#kingdom hearts: melody of memory (2020)

[oktaviaslabyrinth]

Dearly Beloved -Swing Version- // Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (2020)

[holly-natnicole]

Kairi's canon abilities & skills

As a Princess of Heart:

Together with the other 6 Princesses of Heart, Kairi's Heart reveals Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden's Keyhole. Their Hearts of pure Light are 7 of the 20 pieces of the χ-blade.

Kairi was born with a Heart of pure Light. This makes her able to sense Darkness, able to hold Darkness back temporarily (but it's draining to her), and immune to Corridors of Darkness' corrupting influence since she has zero Darkness in her Heart. Losing her Heart wouldn't have resulted in Naminé's (Kairi's Nobody's) creation if her Heart hadn't taken refuge inside of Sora's; being a regular Somebody, Sora had a small amount of Darkness thus resulting in Naminé when he freed Kairi's Heart from Sora's own by using the Keyblade of Hearts. When she had lost her Heart, Kairi's body (&, presumably, her Soul) was comatose 'til Sora's sacrifice.

It's kinda unclear whether Kairi stopping Sora from fading away in K.H.3 was a Princess of Heart power or solely a Kairi power. The same goes for Sora in K.H.2 reading Kairi's letter opening a Corridor of Light from the Realm of Darkness to the sky above Destiny Islands. And for Kairi in K.H.1 transforming Sora from a Shadow Heartless into either a Somebody (therefore creating a body for Sora) or into a human-looking Heartless same as Ansem the Seeker of Darkness a.k.a. Xehanort's Heartless is (I prefer this one since it'd mean Sora still needs a Replica or a Nobody to become complete). I'm more inclined to see all 3 as Princess of Heart powers, but it's not explicitly confirmed in the videogames.

As a Keyblade-wielder:

Kairi starts out weak for the 1st 15 years of her life, unable to do better than any other non-combatant civilian. She doesn't summon her Keyblade when she gets it; instead, Riku is the one who gives Destiny's Embrace to Kairi.

However, the instant it's given to her, she easily destroyed 2 Shadow Heartless on her own with a single slash each. And, right before Riku gave Kairi her Keyblade in K.H.2, she jumped off a very high up balcony & landed in a squat with no injury.

But Kairi then (instantly after her landing) froze in fear when a bunch of Shadow Heartless surrounded her thus they easily piled up over her. In K.H.3, she froze again when Xehanort-possessing-Terra's-body was 'bout to slash down at her face with his Keyblade; possibly due to P.T.S.D. from the time he grabbed her face with his hand when she was age 4 or 5.

Kairi's main issue is her emotions. "Please work!!" she pleads her Light when using Flower Shoot (a ball of Light) or her magic when casting elemental spells; her self-confidence low or non-existent even after training with Lea, Merlin being their teacher. Understandable, considering the times Kairi had faced enemies she could barely run away from and who easily dragged her around by the wrist. Kairi knows that even after training she isn't strong enough to fight World-ending threats the way Sora and Riku can.

However, after being trained by Merlin, Kairi (despite her troubles) is a competent enough fighter to go toe-to-toe with much more experienced and powerful enemies; e.g. Xion, Saïx, and Xemnas. In that last one's case, she even breaks his Ethereal Blades with her Keyblade and forces him on the defensive 'til he uses Nothingness to drain her energy. With Sora's help, Kairi in K.H.:ReMind kills Armoured Xehanort. Shown in each fight she's in (including when the redhead fights her memory of old man Xehanort in K.H.:Melody of Memory), Kairi focuses on speed & quick attacks that repeatedly cut the enemy thus accumulating damage instead of killing them with a single powerful blow or a single massive magical attack. She's agile enough to dodge the enemy's hits and spells in mid-air, maneuvering herself without Gliding. Kairi also is strong enough to block the enemy's strike at least for a little while, causing a temporary stalemate. She can dismiss & fast re-summon her Keyblade in K.H.:Melody of Memory to keep attacking Xehanort, having learned from when Xemnas grabbed her wrist & twisted in K.H.3 (she stopped moving at the oain whereas her Keyblade being grabbed instead of her wrist prompts Kairi to dismiss Destiny's Embrace then quickly re-summon it). Kairi in K.H.3 can easily slash a Shadow Heartless in half same as she did in K.H.2, but has improved into using Spiral Bloom (a spinning attack) to rapidly cut the enemy several times in a row. She's also able to cast Cura to heal her friends. Kairi in K.H.:ReMind can cast Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Curaga, Waterga, and Aeroga. Her Shotlock is Heart of a Princess, which allows her to rain down orbs of light on the battlefield. When Kairi is a certain distance away from the enemy, she can use Strike Shift to quickly teleport to them by throwing Destiny's Embrace at them. She can also telekinetically spin her Keyblade around her, then catch it to give the enemy one final slash. With her Seven Wishes attack, she dashes towards the enemy 7 times with Destiny's Embrace held in front of her; it kinda stabs & slashes the enemy as Kairi goes (or tries to go) through them fast then whirls around to do it 6 more times. Same as Terra, she uses Slide to dodge the enemy's attacks when on the ground. Like Riku and Aqua, Kairi uses a hexagonal barrier made of magic to defend herself and she can use her unique counterattack Starcracker to shatter her barrier into a bunch of thalassa seashell shaoes that cut the enemy who is attavking her. With Sora, Kairi sometimes does the team attack named One Heart where each gains a golden wing made of Light & memories whilst they hold hands then together Kairi and Sora fly towards the enemy before using their wings to cut the enemy several times before their wings fade away in a shower of magical feathers displaying memories and they let go of each other's hand to land on the ground.

Kairi at the end of K.H.:Melody of Memory asks for Keyblade Master Aqua to teach her, as she wants to become stronger to fight beside her best friends Sora and Riku.

[royalmilkteehee]

realized the only thing preventing this Kairi from being “done” was a pattern on the pink side of the dress that was a huge pain and i had no motivation for so I just deleted that layer and now I can be proud of this pic instead of a wip that perpetually haunts me

[holly-natnicole]

[Image Description: a digital drawing of Sora and Kairi from 'Kingdom Hearts III' (2019), 'Kingdom Hearts: ReMind' (2020), and 'Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory' (2020) videogames. Only their arms, chests, shoulders, necks, and heads are shown. They're in a cartoon heart. Below it is text: 'HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY']

Happy Valentine’s Day!

[raezingart]

Hello! This blog has been dead for literal years, but with other social media sites going crazy I’ve missed this platform. Here’s a drawing I did back in 2020 in anticipation of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory…my excitement for which literally got my through fall 2020.

[antonella411]

Hey there, Soriku fans, I wanted to announce that today, November 14th, is the 4th anniversary of me becoming a Soriku Shipper (i.e. when I started shipping Soriku)!

I still remember how I discovered Kingdom Hearts and how I started shipping Soriku: it was 2017, I was 13 years old when I saw a trailer of Kingdom Hearts III on the internet (at that time the game was still in development), I wanted to buy it, because there were many Disney characters and I love Disney so much, but I discovered that the game hadn't come out yet

Years passed and I didn't think about Kingdom Hearts anymore, until September 2020, I was 16 years old when I discovered, on my old Nintendo DS, that there was the game Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, I remembered the trailer of Kingdom Hearts III (not knowing that the game came out 1 year ago) and I started playing

And it is in this game that I met Sora and Riku (and also Data-Sora and Data-Riku), at first my ship-spark didn't immediately been struck (my ship-spark is the spark when I understand that I want to ship) and I thought that for me the two are just best friends, but a month later, in October 2020, I discovered, on my Nintendo Switch, that Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory was coming, I downloaded the demo and I liked it, deciding to buy it when it comes out

So, the day the game came out, I bought it but decided to play it the next day because I was in school at the time and I knew the next day was Saturday, and that's how, on November 14, 2020, when I saw the intro of Melody of Memory for the first time, when I saw the scene of Dream Drop Distance where Sora and Riku looked into each other's eyes, my ship-spark went off and I screamed: "Sora and Riku are fucking gay!!!!", I was just 17 years old

Right after completing the game, which I completed in just 2 days, I had fantasies about Sora and Riku's future (I've always had fantasies about the ships I do): I imagined what Sora and Riku would be like when they grow up (mostly Sora at 18 and Riku at 19), how Sora proposed to Riku, Sora and Riku's wedding, Sora and Riku's first time, I even imagined Pregnant Riku (I've known about Mpreg since I was 15, after seeing the movie "Junior" for the first time) and what Sora and Riku's children will be like

Regarding my Soriku Shipchildren, at first I imagined that Sora and Riku have only one child named Soku and that he looks like both their fathers, but then I decided to make two children, the firstborn boy and the secondborn girl, I changed Soku's appearance, I imagined with the same face and brown hair as Sora and the same green eyes as Riku, and I recalled him Roxas Sky (after which he became, together with Angeal Fair, one of my Clack/Zakkura Shipchildren, my favorite shipchild), while the girl, I imagined with the same face and silver hair as Riku and the same blue eyes as Sora, I called Kairi Sky

And that's how I became a Soriku Shipper, I'm still waiting for your fanart of my Soriku Family

You can also ask me questions to know more about me and my love for Soriku

[jungilhoon]

from 2015 to 2023: a retrospective!

i’m mostly writing this for myself, but if you happen to take a look and even get something out of it, that’s cool too.

i started this blog in march 2015; it’s now december 2023. back then, i was still a student, reaching the end of my teen years and preparing to progress towards the next stage of my life. i’m now twenty-eight (birth year buddies with sungjae, let’s go).

to be honest, my main goal in life during that time – aside from surviving university and then finding a job – was basically to spread recognition of btob as much as i could lmao. it was as if my well-being depended on their happiness and success. i wanted to watch them succeed so bad, and i feel like their rise equated to some of the most exciting years of my life. they gave me something i thought i was missing, and i needed them. at the same time, i think i was experiencing a lot of difficulties during the years 2015-2017. btob became my escape and comfort that helped me get through that period. looking back, i could have been relying on them a bit too much, but they certainly brightened my world. for that, i’ll always be grateful.

one of my fondest memories will forever be seeing them live for the first time at their 2017 concert. being in the presence of the seven people i had been supporting so hard was profoundly touching. hearing fellow melodies singing their hearts out to ‘it’s okay’ alongside myself brought tears to my eyes.

anyway, as time passed and i started to spend less time online due to changing commitments offline, i began to notice changes in myself. i stopped posting here in 2019 for no significant reason other than that i had gotten busy, and i was finding myself genuinely enjoying life by then. i was discovering happiness in more ways than i had before, but btob stayed a part of me. they were my reliable friends, my found family – the ones i could come back to at any time. my home.

in late 2020 and 2021, i distanced myself for a while. i don’t think i ever fully processed the news back then. i might have even told myself that not paying attention and blocking it out would be for the best. i basically took a break, only checking in here and there. (4u ate up on kingdom.) i’ve naturally drifted away from people i knew back then, but i’ve also stayed close to a few. eventually, i found myself accepting the way things had become, albeit slowly. i still miss and care about ilhoon. i understand if he will never be a ‘public figure’ again. i think i can simultaneously acknowledge and hold both of these perspectives. every now and then, such as when i’d finished watching the btob time movie last week, i do feel sad about it. it’s hard to just get over it. yeah, i’m an adult, but so what.

my mindset has changed as i’ve gotten older. in the past, i was hostile and quick to react in the face of negativity. i was chaotic; i always wanted to prove a point. i guess i’ve calmed down a lot since then. i’m pretty mellow these days. on the whole, i’m not fond of spending too much time engaging with strangers or acquaintances online. truthfully, it did make me anxious then too. i kind of prefer just tossing things into the void, like this post, and quietly enjoying what i like. that’s why being active online the way i used to be doesn’t seem to work for me anymore. still, maybe with rose-tinted glasses, i miss those days i spent just waiting on the next btob update and having fun here. i scrolled through my archive for a while last night, riding on a rollercoaster of emotions.

what i actually mean by my mindset having changed though, is that i seem to view things in life more positively these days. i’ve somehow stopped being so pessimistic all the time. i found it difficult to look on the bright side when i was younger. i was colder, filled with dread, and eternally expecting the worst. as a person, i think i’ve become warmer, more appreciative. precious things can disappear just like that. i try to be thankful, in case it’s true that nothing gold can stay.

i’m undecided on if i’ll randomly appear with the odd post when i feel like it. there’s no harm in it, so perhaps! at present, what i want to say is that i still wholeheartedly love and support btob. always will. i have their season’s greetings pre-ordered. now that they’re out of cube, i’m so excited for what they might have in store next. i don’t know what it’ll be, but that’s okay. whatever it is, and even if it’s not what i’m expecting, i trust them. i’ll be proud of them. really! 비투비 예전에도 지금도 앞으로도 사랑해요! 🩵

(p.s. i impulsively bought hour moment photocards at 2am last night, so maybe i actually still need to relax.)

[holly-natnicole]

Yep, that's Destiny Islands.

Hi again!! Which of the Worlds in K.H. would you like to live in? I'd wanna live in Land of Departure/Castle Oblivion, World That Never Was, Radiant Garden/Hollow Bastion, Destiny Islands, Twilight Town, Traverse Town, Atlantica, Caribbean, or Kingdom of Corona.

i love the little island sora & friends start at honestly!! it seems peaceful lol

[firestorm09890]

zexion importance conspiracy theory 2!! the squeakuel

(like the first one, don’t take it too seriously i know this is ridiculous i just need to get the brainworms out or i’ll die)

so you know how Union Cross had those medals of characters? and some of them were taken from official key art? yeah so with this one

a handful of characters got medals from it! on the top half you’ve got both images from Sora- one medal was released in late 2016, the other in early 2017

And then on the bottom half, you know who got medals from this art? You fucking know who??????

Xemnas (kh2 final boss, org leader, major nort, etc.) in 2016

Axel (Axel) in 2017

Marluxia (CoM final boss, relevant khux character) also in 2017

aaaaaaand that’s right babey it’s Zexion, who is none of the above! In the year of our lord 2020

It’s not like they were running out of renders to use as medals or anything so it’s like. hello my man what are you doing here

it’s just very interesting because back in the pre-DDD, pre- BBS Volume 2 cancellation days we got lots of hints that Zexion was important! Xemnas’s secret, his grave being destroyed in the Proof of Existence (which was just because they hadn’t figured out his weapon yet but you know kh, they need to explain everything no matter how silly, looking at you mickey mouse shirt destruction scene), him showing up in that one 358/2 Days scene despite being dead (although that might’ve just been because something something Riku memories)... but plans change, and they absolutely change all the time in Kingdom Hearts, so it might be moot. Ienzo might just be a guy now, and I personally don’t see Zexion coming back. But this shit’s from 2020, just like with the thing from Melody of Memory. Is he important, or does someone on the dev team just like him a lot, or am I just going insane I’m trying my best to ward off the confirmation bias but I can’t tell

[thispodcastisabadidea]

Episode 4: Murph (Begrudgingly) Explains the Plot of Kingdom Hearts

Is our dear Murph blessed or cursed with this existential party trick of lore and intrigue? Froo patiently and curiously listens to the harrowing tale of Sora and his friends.

Timestamps under the Read More

TIMESTAMPS

0:40 – The Decompress: New Years Eve, Nicholas Holt’s Appeal

9:43 – Show & Tell: Wearing a Diaper to Times Square

17:53 – Topic of the Week: Murph Explains Kingdom Hearts

23:12 – Kingdom Hearts (2002)

31:42 Chain of Memories (2004)

39:05 Kingdom Hearts II (2005)

44:43 Birth By Sleep (2010)

55:03 358/2 Days (2009

58:23 Re:Coded (2010)

61:39 Dream Drop Distance (2012)

67:22 Unchained X (2013)

72:48 Final Chapter Prologue (2017)

73:23 Kingdom Hearts III (2019)

80:19 Union Cross (2015)

86:42 Melody of Memory (2020)

89:08 Dark Road (2020)

93:44 – Closing Thoughts: What Does Kingdom Hearts Mean?

Originally posted on thetwingeeks.com

[hardcore-gaming-101]

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

When Square Enix released the Theatrhythm rhythm games from 2012 to 2016, they made three Final Fantasy versions and one for Dragon Quest, but Kingdom Hearts was left out, not even showing up in Theatrhythm Curtain Call‘s company-spanning DLC. Fans would have to wait until 2020, when Kingdom Hearts got its own rhythm game, Melody of Memory. Despite the delay, the influence of Theatrhythm is undeniable and a direct line of descent can be drawn between the games’ mechanics, probably thanks to their common developer, indieszero.

Read more...

[normaleeinsane]

I had my first Kingdom Hearts dream since 2020. ^v^

It was set after Melody of Memory and started with the Foretellers, excluding Ava, following Luxu through an old abandoned city on a hill. He leads them to a tunnel.

When they reach the tunnel, Gula stops and asks where the tunnel lead to. Luxu turns around and grins at him and continues on. After a bit, the rest of the Foretellers follow him into the tunnel and Gula runs to catch up.

Then the scene changes to Destiny Islands. Kairi is wearing a new outfit with pink and black shorts and a white top and staring at the ocean. She is waiting for the others to arrive so they can share information.

Axel is the first to arrive and asks how Kairi's doing. Kairi talks with him a bit and he says that Roxas and Xion have some new info that might help lead to Sora. They arrive a while later with Namine and Isa.

Before they can start talking, Aqua, Terra, Ven and Chirithy arrive from the World of Departure. The group decide to have a picnic on the beach while they talk.

After this I woke up so I don't know what info Roxas and Xion learned. I'm also curious what Luxu was looking for in the abandoned city. Hopefully I'll have another KH dream soon to find out. I made my comic Kairi's Dream out of the last KH dream I had. But I'm not sure if this one gave me enough info.

[holly-natnicole]

In my K.H. rewrite timeline, all the children have at least 1 mentor.

Vanitas' are Xehanort (who is emotionally & physically abusive) and Cloud (who starts out aloof & not even meaning to be zir mentor, but ends up giving zem advice often by accident then later on purpose teaches various skills to Vanitas).

Ven's are Xehanort (who is emotionally & physically abusive), Eraqus (who is genuinely nice despite his strict nature, but their last interaction is him trying to murder Ventus for the greater good without even trying to think of an alternative solution), and Leon (who initially reminds Ven of Eraqus, which makes their platonic friendship toxic since the lack of communication between Ven & Leon causes both to severely misinterpret what's going on; but they learn to talk properly to each other thus causing them to become close and Ven to slowly regain his trust in adults). (Terra and Aqua are more not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive older siblings to Ven than being his mentors.)

Roxas' are Axel/Lea (their not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive-siblinghood starts out casual then becomes toxic, but they work through their issues with some help; especially since Lea/Axel was the one causing all the toxicity and had learned the hard way that many of his decisions in regards to Roxas & Xion have been mean at best & cruel at worst) and Merlin (who helps Roxas study and provides a safe space to work through his various emotions).

Shion/Xion's are Axel/Lea (coz Lea/Axel is in Castle Oblivion when Shion first starts gaining personhood through Sora's lost memories, it takes a few weeks after his mission for him to warm up to her; then their not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive siblinghood gets toxic before it eventually improves), Saïx/Isa (starts out toxic, stays that way for many months whilst his firm belief that she's solely a puppet with no thoughts nor feelings bit by bit gets disproven, and slowly improves when an incident forces him to accept that she's actually a person then he bit by bit starts to platonically love her as a daughter or little sister when continuing to teach her things), and Barret (who helps Shion find her individuality and provides a safe space for her to talk through how she feels 'bout everything that happened in her short life so far plus he very much holds Lea/Axel and Saïx/Isa accountable for their treatment of the children).

Sora's are Donald & Goofy (who initially see her solely as a means to an end, but quickly grow to sincerely care 'bout Sora then – aside from 1 incident where they abandon Sora in favour of Riku who got 1 of the Keyblades from the enbe thus Goofy & Donald obeyed Mickey's order to stick by the Keyblade-wielder, but less than half an hour later they chose Sora over their mission – stick by her no matter what Mickey or anyone else says; they learn through Aerith shouting at them that their student's/not-biological-nor-legally-adopted child's mental health has taken a fast nosedive & that their meant-to-be-harmless teasing is why, so they apologise to Sora & make amends to the kid who they've been helping keep up with school ever since the Trinity Trio formed in Traverse Town), and Aerith (who platonically bonds with Sora coz he has an affinity for healing magic same as Aerith does then later she's who he confides in 'bout everything he has gone through on her adventures and Aerith helps Sora become less insecure in the enbe's abilities & skills).

Naminé's are Ienzo/Zexion (who starts out manipulative, but redeems themself after she changes from a Nobody into a Somebody since regaining his Heart awakens his conscience), Demyx/Myde (who aids Naminé in learning to simply relax & to take care of themself instead of being filled by self-hatred), and Tifa (who helps them become a badass fighter and is a confidant who they tells every insecurity & issue to then eventually Naminé tells her 'bout the emotional abuse from Marluxia/Lauriam and the emotional & physical & magical abuse from Relena/Elrena/Larxene, plus Tifa realises thanks to Naminé how hurtful secrets from people who the secrets are 'bout can be thus she grows as a person).

Kairi's are Minnie (who teaches Kairi music magic and helps her learn how to use her pure Light instead of throwing herself – and Selphie, who literally jumped through the Corridor of Light when Kairi semi-accidentally created it & fell into it – into unfamiliar places with no clue what she's doing plus Minnie assigns Pluto to guard the girls and gives them a Star Shard to travel with since it's not safe for non-Guardians of Heart to use Corridors of Light or Corridors of Darkness) and Aqua (who she specifically requests to be her mentor, as Kairi is the only one who explicitly feels the need to find someone to teach her new skills; Aqua quickly becomes a not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive big sister to Kairi who she helps regain self-confidence and improve as a fighter).

Selphie's is Daisy (who gladly teaches her how to use hand-to-hand combat whilst Kairi is busy with Minnie's lessons on music magic & intentionally using Light and she's the one who Selphie talks through with all the wild stuff that's been going on, their conversations helping the girl make sense of everything).

Riku's are Maleficent (who manipulates him), Xehanort's Heartless/Ansem the Seeker of Darkness (who manipulates him then in Castle Oblivion literally controls Riku's body for a short time twice thus taking away his autonomy before Riku finally kills the human-looking Heartless), Terra (whose Heart is freed from the Guardian Heartless form it was stuck in when Riku defeats Ansem, as the boy used his ability to communicate with Heartless therefore finding out Guardian was Ansem's victim just as much as he was plus Kairi purifying Riku from the lingering taint of Ansem lets Terra to regain his Heart & properly communicate with Riku instead of staying as Guardian Heartless; they both learn from each other to be better people just as much as Riku learns new fighting skills from Terra), and Mickey (whose support is pivotal in Riku not being stuck as Ansem's victim forever).

Shiro/the Riku Replica's is Cid (who is a very grumpy man, but still good at teaching him various computer & aeroplane skills) and his wife Shera (who takes over handling the lessons whenever he has to go do something very important same as how he helps Shiro learn whilst she's busy plus both help the enbe find hir individuality).

Ephemer's is Ava (who in some ways is more a not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive older sister than a mentor, but does teach the enbe a lot 'bout various magic).

Skuld, Strelitzia, Olette, Pence, Hayner, James, Amber, Sofia, Lani, Kari, Ruby, Jade, Yufi, Yuna, Paine, Rikku, Tidus, and Wakka each have a mentor too. But this post is getting kinda long already, so maybe someday I'll write a Part 2 & a Part 3 covering theirs. Plus some of the adults had their own mentors, so I might do a Part 4 for them.

[musicarenagh]

Here Is Autumn's Eve By Emerald Bluffs It gives me a pleasure to introduce to you Isaac Harris the one who invented Emerald Bluffs. Isaac's been concocting his own brand of music, and nothing testifies that better than his new song, "Autumn's Eve." It's just like a warm hug wrapped in melodies that seem to know how you feel and comfort your soul.And guess what? A whole album will be out on May, "FORMATIONS." Finally, Isaac is all about telling stories through music in a personal manner. His “Autumn’s Eve” can be perceived as a captured moment with his memories, for instance, the passing romantic relationships and the beauty of nature. Through Emerald Bluffs, Isaac gets to make music, but he has fellow talented musicians on board realizing his visions. They cruised everywhere, even in stylish spots like Bend, Oregon and Carbondale, Illinois. It's a labor of love that demonstrates Isaac's passion for his work and his talent to creating something enduring. However, I leave the stage and let the star speak to you directly. Isaac, what's the lowdown with Emerald Bluffs? And what's the reason behind it? Where did you take it from? Listen to Autumn's Eve below https://open.spotify.com/track/2lti27NtO7GeygpGLV12P9?si=85443d5b92ab493d Follow Emerald Bluffs on Facebook Youtube Instagram Spotify What is your band name? My band is Emerald Bluffs! It is a solo/collaborative project that I started back in 2020. Is there a story behind your band name? There is! I grew up in Southern Illinois and have always been inspired by the landscape of my home region. I stole “emerald” from my Dad who wrote a piece about a particular swamp in our area and called it an “Emerald Kingdom”. Then, one of my favorite features of my home are the unique rocky bluffs. Throw the two together and violà, Emerald Bluffs. Where do you find inspiration? I find inspiration lyrically in nature and through experiences in my life. I’d say I find my inspiration for my instrumentation through fiddling around, learning new things, and by listening to a lot of music. What was the role of music in the early years of your life? In the early years of my life, I took my musical cues from my parents. My Mom had grown up playing piano so when my sister and were kids she tried to get us into it as well. Of course, I hated it and before long, I had quit. From there, it seemed I was destined to live a rhythmless life, much like my Dad, who occasionally struggles to keep tempo with the band at local basketball games (sorry Dad). Thankfully, my parents were lovers of music beyond learning instruments, and I was introduced to the likes of Cat Stevens, ZZ Top, and The Beatles at an early age. My love for those artists and many more only grew as my Mom, sister, and I drove to and from school every day, singing our hearts out. It wasn’t until 2020 that my I realized my years of horrible car singing had paid off. I could carry a tune, so I picked up a guitar and here I am.   How did you learn to sing/write/to play? When COVID hit, I was fortunate enough to have access to a guitar my friend Luke had given me a year prior. It had been rotting in my truck, so I was happy to get it out and give learning a go. I quickly realized my favorite thing to do was not to learn covers, but to write my own songs. The only problem was I had 0 practical knowledge of how to do that. So, I learned a few chords and slowly began writing piece by piece. As I needed/wanted to learn something new, I would just go to YouTube and watch a video. This process of learning has been one of my proudest achievements. It was something I did not think I could accomplish. How could you describe your music? I would describe my music as an indie blend with folk and 90s alternative influences. Some folks have compared my music to that of Phantom Planet and Coconut Records. Describe your creative process. My process currently is quite the long one. “Autumn’s Eve” along with most of the songs on my upcoming album have been written piece by piece over the past 3 years.

Normally, I just sit down to write or play and see what happens. If I discover something new for a song, I discover something new, if not, I don’t sweat over it. I have about 60 half written songs because of this process, but I appreciate how organic it is. [caption id="attachment_54744" align="alignnone" width="2000"] My process currently is quite the long one. “Autumn’s Eve” along with most of the songs on my upcoming album have been written piece by piece over the past 3 years.[/caption] What musician do you admire most and why? I would probably have to say Yusuf/Cat Stevens. I love his lyricism and his incredible skill as a guitarist. He also stays true to his values in the face of adversity, which I feel like can be a challenge when you have a celebrity status. Who do you see as your main competitor? Free time. As an artist who has yet to make money off this craft, I must work for a living, which makes it hard to find time for playing and writing music. I am fortunate that up to this point I have worked seasonal jobs that have allowed me a lot of free time during the winters. Those winters along with late nights have allowed me to come as far as I have in 4 years. What are your interests outside of music? I enjoy getting outdoors and spending quiet time in nature. I have also recently picked up climbing. It is a great way to build hand dexterity for guitar playing and it also gets me off my butt. Not to mention, it is a thrill. What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music? I’d say there are 3: free time as I mentioned before, money, and inconsistent collaborators. When it comes to money, I have 100% put more in that I have gotten out. I am okay with that but is hard to constantly be putting money into something when your income isn’t livable or consistent. That being said, I have found a way so far and have yet to be hindered by a lack of financials. For this I am incredibly thankful.  For the most part, my collaboration with other artists has been incredible and “Autumn’s Eve” along with my upcoming album would be nothing without their excellent and consistent contributions. There have, however, been some heartbreaking let downs and some collaborators who have backed out on me at some of the least opportune moments. I have learned a lot about working with others through this experience. https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Z9oxUeuplSn9VHgdAaLxy?si=R_DOsvfXQXeFTAzPRB4upQ Why did you choose this as the title of this project? This one pretty much named itself. When I realized what I wanted to do lyrically on this track “Autumn’s Eve” became a no brainer. What are your plans for the coming months? I plan on finishing up production on my album ‘FORMATIONS’ and releasing it. From there, I plan on working on my skills as a guitarist and a singer so that I can start performing more live sets. Do you have any artistic collaboration plans? I do! I plan on doing some work with the boys over at Little Egypt. Another band that was also started in Carbondale, Illinois. Beyond that, I am sure I will continue to include several of my friends in upcoming Emerald Bluffs endeavors. What message would you like to give to your fans? My first album, ‘FORMATIONS’, is coming out in May! Follow @emerald_bluffs on Instagram for all the latest updates. Thanks for all the love y’all!

[themattress]

Reblogging to first off correct an error: it's Kingdom Hearts IV that wraps up loose ends and kick-starts the so-called Lost Masters Arc, not Verum Rex. Verum Rex is purely Yozora's backstory, which doesn't involve Sora or presumably even any Disney characters at all.

But more importantly, you wanna know why the (present, ongoing) franchise is dead to me? It's not just the narrative shifts - it's how those narrative shifts have impacted the KH universe. To put it simply, each narrative feels like it occupies a different universe from one another.

The original Kingdom Hearts narrative of the 2000s was carried through Kingdom Hearts (and its Final Mix), Chain of Memories (and Re:Chain of Memories), Kingdom Hearts II (and its Final Mix), 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, and the seven episodes of Coded during 2009. This universe was simply that, a universe, shared by Disney, Final Fantasy and original characters and featuring JRPG concepts that properly accounted for this universe being owned by Disney so that they didn't feel too out of place. Story possibilities were endless.

The Reconnect: Kingdom Hearts narrative of the 2010s was carried through the final episode of Coded in 2010 along with Birth by Sleep's Secret Ending video "Blank Points", Birth by Sleep: Final Mix, Re:Coded, Dream Drop Distance, X / Unchained X, 0.2 Birth by Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage, and Kingdom Hearts III. Rather than a large universe where anything can happen, this universe completely revolves around the Order of True Keyblade Masters and the Mark of Mastery and the Keyblade War and the X-Blade and the Power of Waking and the machinations of Xehanort across time and space, and the victims Xehanort has hurt who need saving by Sora. This universe can be summed up with lines such as "Destiny is never left to chance", or "I should have known there were no coincidences, only links in a much larger chain of events", or "My appointed path is now etched in my heart". Everything is part of a grander plan, everything is predetermined to some degree or other, and everything connects back to this same handful of concepts relating to the Keyblade.

What's worse is that all of this no longer accounted for Disney. Meaning that aside from Yen Sid, Mickey, all of Mickey's servants, and to a certain extent Maleficent and Pete, the Disney characters of the series were left out of contributing to this universe's core concepts and storyline...and that those few Disney characters who did felt incredibly out of place and awkward. The humor value of Mickey Mouse saying weird JRPG things begins to run thin when those things are so convoluted and uncharacteristic that Bret Iwan is clearly struggling in delivering them. By the time of KH3, it felt as though all the OC stuff in the KH universe was invading an entirely separate universe of Disney stuff rather than them sharing one.

And of course, the long wait for KH3 ended up screwing the universe and its narrative over even further, since the previously simple X / Unchained X that wasn't supposed to matter to KH3 beyond a vague prophecy about light and darkness expanded and mutated to the point of infecting both 0.2 BBS and KH3, which directly leads us into the most recent narrative.

The An Oath to Return: Kingdom Hearts narrative of the 2020s is now carried by X: Back Cover, Union Xross, Dark Road, Missing Link, Kingdom Hearts III's DLC, Melody of Memory, Verum Rex and Kingdom Hearts IV. The story of this universe is completely centered around the wily Master of Masters and his apprentices whose machinations and web of connections are responsible for the Keyblade War, the new World Order forged in Scala ad Caelum, everything that happened with Xehanort, and even things connected to a "realm of unreality" known as Quadratum. It's everything wrong with the previous narrative and its universe on steroids, and this is almost entirely due to Nomura's all-consuming desire for a re-do on his cancelled passion project, Final Fantasy Versus XIII. As a result, nothing in the universe seems to matter anymore. Time, reality, life and death, fundamental rules, even the personal motivations of the characters...all of them flexible on the whim of Nomura. I never agreed with the "Dark Seeger Saga" idea behind the Reconnect narrative, but I can at least imagine a version of it that worked. There is no way in which this "Lost Masters Arc" idea behind this Oath to Return narrative works. It is a literal Square block in a Mickey Mouse-shaped hole.

Say the thing, Xemnas!

Three Decades, Three Narratives, One Gigantic Mess (KH related)

I’ll be getting to my next Anime Update post momentarily, but first I have to get some thoughts out regarding this subject:

As I’ve detailed before, the Kingdom Hearts video game series has told two different narratives in two decades at this point, and as of 2020 it’s officially gotten started on it’s third one. You can….kind of see the problem here just by looking at that image above.

The narrative of Kingdom Hearts (2002-2007), the purest, truest Kingdom Hearts narrative, is the original PS2 era KH Trinity plus three sources of outside material and context that serve to fill in certain details in the Trinity’s story. Some observations I can make on how this narrative was handled and presented: KH1 definitively begins a story, and it opens with Sora and his friends, not with Xehanort. CoM then begins with the last scene of KH1 (Sora, Donald, and Goofy chasing Pluto along a winding path), with KH1’s Secret Ending(s) alluding to Roxas’ Story and what’s to come in KH2. Roxas’ Backstory is concurrent with events of CoM and leads directly to prologue of KH2 that opens that game. And KH2 ends definitively except for a very vague “Call To A New Adventure” final moment, with Secret Ending(s) alluding to the Prequel that uncovers the secret origins of several characters, particularly the villainous Xehanort.

So the only outside material that’s canon to the KH Trinity are the X Fairy Tale and legend of the Keyblade it’s tied directly to (because it has it’s origins in KH1 itself), Roxas’ Backstory from 358/2 Days (in KH2 Final Mix, Axel mentions that he and Roxas used to sit on the clocktower, eat Ice Cream, and watch the sunset in the old days, and we see Roxas’ defeat by Ansemified Riku that happens in that story), and a Prequel story of events years back (what that story is differs depending on version - KH2 Vanilla alludes to a story where three armored Keyblade Wielders fought against the young, pre-amnesia Xehanort when he abused his status as the Keyblade’s Chosen One to throw the worlds into disorder, but then KH2 Final Mix alludes to a finalized, alternate story where Xehanort was an elderly Keyblade Master who hijacked the heart of one of those armored heroes, the one named Terra, and was using him as his vessel at the time he nearly lost his life in a great battle and came to with amnesia in the aftermath. Terra-Xehanort mentally became a new person as he was raised up by Ansem the Wise but his heart still carried Xehanort’s evil essence and the Darkness of Terra’s heart that was sustaining him, and this influenced the creation of Ansem and Xemnas). NOTHING of “Blank Points”, BBS: Final Mix and it’s Bonus Episode, Coded, Re:Coded and it’s endings, Dream Drop Distance and its endings, X Backcover, Union X, 0.2 BBS, Kingdom Hearts III/Re:MIND/Limit Cut Episode, Dark Road, Melody of Memory, Verum Rex or whatever else comes next in the franchise is certifiably canonical to the lore, character arcs, and story narrative of the original KH Trinity.

But then we have the story of Reconnect: Kingdom Hearts (2009-2019), which is what Nomura concocted when he recontextualized the entire series’ narrative into the Dark Seeker Saga. Hooooh boy…

In this narrative, we have X Backcover going on concurrently with the events of UX, BBS: Final Mix’s Bonus Episode leading straight into the main story of 0.2 BBS, the finale of said main story happening concurrently with the finale of KH1′s story, the “Call To A New Adventure” ending of KH2 is now given a new context by the ending of Coded/Re:Coded, which itself leads to the second half of “Blank Points”, except that also happened because of the secret ending of Re:Coded, and while that was going on, the extra secret ending of the Re:Coded cutscene movie from 2.5 HD Remix was happening. This all leads directly to Dream Drop Distance, the canon narrative-breaking dumpster fire itself. The secret ending of Dream Drop Distance leads directly into the framing device segments of 0.2 BBS, with the end of that leading directly into KH3 (disregarding the nonsequitur opening sequences of that game). Stuff from the X subseries set well before the main saga even began suddenly come back to bite the narrative in the butt (the Lost Masters, the Black Box, Chirithy, Xigbar being Luxu, hints about Ventus’ forgotten past, details in the secret reports, “May your heart be your guiding key!”, etc.), and on top of that we get more hooks to the next saga like Subject X, the Nameless Star, the concept of worldlines, the Master of Masters’ secret master plan, Verum Rex and YOZORA, etc. And the direct segue into that next saga is featured in “Limit Cut Episode”, the post-game of KH3, the very same game that ends the Dark Seeker Saga. …..WHO TELLS A FUCKING STORY LIKE THIS?

And now, as of 2020, just as the narrative of Reconnect enveloped, absorbed and diminished the pre-existing Kingdom Hearts narrative, An Oath to Return is doing so to the previous Reconnect narrative. New developments in UX coincide with it’s own spinoff app game, Dark Road, which give fresh new details to the origins of Xehanort that would surely change how we look at things in BBS and KH3 (particularly the out-of-order, context-free DLC-added scene of young Xehanort speaking with the Master of Masters in the Keyblade Graveyard). Details relevant to this new saga seemingly stop at the events prior to KH1, with Luxu manipulating the amnesiac Terra-Xehanort back down a path of evil and, as learned in Melody of Memory, Terra-Xehanort said some funny stuff regarding a certain world before sending Kairi away from Radiant Garden only for it all to pick up again with the image of Luxu at the end of the Keyblade War and the utterance of “May your heart be your guiding key!” in 0.2 BBS. Everything in KH3 and onward that followed ties into this saga.

Here’s the thing that was really getting me, though: the period of years 2000 to 2009 covered the development of KH1 up to the development of BBS, and the final product version of BBS we got in early 2010 had all the red flags of the intricate new saga Nomura was kickstarting, with “Blank Points” making his intentions all too clear and ending on the first ever display of the words “Reconnect: Kingdom Hearts”. Then the following decade of 2010 to 2019 spanned the development of both Re:Coded and Dream Drop Distance all the way to the development of the KH3 DLC, and if the initial KH3 didn’t already have enough red flags, “Limit Cut Episode” once again makes Nomura’s intentions all too clear and, provided you beat the secret boss fight with Yozora, ends on the first ever display of the words “An Oath To Return: Kingdom Hearts.” 

Now, consider this: BBS was released in January of 2010, with Re:Coded coming out in the Fall of that same year and ending with the second display of the Reconnect title following some statement made by Yen Sid setting up what was to come next. The KH3 DLC was released in January of this year, 10 years later, with Melody of Memory coming out in the Fall of this same year and ending with the second display of the An Oath To Return title following some statement made by Yen Sid setting up what was to come next. 

History has literally repeated itself, and that’s why I and so many more KH fans are jumping ship with this franchise now. We simply cannot DO another decade of this bullshit. We are beyond done.

In terms of decades based on the game’s’ release history, Dream Drop Distance came out literally the day after the series’ first decade was over. We should all dread what could pop up in 2022, by which time there is no more Kingdom Hearts - there is only Verum Rex. 

[ultyso]

They can share the chair ٩( 'ω' )و