#like nomura’s two favorite numbers

[geeky-diary]

Can I just say, there is a real missed opportunity with releasing most of the Kingdom Hearts franchise to Steam in June.

Like, Square Enix could have been the funniest motherfuckers if they released the games on July 13th instead.

[demifiendrsa]

KINGDOM HEARTS - Steam Announcement Trailer

Japanese version

The Steam versions of of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind will launch on June 13, 2024. Each will be available to purchase individually, or together as the all-in-one Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece collection.

Overview

Multiple Kingdom Hearts experiences are coming to the platform, specifically:

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue

Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind

Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece (bundle that includes all the above compilations)

Across these titles, you’ll experience the “Dark Seeker Saga” and play through Sora’s humble beginnings on the idyllic Destiny Islands, his fateful meeting with Donald Duck and Goofy, and ultimately to the trio’s climactic battle against the forces of darkness.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX features textural updates to its graphics, while purchasing Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind or the Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece bundle will give you a new platform-exclusive Keyblade: “Dead of Night.”

Of course, with a new platform comes a new audience, so perhaps you’re fresh to the Kingdom Hearts series, and wondering: what’s it all about? Read on and we’ll go into everything coming to Steam:

What is Kingdom Hearts?

Surely everyone’s heard of Kingdom Herts—it’s been around since 2002. Well, just in case…

Imagine if you took some of the most popular Disney and Pixar characters of all time, and some of the most popular Final Fantasy characters of all time and smashed them together, like a kid playing with action figures.

Then add in amazing original characters, a sprawling story and a generous sprinkle of Tetsuya Nomura magic, and what you get is an incredible action-RPG series that’s quite unlike any other series out there.

That’s Kingdom Hearts.

Which games are coming to PC via Steam?

Multiple Kingdom Hearts adventures are coming to Steam—you can see the full list below.

You may be thinking: “Wow, Square Enix – that sure sounds like a lot of Kingdom Hearts!”

Well, you’re right—it’s what’s known as “the Dark Seeker Saga”—the epic adventure of Sora and friends that spans from the first game in the series to its shocking climax in Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind.

Here’s a detailed rundown of what’s available:

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX

This compilation contains four full games, with two additional story experiences for good measure.

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix – The game that started it all, remastered with high-definition visuals, improved controls, a reworked soundtrack, and more. This is the game that introduced us to Sora—a brave lad with big feet and a bigger heart.

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories – Set directly after the events of the first game, Sora, Donald and Goofy enter the mysterious Castle Oblivion, and stumble into an adventure that’s forgettable in the best possible way!… That’ll make more sense when you’ve played it.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (HD Remastered Cinematics) – This story focuses on Roxas, a new character with a special connection to Sora. The compilation features cinematics from the original game, enhanced with additional text and remastered in high-definition.

Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix – The second numbered game reunites Sora, Donald and Goofy in an epic adventure across some of the most memorable and unexpected Disney worlds in the series. Like Tron—Tron‘s in here!

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix – Prequel time! This game turns back the clock to before Sora ever wielded a keyblade and shifts the focus onto three new characters: Terra, Ventus and Aqua. It’s an emotional adventure with a wildly entertaining battle system—there’s a reason it’s a real fan favorite.

Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded (HD Remastered Cinematics) – This hi-tech tale takes Data Sora into the digital world to seek an answer about a cryptic message. The compilation features enhanced cinematics only.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue

This collection of games is a real dream for fans. It contains games that focus on some of the most popular characters in the series, Sora, Riku and Aqua, and set up the climax to the saga.

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD – Sora and Riku take their Mark of Mastery exams to become true keyblade wielders. Things do not go as planned – if you thought your exams were stressful, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- – Made specifically for this collection, this episode gives you control of Aqua, following the dramatic ending of Birth by Sleep. It’s a short and sweet adventure that leads directly into Kingdom Hearts III.

Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover (movie) – A high-definition movie that goes back in the timeline even further than Birth by Sleep. It tells the story of the Foretellers – but who are they and what will they mean for the Kingdom Hearts series?

Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind (Downloadable Content)

The Dark Seeker Saga reaches its climax in Kingdom Hearts III. The Guardians of Light gather for the final battle against the forces of Darkness

Before that though, Sora must travel through a whole new set of Disney and Pixar worlds. He’ll team up with Buzz and Woody to explore a toy store, untangle a mother’s sinister plot with Rapunzel, soar across the skies of San Fransokyo with Baymax, and much more.

The PC version also includes the “Re Mind” downloadable content as standard. It features additional story content, some of the toughest and most exciting boss battles in the whole series, and loads of additional features, including gameplay modifiers and photo galleries.

[blue-lock-rocky]

Interview with BLUE LOCK Creator

The Asahi Shimbun published an interview with Kaneshiro, the writer of Blue Lock.

I know it’s a paid article but I paid for it, they can’t stop me from putting it through three different translators

Blue Lock was born from his desire to write a battle manga (as opposed to a sports manga).

Kaiji & Eyeshield 21 were the inspiration behind Blue Lock. Kaneshiro thought it’d be interesting to bring his two favorite mangas together with soccer. (While Eyeshield 21 may be about American football and teamwork, the 1v1’s between characters were epic and a fresh take.)

Ego is based on Kaiji’s villain and a lot of the darker plot points in Blue Lock probably come from Kaiji.

Many characters were inspired by real life soccer players. Chigiri with his explosive acceleration & ticking time bomb of a knee was inspired by Miyaichi Ryo. Barou inspired by Italy’s Balotelli, Bachira & his dribbling by Brazil’s Ronaldhino. (He also mentions that Kaoru Mitoma, number 9 & winger on the Japanese National Team, has his own dribbling style.)

Kaneshiro really likes thinking up names for his characters. Like he’d look them up online and check their fortunes. “Born under a bad sign? Let’s make him that way then.” “Terrifying is interesting.”

Isagi has always been on the top of popularity polls. He’s (pleasantly) surprised that so many readers like Isagi. And it’s cool that Rin ended up on top of the most recent one, he wanted to write a story where other characters can stand their own ground.

If he could add one Blue Locker to Japan’s current line up, he’d add Rin. Rin would attract the enemy’s attention more than anyone. Like if they start thinking “that guy (in the center) is really dangerous”, it’d make Japan’s flank attacks even more effective.

Kaneshiro sends his sketches to Nomura (the artist) but the character designs are mostly done by Nomura. Rin actually has a different number of eyelashes from his brother Sae and that’s because Nomura-sensei said so. “The elder Itoshi brother has six, let’s have the younger have five.”

Kaneshiro: “Rin’s eyelashes + the fact that his bangs are longer on one side is super cute. I really like it.”

“Boys around Rin’s age don’t really have a firm grip on their identity. There is a kind of glow just before they realize that ‘I'm not so great’ and lose their all-powerful sense of self. I like that kind of transition. Rin represents the loss of that spark as he’s being forced to grow up. I think that's why Rin deliberately complicates his feelings toward his older brother and soccer, as well as his sense of self.”

Kaneshiro feels that he’s lost a lot of the excitement he had in his youth but watching the World Cup brings it all back.

That’s about it. Here’s the link to the original article. Again, I don’t actually know any Japanese.

[thelittlewriter]

Revelations

Pairing : Suna x Reader

Previous Part / Next Part

Masterlist

Suna showed up in time. He knocked at the door at 5 pm precisely. He was wearing a suit with a bow tie. He walked inside your appartment as you announced :

- We have to be there by 6 pm... are we taking my car or yours ?

You heard him chuckle.

- None of that. We're taking the limousine.

You laughed while he looked serious.

- You're the main character of the night, I won't let you take your car.

- What's wrong with my car ? you asked.

- You can't drive it when you're drunk. And I'm gonna make sure you taste all the wealthy people's champagne there will be there.

You laughed again. You were scared you would feel uncomfortable around those important people. Now, you knew you were going to have fun as long as you stayed with him. At 5:15 pm, you got into the limousine. The chauffeur greated you before the car started moving.

- Is there anything I should know before we get there ? he suddenly ask you.

He was nervously pulling the bottom of his suit vest.

- Nothing. Honestly it will probably be boring but at least we're together.

- So I just have to stand still and be pretty, right ?

You laughed and nodded. You would both have to do this. You would probably meet important people tonight and the best way to be on their good side was to smile and to listen more than you talked.

When you two arrived at the location, you were surprised to see it was bigger than everything you expected. While what you did was indeed unexpectedly good, you were aware it was also made bigger than it actually was by the company. All of this happening to you seemed a little suspicious but you weren't the kind of person that would investigate. But you admitted that the PR team did a great job.

You and Suna walked inside. The place looked like a huge mansion, you were surprised there was something this big not very far away from the city.

- There's a lot of people, Suna said. Do you see someone you wanna talk to ?

You shook your head. You didn't recognize anybody here. They were all part of a higher circle in the company. One that you weren't allowed to join until today. You saw Suna take a glass of champagne and hand it to you.

- Rule number one : do not stay empty handed or with a finished drink. That way, you can choose when you drink.

He smiled at you. The suit looked good on him. You had never seen him wear one before. Was it too late to compliment him ?

- And if you don't know what to say, you can just pretend you're drinking champagne !

You smiled back at him. It seemed like he was really trying hard to make this evening a success.

- Y/N.

You turned toward the familiar voice.

- Nomura !

You were happy to see someone you knew. There was a woman glued on his arm. She looked a year or so younger than you. She was looking around curiously but didn't dare to step away from your boss.

- This is my little sister, Ruka. She wanted to come so I agreed if she behaves.

The last sentence seemed more directed to her than to you. You didn't know he had a younger sister. Maybe you should ask on your first date.

- I will behave ! All I want is to taste food !

Suna smiled. He was here for the food too.

- Y/N... I need to talk to you about something.

Ruka suddenly stepped away from her brother and looked at Suna.

- Let's look for good cakes in the meantime, she said.

Suna looked at you and you nodded, reassuring him. He walked away with Ruka, as they were talking about their favorite cakes.

- You might hear things here... about stuff.

You furrowed your eyebrows.

- You need to be more specific than "things" and "stuff".

- You don't have to accept everything they offer.

- You're talking in riddles right now... is there something you know that I don't ?

He looked down.

- I...

So, he did. You were curious about what he was talking about. You got a little closer to him and looked him straight in the eyes.

- Can you tell me ? you asked with a small voice. Please ?

He seemed conflicted. You had never seen this look in his eyes, but there was still a lot of things you didn't know about him. Things that you wanted to know and that you hoped you would learn about soon.

- I can't. I want to but I shouldn't let my feelings interfere.

You realized something was wrong. You stepped away a little and you took his hand. Surely, it wasn't too much if you two really were about to start dating.

- It's ok. You don't have to tell me.

- You should know that there's a board member who's very close to the CEO. He's the one who actually runs this company. And he's intimidating. But you can say no. I just want you to know that I...

He stopped there. More than uncomfortable, he looked scared. Was he forbidden to share this information with you ? Was he forbidden to tell you more ?

- Hey, you said with a voice you wanted reassuring. I'll figure it out. No matter what it is, I'll figure out what you mean. So don't be too worried.

He wasn't looking at you. He was looking right behind you, with wide eyes. Not knowing what was going on, you let go of his hand.

- Eiji !

You heard a woman's voice. You looked behind you. It was a couple. They looked about sixty years old. You bowed at them.

- You must be Y/N, she said.

She took your hands.

- Congratulations on your success. It sure made my husband very happy.

The man behind her hummed in approval.

- I would have liked it better if my son was the one who did it but I suppose being your superior is the best he can do.

You could feel an awkward tension between the two men and you refrained yourself to look at Nomura. You were in front of your boss's parents. Not only this, they were also the parents of the man you wanted to go on a date with.

- Junichi, don't be so harsh on him, his mother said.

Then, she looked at you.

- Don't mind him, he wants his son to succeed him and to become an important board member.

You suddenly understood. The man Nomura was trying to warn you about was his own father. You wondered what offers he was talking about.

- He sure is made to lead. I would've never done it without him.

If you couldn't tell them directly how you felt, you could still compliment him.

- All the time I invested on him, his father complained, he seemed to totally ignore your words. Is this internship not teaching you anything ?

An internship ? You wondered what it was about. Was he doing something else as well as his actual job ? No wonder he had that little time for himself.

- Maybe I should offer this post to Y/N. Would you be interested ?

An offer. Was he offering his son's job to you ? You were confused about how wrong it had turned.

- Maybe I should make you personally work for me too. If there is the two of you, the work would be done faster and better.

Working with Nomura for his father ? It was a great opportunity on paper, but what if he found out that you were dating his son ? What if your relationship didn't work ?

- The board anticipates having you as the face of the company so you should have a few members on your side for your future.

You were speechless. You tried to maintain your composure but there was too much information at a time. They were going to ask you to be the face of the company ? What did that implied ?

- Journalists are already asking for interviews. Some of them even talked about photography sessions, that's how serious they are about it.

- Junichi, let's not talk business here.

The woman let out a warm smile in your direction. She was doing her best to protect you. But there was no stopping her husband.

- I have to ! My daughter is too young to be involved yet and my son is too incompetent !

You couldn't help but to let out a small gasp.

- Tell me, Y/N, he continued. What do you think about an arrangement ?

Your head was spinning. What was happening ? Why were you suddenly involved in this family's quarrel ? Was it his way to offer you another job ? Why did you come here ? And where the hell was Suna ?

- An arrangement ? you repeated.

- Yes, he said. My son is not engaged at the moment and...

- Junichi, that's enough ! We talked about this already.

His wife's tone was as cold as her expression. It felt far different from how she had been talking to you. He immediately stayed silent.

Finally, you thought. But the damages were already done.

- Dear, you heard the woman say. Do not pay attention to this old man's words. He probably had too much drinks already.

You felt a hand on your shoulder.

- Eiji, you whispered when you saw it was him.

You didn't know if he heard you.

- Let's go grab some air, he told you.

And he walked you to the garden.

Tags : @ys2800 @jiminslajibolala @rat-p1ss @qualitygiantshoepsychic @lovelytaes-blog @bananasquash @backoftheletter @wakasa-wifey @jojowantstocry  @amarinthe @wolffmaiden @sunas-type @your-girl-mj @crapimahuman @shiratori-no-hikari  @thegracerammy @wumboho @whitebread-wasian ​​​​ @nctseventeensworld ​@sakusaww @lovemegood @sh4nn @theultimatefrenchfangirl

Hey ! I'm sorry for posting this late ! I was busy last week and then I watched figure skating skating totally forgot to post it ! But it's here ! I hope you guys like it ! And I hope I made it and y'all are confused the way I want to... anyways, I hope you're having a good day ! I'll try to upload the next chapter at the end of the week !

[thekingofthenameless]

Daylight’s Redemption Masterlist!

(This’ll be edited as time goes on, like most masterlists are.)

Journey by Daylight is a prequel to Emerald Embers, and details Merlin’s backstory right up to Chapter One of Emerald Embers.

Things That Apply to Both Fics:

DR!Merlin:

His rp blog @merlin-caledonensis-ambrosius

His characterization

His backstory

His sister

His trauma and how it affects him

His [redacted] #1

His [redacted] #2

How he feels about his body

What calms him down

How vigilant he is

Character bingo

Some random things about him

Ten headcanons

More headcanons

Emerald Embers:

Fic summary:

I’m so funny

Fic link:

A look into how it’s developed!

Help

Random Things:

My first comment!

A compliment from a friend

Compliments that I hoard like a dragon

Favorite scene(s)

Spelling problems

A poll about what redesign I should commission next

Worldbuilding:

1

2

Timeline

Claire and school

Dragons!!!!

Major Storyline Changes Across Canon:

Trollhunters:

Jim’s helmet

The trolls aren’t racist towards the changelings

Morgana’s death

3Below:

Wizards:

If I rewrite R*TT

Character Designs:

Jim

Toby

Barbara

Mama and Papa Casperan

Arthur and Gwen

Darci

Mary

Steve

Zadra

Eli

Krel

Fialkov

Coranda

Ganieda

Strickler

Nomura

Character Redesigns:

Aja

Zoe

The entire Nuñez family

Compilation of everyone

The Titans

Morgana, Barbara, and Ophelia’s body types

Morgana’s redesign

Character Expansion/Development /Revamps:

Galahad

Barbara

Douxie

Ophelia and Javier

Original Characters:

Hildred Cooke

Egbert Kendrick

Rachel Rogers

Lord Asheworthe

Mantis the dragon

Troll adoptables

Troll adoptables #2

Dragon adoptable

Several more adoptables

My first oc

Location Designs/Redesigns:

Writing blurbs!

🌹 wip ask game: two different scenes

Wip tag game #1

🌹 wip ask game: Blinky and Dictatious

Wip tag game #2

Wip word ask game: Candles (Merlin and young!Douxie)

🌹 wip ask game: three different scenes

🌹 wip ask game: Merlin starting to have a breakdown

wip:

Random snippet: Merlin reflecting on mortal humans’ fear of magic

Send me a sentence and I’ll write the next five ask game: Jimmy Jam angst

Send me a sentence and I’ll write the next five ask game: Jim and the clones

🌹 wip ask game: Merlin and Archie

Fanfiction work in progress guessing game: treason

Fanfic work in progress guessing game: book

Random snippet: Barbara observing Merlin

🌹 wip ask game: Merlin is ✨stressed out✨

🌹 wip ask game: Merlin with a sad, scared child.

🌹 wip ask game: Merlin is ✨stressed out✨ (Again.)

Chapter introduction!!!

Tag game: Merlin’s C-PTSD

Memes!

EE summary: meme edition

Figuring out Merlin’s backstory

Fanart!!!

✨Gorgeous Merlin sketches✨ by @rule-number-3

Merlin pondering™️ by @rule-number-3

Merlin’s character sheets by @undeadchestnut!

Journey by Daylight:

Old Ideas for Both:

DR!Merlin’s redesign

Last sentence of your wip in the tags

In the tags

Claire’s redesign

Morgana’s redesign

Charlie’s redesign

[skyflyinginaction]

Character Design Talks: Xion

To tell you the truth I never really did any metas on Kingdom Hearts before, since Kingdom Hearts is the most complicated game that I ever played! Even I got confused.

Although Kingdom Hearts may be convoluted in its narrative, it has extremely memorable character designs that appeal to me. The series has the art, themes, characters, and overall complexity, all of which I loved about the KH series franchise. The KH series is something close to my heart.

One character, in particular, is one of my favorite characters of the KH franchise and one I keep close to my heart: Xion.

Before I go over her main design I will start first with her name. I want to talk about the meaning behind her name since Xion's name has many meanings that go well with her character, true nature, and role in the series. Xion's name is spelled differently in Japanese, whereas you will find out, Xion's name has many different meanings.

The concept of Xion was created during the production of KH 358/2 days. The production team wanted to explain why Roxas left the organization and wrote her character and story around this concept. A lot of people might already be known about Xion’s design process started in interviews I’ll say it again in this post,

From that, they began to construct the storyline that led to the beginning of Xion existence"

With that said, Xion was created to be the answer to why Roxas defected from the organization.

The Series' main characters embody the themes of the series they reside in; the same can be said for Kingdom Hearts with its themes highlighting connections and heart being its central themes.

One of the main themes of 358/2 days besides hearts is identity, memories, and purpose and the game chooses one to better represent and explore its themes of purpose, identity, and memories to encapsulate these themes of 358/2 days Is Xion.

Memories play a big part in 358/2 days, most notably Nobody’s.

As Axel once stated for nobody the closest thing they got is their past:

for nobody, their memories of their human lives are important to them. It's what gives them identity and helps shape their personalities. Nobodys are people who are being with no hearts but only have their memories of what they are like as people before they lost their hearts. Their memories are info on what they are as people, the closest thing they got to ever having an identity. Their memories are something that they can’t bear to lose because that's the only thing they have that is close to their identity as seen in this comment with Axel.

This can be seen well with Xion as Sora's memories that are lent to her helped form her own identity.

In Nomura style when it comes to characters' names he draws inspiration from physical science and weather in particular sky, land, and sea he creates characters' names inspired by their personalities. when it comes to designing characters Nomura focuses on and wants their names and outfits to be related to their personalities.

Xion's name was chosen specifically to match her character and true nature by Nomura. He based Xions name on the overarching themes of the game.

Xion’s name:

Her name is the anagram of no. i with the x added.

No.i. is an imaginary number, a non-real figure in mathematics for expressing imaginary numbers.

No. i is an imaginary number that plays very well in Xion's character and role with No. i is an imaginary number that plays to her true nature as an experimental replica used to catch Sora's memories and create a keyblade wielder for the organization The "i"  has two meanings. "I" is the Roman numeral for one, because she is the first replica. The x in her name notes how she was named similarly to the organization 13 since members are named based on an anagram of their human name in addition to the sigil x in there. Due to her nature as a replica, Xion was seen as a formal member of the organization because she wasn’t a nobody in the first place. here she lacks a human name like most of the nobodies in the organization. She was not given a name based on what she is as a human since she wasn’t a human, to begin with. No. I could refer to her lack of identity and the organization’s view of her as a tool to gather hearts. That is a cruel irony to this meaning: she wasn’t actually a nobody but a replica but still couldn’t exist in the story due to tragic circumstances in the game.

Her other meanings in her name also come from "Shion" the Japanese name for Aster Tataricus flower which is called “Shion,紫苑” in Japanese. The flower means "forget me not" and “recollection” and “I won’t forget you" in Japanese floriography. This ties into what happens with her at the very end of the game: her being erased from peoples’ memories after returning Sora's memories to him causing her to disappear and vanish in people's memories the transfer of the key blade from Roxas to Riku at the skyscraper is related to how Riku got a flash of memories of Xion the meaning contained in the flashback is carried by Xion's name this meaning alludes to her fate at the end of the game.

Nomura always puts thought when it comes to how he names his characters this shows his love for flowers as seen when he chooses characters' names based on their meanings as seen with Xion.

Xion's name comes from “Shion” can also mean “Shio,汐” the Japanese word for “tide".

This ties with Kairi and Namine's names, in having to do with water. If you write Kairi, Namine, and Xion in kanji all three of their names are related to the ocean. She infers her connection to Kairi and Namine since Xion's appearance is based on Sora’s memories of Kairi.

Oceans have a lot to do with Xion as a character even in the promotional art: Xion is always pictured at the ocean with a shell on her ear and near an ocean in-game as seen in her dream sequence.

The Thalassa shell in the promotional art acts as a symbol of Xion's connection to Kairi because Thalassa shells are associated with Kairi.

Shion can come from “shio-ne,汐音” means the "sound of the tide" in Japanese her name corresponds to “Namine,波音” with Namine’s name meaning "sound of the waves” in Japanese.

Their names are meant to evoke a sense of nostalgia when read aloud. This association with memories ties into both Namine and Xion for Namine being her memory manipulation powers and Xion's function as a replica to capture memories relating to Sora.

There is a lot of symbolism with water in her name that matches her personality.

The ocean is symbolic of feminine qualities because everything is born from the sea.

the symbolism for water is Compassion, unconditional love, nurture, and care it is used to help and guide others and motivate them to do good. the ocean transition and growth since water is used as nourishment and used to help plants grow. but also the oceans can be stormy which can refer to someone's inner turmoil.

I think this symbolism rings true for Xion in the way that her influence is what causes Roxas to defect from the organization. Xion’s desire to do the right thing is seen best in how she desires to protect Roxas from Xemnas to prevent the organization from using him for their plans. Her decision to sacrifice herself to stop Xemnas and the organization to save Roxas and Sora's cost of memories of her vanishing from everyone highlights this.

Xion’s sacrifice which was underwhelmed by others played a powerful moment in the series; it was later revealed in dream drop distance that Xenmas was planning to put a piece of his heart in the members when kingdom hearts is completed becoming second Xehanorts. Roxas was going to have a piece of Xehanort's heart inside him until he defected. Because of Xion’s sacrifice, she prevented Roxas from being another Xehanort

Besides Roxas, Xion showed the most growth of her character in 358/2 days. She is the first to discover who she is and the organization's true goals before even Roxas.  Xion was the one to drive most of the narrative of kh 358 2 days due to her growth as a character which affects the plot.

Xion harbors a lot of inner turmoil in regards to her existence, coupled with the revelation of her true nature as a replica made to catch Sora's memories and realization that her existence prevents Sora from awakening. She's the one who goes through the most pain in the game.  

Xion is one of the sweetest characters you ever met, she is Kind, innocent, and pure of heart. She has a

caring personality in regards to her friends, as seen in the way she asks Namine and Axel to protect Roxas. Her short story on Axel noted how axel suffered the most shows she cares about him as much as Roxas. Xion suffered the most but she still cared about others. Xion is a pure calm girl even Nomura even states that he made Xion a short-lived pure girl which proves.

Xion is named after a part of the ocean tides, when I researched tide and what it might have to do with her character I found some symbolism that might have something to do with Xion's character. The part on how tides pull things from the shore into the sea refers to her function as a replica of absorbing Sora's memories into herself

The tide rising and falling represents the progression of life and is compared to life and death. High and low tides are used as beginning and ends in narratives this has something to do with Xion's life in 358 2 days with her birth to her death. The game is meant to tell her life and end in the game.

Tides symbolize both joys and sorrows come in and out that both Xion’s life has both happiness and sadness since she went through a lot of turbulence in the story where she lost her ability to use the key blade

her defeat of Riku and was called a sham. Called a mistake by Saix her identity crisis to when she found out that she had a replica made to copy the abilities of the key blade and catch Sora's memories.

tides symbolize renewal and hope loss and dread, hope can infer what she said to Roxas after he was incompleted by Riku her words made us feel hopeful about her revival to what she said to Roxas near the end of 358 2 days. Despite losing her in the game and the dread that comes when others forgot about her when she returned her memories to Sora because of what she said to Roxas. The hopeful feelings we felt when Xion in a way she can remember by others and her revival in KH 3 encapsulates this.

Tides are used as symbols of change with fortune and power rather than decline. The fortune aspect makes sense because the kanji for opportunity is in the translation of the kanji for the tide. Sailors going into sea use tides when they start sailing. Sailors use the tide to see how much fish they caught and how much they can get to earn money since the ocean is stated to be plentiful all depending on the fortune.

The fortune aspect to tides infers to how Xion was shoved through various plot threads in the series with her being reviewed as Xehanort's puppet than later realized joining the guardian's side. Xion suffered the most due to all the events from the story. Xion was swept into the narrative in KH like being caught in a tidal wave without any control over her situation.

The water reflects the sky to how much Sora's memories influence her appearance. Horizon, where the sky and ocean met, is related to how her name has a connection to Kairi and Sora. Roxas is connected to Sora via his nobody. So this symbolism shows the most connected to each other due to Xion having sora memories of Kairi and Roxas being Sora's nobody.

That's a lot of deep meaning to her name that goes with her character, Nomura must have been satisfied with her name because of how this might link to her in different ways.

Xion’s Design:

Finally, I’m going to talk about her main character design, there is so much that goes into it.

Xion's entire design is modeled after Kairi; it is meant to serve to have a deep connection to Kairi; this is seen best in her hairstyle.

Xion’s hairstyle closely resembles Kairi’s kh1 hairstyle but with a few differences with her hair swished to the left and tucked under her ear instead of red it's black. Xion's hair color is a personal preference from Tomoco her hair color was a request by Tomoco was adamant to have a girl with black hair.

The reason why Xion resembles Kairi is that she has the memories of Kairi that Sora remembers which would explain why she has a Kairis kh1 haircut, not a kh2 haircut that is Kairi that Sora remembers before going to sleep.

When Axel said she looked like Namine, this is intentional because Namine is Kairi's nobody. Xion's design is based on Kairi besides the hair color. If you look closely you can see Kairi's design in her face and hair. Xion is modeled after Kairi from Sora's memories referencing her function as a replica puppet.

The main reason why Xion resembles Kairi is that Kairi is the girl that Sora treasures a special girl in his heart and this makes Xion a special girl in Roxas’s heart. The girl that he treasures as Sora has with Kairi.

It was even stated by Namine in the novels.

This is very prevalent in the gameplay or better yet in the models, Xion's 3d polygon model's face is the same as Kairi Nomura must have wanted to show this connection in their models in the games as seen in the models. Kairi, Namine, and Xion have the same face model right down to the pixels if you look at the 3d models of Xion, Namine, and Kairi they have the same face but the only difference is in their hair they use the same face model with very slight differences with the hairstyles serve to make the difference glaringly obvious.

Another thing to note is Xion’s ability to use the keyblade the most obvious is in how she harbors the same keyblade as Roxas.

Her fighting abilities strongly resemble Roxas and Sora with the same stance.

This is another thing that notes her true nature as a replica created her to absorb Roxas’ power as a key blade welder. I think Xion's having the same key blade as Roxas is obvious to her true nature.

Another interesting function of her design is how Xion's appearance changes depending on who's looking at her.

Xion’s appearance reflects their relationship depending on the person talking to her Xion's appearance varies depending on the person looking at her for instance most of the members of the organization see her with her hood up whereas Saix sees her as a puppet with no face Xigber saw her with her hood up but saw her as even once.

At first, it looks like she wears a hood that hides her face until you get to know her and you begin to see her face.

Another thing to note about her being a replica is how she was designed to have no face until Sora's memories gave her an identity. Her design is symbolic of how people view her appearance changes depending on how others see her as. To the rest of the organization 13 think of her as a tool to her best friends Roxas and Axel they see her as someone important and irreplaceable.

Her design might be the most interesting character design in Kingdom Hearts mainly because of how much goes into her character. Her design captures the themes of both identity and memory very well in Xion’s character.

Someone in a post stated that Xion is a bland character and that's kind of the point: she is someone who is meant to be a blank slate but later gained an identity due to Sora's influence.

I apologize if I ever got anything wrong or misunderstood something about Xion’s entire character design, As I stated before I never did metas on Kingdom Hearts due to how confusing it is. So this meta would come off as convoluted to others. I hope I explained her design to the best of my abilities. I wanted to do a post on Xion first since she's one of my favorite characters and I’m glad that I got to talk about her in this post. I am planning to do Roxas next. So thank you for reading this.

[undignifiend]

So I made a Trollhunters fan character instead of sleeping. Meet Dezoka.

A (secretly) unregistered changeling trying to pass as a Gumm-Gumm warrior after getting stuck in the Darklands during the Battle of Killahead. Genuinely wants to be a Gumm-Gumm, but has to be deceptive (like an ‘Impure’) in order to even attempt passing as one. Frustrated by the irony.

She feels like a coyote trying to blend in with a pack of wolves. Fortunately for her, she’s got enough fire to keep up most of the time...

Might be equal to a sergeant in terms of rank; second-in-command of a platoon in Gunmar’s army (or the Gumm-Gumm equivalent). Favorite weapon: Parlock spear, but likes brawling unarmed, too. Would absolutely love the drunken fist style.

Not the strongest hitter or fastest healer, but she’s enthusiastic, fast, and has excellent pain tolerance and reflexes; excels at rolling with the punches, dodging, and deflecting. Has enough stamina to wait out or distract most opponents she’s met long enough to create openings for her teams to take down particularly tough enemies and accomplish their objectives. She’s not a duelist, she’s a pack-fighter. The rush from that is her favorite thing ever. It gives her a sense of belonging and community that she otherwise feels a degree of removal from, and the aftermath of victory is the only time she’s too hyped up to mind non-violent physical contact – celebratory headbutts and claps on the back, that kind of thing.

As evasive as she is in combat, she still gets hit a lot. Tends her own wounds, and refuses to let a healer treat her unless ordered to by a superior. And it might be a little hard to notice in a place as gloomy and washed-out as the Darklands, but her blood is a telltale purple. Grateful for how much her Gumm-Gumm armor hides. (I need to draw her helmet, too. She wears it a lot. Especially when injured.)

Has a reputation for being disciplined, loyal, direct, and industrious. And neurotic. Oddly, is most relaxed (and tolerable) when on a mission or task. During her downtime, she’ll seek out other work, or will try to salvage resources, clean/repair weapons and armor, or organize supplies in the interest of boosting efficiency. No task is too small so long as she’s convinced it will be of some benefit to the cause. If her regular duties are complete and no one gives her further orders, and if she’s got energy to spare, she’ll find something to do.

She was very gentle and affectionate as a whelp. Liked to cuddle and nap, and was easy to put to bed. When feeling active, she enjoyed ‘helping’ her favorite adults with tasks, ‘hide-and-scare’ (would leap or scamper out of her hiding spot and ambush her playmates with all the ferocity of a kitten), wrestling, and the “I bet I can jump from here to there” game. Mostly wanted to climb somewhere high up (especially on tall, broad shoulders) and observe (and give occasional, soft little headbutt-nudges like a happy cat). Is a mutt with a strong background of a sub-type of troll with propensity for leaping, climbing, and ambush tactics. Has very strong fingers, forearms, legs, and toes, and is an excellent climber. Can even fall asleep clinging to rocky walls to this day.

Became the exact opposite of cuddly. It’s like a Cats vs Cucumbers video. If someone startles her by getting too close in a non-combat situation, she can leap pretty high – and cling to any rocky walls, ledges, tree branches, or accidentally tear down rafters and get tangled in curtains. Might yell, start a brawl, or bite her tongue to resist doing either, depending on who scared her.

Very conscious of hierarchy and knows her place in it. Easily intimidated by superiors getting into her personal space, and will try to anticipate where they’re going and get out of their way. But if in-formation, or expected to hold, she will obey and hold position for as long as they tell her to, no matter how nervous it makes her.

If, however, they attempt to take advantage of her despite her protest, or if she witnesses someone else being abused (as opposed to punished) by a superior, she’s likely to take that to mean that the aggressor is unfit for the responsibility of their station, and she will consider the resulting fight she starts as her ‘appeal for a promotion’. She may be a bit squirrely, but she’s got pride and resolve in spades. Fortunately, this has only happened once so far (her former sergeant was abusing one of her shield-mates), and fortunately, she won (barely). Lost a tooth in that fight.

Gets really touch-starved when in season. She hates it. It’s perhaps the one instance (aside from recovering from debilitating injury) in which she’ll take her downtime to actually rest – which she’ll do somewhere up high and relatively hidden, where she can keep tabs on things in case she’s needed for something, but is otherwise out of sight and out of mind. Gets kind of depressed, too; without her usual duties and distractions, her mind wanders to things she’d rather not think about.

Pan and demi, but because she doesn’t want to chance anyone finding out her secret, she tends to keep people at a distance, and is effectively celibate.

Normally rolls around in dust-baths a lot to help disguise her scent. Does this extra when in season.

Favorite snacks: packing-peanuts (she likes the squeak) and coffee-grounds. Will stress-eat either of those by the handful, especially if drizzled with teriyaki sauce. Favorite beverage: any kind of soda. The bubbles “taste sharp” and it comes in edible shells! Likes to mix it with bubble solution when she’s feeling extra fancy.

Gunmar seems to notice a difference in how changelings smell, so she’s especially wary around him. It’s kind of a weird situation for her. He makes no secret of his opinions on changelings, but she idolizes him (so much that she ran off to join the Battle of Killahead when she was young and naive and wanted to personally witness his victory). As a result, her motivation to conceal the truth isn’t only about self-preservation. It’s also about trying to do right by her hero by trying to “defy her treacherous nature” (as she thinks of it) and live as a proper, loyal Gumm-Gumm. But doing so requires deception, and she’s deeply frustrated by the irony.

Constantly waffles back and forth between thoughts of “I’m lying, disloyal trash. End me.” and “This is my lot, and I’m gonna do the best I can with it.”

The only two things holding her back from coming clean and submitting to punishment, is 1) her fear of possibly getting her familiar killed as part of said punishment, and 2) her fear of dying as one more “lying, treacherous Impure” despite her efforts not to be.

Was a young, stary-eyed nobody at the Battle of Killahead, and got trapped in the Darklands with the rest of the Gumm-Gumm army. Quickly realized (or assumed) how Thoroughly Dead she’d be if she didn’t start passing as 100% Troll, pronto, and has kept up the ruse ever since. Has gone to great lengths to keep this secret, up to and including bribing goblins to hide her familiar – first name “Danica” - and erasing the name they shared from the nursery records to protect them both.

Had five fingers on each hand, which was seen as a common enough mutation among her tribe, but which she feared might be incriminating. Just to be on the safe side, she bit off her pinkies. It wasn’t her favorite day. Later learned that it’s perfectly normal for some changelings to have different numbers of fingers in different forms, and she was just being paranoid. Sour about it.

“Dezoka” was the first Trollish name she conjured up when someone asked her. She’s craftier now, but she was not a brilliant improviser in her youth, and still reflexively grimaces at the name sometimes. (It’s too close to her familiar’s name for comfort.)

She’s getting older by the present day, and even if she can still fight, she knows her reflexes are slowing. She never figured out how to accept that gracefully, and is a bit grouchy about it. She thinks she’s had a good run, even if she spent the vast majority of her life in the Darklands, and is hoping she’ll die in combat before anyone figures her out.

Witnessing Nomura getting imprisoned and tortured only made her more certain that the same would befall her. She wasn’t sure which would be more “classically Impure”: trying to appeal on Nomura’s behalf (she was trying to think up a compelling case to let her serve in the army), trying to help her escape (thereby betraying Gunmar, which is out of the question), or letting another changeling take hits for things she couldn’t help (and knowing no one would step up for her, either). Things moved on before she could decide, but the question still haunts her.

It puts kind of a damper on her ability to form relationships. And even if she got to spend time around other known changelings, while curious about them, she has internalized a lot of shame and negativity about them. And even if she didn’t have that problem, letting anyone know (changeling or not) puts her and her familiar at risk.

She has been working on a plan to get her familiar back to the Surface ever since she heard that humans are now far more likely to survive infancy. She’s not afraid to risk her life in battle, but she’s terrified of screwing up and getting her familiar killed (either on the Surface or as punishment), so that’s why she hasn’t made her move yet.

She thinks she would rather stick with Gunmar’s army than join up with the Janus Order if she got the chance. She’s lived almost her entire life as a troll, anyway, and doesn’t know how to be human, even if she may or may not have a few buried human instincts and tendencies. Also, a huge part of her paranoia about letting anyone get too close is her fear that they might have a gaggletack.

One of the main things that has kept her from giving up during times of doubt, crisis, and intense loneliness, is that she always still wants to see how long she can get away with it. It seems to her to be a very Impure attitude, and she’s starting to learn how to laugh at the irony.

[cloudofash]

Kingdom Hearts - Riku’s Possessiveness and Jealousy Part 3

The Counter Arguments

Please read Part 1 here.

Please read Part 2 here.

Please read Part 2 Addendum here.

So far I have hopefully connected some dots to build up to the claim that Riku was always in love Sora so no one can say I pulled this all out of my rump. While it’s obviously true that I am a HUGE Soriku fan, I didn’t come into Kingdom Hearts with the intention of shipping. Actually, I disliked Riku at first because I looked at him on the surface, but he's now my most favorite character in the series because of his development and I appreciate KH1 Riku now because I looked back and realized why he was such a brat. When I put together that he possibly had feelings for his best friend everything made sense. By KH2 I was like “Hm...Riku seems to harbor very strong feelings for Sora” and by DDD I was like “Oh hell, this boy is in love.” I know that my arguments will not change everyone’s mind, in fact I’m sure many read everything I said and came to the conclusion “Look at this crazy Soriku fangirl, reaching to make her pairing real!” I get it, such is the way in any fanbase. For this reason I would like to dedicate this part of my Jealous Riku series to counter some of the common counter arguments. I promise to shut up about KH1 Riku and his jealousy after this lol, I'll be focusing on current Riku and the series' future.

First and most importantly, how do we know Riku is possessive of Sora because he is in love with him? Couldn’t he just be jealous of others who claim his spot as Sora's best friend? If Riku was just possessive of his best friend in a platonic way then that would pretty much destroy my theory that he is attracted to and in love with Sora. I would say in Riku’s case, no his jealousy wasn't platonic. Riku’s possessiveness goes far beyond what is normal for a best friend. Let’s look back on the scene where he meets Donald and Goofy. If Riku actually bothered to introduce himself and be cordial with Donald and Goofy and Sora sided with Donald even after he refused to let Riku board the ship then I wouldn’t even be here writing this. Riku would have rightfully been angry with his best friend, angry that Sora chose to stick by a rude duck over his childhood friend of however many years. But this didn’t happen. Riku gave Donald and Goofy a hard look within seconds of acknowledging their presence. Though Donald shows that he’s a jerk Goofy was nice, but neither matter because Riku had already decided he didn’t like either of them. This is not normal jealousy, this is clearly a sign of extreme possessiveness. He doesn’t like ANYONE new to be around Sora or act friendly with him regardless of their intentions.

Some will probably claim "It's Kingdom hearts the writing is just bad". This is something I've seen before and I want to stress that this is not an argument it's an opinion. Some think the writing in the series is good, some say it’s decent, it's all subjective. For the sake of argument, let's run with the idea that someone claims "Nomura didn't know how to properly express Riku's jealousy which is why he seemed possessive" to branch off the "bad writing" idea. I have two counters for this: Sora and Isa/Saix. Sora says himself in KH2 that he was jealous of Riku which is why he always wanted to compete with him and hopefully beat him. Sora exhibited a far healthier form of jealousy, he didn’t care if Riku went off and made new friends, Sora never gave any hard side-eyes to Mickey when he found Riku had started hanging out with him. He didn’t start to hate or dislike Riku, he just wanted to compete with and beat him with his own strength. As for the case with Saix, in KH3 he told Axel that he was jealous of his relationship with Roxas and Xion. His jealousy compares greatly to Riku's, he saw someone he was once best friends with get close to someone else. But Saix specifically says:

This is where he differs from Riku, Saix isn't jealous of Roxas and Xion because he's possessive of Axel. Axel stopped hanging around with Saix, stopped helping him look for their missing friend and started focusing more and more on Roxas and Xion which occurred over a period of time not instantly. This goes back to what I said about rightful anger, Saix had every right to feel upset and abandoned by Axel. His jealousy was reasonable. Sora, at no point, alienated Riku the way Axel alienated Saix. Sora never took Donald's side when he said Riku couldn't come, Sora argued with Donald in Riku's defense. Even prior to that, Sora never abandoned or alienated Riku on the island and even when the darkness was swallowing Riku Sora tried to take his hand and go with him. Sora's and Saix's jealousy shows that Nomura/the KH writers (since they do change) know full well how to write jealousy in several different ways, therefore the argument that Riku's possessive jealousy is somehow bad writing is moot. I believe Nomura knew exactly how he wanted to portray Riku. 

Another counterargument that I commonly see is “Riku wasn’t jealous of people close to Sora, he was jealous of Sora himself he said so in KH2″. First of all, Riku said specifically that he was jealous of Sora because he wished he could “follow his heart” the way Sora did and that could be interpreted in a NUMBER of ways that prove my point but I’ll return to that in a second. Some people took this as meaning Riku was jealous of Sora being a Keyblade Wielder but this isn't possible. Riku’s darkness began on Destiny Islands BEFORE Sora even obtained the Keyblade in fact Riku’s darkness is what caused Sora to obtain it in the first place as confirmed by Nomura.

“That part is also a bit vague. In the Destiny Islands when Riku is swallowed by the darkness, there's a sparkle of light, and next comes the scene where Sora first gets the Keyblade, right? In my setting, the darkness wrapping itself around those two is the darkness of Riku's heart. At the moment when Sora enters that darkness, the light you can see is the light of the heart. Sora, trying to help Riku, struggling in the darkness, touches that light and temporarily the Keyblade goes to Sora. “ - Nomura

Riku could not be jealous of Sora being a Keyblade Wielder if it’s HIS darkness, HIS jealousy that leads to Sora getting the Keyblade in the first place. This point has been debunked.

Now if we look at what Riku says about being jealous of Sora because he’s able to “follow his heart”...I don’t know about you but doesn’t that seem like Riku’s admitting that he’s jealous that Sora can follow his heart to Kairi? Sora literally spent all of KH1 following his heart, searching for his crush. Even before that Sora was constantly thinking about Kairi and sharing a papou fruit with her even going as far as to draw himself feeding her the fruit. Riku would only be jealous of this if he was in a position where he couldn’t follow his heart. This point about Riku being jealous of Sora actually backs up what I said about Riku being attracted to Sora and learning that Sora is attracted to Kairi, Riku literally can’t follow his heart to his hetero (hopefully bisexual) crush. This would yet again explain Riku's initial descent into darkness - he had everything he wanted, the strongest, the smartest, the admiration of the other Island Children, the only thing he didn't have is Sora himself and he grew jealous of Kairi, of Sora's feelings for her. Now I’m not saying this is true, because Riku could also be jealous of Sora’s ability to follow his heart to his friends in general and not just his romantic crush. You know, the whole platonic thing which is the most likely meaning behind Riku’s words because KH is all about friendships which is why I did not use this as proof in my essay because I have no way to prove or even show evidence of which way Riku meant it. I’m just saying it is still possible Riku was referring to the romantic side of “following one’s heart”, he could have even meant both.

Now that we have established that Riku’s jealousy was definitely possessive, let’s head to some of the other arguments. There is usually the “Riku is straight argument” which runs along the lines of "Riku said he wanted to share the paopu fruit with Kairi so the one he is in love with is her." Or "Riku is about to be paired with Naminé , he is attracted to girls and is therefore straight." I already addressed Riku’s feelings about Kairi in the 2nd Part, there isn’t really anymore left to add. Namine is also easy to debunk. Nomura confirmed in the KH3 Ultimania that Riku only helped Naminé obtain a Replica body to act on behalf of Repliku’s feelings. In other words, as of now there ain’t nothin’ between them. Riku’s only reason for ever interacting with Namine was to help Sora retrieve his memories and he hasn’t really interacted with her too much beyond that. Not to say Square couldn't pull this pairing out of their ass but it would leave much to be desired since this ship doesn't have the buildup that Soriku has. I hope they never go down the route of throwing random pairs out for the sake of pleasing het shippers.

The final common argument that I see literally EVERYWHERE, in just about any fandom, is the inane argument that “You fangirls just want to make everything gay. Such-and-such is a Japanese work and the Japanese put a higher emphasis on male bonding and intimacy and friendship but it’s not gay, these two characters could never be gay. Japan doesn’t accept homosexuality - blah blah blah”

And wheeeeeew chile, there is so much to unpack here. I honestly didn't even want to touch this but since I see it so much in the KH fandom I felt compelled to address this. First of all, it irks me when people act like homosexuality doesn’t exist at all in Japan. Statistics from 2018 claim that about 8.9% of the Japanese population identify as LGBT+ between the ages of 20 to 59. That’s 1.1% away from being 10% of the ages 20-59 population, that is a significant number. It is incredibly ignorant to claim that Japanese people do not accept homosexuality, they are all individuals and naturally there will be close-minded people who don’t but there are many who do. The conservative Japanese politicians don’t accept it, but then again neither do most American politicians. Don’t mistake the views of the politicians as the views of the people.

Now, while it is true that those in Japan have different views on masculinity than some in America (ie: men soaking in a hot springs together, touching or even sitting on each others laps isn’t incorrectly labeled as “gay” like it most likely would be here in the States) this doesn’t mean that Japanese people don’t know the distinction between platonic intimacy and romantic intimacy. They know full well the difference between the two, it’s awful to claim with such arrogance that they don’t know as if they’re clueless. Even within the anime/manga/videogame industry Shounen-Ai and Yaoi exists with men kissing, hugging, touching romantically. As a matter of fact, the Kingdom Hearts novels themselves heavily imply that there is more between Sora and Riku and that Riku does have romantic feelings for Sora. There was a scene in the KH2 novel where Axel asks Riku "What is Sora to you?" Riku is lost for words, instead Namine answers that they're "best friends" for him. Read it for yourself below:

This is the official Kingdom Hearts novel by the way, the writer and artist (Tomoco Kanemaki and Shiro Amano) are both Japanese. Not a random "fangirl's fanfic". And let's not forget that Nomura approves these novels and the manga. They seem to have no problem writing/approving of Riku being canonically gay. You can dislike it all you want but it’s here to stay so get over it. Don't be the person who makes this horrible argument.

The one last counter I want to make is this: If you are against Soriku ask yourself if you would accept the pairing if Riku was a girl.

This Jealous Riku series focused heavily on Kingdom Hearts 1 but there is content across the entire series which could also act as strong evidence for Riku’s feelings. I could go on for years about how much evidence there is in this series. You can find such evidence plastered all across the net, I will probably touch upon some of it myself. This marks my series' conclusion, I hope the evidence I provided and the counter-arguments I’ve made show that Riku is truly in love with his best friend and that it’s not impossible that Riku could love Sora in a romantic way. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this!!

[floriswrite]

RenoRude for the ship thing

when I started shipping it if I did: 

It’s been since at least 2012 because I have distinct memories of Marluxia interacting with a Rude that never actually had a Reno. But it probably dates back to 2009. I honestly don’t know. It’s been a long time though... They’re so married. 

my thoughts:

I live for any pair that uses aibou, as you know. It’s my weak spot. But also just they’ve been together so long by the time you get to FF7 that they just /look/ at each other to speak. They’ve been partners for... at least 7 years by that point. Time lines in Final Fantasy 7 are actually very there but at the same time ??? On that note I need to find their little shorts. 

What makes me happy about them:

They have a really calm and relaxed relationship. Reno loves Rude to pieces. And Rude returns every bit of his affection albeit a little calmer. 

What makes me sad about them:

I’m working on something about this one. They are technically speaking each others’ Number Two because Rufus is everyone’s Number One. 

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

Sometimes the Reno is a slut is turned up a bit too much. And sometimes the Rude Doesn’t Speak is turned up Way Too Much. 

things I look for in fanfic:

Really just the two of them being in /love/. I also read a lot of pinning fic of the both of them not realizing that the other one like-likes them. Mostly focused around the fact that Rude has been canonly shown to like woman and Reno has a serious complex about that. Reno who is used to hookups because he’s a Turk and can’t commit to anyone. Reno who if he admits to Rude that he /feels/ something is severely worried it will mess up their dynamic. Not realizing that their whole dynamic is based around Rude loving him. 

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

I really don’t have another endgame for Reno, to be honest, but I supposed hanging with Tseng and Rufus. 

I admit I have a soft spot for Tifa but also the whole Rude telling Reno that he likes Tifa thing always makes me laugh because Reno is literally /berating/ Rude to give him a name because that’s a normal bro conversation, right?, and Rude just says Tifa because really these guys don’t know a lot of people. 

But also Rude has a track record of liking people on the other team. Like Chelsea. But that’s a reference to the Japan Mobile game that is Before Crisis... Because Nomura loves mobile games that have a lot of plot... 

My happily ever after for them:

I feel like my happily ever after for all of them is Rufus just living in a nice out of the way mansion with Everyone. 

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Logically Rude is big spoon, but I have such a soft spot for the little spoon being the big spoon. But Reno only big spoons when Rude is hurt. Otherwise Rude is so the big spoon because he has a to protect his idiot. 

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

Rude is one of the few people allowed to touch Reno’s hair outside of sex, and thus loves to have him brush it. For Rude it is hand holding. Just sitting on the couch watching TV and holding hands. Half the time this turns into sex because Reno is such a lap cat. 

[nadziejastar]

What are your thoughts on the various types of lesser Nobodies?

The members of the Organization each had their own distinctive weapons that didn’t exactly cooperate if someone else tried to use them, but Keyblades were even more particular. If someone else so much as tried to pick it up, a Keyblade would simply return to its wielder’s hand. Or so Xion had heard.

We should have gotten to learn how the members of the organization got their weapons.

Nobodies derived their personalities and abilities from memories of their human lives. But what exactly were those abilities? What gave rise to them? The answer that came to mind was the presence of memory itself. They were chained by their memory, and in those bonds was power. So it was probably fair to say that Roxas and Xion were bound by the same memory.

And we should have learned how they got their “personalities” and abilities, too. The Nobodies they control are one of those abilities, no doubt. They should be based off of specific memories from when they were human. Which means that the organization members should have gotten a MUCH more flesh out backstory than they got. I’m really disappointed that most of them remained so flat, even including the popular ones like Axel. He may have been very likable, but his backstory in KH3 left him very flat.

Sorcerer

A sorcerer, magician, or “witch” attempts to influence the surrounding world through occult (i.e., hidden, as opposed to open and observable) means.

There should have been a story/lore based reason for each of their fighting styles. There are no lesser Nobodies based on Vexen/Zexion. It probably means that those two did not have any fighting abilities as humans, which makes sense. But the rest of the organization probably did fight as humans, thus they can control Nobodies based off of that fighting style.

Sniper

A sniper is a marksman who operates to shoot people from a concealed position. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision rifles and high-magnification optics, and often feed information back to their units or command headquarters.

Braig was a sniper when he was a castle guard.

Dragoon

Dragoon, in late 16th-century Europe, a mounted soldier who fought as a light cavalryman on attack and as a dismounted infantryman on defense. The terms derived from his weapon, a species of carbine or short musket called the dragoon.

Dilan was a dragoon.

XaldinHe has the image of a medieval Chinese military commander. He is excellent at strategizing, and a powerful soldier. I’m sure the players all know that he is a contender for the first or second strongest in the Organisation. I’m satisfied that I was able to depict that strength in his personality, too. I personally really like this character.–Nomura

But he was also based on a Chinese military commander. We didn’t get to learn much about Dilan. What was his motivation? Why did he side with Xehanort? 

Watching that foolish beast flail about only deepens my disdain for humans and their incessant need to be pinned down by feelings. We became Nobodies precisely to avoid the shackles of emotion. It was only later that we realized the scale of that loss: that some things simply cannot be done without a heart. Nonetheless, I see nary a pleasant thing about it.

Why did he want to get rid of his emotions and why did he consider them a weakness? What was his opinion of Ansem the Wise, and how did he feel when he was banished? Did he want to take over Radiant Garden?

Samurai

The ideal samurai was supposed to be a stoic warrior who followed an unwritten code of conduct, later formalized as Bushidō, which held bravery, honour, and personal loyalty above life itself; ritual suicide by disembowelment (seppuku) was institutionalized as a respected alternative to dishonour or defeat.

Aeleus was a samurai.

LexaeusHe’s a character with strength to rival Xaldin. While Xaldin has power plus technique, I’d say to Lexaeus is more of a samurai, or that he has bushido-style strength. If you listen to his very last line in Re:COM, I think you’ll be able to see his spirit. I wanted to do more with this character.–Nomura

Nomura said his final words showed his spirit.

Lexaeus: You are the Superior’s—Forgive me, Zexion. This was a fight I should not have started.

In Re:CoM, these are his last words. He seems to have some honor and was loyal to Zexion.

Lexaeus gave him a cruel smile. “Hmph…so I must accept my defeat here. But do not make the mistake of underestimating the darkness in me! As I am destroyed, it will leave this ruined vessel and drown you!” 

Then there was a terrible shock wave far greater than what Riku had felt from the darkness that Lexaeus radiated before the battle. 

“Wh…what’s happening?!” A relentless swirl of darkness surrounded him, swallowing him up until he disappeared into it. 

Lexaeus laughed madly. “This is my strength… I, number five in the organization… I who was once his favorite pupil!” Those were Lexaeus’s final words before he vanished into the darkness.

In the novel, there’s an extended final scene with his final words where he apparently commits seppuku and says he was “his” favorite pupil. Who’s favorite pupil? Ansem? Xehanort? We’ll probably never know.

Berserker

Berserker, Norwegian berserk, Old Norse berserkr (“bearskin”), in premedieval and medieval Norse and Germanic history and folklore, a member of unruly warrior gangs that worshipped Odin, the supreme Norse deity, and attached themselves to royal and noble courts as bodyguards and shock troops. The berserkers’ savagery in battle and their animal-skin attire contributed to the development of the werewolf legend in Europe. These Viking berserkers were infamous for fighting in a violent rage, recklessly charging at their enemies without armor or any other protection, and seemingly without concern for their own health.

Saïx is a strange case. Unlike the apprentices, we never saw Isa fighting as a human. He was just a kid. So how did he become a berserker of all things?

Prayers are uttered to Odin, as the object of contemplation. Why Odin and not the wolf, bear, or whatever? The berserk trance is brought about by Odin, he is the inspirer, that which brings something outside the self within the self. This is ond, inspiration, or vital breath. This triggers the wod, or fury and possession, which is where the wolf, bear, or whatever comes in. As a god, Odin is a “larger” concept than the animal, and so the effect he has upon the mind during the ritual will be the greater.

Berserkers worshiped Odin. To go berserk, they needed to meditate on him and receive divine inspiration. In other words, they couldn’t just go berserk at will. The needed to meditate upon a divine purpose to go berserk.

Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves.

I think Saïx was the same.

It infuriated me how you just exited our lives. I lost…all sense of purpose.

He needed a purpose to go berserk. 

Yes, I thought you didn’t need me anymore. If you didn’t need me, then I no longer held meaning.

For him, it was Lea. 

Saïx hesitated for a second, and Roxas ran at him.

He blocked the Keyblade.

Long ago—I remember, I didn’t hate fighting. Saïx flung his claymore at Roxas.

And so, Saïx remembered things from a long, long time ago.

My theory is that Saïx would need to meditate on his purpose before he could go berserk. Before he went berserk fighting Roxas, he thought back to a time before he hated fighting. Back when he had someone to protect and fighting actually had meaning.

Assassin

A murderer of an important person in a surprise attack for political or religious reasons.

One of the things I disliked about KH3 was its characterization of Axel/Lea and seemingly retconning his role as an assassin. On the clock tower, Axel and Saïx revealed their shared goal of finding Subject X. Saïx wanted to work his way to the top of the organization hierarchy so he could find out what happened to her. Axel said that he couldn’t keep up with Saïx and his willingness to do the icky jobs Xemnas wanted them to do to achieve that rank.

This flies in the face of ALL the hints from the previous games about their shared objective:

In order for Sora—no, for Roxas to live, and also for us to accomplish our own goal, Zexion is in the way. And, if it’s for the sake of our own goal, we already decided what to do, that time.

In the novel, Axel references their shared goal and how they decided to do whatever it took. Zexion was in the way and Axel killed him.

Given the right memories, the Replica could mimic the powers of the original. Which meant that if he were implanted with somebody else’s memories, he would, hypothetically, gain other powers. Somebody’s—or maybe even a Nobody’s. He had one particular Nobody in mind. All the members of the Organization were still influenced by the memories of their human lives.

Here, it references Axel’s memories of his human life as a reason he wants to use the Riku Replica to defeat someone and absorb their powers. Sounds like Axel was, at least partially, motivated by revenge.

Axel let out a breath. “Look, I knew Vexen and Zexion would cause trouble for you. That’s why they’re not around anymore.”

That sounded more like he was justifying it to himself, Axel thought. Their lack of hearts didn’t render their actions meaningless. It wasn’t as if they never thought carefully or acted without objectives in mind. Humans and Nobodies alike would pursue their own purposes.

“The dirty work doesn’t bother me,” Axel went on. “You just make for the top.” There was nothing false in that, and he looked Saïx in the eye as he said it. Saïx stared hard back at him. Right. We have our own agenda.

Again, it demonstrates how Axel was always the one willing to do the dirty work to achieve their goal.

“Everything is back to normal. Of course this is for the best, isn’t it?”

The reason I’m unable to answer Saïx is probably because I depend on him, thought Axel.

“Xemnas has also been irritated at the recent changes in plan. Everything has to go back to normal, for the sake of our goal too… Lea.”

Axel finally looked over at the sound of that nostalgic name. Saïx was looking at him. It made him think of his time as a human, and the memories came surging back.

Here, Saïx is trying to coerce Axel into killing Xion for the sake of their goal. He never even considers doing it himself. It sounds like Axel was always the one who handled the icky jobs like killing, not Saïx. Because, obviously, that was Axel’s job. He was the assassin.

I just did what I thought was the best thing at the time. For Roxas, for Xion, for the Organization—and for Isa. But most of all for me.

Axel was at first willing to kill Xion. And who was he doing it for? Isa. And for himself. Because he needed Isa. He emotionally depended on him. Saïx knew Axel needed him and manipulated him by calling him “Lea”.

Axel didn’t care anymore about what the Organization needed, what Xion or Roxas wanted, or even what was supposed to be good for the worlds. He had been using the Organization for his own ends from the start. The only thing that had changed in the meantime was who it was all for. Maybe Saïx would call that a betrayal. But his world had changed.

It doesn’t sound like Axel’s willingness to kill had anything to do with Subject X or finding information about her. It sounds like Axel was wiling to kill for Saïx. He and Saïx wanted to take over the organization for Saïx’s sake.

What were you really after, Lea? We joined the Organization at the same time, and formulated our plan. At this point, it’s just an idle fantasy. Everything changed. You, and me.

When Axel refused to do what Saïx wanted and left the organization, he apparently didn’t need him anymore. And Saïx couldn’t handle that.

Yes, I thought you didn’t need me anymore. If you didn’t need me, then I no longer held meaning.

Of course, Axel’s motivation was retconned in KH3. Instead of Isa being his reason for staying in the organization, it became Subject X/Skuld. And along with that change, Axel’s role as an assassin was whitewashed. Maybe the idea of the fan-favorite Axel being happily willing to ruthlessly murder people didn’t seem appropriate anymore. Especially if it was no longer not for his best friend, but for a girl who is basically a stranger to him. I dunno. But I think it’s BS.

Dancer

A warrior who dances across the battlefield, garbed in colorful raiments. Tends to have low stats and specializes in support magic.

Demyx was a dancer.

DemyxFrom the beginning he was created as a light-hearted character, but his voice actor really made him stand on his own as a character despite the short appearances he had. He is by no means strong, so I think it’s funny how you don’t see it coming when his abilities make him a formidable opponent. His line before exiting was something I thought of on the spot and had them add in.–Nomura

He is described as not very strong. We never got to see him as a human, but he was probably a performer.

Gambler

(Bakuto, 博徒) were itinerant gamblers in Japan from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. They were one of the forerunners of the modern Japanese crime gangs known as yakuza. Bakuto plied their trade in feudal Japan, playing traditional games such as hanafuda and dice. They were mostly social outcasts who lived outside the laws and norms of society.

Luxord has still not received a backstory. I think we can tell a lot about him with this, though.

LuxordIn all honesty he is my absolute favourite Organisation member. I like how he treats everything as a gamble, like Setzer from FFVI of old. I actually wanted to make him stand out more. At least I got him to say some things during the meeting scene added to KH2 FM+… but Luxord should have been able to do so much more…–Nomura

Nomura wanted to do more with him.

The nation of Lucis was said to have worked akin to a mafia crime family since the nation’s ancient beginnings, and despite its peace was said to have engaged in strict rule, including a ban on firearms and a lockdown in the capitol city. Noctis was the crown prince, and Regis the current king. Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto—Noctis’s team members—acted as his entourage akin to a Yakuza kyodai-shatei structure.

Maybe his gambler/bakuto job is the reason why he’s apparently going to have a connection to the Verum Rex world. In Re:Mind, Yozora’s driver sounded like Luxord. And Luxord’s wild card is apparently going to be what helps Sora return.

Reaper

Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper causes the victim’s death by coming to collect that person’s soul. Other beliefs hold that the Spectre of Death is only a psychopomp, serving to sever the last ties between the soul and the body, and to guide the deceased to the afterlife, without having any control over when or how the victim dies.

The Reaper and Ninja Nobodies were introduced in KH3. I think Marluxia’s intentions were supposed to be known by the time KH3 started. He wanted to bring his sister back. That’s why he wanted to control Sora and the Keyblade and take over Castle Oblivion. That’s something that should have been explored in the Dark Seeker Saga, explaining how Marluxia became a vessel. Maybe Xehanort convinced him that if he helped open Kingdom Hearts, he could reunite with his sister.

Ninja

A ninja (忍者) was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included espionage, deception, and surprise attacks. Their covert methods of waging irregular warfare were deemed dishonorable and beneath the honor of the samurai.

Larxene’s backstory is a Keyblade wielder from the age of fairy tales. But why was she a knife wielding ninja archetype character? What was her life like before she became a Nobody and tried to take over Castle Oblivion? How did she get so twisted and when did her hatred of men develop? What is the nature of her feelings for Marluxia? That’s what I wanna know.

[zdbztumble]

Re:Mind, Re:View - Part 1 (of 1?)

Better late than never, and that was money...spent.

An opening made up of two lore-heavy cutscenes, pushing the Black Box and the Master of Masters (a character I gather is popular for his hamminess, but I can’t stand.) An elaboration by Chirithy of what will happen to Sora, a clarification that doesn’t make up for the Power of Waking’s consequences only being apparent because characters say what they are instead of them being shown or felt through any tangible effect on Sora. A re-tread of most of the maze run from the game proper, with an extra fight and a few extra scenes, one of which tries to justify Aqua’s despair (a no go, because everything about that scene is stupid) while another tries to make Kairi’s kidnapping less dumb (it...sort of works.) The chance to play as other Keyblade wielders, which doesn’t last very long because the bosses are so easy, so I couldn’t get much of a feel for any of them. Christopher Lloyd having fun as a VA. The chance to run around in Scala Ad Caelum, which is pretty but with hardly anything to do.

Then there is finally a battle where all the Keyblade wielders (minus the two the lore insists are the most important, but whatever, that actually makes sense for once.) I call BS on King Mickey and Master Aqua holding back to cast Reflect when young Ven and Keyblade novice Axel are on offense, but it’s a decent sequence. I cannot believe that Mickey’s last desperate stand was given to him - to any Disney character - instead of one of Nomura’s precious OCs. Overall, some solid work.

And, at last, Kairi gets her moment. It’s easily my favorite part of this DLC. And, since Xehanort is the only one of these bosses that poses a serious challenge (in my experience, anyway) there’s time to get a handle on her moveset and limitations, which I found a lot of fun to play. Her combo move with Sora is cool and touching. While it’s still a shame that even this tacked-on offering couldn’t contrive a way for the Destiny Islands trio to be together in a party, Kairi’s moment was long overdue, and this fight was a great bit of gameplay-as-story.

...And then...

...

...And then...there’s the ending.

You may have thought, given the new title screen - given the stated goal at the beginning of gameplay being to rescue Kairi - given what the ending of KH III was - that Re:Mind might close out on a real scene between our (nominal) series lead and (nominal) female lead, two lifelong friends-turned-lovers who are about to be parted for perhaps the final time. You might have thought Kairi would finally get a chance to say something, give voice to her thoughts, feelings, regrets, triumphs, etc. You might have thought Sora would tell her what’s going to happen to him.

Nope! Because what’s important - what’s really important, the much greater priority for the KH series - is to make sure Chirithy gets back to Ven.

Returning the stuffed animal to his hundreds-of-years-old human because they’re walking ads for the mobile game takes precedence over the farewell between Sora and Kairi.

To quote Fate/Stay Night: UBW Abridged, I feel a very complicated version of hate right now.

So many things here that I wanted, put into a context that still minimizes them and reduces their importance and effect. I’m infuriated all over again.

As of this writing, I’ve gotten into the very beginning of Limit Cut. You know, that back half of the DLC where you find out that Riku trained with Terra (not with Master Aqua, continuing the KH III tradition of pushing Terra as the one Eraqus wanted to look after that team despite a little thing I like to call the entirety of BbS.) Where you find out that the Wayfinder and Sea Salt trio are still active, so any hopes you might have had that the protagonists would be brought down to a manageable number took a huge shot. Where you find out that Kairi volunteered to be put into suspended animation while Riku confers with the Final Fantasy characters (because God forbid we position Kairi to have a central role in the next game, or that we remember that she actually met and spent time with the FF characters who Riku’s never met on-screen.) 

And the part where you go into the Datascape to fight Data Bosses.

That has never been my thing. I fought the optional Heartless bosses in KH I, but I’ve never seriously tried to defeat Sephiroth, or felt like I was missing out by not having the FM of KH II. Of course, that’s just me, and I get including this content for people who enjoy it. I don’t get requiring people to defeat all of these Data Bosses to get to the last of the story content. And I really, really, really don’t know that I have it in me to slog through all of them.

I’d like to unlock the last of this material on my own, just to be able to say that the game didn’t break me - but it is so hard to care anymore. If I end up hitting YouTube for the last of the story content, then this post you’re reading now will be the last I have to say about Kingdom Hearts III.

[fandom-rants]

Fandom’s Favorite Fallacies

Fandom loves to use shitty arguments to make its opinions ‘right.’ Allow me to arm the victims of their bullshit with the twin weapons of knowledge and defense. Knowing these arguments are shit, and have been recognized in debate and logic circles as shit, may help you all hold your heads high when the next purist stan comes storming in looking to silence you.

Fallacy #1: Judgmental Language (An Appeal to Emotion Fallacy, which is a Type of Ad Hominem Fallacy)

This one’s the most popular attack when it comes to the subject. Acting as if the things they dislike are contemptible is a quick way to get idiots who read others’ feed without critically thinking on their own to mindlessly agree, simply because the person made the thing they don’t like seem really bad. It is often inaccurate and, as it’s a type of red herring, usually has little to nothing to do with any original point, save to make the subject seem so awful it doesn’t deserve any real discussion at all.

Examples: 1) “Kingdom Hearts’ Terra is an idiot. Because he trusted people too easily, he ended up causing countless problems.” 2) “The Sokovia Accords are written by people who are just out for power and control.” 3) Tony Stark’s war profiteering was what caused him trouble in the films.”

Fallacy #2: Poisoning the Well (An Ad Hominem Fallacy)

This one’s the most popular attack when it comes to speaking of the opponent. Acting as if their opponent is reprehensible is a great way to malign opponents into silence and a phenomenal way to get idiots who don’t think to also attack someone, as well, and repeat the insults as if they are factual.

Examples: 1) “You don’t like this female character because you’re a misogynist!” 2) “Putting those two characters together is supporting pedophilia!” 3) If you put two white characters together when you could ship them with a black character, you’re racist.”

Fallacy #3: Abusive Fallacy (A Red Herring Fallacy)

This one’s the other side of the same coin to #2. Instead of insulting anyone who might stand against them or make a certain argument, they deliberately verbally attack someone who says what they don’t like. This one is not only a good way to just bully someone into submission; it also allows others to do the same.

Examples: 1) “Fuck you, you misogynistic asshole.” 2) “You like that ship? You’re a pervert. Pedophile.” 3) Of course someone like you likes Tony Stark. You’re an idiot with a giant ego, so of course you like a character just like you.”

Fallacy #4: Argumentum Ad Populum, or The Bandwagon Fallacy (A Red Herring Fallacy)

They’re right because a large number of people agree that they’re right. This one is usually used to try to bring in others who agree with them in order to ‘prove their point.’

Examples: 1) Lots of people love Steve Rogers, so your hate is just bullshit. 2) Terraqua is so beloved by fandom it’s pretty much canon. 3) Nobody cares if you don’t like Wanda Maximoff. She’s super popular.

Fallacy #5: Argumentum Ad Verecundiam, or Appeal To Authority (A Red Herring Fallacy)

Someone in some position of power said it, so it must be so. This one’s usually used with the whole ‘Author Is God’ shit. So if a producer or writer or actor says it, it is absolutely true and must never be questioned. Another way to try to silence an opponent by acting as if they can’t know as much as the person whose arguments they’ve decided they like.

Examples: 1) Jensen Ackles hates Destiel, so it’s never been a thing in the show, not even so much as hinted at. Get over it. 2) There was an interview in which Nomura said Terra is around twenty, so he is. Period. Yeah, Nomura also said he never considered it before, but he answered the question, so that’s how old he is. 3) The producer said Tony Stark was trying to kill Bucky, so he really was. It doesn’t matter what the movie shows or what capabilities other movies have shown Tony to have. The producer confirmed it.

Fallacy #5: Argumentum Ergo Decedo, or Traitorous Critic Fallacy (An Ad Hominem Fallacy)

You aren’t a part of the ‘group,’ so your opinion is not only wrong, but unwanted. Get thyself elsewhere; your statements matter not one whit. A great way to just shoo an opponent away and act as if they have nothing of worth to add to the discussion.

Examples: 1) You don’t like Steve, so of course you dislike Stucky. This post isn’t about you. 2) You don’t even like Dalish elves, so don’t bother talking about their vallaslin. 3) If you don’t like our meta, then just leave.

Fallacy #6: Tone Policing (A Red Herring Fallacy)

You’re being rude, and your tone is argumentative, so no one’s going to listen to what you say. Also, you’re wrong. A wonderful way to shift the entire argument into a discussion on how you should talk. It also tries to shame the other person, so even when they change their tone, they’re still talked down to. Oh, and the arguments they made? They have to start all over, because the other person wasn’t willing to actually read their argument because of the ‘rude tone.’ Literally just a way to avoid answering their opponents arguments or rebuttals.

Examples: 1) I’m not going to listen to anything said with that kind of language. 2) Maybe people would be willing to hear you out if you didn’t sound so aggressive. 3) Change your tone and then we’ll talk.

And Finally, Fallacy #7: Argumentum Ad Nauseum, or Proof By Assertion (An Informal Fallacy)

They keep repeating their shitty argument until people get tired of refuting it. The ensuing lack of opponents leads them to say that, since no one else is bothering to try to argue anymore, they are right.

Examples: 1) Tony Stark is a warmonger. 2) Kingdom Hearts’ Terra made a mess that Aqua had to clean up. 3) Kudos is thanks enough for writing that fanfiction.

Now obviously, these are not the only fallacies used by popular fandom. But these are the ones employed the most often, from what I’ve seen. To those who get attacked with these sorts of arguments, please recognize them for what they are: proof of the person’s idiocy. The people who use these arguments to try to silence or attack others are complete dumbasses. Their opinions are popular because idiots flock together. That’s it. They aren’t right. They aren’t accurate. And using these rebuttals proves they don’t have a leg to stand on.

Ad hominem arguments have long been considered evidence that the opponent has no way to counter your position. It’s the equivalent of handing the victory over to you. The instant your opponent has to insult you in some way, they have run out of arguments. They have been defeated and merely wish to curse you out in their impotence.

You’ve won. So fuck them.

[davidmann95]

How would you rank the KH secret sending?

I’m going to have to likely irritate my 5-10 or so followers who particularly care about my Kingdom Hearts opinions rather than just the comics stuff, and say that for this I’m not counting Blank Points. It’s one of the best sequences in the series by far, but while you may have to unlock it, it is in every meaningful sense the true ending to Birth By Sleep - there may be teases, but it’s just as much devoted to being a capstone to the story of that entry. Also not counting Destiny, since that’s a weird situation where it came out after half of what it teased came to fruition and you don’t need to unlock it, plus I didn’t see it until after everything else it hinted at played out so I have no way of watching it in its originally intended context.

6. Another Guardian of Light (Dream Drop Distance)

Easy choice - this one’s a real nothingburger, and the twist of its final moments ended up playing a minimal role in III (one of that title’s most significant failings, much as I love it in general).

5. Signs of What’s Next (Coded)

Another easy one - mostly an empty exposition dump, but the final line in this one is at least a solidly dramatic reveal that also marks things coming full circle, and does in fact have a substantial role in the story going forward.

4. A Fragmentary Passage (Birth By Sleep)

I wavered on this one since you could arguably count the Secret Episode as a whole, which not only muddies the waters of what constitutes a secret ending but that I’ve also never played. The ‘Secret Ending’ portion of it though is still clearly demarcated, and I think it’s actually one of the most interesting as a pure shot of raw, disconnected, dreamlike vague Concept rather than a coherent scene, especially given that many of those ideas appear to have never materialized. Some have, including at least one moment with Sora that clearly prefigured things to come, albeit in an abstract sense, but several flashes here seem to hint at ideas for future developments that didn’t end up deployed and maybe never will be (a far cry from Nomura years earlier mentioning he meticulously made sure that every vague dramatic-sounding line he came up with for Deep Dive would find some sort of place in II). Unlike the other in-engine endings that act as coherent scenes with dialogue and clearly spelled-out meanings and implications, this operates in the same realm of metaphor and abstraction as the CGI mini-movies of the numbered titles, and in a totally different way from them to boot.

3. The Gathering + Birth by Sleep (II)

Into the big three, and I feel like there are solid arguments to be made for any of them at any order among the top contenders since each have profoundly different strengths. For me, this’ll go here in spite of the absolutely killer second part*, which manages to convey a shocking emotional range and depth for a battle between 5 unknown figures, 4 of whom spend most of it faceless. But while it might be strongest as an isolated scene, and the bafflement it offers is considerable given it veers off into an entirely different direction from the sequel hook offered by the immediately preceding epilogue, I don’t think it holds the same conceptual impact as the next two. Aside from the dope Keyblade armor - which ultimately turned out to have little significance - it’s built on permutations of the existing iconography, and spectacle matching what we’d seen before but far more beautiful than anything we’d seen at the time. The fundamental promise it offers is further revelations about topics we’ve already been introduced to and the grandeur of a next-gen Kingdom Hearts (which by freak of fate wouldn’t actually emerge for over a decade), and with that promise now fulfilled it loses some of its power.

* With both this and the next one, I’m counting both individual movies as essentially one sequence given they’re meant to be viewed together, and for the sake of brevity.

2. Another side, Another story + Deep Dive (I)

A moment of profound importance to the series as we know it today: the birth of Kingdom Hearts as having a weird, somber, emo side beneath the Disney outer coating. It rewrote the aesthetic rulebook and, with its dual Keyblade wielding (salute to anyone who remembers BHK), the mythological rulebook as we’d known it up to that point. It offered questions and teases, introduced major iconography, opened up new tonal vistas for where the series could go even if its fundamental nature would never let it fully switch over to the direction this suggested, and it set the template for all of the secret movies to come. The ship that launched a hundred thousand AMVs, this still holds a strange power for its contrast with everything around it, and in the long term it might still overtake the hot new thing as my favorite.

1. Yozora (III)

Even pending the traditional longer second chunk I think is pretty much a given to be released with the rest of RE:Mind, I feel this captures the best aspects of both prior major secret movies, with some major unique points in its favor. Like The Gathering + Birth by Sleep it delivers emotionally, but rather than slowly putting together a context from what’s provided it’s an immediate gut-punch in seeing what’s happened to Sora, and then conveying a sense of mounting confusion for half the runtime. Like Another side, Another story + Deep Dive it acts as a sleek, grim, modern contrast to the series as a whole. But in both cases, those emotions and that contrast are altered by the existence of a POV that’s ultimately going through the same experience as the viewer: Sora and Riku are as confused as you, they can recognize the contrast from the worlds they know just as you can even as they are now, in fact, the ones out of place. It realizes the idea of the secret movies as strange outliers in a way unlike ever before, and when the reveals do come, they’re jaw-droppers like never before because we understand what we’re seeing just enough to get what they are and how wild this is and speculate about their significance, but not enough to even begin to guess with any sort of authority how this is going to play out. It didn’t invent the wheel in the same way the first did, but it inventively reimagines it in a way nothing else approaches, and for me that means it secures the win.

[moonsgentlegaze]

AU where Strelitzia is alive.

A.K.A The AU where the Dandelions have to witness the daily sibling banter between her and Lauriam. I would die for this to be real but Tetsuya Nomura is mean and I can't oppose the man or else he throws me in a virtual reality and I die there. Also I'll just add in both of the potential murderers because I Like It Peaceful™.

Enjoy!

As soon as Strelitzia walked to the meeting spot, the first words she spouts are "Why are YOU here?" and begins hurrying to get a clearer look. The pink haired man is as surprised, more pleasantly though, as he bursts laughing. The last one he'd expect to be a Dandelion is his timid, shy sister, but he couldn't be happier.

As soon as the two clear up the confusion between them, they shuffle back to the Dandelions, and Strelitzia begins introducing herself.

"My name is Strelitzia, it's a pleasure to meet you all. Lauriam is my big brother."

As soon as they introduced themselves to each other, they began their work as Dandelions. Though things are heavy, the air always feels light with those two around.

While Ephemer tries to discuss some things in the book with Strelitzia in the Foretellers' Chamber, she seems to be at a loss for words, as she doesn't understand a number of things the book mentioned. Lauriam, overhearing the conversation, would walk up to him and ask about which topic he's talking about, only to kneel next to his sister, with his book in his hands, he begins to explain to her, whilst familiarizing some things to trivial topics they know about.

"Like in that one story you read, the Keyblade War would be a grim end. We're here for what's to come afterwards." "So we're the flowers to bloom after the storm!" "Exactly."

While Skuld didn't think much of Lauriam, the two would occasionally talk about everyday life, and things they find interesting. Strelitzia would often join, though most of the time she'd be listening and nodding to them, and when she talks, she talks about simple things, and sometimes about the friend she had finally made. But when she's comfortable enough, she would talk about things she's usually too stiff to talk about with new people, and that includes a lot of family moments. Whenever she talks about Lauriam, he's always either too late to stop her or oblivious to the story.

"I was sick once, and Lauriam left with his Chirithy to bring me some herbs. He did bring the herbs and everything, but he hadn't realized that the Chirithy he left with was mine." "Yeah, I remember that- wait, really?" "Yep! Your Chirithy was panicking by my side. After I reunited with mine, it told me you are waay more gentler than you let on." "I mean, that's nicer than your previous story... but also still kind of mean." "I still have more to tell, you know!"

Ventus began a conversation with Strelitzia and Lauriam, starting with an excited "Strelitzia is a flower!" and they dove into the topic. Strelitzia only thought it's a beautiful name and how she wished to plant it one day, but Lauriam being a flower enthusiast, talked about the flower, and brought up the fact that he may be the reason for her name, as Strelitzias were Lauriam's favorite kind as a child, and also worked as a beautiful name. Continuing the conversation, Strelitzia began,

"Ventus means wind, right?" "Yep, I think it's a bland name... It doesn't feel as interesting as yours." "Well! Maybe one day, you'll meet people who'd give more meaning to your name." "Yeah... hopefully."

With Blaine starting the Dandelions' work with creating a Dream Eater akin to Chirithy, Lauriam stayed behind with him while Strelitzia and the rest ran off to bring the needed ingredients. Strelitzia would keep coming back though with obviously wrong ingredients, and it eventually gets on Lauriam's nerves.

"Strelitzia, how on earth did you think this is Luminous Moss?" "Well, sorry for not being an expert on Luminous Moss..." "Strelitzia, honey, it doesn't take an EXPERT to know this is a frog." "They're both green!" "Yes, both green, but one is a LIVING BEING! Please, return the poor guy home." "Geez, fine..."

Sometimes other Dandelion members come back into the chamber midst their little fight, but he eventually shows her the ingredient in her book, and reminds her to look in it to compare what she found to the ingredient, but accompanies her when she finds something similar, but hard to reach.

[elizabethemerald]

Shipping Game

I was tagged twice! Thanks to both @autumnalfallingleaves and @eurazba for this fun game!

Pick your top 10 ships without reading the questions. [or if you’re a one ship dedicated blog, feel free to answer all of them for just that one, or do all the ships from one fandom, this is just for fun].

1. Jlaireby - Jim x Claire x Toby

2. Barbmura - Barbara x Nomura

3. Hammerhunter - Jim x Toby

4. Girl Power Polycule - Darci x Claire x Shannon x Mary x Aja

5. Main Protagonists - Jim x Darci x Claire x Toby x Aja x Steve x Eli x Krel

6. Stricklakerot - Strickler x Barbara x Angor Rot

7. Blinkbarbmura - Blinky x Barbara x Nomura

8. Mary x Shannon

9. Darci x Claire x Toby (Does this have a ship name?)

10. Trolldads - Blinky x Aaarrrgghh

[God I have 6 poly ships in my top ten, and not a single het appearing one.]

Do you remember the episode/chapter/scene where you first started shipping 6? Stricklakerot

There wasn’t a canon scene but when I first saw this piece of artwork (X) I thought of it as a possibility, fell in love with it after that. 

What’s your favorite fanfiction for 4? Girl Power Polycule

Honestly, I don’t know that I’ve ever read a piece of fanfiction focusing on all of them. I am however thinking of writing that very story. 

What’s your favorite fan art/picture for 2? Barbmura

That is...really hard to say. I think it’s going to be this one (X) because it my dream to have an amazing wedding like this. 

What’s your favorite headcanon for 1? Jlaireby

I have so many headcanons for them, it’s hard to choose. I think my favorite and one I’ve written about several times is that Toby will video call Claire and Jim as “Video dates” while they are on the road to New Jersey. It’s the cutest headcanon to me. 

What do you like most about the dynamic between the people of 7? Blinkbarbmura

This is one of the ships that is the most likely to absolutely lose their minds if something happens to Jim. Barbara was willing to throw hands with Merlin when Jim was hurt. Blinky straight up blew up a dude when Jim was on trial. Nomura has no hesitation with doling out punishment, and willing sacrificed herself to allow Jim to escape the Darklands. Together there isn’t a restraining force among them. So Jim gets hurt, and these three rain an ungodly hell on the perpetrator. 

When 9  10 have sex is it more giggly or more serious?  Trolldads

Uhhhh, I’m not to create a head canon for how three teen aged kids have sex, so how about I do Number 10 instead? I think it would be more serious. Blinky and Aaarrrgghh can be silly and lighthearted, but I feel like when its just them things are more serious. 

Out of all the ships who do you think have the best chemistry?

In order of best chemistry my ships are: Jlaireby, Hammerhunter, and Darci x Claire x Toby. These kids are the ones who have gone through the most. Their relationship is started on being best friends. There’s nothing these kids can’t do together. 

Which ship has the strongest bond?

I feel like saying the Main Protagonists is a little cheating, so I will say Barbmura. These two women, have a longer life experience and more in common throughout. They understand each other, understand what drives the other. 

Which ship do you spend the most time reading fanfiction for/talking/writing about?

Again, in order of how much I’ve written:  Barbmura,  Jlaireby, and Mary x Shannon. These three ships are the focus of my entire After the Eternal Night extended universe. 

Which one was your first ship?

Jlaireby. Being poly myself, I’m always all for shipping all the protagonists. Teen Titans? Lovers. The Mystery Gang? Lovers. The Trollhunters Trio? Lovers

If 6 were to break up, how would it happen? Stricklakerot

Unfortunately it would probably be because of Strickler and Angor’s history. One did kind of enslave the other. That might be hard to forgive. 

Between 3 and 8, who would last the longest if they were in a zombie apocalypse?

Ok this is between Hammerhunter  and  Mary x Shannon. That’s a tough call. Fortunately it just happened to line up two of pair ships, rather than my many poly ships, so no unfair advantage. Jim’s biggest weakness during a zombie apocalypse would be his weakness to sun (I actually have an AU idea focusing on this idea, that I haven’t started writing yet) I think Jim and Toby would win out. They are experienced fighters with magical armor and weapons. Shannon has magic, and Mary’s no slouch in a fight, but I just think experience would win out. Or they would end up working together and be unstoppable. 

Does 7 hide their relationship, and if so, why? Barbmura

I think there might be a brief period where they hide their relationship. Barbara may be unsure how Jim will feel about her dating his father figure Blinky and his former enemy Nomura, much less at the same time. I think when Jim tells he is dating Claire and Toby at the same time, she implies that she might also be dating multiple people. Jim guesses right away that her partners are Blinky and Nomura. He’s happy for her and for them. Toby and Claire are the ones to give them both the shovel talk. 

What is 9′s favorite date to go on? Darci x Claire x Toby

So far in my writing they have gone on a date to a coffee shop and a funeral. Of the two they definitely seemed to prefer the coffee shop. I think staying in would probably be their favorite dates in the future. 

What’s your favorite canon moment between 10? Trolldads

So my two favorite moments are when Blinky lovingly touches Aaarrrgghh’s statue in the library while Jim is in the Darklands and when Blinky is human and Aaarrrgghh is wounded by Creeper’s Sun and they are both being awkward around each other and so sad that things are weird. 

What do 5 argue most about? Main Protagonists

Ok. Ha ha ha. Take your pick. There are a lot of powerful personalities here. A lot of different ways of approaching problems. They’ve all had their share of arguments about how to deal with their trials. I mean even in a domestic setting where they have a massive house in Arcadia, or in the Royal palace on Akiridion-5, or cave in New Trollmarket. There could be arguments about so many things. I love them all, but there are quite a few hot heads in this group. 

If you had to pick an OTP which would you chose?

Even the concept of choosing one can go fuck itself. The closest I could get would be the choosing two. All the Teenagers and All the Adults. Every teen is dating every other one. Every adult is dating every other adult. Two massive love webs. Who even chooses?

What’s the biggest kink that 1 2 shares?  Barbmura

Uh,, Still not making sexy things for teens so for number 2 instead? That’s a hard one. I don’t think its anything related to bondage or domination (Mostly because i feel like they are both doms) I think it would be “marking” the other. Scratches, bites, hickeys and the like. In her troll form Nomura has to be careful not to make the marks permanent. Barbara will cover her body in lipstick kisses, when they are both human, the fun can get intense. 

Do 8 want children? Mary x Shannon

Hell yeah! Shannon is from a long line of lesbian witches. She knows a spell that can allow two women to conceive. Their kids are going to be so pretty and they’ll have a share of Shannon’s magic. Plus they will have so many magical aunts and uncles as the rest of the Reckless Club jump over themselves to take care of the kids. 

Between 10 and 4, which would you rather become canon?

Which one is more likely? Trolldads. Which one would I prefer? The lesbian power polycule. Like let’s get all the ladies to date each other. It’s super gay and very wholesome. And they can all kick the asses of any guy who messes with them. 

Does 2 do much PDA? And does it annoy their friends? Barbmura

Uh, probably yeah. In my story I’m writing for these two, they are pretending to date at first so they do a lot of PDA to prove that they are dating. Then when they are actually dating that trend continues. They are both in other matters pretty private people and probably wouldn’t normally, but they love each other so much they can’t help it. The PDA annoys Toby and Jim but no one else minds. Barbara is basically Toby’s mom, and literally Jim’s and they are both done with having to see their mom kiss changelings who tried to kill them. 

Which of the ships would you say is the most romantic with each other?

Jlaireby, hands down. These kids who have, almost literally, been to hell and back for each other? Oh yeah. They know exactly what the others need, when to hug, when to kiss, when to give them space and when to hold them tight like they will never let go. They all go above and beyond for each other Valentines is a glorious disaster every single year. And their anniversaries (there are multiple depending on when each felt they started dating the other. None of them agree on the actual dates) are always magnificent. 

How would the proposal between 5 go?

I already wrote this! (X) Like so many things, it’s a god damn disaster of a romantic night. All the planners and over thinkers interacting with all of the spur of the moments. They didn’t even mean for it to be this poly or this gay, but it sure as hell was. After everyone proposed and danced they retired to Jim’s house (it was closest) and fell asleep on the floor in the living room. The next morning they tried to sort out who had proposed to who. The relationship web became increasingly silly. A few folks who didn’t get the chance to propose to everyone they wanted to did so in the morning. Which made the relationship web even more difficult to read. They gave up when someone asked what a wedding like that would look like. I am now going to write this up!!!! This is great. 

Who cooks more often in 3? Hammerhunter

Is there ever any doubt? Jim all the way. 

I’ll Tag @yellowmagicalgirl, @imthegingerninja and @sombra-core Uh if anyone else wants to do this please feel free! I don’t know how many people have been tagged already. 

[beyondmistland]

“May your heart be your guiding key” (Full thoughts on Kingdom Hearts III below!)

Graphics:

Ø  The game is bloody gorgeous, which helps mitigate the long and frequent cutscenes

Ø  The lip-syncing rarely fails

Music:

Ø  The new remixes are awesome and the brand-new tracks don't disappoint either

Ø  What does though is the actual audio mixing:

More often than not I struggled to hear the music over the sound effects during gameplay and the voiceovers during cutscenes

Ranking the Worlds:

Ø  #1: Corona: The world is huge, with varied terrain and a kick-ass final boss

Ø  #2 Olympus: The sheer scale and scope of the world took my breath away, plus we (finally!) get to fight all four titans

Ø  #3 The Caribbean: Assassin's Creed IV meets Kingdom Hearts, what's not to like

Ø  #4 Monstropolis: While not as eye-catching as some of the other worlds the way it intersects with the broader KH lore is really neat and the final cutscene was a delight in that it averts the Disney characters being useless when dealing with the original KH villains, on top of which its straightforward design is a nice change of pace, my only complaint is that there are only four types of Unversed

Ø  #5 San Fransokyo: The story is surprisingly short, which means you don't really get the chance to explore the environment, which sucks because the verticality and day/night cycle are awesome, plus there are a number of memorable boss fights

Ø  #6 Twilight Town: If it had been fully recreated based off the KH2 version the world would be much higher on my list but despite how small it is I love the liveliness, not to mention how peaceful it is in comparison to the other worlds, the same can be said for Hundred Acre Wood

Ø  #7 Keyblade Graveyard + Final World + Scala Ad Caelum: Though jaw-dropping in terms of visuals and audio they're not fully realized worlds, the same can be said for Dark World

Ø  #8 Toy Box: I loved the final boss as well as how the story tied into the larger plot of the game and I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy exploring Andy's room while "You have a friend in me" played in the background

Why then is Toy Box so far down on my list, world design

Even with endgame stats (LV40-45) the Gigas are tough to take down and as a result they come off as gimmicky in the worst sense of the word, beyond that the fact that the majority of the world is set in Galaxy Toys made me feel constrained and claustrophobic, which could have been partially alleviated if we'd been allowed to make our way through the parking lot outside, finally, the story kind of got repetitive with the backtracking whenever the characters were about to leave because "someone went missing yet again"

Ø  #9 Arrendelle: Though it has one of the best final bosses in the game along with Corona there is so much wrong with this world that I wonder if it's less Square Enix's fault and more Disney placing an insane amount of red tape on their favorite cash-cow:

1) Elsa does not become a party member even after you beat the world

2) You do not get to explore the city or the ice palace despite the latter being fully rendered on the map

3) Larxene, a lightning-based character, randomly traps you in an ice labyrinth when that would have made a lot more sense both logically and thematically if it had been Elsa

4) Speaking of Larxene, she does practically nothing the whole time you're there unlike Marluxia and Luxord, who are at least semi-active

5) You climb a mountain and get knocked off of it so many times that even Sora gets fed up

6) The bloody minigame where you have to find Olaf's body parts

7) Forcing us to watch the entire "Let it go" sequence and then having "Do you want to build a snowman" play over Anna's voice as she's explaining herself to Sora

8) So much of the story is excised that you have little clue as to what's going on to the point Hans appears for all of five minutes, doesn't say any lines, and isn't even named when it would have been cool, not to mention, just plain better, if he had started off as a guest member of your party

9) As a result of #8 Sora, Donald, and Goofy's presence feels like even more of an afterthought than usual in the sense that them not being there wouldn't have changed anything at all apart from Hans' Heartless then having no one to defeat it which can be seen by the fact that when they leave no one tells them goodbye unlike in every other world

10) The visual design was bland and tiresome after a while

11) The world's gimmick was uninspired to say the least

12) Fighting alongside a giant snowman (AKA Marshmallow) was awesome and in terms of pure gameplay the labyrinth was actually quite fun

Story Pros:

Ø  Master Xehanort's new voice actor is good but after hearing Leonard Nimoy's voice for the past couple of games the change is a bit jarring

Ø  The way previous games are referenced and tied together is a nice way of bringing new players into the fold while also setting up the finale's resolutions

Ø  The game has a better sense of humor than previous installments

Ø  Sora is more like his KH2 self than the bland caricature we saw in 3D and quite a few characters display some degree of genre-savviness

Ø  Master Yen Sid gets out of his chair to lend a hand for once

Ø  Donald Duck is the most powerful mage in Square Enix canon (and I am not making that up)

Gameplay Pros:

Ø  Being able to switch between different save points in the same world is a welcome addition

Ø  The secondary ability of all shotlocks to airstep is ingenious

Ø  You can have more than two party members finally!

Ø  The secret ending isn't too hard to unlock

Ø  You can upgrade your Keyblades, which means older ones aren't automatically relegated to redundancy

Ø  Donald and Goofy are useful again after being nerfed into uselessness in KH2

Ø  Towns and cities are actually populated by fully-voiced NPCs!

Ø  Cutscenes in Theater Mode are unlocked after completing each world rather than after beating the game

Ø  I never tried the Classic Kingdom minigames but the cooking one with Remy was a nice break from the normal gameplay (I suck at the egg-cracking one though)

Ø  The camera doesn't get in the way like it infamously did in KH1

Ø  I like the new main menu design (Feel free to disagree though)

Ø  The Gummi Ship is entirely optional outside of a few mandatory boss battles

Ø  Moogle Tickets are a nice way of giving players a second chance during difficult encounters (I do wish they didn’t activate so quickly though) 

Gameplay Cons:

Ø  The game never once tells you that you can switch between Situation Commands using L2

Ø  The game never once tells you that you keep all your lower-tier magic (Fire, Fira for example) and that your shortcuts don't automatically update to include the higher-tier version of whatever magic you have equipped

Ø  There's no real incentive to switch between Keyblades (That being said, my favorites are Wheel of Fate, Nano Arms, and Happy Gear/Ever After)

Ø  Attractions lose their charm quickly and completely ruin the flow of combat

Ø  Summons aren't too big of a deal since I only ever ended up using them once and even then it was by accident

Ø  Donald still heals you at the wrong time more often than not

Ø  Even on Proud Mode the game is way too easy for the most part (Apparently Critical Mode addresses this but I can't confirm that)

Ø  There is a lack of sidequests and post-game content that contributes to the feeling Square & Disney gave us half a game (For example, there is only one secret boss, said secret boss has a generic design, no ties to the story, and can be defeated at LV40 on your first attempt)

Ø  Hollow Bastion, Mysterious Tower, and Destiny Islands are not playable

Ø  The parkour from 3D has been nerfed too much in terms of distance to actually be useful

Story Cons:

Ø  Nomura fridged Kairi and he worfed almost everyone the first time you arrive at the Keyblade Graveyard!

Ø  The wrapping up of plot points and character arcs from prior entries was a little too nice and neat for me

Ø  The out-of-nowhere introduction of Subject X

Ø  Pete and Maleficent do literally nothing the whole damn game

Ø  The pacing is awful:

Almost all of the game's resolution is held back until after you've beaten the last Disney world

Ø  There are two important cutscenes in the Final World that you can accidentally miss because for some reason they are optional

Ø  We don't get to see what happened to Lingering Will, which also means we don't get any more insight into the third aspect of being (AKA the soul)

Ø  There are no Final Fantasy characters in the game, not even Sephiroth!

Ø  What happened to Demyx?

Ø  Master Eraqus has absolutely nothing to do with Terra’s restoration

Changes I’d make:

Ø  Require us to go through the Disney worlds a second time like in KH2

Ø  Have Aqua and Ven be saved halfway through the game instead of at the end, they could then spend the second half of the game resting or join you on one of the Disney worlds to refresh themselves

Ø  Have Lea and Kairi join you on one of the Disney worlds to get practical experience

Ø  Make the Keyblade Graveyard sequence be a series of one/two/three-on one battles so that members of Organization XIII can use their full arsenal of attacks from previous games

Ø  Let us play the second battle between Lingering Will and Terra-Xehanort

Ø  Speaking of Terra-Xehanort, we should have fought him alongside the Guardian Heartless

Ø  Have us explore Scala Ad Caelum while hunting down the individual replicas before then making us fight all of them in a boss battle

DLC

Ø  The presence of it says a lot about the game and not in a good way

Final Score

Ø  7/10-8/10