if you had a strong enough heart to be one of the Seekers of Darkness, you must have a strong enough heart to wield a Keyblade. I think all members of the New Organization XIII had the potential to wield, which is why they were able to be turned into vessels in the first place. (I’m not counting the reserve members who were only there for plot convenience). After all, Nomura said that only a strong heart is necessary, not whether it’s a good or bad heart. I think Isa definitely had the potential if he really was Subject X originally. The whole idea was that they were the sole subject who didn’t collapse.

Xigbar: Figures. If I had a Keyblade, it’d be different.

Sora: Like you’re actually worthy to use one.

Xigbar: Oh, I am worthy.

Sora: Whaddaya mean?

Xigbar: The old coot promised to bequeath me his. Why else do you think I would ever put up with all his nonsense?

Riku: It’d be wasted on you.

Xigbar: As if.

Larxene and Marluxia actually are Keybade wielders from the ancient past (though I personally doubt that was always their backstory). They had something that made them special to Xehanort, along with Luxord. I don’t think Xigbar’s words after he was defeated were originally supposed to have anything to do with Luxu. I think Braig truly knew that he had the potential.

Xigbar: All this altruism is giving me the warm and fuzzies. So the, does having a heart of light come with an extremely good insurance policy?

Sora: Just say what you mean.

Xigbar: Oh, but I did though. No good will ever come from putting other people first.

Herc: I was able to save Meg’s life because I was ready to risk my own.

Xibar: Because you’ve got friends in high places, you mean. Tricks like that don’t fly for your average joe.

Sora: What do you know? You weren’t even there! If you were, you’d admire Herc’s courage.

Xigbar: I don’t admire one guy leaping into danger if it means someone else might have to jump in to save him. You’re all just lining up to lose out. Dooming others to take the fall with ya. Oh, and you can spare me the usual party line. Yes, hearts are powerful when they’re connected. But if you put to much of that power in one place, some of those hearts might end up breaking. Still, Sora, that doesn’t mean you should change. Accept the power you’re given. Find the hearts joined to yours.

It’s the only reason why Braig even stuck around Xehanort, before he got retconned into Luxu. He just needed someone to perform the inheritance rite on him. That’s what his original deal with Xehanort was all about. I think Braig had a strong heart. He was able to retain a sense of self, even as a vessel.

I wonder if he was talking about T/A/V here. I think there was an important reason that Xigbar saw Xion’s face as Ventus. He is connected to Sora, has a heart of light, and is one of the hearts joined to Sora’s. Also after Olympus, Ven’s heart is stirred to save Aqua. She sacrificed herself for Terra.

Sora: I know the Keyblade didn’t choose me, and I don’t care. I’m proud to be a small part of something bigger–the people it did choose. My friends. They are my power!

Xigbar: Those are just words. You’ve lost. Fine. See where your power gets you here. Xemnas! He’s all yours.

Maybe that’s why Xigbar was so rattled by what Sora said here. Braig kinda sold his soul to the devil for power. But Sora was able to gain the ability to wield without having the inheritance ceremony performed on him. It made him feel like he took the dark path for nothing. I think Braig struggled the entire time with feelings of guilt over what he did. Terra, Aqua, and Ven were the first people he actually harmed. So, it makes sense he’d be haunted by Ven’s death glare and kill himself in the end.

Xemnas: However–through weakness of body…weakness of will…or weakness of trust–most of the original members we had chosen for the Organization were inadequate. Thus, naturally, they never had a chance to attain their goal. Yet, even this was to be expected.

Axel didn’t seem to be desirable as a vessel for whatever reason. He wasn’t retrieved like Isa and the others were. It just seemed like Xehanort never took a particular interest in him that way, like he did with Isa. Maybe Demyx, Xaldin, Zexion, Vexen, and Lexaeus didn’t have strong enough hearts in Xemnas’ view. I think Axel was a different case, though. He wasn’t defeated by Sora. He sacrificed himself for Sora. That puts him in a unique position regarding how Xemnas viewed him. And I think Xemnas always viewed Axel differently from the others. Lea had a very strong heart and was very strong mentally. I think Xemnas must have known that. Despite his lack of trust, he was kept around, unlike all the other traitors.

Xemnas: A heart is never lost for good. There may have been variances in our dispositions, but a number of us unquestionably showed signs of a burgeoning replacement. Once born, the heart can also be nurtured. Our experiments creating Heartless were attempts to control the mind, and convince it to renounce its sense of self. But understand, one can banish the heart from the body, but the body will try to replace it the first chance it gets, for as many times as it takes. And so I knew, even after we were divided into Heartless and Nobodies, it was just a temporary separation.

Xemnas was obviously talking about Axel here. He would definitely be the one that would first come to mind with the burgeoning replacement. I think Axel’s arc was entirely based on this idea. He lost his heart, and his relationship with Roxas and Xion was literally filling a huge void. So, Xemnas knew that Axel had a heart and maybe this is why he wasn’t ideal vessel material. He was too strong-willed and had too much sense of self. Vexen, too. I think he had a burgeoning replacement heart. I think Vexen was trying to help Sora before he was eliminated. Being in Castle Oblivion probably brought back memories for him, too. Like how when he was a human he cared about Ienzo more than anything. He felt remorse and tried to warn Sora. But in any case there’s a lot of evidence that Xemnas was fully aware that Axel had a heart.

Saïx: I passed on the message as you so desired. I told the young Sora to keep defeating the Heartless.

Xemnas: Good. Not only have you the power to inflict pain, you also have the power to plant seeds of doubt in one’s receptive heart. Sora will soon begin to doubt himself. It will cause him to hesitate and that hesitation will turn to anger. That anger will fuel him to get rid of his apprehension and move forward. He will pave the way for the future we desire.

Saïx: There’s something I’ve meant to ask.

Xemnas: About Axel? The poor fool. How long will he keep chasing the illusion of friendship, when he himself lacks emotion? Trying so hard to retrieve what he has lost, when it may never have existed in the first place. He deserves nothing more than our pity.

This is a conversation solely between Xemnas and Saïx that was added in KH2FM+. No one else is present. And Xemnas has his hood up, which is kind of a cue for hidden meanings. Not to mention, what purpose did this scene serve if its only meaning was to show that Xemnas thinks Axel is a fool? That’s kind of obvious and doesn’t need its own new scene. Saïx lowered his head when Xemnas said he has the power to plant seeds of doubt in one’s receptive heart. I think Isa’s heart was reacting more now that Axel was gone.

Axel and I talked for a while about the things we can’t bear to lose. Axel thinks that for Nobodies, it’s our pasts, because that’s all we have to remember the pain of losing something.

Another reason I think this scene was about Axel’s relationship with Isa is because Axel was trying to chase an illusion of friendship with him. He was trying so hard to retrieve what he lost, though it never existed in the first place. Saïx is not Isa. Then Roxas and Xion showed up. Even without a heart and emotion (at the time), Axel still longed for friendship. And he chased Roxas so hard after he left because he filled the void of what he lost.

Xaldin: To hold something dear is to let it hold you. His heart is in thrall to it, don’t you see? And that, Roxas, is ample weakness.

Roxas: I’m not sure I follow.

Xaldin: Nor should you. You have no heart to love with. Come. We return.

Xemnas knew that Axel was a great candidate to regrow a heart. And his memories of the past were what he held most dear. I think Xemnas knew what would happen if he was sent to Castle Oblivion. It would awaken his sleeping memories, and nurture his heart. Then he could be used to find Ventus.

Axel: You’re sure things are better this way?

Saïx: I never expected you to question it. If you could save one of them…why would you choose the puppet? Or put it this way. Which would you rather suffer the loss of: some make-believe friendship, or a real one? Things are finally right again. Of course we’re better off this way. Xemnas is exasperated from all the “fixing” we’ve had to do. We have to set things right. There is simply too much on the line…Lea.

My theory is that Xemnas instructed Saïx to have that conversation with Axel.

Axel: But how do you know that? Everybody thinks they’re right…

Xion: This is right.

Axel: They’re gonna destroy you!

Xion: Please don’t hold back, Axel. Promise.

Axel: What’s your problem? You both…think you can do whatever you want. Well, I’m sick of it. Go on, you just keep running. But I’ll always be there to bring you back!

Xemnas was using Axel’s feelings for his own ends. He really was a pawn. Xemnas wanted Xion back because she was preventing Sora from waking up. He really needed her at that point. Saïx knew this. Xemnas knew Axel was already filled with doubt. If Saïx made him doubt even more, then that hesitation would turn to anger. And then he’d be more likely than ever to bring Xion back if she leaves again. It was the same reverse psychology Saïx used on Sora.

Saïx said things are finally right again. And Axel was angry about how everyone thinks they’re right. So, the plan did work. Xemnas was using Axel’s memories of the past and of Isa as a tool to manipulate him. To make him bring Xion back. His desire for friendship played right into Xemnas’ hands. I think Xemnas knew that Axel’s longing for friendship made him far more able to nurture a heart than most others.

Axel waited.

In the shadows of the spaces between, he waited for Sora… For Roxas.

“Traitor,” Saïx had called him. But his betrayal of Organization XIII wasn’t exactly a recent development, Axel thought with a bitter laugh.

Marluxia and Larxene conspired to steal Sora’s memories, trying to take possession of him. No one could predict what Roxas would become, the Nobody created in such an unusual manner, born in the moment when his somebody Sora became something that was not Sora. Well, no—it was possible that Xemnas had some idea. Perhaps Vexen when he tried to tell Sora about Twilight Town and those close to him. Or all six original members of the organization.

The organization could hardly be called that anyway—this ragtag bunch of Nobodies united only by their desire for hearts. It was only natural that conflicts would arise between the newcomers like Marluxia and the six founding members, what with all the quarrels among the half of them posted in Castle Oblivion.

Axel had only acted to keep Sora alive—to keep Roxas alive. But thinking back on it now, maybe all he’d done was to play right into Xemnas’s hands. Agony racked his body. Saïx had dealt him a mortal blow, or close enough.

“Hurry up, Sora…,” he muttered, lifting his face to the nonexistent sky.

Before he died in KH2, Axel suspected that he played into Xemnas’ hands. Xemnas knew that Marluxia and Larxene were traitors. He didn’t want Marluxia and Larxene to gain control of Sora. And neither did Vexen. Xemnas sent Axel to Castle Oblivion as the only person to handle the situation. He apparently knew that since Axel was growing so close to Roxas, he’d side with Sora.

Xemnas: It is clear that through his actions, however foolish they may have been, Axel has touched Sora’s heart. Perhaps HE will soon awaken.

Xemnas even thought that Axel had the power to wake Ventus. Axel faced his demise by trying to help Sora save Kairi. And Xemnas admits that touched Sora’s heart.  I also think Axel’s demise in KH2 was foreshadowing the final battle as well.

“Listen, Kairi! Trust me. I’m going to get you out!”

Behind him, the portal closed.

“What are you saying…? Vile traitor!” The great Claymore took shape at Saïx’s back.

Axel didn’t waste a second grabbing his chakrams. But his body was reluctant somehow.

I don’t want to disappear… But still, it wouldn’t be so bad if I did. Not here.

I don’t think Sora or Xion were supposed to be there originally. Just Lea, Kairi, and Saïx. Even in KH2, Axel would rather disappear than kill his friend. I think the same would have been true in the final battle. Lea would have preferred death over actually killing Isa. He just wanted to save Kairi. Not that he actually could defeat him, though.

Axel let out a deep breath and leaped into the air as flames erupted around them.“…Pathetic!” The Claymore moved to block Axel’s strike, while Saïx himself didn’t even twitch.

This is a pretty overwhelming disadvantage, Axel thought. Well, I knew that before we started fighting. I can’t win against Saïx with my own strength.

Still, he refused to hesitate. He had to force this path open.

He wanted…to find hope—the hope that Sora and Riku had.

Saïx gave him a cruel grin. “You will lose everything!”

And then the Claymore pierced Axel’s chest.

Axel wanted to see Roxas again, but he felt bad about hurting Sora and Kairi. Saïx mortally wounded him while he was trying to save Kairi, and he used the last of his life to atone for what he did. He apologized to Sora for kidnapping her, then died. But he died with sadness and regret. Roxas went back to Sora and he was all alone.

I think it was similar with Lea and Isa’s final battle. Lea and Kairi wanted to rescue Isa, but they were outmatched by Saïx, especially in his Berserk state. I think they were both at their limit and there was nothing they thought they could do to win. Kairi was down. Lea was prepared to die in that moment, protecting Kairi, since things were already hopeless anyway. He didn’t even try to defend himself. He would have died with sadness and regret, just like he did in KH2. But just as soon as the Claymore would have pierced Lea’s chest yet again…Isa stopped. It would have been a victory for Lea’s heart and he would have been extremely happy. But then Xemnas shows up. And Lea is definitely no match for him.

Xigbar: The house is looking pretty empty, huh? I thought I’d get a little enjoyment watching Axel throw one last tantrum, but he went a lot quieter than I thought.

Luxord: Perhaps he was ready for it. Perhaps he put his existence on the line and won what he’d been longing for.

Xigbar: Wait a minute. How would that even be possible? We don’t exist, remember? What you’re saying goes against the laws of nature.

Luxord: Then perhaps he bet his NON-existence. Either way, he came out a winner. Oh, Axel. A grifter to the end.

Saïx: That’s absurd. He won nothing and is nothing. He couldn’t stand the emptiness of being without a heart, and that led to his demise. He was foolish and weak.

Xemnas: But…Weakness has the power to awaken that which is dormant.

But Lea acted differently when Xemnas launched his assault compared to earlier with Isa. Lea was prepared to go more quietly. He looked Isa in the eyes as when he was about to strike. But with Xemnas, he closed his eyes and had his head down. He was just as resigned to his fate in this scene, as he was at the end of KH2. He knew the odds were against him, but took a gamble and came to the battle anyway. He knew he wasn’t a Keyblade master and had little chance of beating Isa in a battle of strength. 

And he definitely didn’t have the strength to defeat Xemnas. But he had proof that Isa’s heart remembered him, and still cared for him. He put his existence on the line and won what he had been longing for. He came out a winner, and was ready for the end. He was foolish and weak. But his weakness had the power to awaken that which was dormant. Though Xemnas wasn’t anticipating it that time, obviously. For that scene, I think Isa’s heart being awakened made more sense and was foreshadowed FAR more than anything else.

[akingdomtheorist]

KH Catch Up: BBSFM Terra

-sees Terra- "Oh, so thats the guy who completely destroyed me."

"Why is Roxas here? That's Roxas!"

"How many times has Xehanort been cockblocked from Kingdom Hearts?"

"Are you talkin' shit about Destiny Island?"

"Person I assume is Xehanort, why are you kidnapping someone?"

"Xehanort, why is he kidnapping Roxas, this is a prequel?!"

"Why is he old as shit?"

"Roxas what are you doing in this game?"

"What do you mean you're a brand new heart? What the fuck is happening?"

"Wait a minute... that's the outfit Xigbar saw Xion in."

"This is starting out a lot happier than most KH games."

"Ooh I holdin' it in reverse grip."

"This has conspicuously avoided giving me a name for this character, I'm starting to think it's not Roxas."

"You're right I love her (Aqua) already."

"Is this Ventus?"

"Is he gonna kick my as- wait I'm playing as Terra-am I gonna kick my ass as hard as I did in KH2?" "No." "Awww..."

"Yeah that's fuckin' Xehanort."

"These three are a lot more wholesome at the start."

"So Terra's the Anakin of this game?"

"Ah, we're Power Rangers."

"Wait, do we- OH MY GOD when can Sora do that? Excuse me? That's fuckin' rad!"

TERRA STORY BEGIN

ENCHANTED DOMINION

"Terra just called the Unversed basic."

"He sure did."

"Good to see Maleficent is a manipulative bitch, even now."

"Why does this feel familiar to stand over a sleeping woman after murdering into her house?"

"So Terra's the Riku of this game."

"Time to turning evil is the lowest in any of the games so far. I think Riku even lasted longer."

-melds his first commands- "Heck yeah we got Leaf Bracer! Now I just need Second Chance and I beat the game."

He then died to the boss and learned his lesson of not having Items in his Command Menu.

"Yeah you kinda fucked up there Terra."

He's gonna say this about eleventeen more times.

DWARF WOODLANDS

"I'm surprised the Queen isn't like- how did you get in here."

We are not even an HOUR into this game yet.

"Terra... -sigh- you make bad decisions. Terra stop, just... stop."

"So is Terra's storyline just accidentally working for the bad guys? IS that his entire storyline?"

He figured it out folks and not even an hour in!

"THERE'S MIMICS? There's mimics..." "Does this upset you?" "Why are there fucking mimics..."

CASTLE OF DREAMS

"My favourite idiosyncrasy is just seeing classic Disney scenes and just the one anime character there in the scene."

He has pressed Triangle instead of X seven times and wasted so many items.

"Why can the shoe turtle? It's not a turtle, it's a shoe!"

"I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the blonde alone."

"What emotion is the boot? Salt? Is it salt? So it can kick other people from the boot?"

"Counter Hammer? B'scuse me?" No that isn't a typo.

"You were right, Terra's yeylash game is on point, Jesus Christ."

"I like the idea that the boss is playing his own boss music."

"I might jinx it, but the bosses in this game feel easy."

"Excuse me? That little brat did what?" "How dare you." "I knew that would get a reaction."

-sees cutscene with you know and not Xigbar- "Who the hell are you?"

MYSTERIOUS TOWER

-opens chest- "That was a very dramatic tap. Terra is a very dramatic person."

-sees totally not the Keyblade Graveyard- "That level, it gives me a mixed vibe of Chernobog and Land Before Time."

"Oh shit. I know this place. I got my ass handed to me here."

"I believe everything he's saying, but I don't believe he's guilty and it was an accident."

RADIANT GARDEN

"So is ten year old Squall here?"

"Well, yeah but you won't see him."

"But he's technically here?"

"Yeah?"

"I bet he's a fuckin' nerd."

"I see you lurkin' back there old man Xehanort."

"Merlin!-gasp- Pooh Bear? Is that Pooh Bear?"

"Your Elderness? God dammit Terra."

"Oh it's dis bitch. ITS DIS BITCH."

"Can we just all get along please?"

"Oh Terra..."

"Who the fuck are you? Wait a second... is that, is that Xigbar?"

"What was his weapon? What did he use? Was it gunman? It was gunman."

"Oh hey look, he has a crossbow."

"I don't believe this isn't an elaborate ruse. This has to be an elaborate ruse."

Well he died to Braig.

"I take back what I said about the bosses being easy."

We then spent some time getting Second Chance and Once More because Braig is a shooty bastard.

"I forgot to save."

"Yeah this is way easier." "Not because you have Cure, Cure and Cura in your Command Deck, noooo."

"Oh no. Oh this is how he loses his eye! We did that! Dammit it Terra."

"Terra is 100% the Anakin Skywalker of this game."

"Called it!"

DISNEY TOWN

"So is this... Mario Kart or Diddy Kong Racing?" "You'll figure it out."

"I'm not a citizen. I'm not even an immigrant, I just wandered over here."

"Wait, that was it?!" "You'll be coming back."

OLYMPUS COLISEUM

"Oh wow it's scrawny Herc."

He tried to open a chest, pressed triangle again.

"Yeaaaah, let's make bad decisions."

Then there was the salty agony of the timed battles in the Coliseum.

"So which Final Fantasy character are we gonna fight now?"

"Which Final Fantasy character are you? Who are you?"

"Is this Squall?" "No."

"Who is this?" "He looks a lot younger than he should." "Oh shit is this Zack?"

DEEP SPACE Terra wants to hit nothing he's aimed at. Apparently his weakness is zero gravity.

"Hey it's mah boy."

"Wait isn't that-" "Sparky!" "Yeah we're beating the hell out of him apparently..."

"Oh that's right we're excaped prisoners. Uh... jail break?"

NEVERLAND

"Oh are we helping Hook?" "Yeah." "God damnit Terra."

"Terra makes so many bad decisions, all the time."

"Never mind that this person might be in danger from pirates, I should leave."

"I like how the game was just go out of the cave, go in the cave."

"I've fought 1000 Heartless once I should be fine." He then hit critical health in twenty seconds.

DESTINY ISLANDS

"It's baby Sora and baby Riku!"

"I mean you're the Riku of this game so... yeah I guess?"

"What is happening?! He's seeing the future!"

"Little did Terra know, he set Riku on the path to super villainy."

"Did Terra just make Riku a Jedi? That seemed really official does he have the power to do that?"

THE LAND OF DEPARTURE

"Alright we've gone full fuckin' Darth Vader now."

"-sarcastically- From my perspective the Keyblade Masters are evil!"

"Are we becoming a Heartless?" "No." "It feels like we're becoming a Heartless."

"Did Xehanort just kill him?"

"It was Xehanort!"

"Oh no, he was evil? I would have never guessed! This is such a surprise to me! /endsarcasm/ Look now our home is fuckin' gone because we trusted the evil man."

We then spent lots of time getting commands so he didn't get his ass kicked. There was cross-referencing a guide and everything.

THE KEYBLADE GRAVEYARD

"Oh god it's a save point, and a shop. I think this is it."

"Oh look it's the in-game in engin version of that one cutscene."

"Aqua looks mad at us. We look mad at Aqua."

"Oh hello asshole."

"Since when are you an earthbender?"

"WHEN DID KINGDOM HEARTS GET HERE? WHAT IS GOING ON?"

"DON'T TAKE OFF YOUR HEAD PROTECTION!"

"Why did we take off our armor?"

"We have hurt him a lot, jesus."

"I'm not looking behind me-OH GOD DAMMIT."

"Oh no, oh nonono oh no mm-mmm. This is why you don't take off your protective gear!"

"Oh no this is bad, we're Xehanort now aren't we. So that's why he looks young."

"You get to be the Lingering Will, are you ready to beat yourself up?" "HECK YEAH!"

"So here's the plan: Shotlock, get the shit beat out of us, HEAL, Shotlock, repeat."

"Is he saying yield?" "He's telling you to yield." "NO!"

"Oh hey we got our cape!"

[orangedodge]

Instead of flooding my blog with a deluge KH posts, I figured I'd do just one in-depth one about the end reveal.  

At least until the next trailer comes out, and my inner nine year old breaks out once again.

So despite Nomura's limitations as a writer, and his occasional technical naivete, I've always been a bit surprised that he's never really given his due as a director. He has good storytelling instincts, and can be skilled at framing information on screen to highlight what he wants, while making his audience ignore what he doesn't want them to pay attention to. His team can also cut a trailer very well. The 2.8 trailers were masterful at presenting actual spoilers, but framed within an artificial context that hid their meaning, and led to the audience anticipating story beats that did not actually exist. The respective natures of Aced and Gula as people, in particular, was something he was highly successful at concealing.

E3 trailer spoilers below the cut

The first E3 trailer drop, which I think we're calling the "Frozen" trailer, reminds me a lot of what he did last time, with those 2.8 trailers. The reveal at the end, and it's implication that Aqua is now evil, is driven by two lines,

SORA - "I wont let her fall to darkness"

and

AQUA - "You're too late"

The combination is framed to suggest that it's specifically too late for Aqua, but as these lines occur in two entirely different scenes, and this structure is unlikely to be preserved in the actual game, the thematic bridge they create is an artificial one. It's unknown what the full context of each scene actually is, particularly the latter scene with Mickey, Aqua, and Riku. Instead, Aqua's lines are being set up with by potentially false context by Sora.

What actually happens in that scene? I think the position of landmarks, and the continuity in way the scene is lit, is sufficient to establish that it most likely takes place within the same span of time as the previous trailer's Riku and Mickey scene, in which Riku's Way to Dawn Keyblade was broken.

By combining the two Riku scenes, I would posit that the chain of events is as follows: Riku and Mickey arrive at the Dark Margin > Aqua attacks them in her new shadow form > Mickey is disarmed, and Riku's Keyblade broken > Aqua stops fighting and reveals herself > Aqua picks up Mickey's Keyblade.

If the line "This Keyblade..." is native to that scene, and not something that was simply placed out of context in the trailer to create false context (a trick Nomura used with Phantom Aqua's dialogue in the 2.8 trailers), then it could be possible that she didn't recognize her opponents until she saw that Keyblade. Either way, I believe it's likely that she fought them until they were both disarmed, whereupon she stopped, and revealed herself to them.

Two things grabbed my attention,

Is breaking Way to Dawn, the Keyblade with one of Xehanort's creepy time-travel spy eyes (that we've been warned about), actually an inherently aggressive act? She appears to have been completely shrouded/cloaked in darkness, if not actually invisible (if that was a Red Eyes effect Mickey was under), when she arrived. Assuming that the two Riku clips are in fact one continuous scene, than it seems as though she didn't let them see her until that Keyblade was out of the way.

Why pick up Mickey's Keyblade? It was established ages ago that a Keyblade can't be stolen from its wielder, so unless that's being retconned, I don't see why she'd benefit from picking it up unless to demonstrate to them that she's still capable of doing so. And that's being done in a state where she's not just possessed by darkness, but seems to have been totally transformed into it. The only precedents I can think of for that are Anti-Sora and Ansem. Anti-Sora didn't have access to Keyblades, and Ansem could only wield one through Riku's body (and presumably Riku’s heart, since he lost his access to the Keyblade once he cast that away).

So is Aqua currently fallen to darkness? Almost definitely, unless this is just Phantom Aqua messing with Mickey, or a physical manifestation of an impression she left behind when she lived there, or the result of some unique circumstance like Aqua-removed-her-Heart-from-her-body or Aqua's-looking-for-Ven-in-the-realm-of-sleep that that would render her condition a temporary side effect.

Is she 'norted? It seems probable, but I'm not one-hundred per cent sure that it actually follows from what's been shown. Xehanort's never shown the ability to discorporate into dark fog or become invisible, I mean, and it seems like that would be a fairly useful ability to make use of if he had it. It seems not unreasonable to assume that it's therefore an ability newly unique to Aqua, and not something connected to a 'norting. I'm going to leave the changers to her hair aside because it's appeared that shade before (for example, in the daylight Wayfinder sequence at the start of the 0.2 trailer), and I'm not sure how much of the color change is being influenced by the lighting conditions, or even if the lighting is finished. The eyes seem like a big give away that she's 13th 'nort, as we've only ever seen glowing amber eyes in humans with Xehanort's vessels... but we don't actually know why he has those traits in the first place.

It could be nothing of consequence, just a unique aspect of his character design that made an easy shorthand for showing who he was possessing. Or it could be that amber eyes are actually meant to represent something in this setting (connection to Heartless?), and what specifically that is just hasn't come up yet, except as through the brothers and sisters 'nort. So it's possible that her eyes don't really mean what we assume they do, and it's just a fun way to use the trailer to mess with us.

(And because this series is so weird, it may also be worth remembering that incomplete beings have been shown to take physical forms influenced by the expectations of the people viewing them. Think Xion's magic flippy-floppy hood, or Aqua perceiving Ansem as Terra. So depending on what the meaning of Aqua's shadow form actually is, the way she appears to Mickey might not be what she actually looks like, as opposed to just the material consequence of how he expects her to look, reflected back upon his own reality. I... ugh. This series is something else.)

(There's also a possible exception to the only-'norts-have-glowing-eyes rule with Terra, who did have glowing amber eyes before he was 'norted, but portions of those cut scenes may now be apocryphal)

But even if Aqua is 'norted, does it automatically follow that she's now an evil puppet of the arch villain’s? I'm going to just throw this out there, and give a hard no. Could be! She could be evil now, she could even be a boss fight and a resulting fetch quest to fix her Wayfinder to bring her back to normal, or be a recurring super boss introduced to give the heroes someone more threatening to fight than Vexen and Marluxia, or anything else. But it's not absolutely necessary and it's a truly strange assumption to make, given past experiences with 'norts and people consumed by darkness.

Riku was 'norted for... really the entirety of the first three games in one way or another, and after a few initial close calls, he got his second wind, and was fine. Vanitas and Braig both seem to do whatever they want; it just so happens that they want to be evil, but I don't think Xehanort has ever shown any supernatural capacity—resorting instead to threats and possible torture—to modify their behavior if they wander off to undermine him. Terra is... well his body has been possessed for decades now, but also obviously is not being controlled in any meaningful way, unless Xehanort actually planned to choke himself and get whipped in the face by chains. Axel also didn't seem to have any problems with just throwing Xehanort out, when he was a heartless shell that theoretically had compromised means of resisting a takeover.  

So Xehanort is clearly not always in complete control of his vessels, other than Young Xeno (himself), Ansem (his own literal heart), and maybe Xemnas (some proportion of his own heart in Terra’s empty body), who could all be unique exceptions. And even the vessels that have been with him the longest have habit of doing as they please. I should find it strange should Aqua be the absolute only exception in the series. And thinking on it, all that's really said of the final confrontation is that you have 13 seekers and 7 guardians... but there's not really a rule that they have to form two opposed teams and stick to them no matter what.

To just fly off into blind speculation though, what I'm personally leaning towards is the possibility that Aqua has just become a part of the realm of darkness. That Mickey is “too late” to reach her before a point of no return, and now she just cannot leave. She doesn't sound particularly angry, or upset to see him. It sounds like she's just stating a fact, or just speaking with resignation. Mickey and Riku, in the clip where Way to Dawn is shown broken, also do not seem as defeated as one might expect them to if they had experienced complete and total failure. They seem pretty sure of themselves, whatever has happened.

I'm hesitant to add this in, given my own bias, but it actually seems not unlike they're saying goodbye. Perhaps just letting go of something, if they've failed and are moving on, or if Riku is just saying goodbye to the chapter of his life represented within Way to Dawn. Or they could be getting ready to split up.  

I've seen a lot of speculation, that I think rings true, that Disney would prefer for Mickey to not be involved in the final fight, whacking recognizable humans in the face with a sword-like weapon. The rumor's line of reasoning follows that he needs to be swapped out for someone else, and Aqua seems like the most fitting possibility. Maybe literally? One stays, so another can go? Thematically, she took on Terra's punishment for him, trapping her there in the first place. Mickey taking it on for her, so she can leave, would be a fitting continuation. And it seems to be what he wants. Edgy, traumatized, Mickey Mouse is a weird concept to introduce to a story, but it almost pulls it off where his trauma re: Aqua is concerned. This is clearly meant to be the great unhealed wound in his life, and to not just free his friend, but take her place in the underworld for a while is one way to help him patch it.

[haveievermentioned]

I think Birth By Sleep was planned as one long story, not three separate ones.

I have decided to play through Kingdom HEarts chronolgically, and to do so I started with Birth By Sleep.  After some debate I decided to use the Trinity Timeline to do so.  And I found out something odd. The story made more emotional sense when I played it this way. 

There are a LOT of questions (and answers) in Birth By Sleep.  But these are not always in the same story.  

The Xblade is not brought up in Ven’s story first, it’s brought up in TERRA’S.  But it is not finished in Terra’s, it’s finished in VEN’S.  If this was separate stories initially, Ven should have gotten most of the infodumping.  

Braig’s involvement starts in Terra’s.  But if you view it as halfway through the whole story, his beats (Including the MX Keyblade) make more sense than one that is halfway through Terra’s.  Terra who is supposed to play first.  Aqua asking Braig “Who are you”  Fits better here too.  Not only has Aqua never seen him before but the Player knows he is Important, but not how. 

Mickey’s hopping around is more trackable, Xehanort’s machinations follow better, the reveal with Eraqus carries so much more weight when it has been 30 hours - not 10 - since you last saw him.  Book ends happen in different stories than they start, tacked on boss battles are less obvious, and it’s easier to follow the thread of who is doing what.   It also solves Aqua’s initial gap.  If you switched at pre selected times, THAT would have been the first time you played as her.   It’s not perfect, Radiant Gardens would have been a nightmare to do and then you have the final battle juggling, but it FEELS better. The story feels completed and answered.   Just give it a try yourself, see what I mean.  

[sharingthesamesky]

Here’s the Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Fragmentary Passage and Kingdom Hearts Back Cover reactions thread I promised you

Back Cover:

THIS MOVIE IS SO PRETTY HOLY SHIT

Also, the cinematography is incredible. Like. From someone who studied film, this shit is really good. There was like. That one moment when it was a little on the nose with the flower petals, but this is a Kingdom Hearts game so comparatively it was downright subtle.

If the Master of Masters isn’t somehow connected with Braig I’d be surprised at this point. (Master of Masters, here after known as Mr. MoM). Plot says it should be Xehanort, but mannerism SCREAM Braig. (They also share the whole one-eyed thing.)

Is Kingdom Hearts using Norse mythology symbolism now too? Because Mr. MoM’s whole “takes one eye out and casts it into [the future] to know ultimate truth” thing is just Odin.

How on earth did Mr. MoM convince these 6 super serious people to listen to him. He doesn’t seem like someone any of them would agree to train under AT ALL. Maybe Gula? But Aced and Ira? I guess there just weren’t any other Mr. MoMs to pick from?

The fucker wrote the book of prophecy in vague rhyme because he’s terrible

I swear this time travel thing is so dumb. “Don’t want you to cause any temporal paradoxes” MY ASS. you can’t just make shit up because its sounds cool. How does this work? If you “can’t change the future” then like. What is even the point of anything? Are there some events that are fixed but the specifics are still in flux?

The real reason Luxu doesn’t get a book of prophesy is that Mr. MoM hand copied the thing five times already and didn’t feel like doing it again.

Alternatively he hand copied it six times but that foreteller moogle that gives you your medals got Luxu’s copy.

I mean clearly Mr. MoM saw the keyblade war and was like “what’s the best, most fun way I can cause this? Oh! I know! I’ll tell Gula to find a “traitor” and make them all fight each other. I mean if there was really a traitor, I could just tell Gula who it was, because I can SEE THE FUTURE, but that wouldn’t be fun at all!”

Seriously if Gula hadn’t preempted that speech what would he have said.

“Oh, I know. I’ll make Aced feel jealous and make him attack the leader because I’m totally a champion of light. TOTALLY.”

Why is Ira so sure that this event would have been in the book? What kind of events make it into the book? Clearly not everything or Ira wouldn’t need Invi’s reports at all, right? Seriously did I mention this time travel stuff is terrible?

“I might vanish or I might not - anyone’s guess” says the man whose entire shtick is knowing the future. Everyone: Sounds legit.

If Mr. MoM’s keyblade makes it all the way to the present, why the fuck do their books end with the keyblade war? I mean probably because they all die in it and telling them that is a sure way to cause those supposed temporal paradoxes, (or because Mr. MoM is just a conniving ass) but I swear none of them thought to ask why his vision of the future stops there? Well, I suppose “and then the world ends” is a good enough place as any to claim you can’t see past. Even if you’re lying liar about it.

We all know Luxu’s the traitor right? Let’s just get this out of the way. Not that he necessarily betrayed anyone or anything, but Gula’s magic paper says “bears the sigil” so it’s gotta be LuXu. Unless of course its one of our key kids who went all edgy and put an X in their names.

Okay, even not knowing that, why in the hell did no one mention Luxu as a possibility for the traitor in the first place?

I mean they know about Luxu even though he’s sort of implied to be a latecomer to the group. Did they all start out wearing those black cloaks before they got their fancy foreteller gear?

Okay who designed the fancy foreteller gear who made those masks and how did Mr. MoM convince them to go with that? I mean - scratch that last part these idiot’s will do anything he says apparently.

(You’ll pry my guilt bonuses from my cold dead, darkness ridden hands, KHuX)

Mr. MoM engineered this entire thing and use everyones unquestioning loyalty and sense of his own perfection to do it. No one bothered to question any of the details and that’s why it worked.

“Hey, Master, why to all the chirithy look the same? Wouldn’t it be easier to tell which one turned into a nightmare if they were like. Numbered or something?”

“Hey Master, you want us to… collect Lux? What are we collecting it for? Shouldn’t we… not do that?”

“Wait you want us to… take Lux from… the future?”

Seriously this movie answers zero of the questions about how time works in KHuX. None of them at all. Well, maybe Season Two will address it.

“Hey Master, why is it called a Nightmare if this isn’t the world of dreams because obviously it isn’t right? RIGHT?”

Ava tells her dandelions they are gonna practice leaving the world by going into the realm of dreams though so.

I’m sorry I couldn’t take that scene seriously with all the key kids in their default starter outfits. No keyblader that’s the “best of the best” is gonna be wearing a starter outfit with no perks.

Okay, I get that Gula couldn’t tell anyone his role, and that Aced’s “true role” aka the failsafe powder keg fuse makes sense to keep secret, but why didn’t Ava tell anyone her role?

The foretellers have different VA’s than the characters they obviously correspond to, but they’re similar (well, accept Aced) and they speak in a very similar way. Care to comment? (Mr. MoM giggling in the distance)

Ava, how does Ephemer even know about the book? Did you tell all the keykids about it or what? I kind of doubt that. Ephemer you clever little sneak.

The Foretellers have a secret castle no one is allowed to enter and yet they have their meeting in the warehouse that literally everyone goes into all the time.

"coolheaded Gula?" More like flips the fuck out when he can't figure something out and tries to SUMMON KINGDOM HEARTS Gula.

Too bad Spongebob can never know what’s inside my secret box.

Seriously, why does ANYONE trust this guy.

Luxu’s reaction to “it’s my eye” is amazing.

No Name. Really. You don’t say.

The NA rankings are pretty spot on though. Good on us.

Fragmentary Passage:

Holy shit I’m so sold on the “technical demo” aspects of this game. Next Gen I love you.

You have to understand the last gen I had was a PS2. Why is everything so reflective and responsive its amazing.

Aqua’s VA is better than she was in BBS, but it still definitely limited my enjoyment of the game.

I did not realize the top of Aqua’s outfit was supposed to be see-through mesh other than the boob pads. Not sure how I feel about that.

I hope that the FFXIII style “hallways simulator” thing was because of time constraints and not because it’s how KH3 is gonna go.

The whole “There’s no time in the realm of Darkness” thing is really interesting, especially given all this time travel nonsense in the Realm of Light. But. Things still clearly progress in a linear fashion in there. Aqua doesn’t see Riku running through the darkness and then walk for a long while and then see Mickey. People enter and leave the place in an order that seems to be shared. Which means there is time. I think the word you are looking for is vague, arbitrary, or inconsistent.

Goddammit Nomura, take a second to read about time between your Latin lessons and your comparative mythology classes.

The new Heartless look really cool. I like them. And the elemental effects are fantastic. I could watch those heartless throw water at me all day.

The world design, apart from the linearness of some of the levels, was amazing. The suspended structures and twisted landscapes were really compelling.

I can’t be the only one who got strong “American McGee’s Alice” series vibes though, right? In a good way.

The mirror puzzle was neat. Not sure how long it would have taken me to figure out had I been playing and not watching a walkthrough so I’m calling it neat entirely by concept and visuals.

Phantom Aqua attacks in a pattern pretty similar to Xehanort’s fight with Terra in BBS, but with a mix of Aqua’s moves thrown in.

Aqua’s attack style is… kind of Extra. That twirl where she sticks her leggy straight up vertically in the air is like… Was that necessary? It certainly isn’t physically possible. Ask figure skaters.

The Terra/Xehanort scene was surprisingly good despite Terra’s VA. It was nice to get some insight into how that relationship is going. Because the rest of time seems pretty linear, we know that scene takes place, for Terra, at some point AFTER the worlds start vanishing. But if we take the claim that time is - if not absent - weird in the Realm of Darkness, then we don’t have any sense other than that. Maleficent gathered the princesses from the worlds we saw before she met Riku so that isn’t any indication, really.

Did I start crying when I saw Destiny Islands? Almost. Did I take a million screenshots of HD Destiny Islands? You bet your ass I did.

I did kinda cry when I saw Riku in his dumb KH1 puffy pants, though.

So behind the door in the Realm of Light is the heart of the world, but when it’s in the realm of darkness, it’s a magic keyblade shrine? I’m not really gonna argue. It seems to be a symbolic thing. Whatever. Good to know it’s a “push” door I suppose.

I’m not looking forward to that Demon Tide boss showing up again.

Mickey says he’s been “working with” Sora and Riku and he’s a fucking liar you didn’t do shit for them during KH1, Your Majesty, I WAS THERE.

“Kingdom hearts.. well okay not really kingdom hearts but. It’s sorta like a mini kingdom hearts? look we didn’t have the lore finalized at this point so just. pretend for me, Aqua.”

I can’t believe the Darkness ate King Mickey’s shirt.

(I know it was for the sake of consistency, and if it hadn’t happened you’d have people saying Mickey took his shirt off to be all macho mouse for that scene but still. Did anyone remember going in what Mickey was or wasn’t wearing during that scene?)

Kairi gets 3 seconds of screen time, and they are THE BEST. She’s super on point and I love her and hope she beats Lea up repeatedly and that we get to watch. Or do it.

I’m so thankful that Yensid didn’t pull a “no, Kairi you’re a princess of heart you can’t do both.” I didn’t think he would but it wasn’t NOT a fear of mine.

RIKU AND KAIRI INTERACTION. I PRAYED SO HARD. FOR SO MANY YEARS.

Riku’s whole “I tried to hard too be a role model” thing had me in tears. My son. My beautiful darling son. I am so proud of you. So proud

Sora-esque.

Yen Sid’s “No, see you would have done some stupid brave shit and fucked it all up” was. Amazing. Surpassed only by his “Sora, you fool, you complete and utter fuckup.”

“HAPPENS ALL THE TIME”

So… was Yensid actually talking about Hercules or did Sora just… guess wrong. Because Yensid never explicitly says to go to Olympus Coliseum. Sora’s just…. really literal minded.

Goddammit I take back what I said about Next Gen the canon Disney characters look TERRIBLE. I really hope they work on that before KH3 because I really don’t want to deal with plastic model Donald and Goofy the whole time. Please.

I did NOT miss Donald Ducks voice.

That Gummi ship scene was incredible? HD Sora is so expressive and adorable and precious.

I like watching the dynamic between those three. It’s weird as fuck to watch with these graphics, and Donald and Goofy’s voices make it near impossible to take seriously, but it was fun to see.

“May your heart be your guiding key” DID YOU ALL FORGET WHY SORA FUCKED UP SO BAD IN THE MARK OF MASTERY? GOD DIDN’T YOU HEAR WHAT XIGBAR SAID? “Aren’t hearts great? Lead us wrong every time.” GODDAMMIT.

(I suspect that Mr. MoM knew that too, and was counting on it, hard. Even if he isn’t Braig.)

Special Credits:

I don’t have much to say other than HOLY SHIT NOSTALGIA and that i’m such a sucker for parallels in fiction that I was kind of rolling around with glee.

I actually didn’t realize just how much hugging and touching there is in this series?

Everyone’s all “KH doesn’t have explicit Romantic Parings” But they DID just do a giant romance montage (which included Namine and Roxas?) just to lead up to Sora and Kairi so. Not all that subtle.

As much as I’m :/ about that last bit, it was nice to see this game remember that other parts of the Destiny Islands trio exist besides Sora and Riku’s dynamic. We got some Riku and Kairi in 0.2 and we got this little bit in the credits so at least they haven’t forgotten Kairi exists.