#other than that i'm blase about it lol

[devourable]

hey hey hey man!! just wanted to like, idk say a bunch of shit.

for starters, my cat says hi :33 she’s about four years old and blind!! she’s a torti and a menace to society. she dislikes most people and rlly only tolerates me. (she’s more of my mothers cat than mine, but i’m the one who adopted her. she prefers my mother to anyone else.) i just watched her catch a fly so tell her you’re proud of her!!

also !! i would LOVE to know more abt some of ur interests other than writing?? if you feel comfortable sharing that is. (you can totally not answer this or answer it on ur personal if you prefer, i don’t mind. :)) ) i’ll share a bit about me so it’s not too awkward. for starters im playing through breath of the wild rn (a legend of zelda game if u didn’t know.) also i’m really fascinated by marine life!

have a good rest of ur day <33 -hoizer anon

what is it with my anons and having cats that want to see the world burn? idc though i'm still on the cats' sides 🫶

anywho idm talking ab myself at all! i'm glad to know at least some of y'all want to know about the creature behind the fics lmfao. i'll answer just about any questions relating to myself so don't b afraid to go for it. makes me feel grounded yknow

it's probably obviously but i'm also an artist, have been since i was like 10; i'm hoping to be a visual novelist/dating sim creator some day relatively soon (hem hem @philomaniavn) so this account is sort of practice for when i finally take that plunge

irl i like to cook and bake (i work as a baker which is why the hours i'm online are weird), and i'm a goth so i love subculture type stuff too. i almost exclusively wear black, white, and red lmfao. i'm training to be the perfect yandere goth househusband /j

i have a bunch of other interests but i'm not in the position to actively participate in them yet so i won't bother mentioning them </3

[aihoshiino]

chapter 156 thoughts

Chapters Since The 143 Kiss Happened And Went Entirely Unacknowledged And Unaddressed Count: 13

Aqua Hoshigan Status: N/A

I'm gonna be real with you gamers I don't have a lot to say about this one LOL. Typically these Mem chapters come at the top or bottom of volumes as transitions between phases of the story so getting one slap bang in the middle of what will be volume 16 is a little jarring, as are the contents of it. Despite making up 1/3rd of the current B-Komachi, Mem is pretty underutilized across the whole manga so while it's nice to see her be given a proper arc capstone chapter all to herself, it feels underbaked. I almost suspect that the beats of this chapter may have been intended to serve as the bones of a Mem mini-arc at some point but with only so much time to spare before the manga ends it was crammed into this one chapter. Without any room to breathe, none of its beats hit.

Mem and Frill being friendly enough for solo hangouts is cute, though! One of the things I did like about the Movie Arc was the way it mushed the wider supporting cast together into a more closely knit social circle and I like seeing that reflected in moments like this. It helps add to the sense of them being people living their own lives who have things to do outside of dealing with Hoshino Family Drama.

The story swinging back to deal the elephant in the room that is Mem's real age is also potentially juicy but - say it with me, folks! - lacks the build up it needs to really be worth taking seriously. Prior to this, Mem's age has mostly been played for laughs when it has come up with no real indication that it's something the manga wants us to take seriously. In that way, the slightly blase framing of it here does better suit as a resolution than suddenly taking it deadly serious was but it does just end up feeling like something Akasaka added to the manga not because he felt it was an important part of the story but because it was next on his checklist of things to tie off before the manga ends.

This can really be felt in the way this chapter really fails to dig into why Mem even had to lie in the first place - there's the off-handed acknowledgement of Mem wanting to be an idol and her age potentially being a barrier in that regard but it doesn't actually dig into this premise of Mem's age being a problem. In a series whose proclivity for infodumping about the ills of the entertainment industry is practically a fandom joke at this point, it feels uncharacteristically restrained for it to not take this opportunity to talk about how this attitude is born from fetishizing, commodifying attitudes about youth and supposed 'purity' and the ageism and misogyny many adult women in the entertainment industry all over the globe have to deal with.

In general, OnK has been pretty toothless the last few arcs when it comes to the cast having to actually navigate the industry's toxicity. The way Ruby's struggles with idolhood are held up as comparable to Ai's is one major symptom of this that I'll probably go into at some other point, but we also see this in characters like Kaburagi and Shima-D too - despite being objectively pretty scummy individuals in terms of both their behaviour within the industry and their interpersonal relationships, the note the manga seems to have ended on for both of them is a sort of 'aw shucks he didn't mean none of it' wishy-washiness where it's unwilling to hold them accountable.

This toothlessness adds to making everyone's immediately acceptance of Mem's lie ring so deeply hollow. No scandal, no negativity, no nothing. An utterly frictionless resolution that feels as though it added nothing to the plot point it was tying off. Again, it would feel weird for this to become a big dramatic beat when the story has so consistently treated it like a joke but this half-baked conclusion leaves me feeling lukewarm at best.

To not end this on a sour note, I will say I really like the note this ends on of Mem deciding to shoot for university and I like Ruby finally giving Mem even a shred of props for the backbreaking amount of work she put into B-Komachi's growth. Appreciate Mem more, you little gremlin!!!

Speaking of Mem's JD dreams though, I've heard some speculation so far that Mem shooting for university is an indication that she's also going to be leaving B-Komachi but… eh, I disagree. Mem talks about how much the group means to her and her revealing the lie here feels like a step to try and protect her place in B-Komachi and ensure she can keep performing with them.

Break next week to no one's surprise… did y'all know the volume 15 release in Japan says volume 16 isn't dropping until December? Wild.

[chelemlem]

scouring your blog for more characterisation on lando/oscar dynamic.... the not correcting mispronunciations blew my mind wide open. do you have any other wise takes

hello anon :3 pretty sure i've mentioned all of this in some capacity b4 and much has been covered in depth by greater scholars than myself but here are some 814 charactization quirks i'm fond of ↓

oscar resignedly accepting his own attraction to lando but choosing not to act on it because well..... it is what it is. in his mind being 4 tenths off his teammate is a more immediately pressing matter than lando fake moaning from an icebath 2 feet away [clenched fists]

lando subtly looking out for oscar, especially march-may of last year because he distinctly remembers his own rookie season (see: the "it's a lot, isn't it" exchange in the melbourne unboxed, giving oscar endless opportunities to redeem himself in challenges etc). i think part of it was him not knowing how much of oscar's quietness was a factor of the explosive feeder series to f1 jump and how much is his actual personality but wanting him to feel comfortable either way. also just lando being endlessly curious about this guy who is just a guy... because oscar is lowkey a lot funnier (to lando) than the general public's flat/boring diagnosis gives him credit for

a sort of blase level of comfort and wordless communication (see: virgin radio with zak brown) and also in general communicating via just. noises (the yes/no challenge is an esp egregious example of this like why are u bleating at each other. nvm) to borrow an oscar term here: they're low-frequency! bc while lando has a tendency to match the energy of whoever he's with (vs oscar who's pretty much always the same lol) imo at their core 814 are both different flavours of introverts so when they're together it's just kinda. chill

oscar being deeply tolerant of all of lando's idiosyncrasies and even assimilating to his rhythm... eating the same pre-race meal as lando/changing his answer's to match lando's in the who's most likely to vid/listening to lando's music through their shared wall/"are you ready oscar piastri" "i'm ready lando norris"... insanity

a measurable give and take because as indulgent as oscar can be he will rib lando and give him if not a hard time certainly A Time. basically oscar having a spine... but also bending to lando's whims... it's a fine balance

rating each other as drivers...... sure oscar is a well-socialized young man who can (occasionally) pretend net competence has a lot of moving parts and lando genuinely likes a lot of people he doesn't rate (real) but when it boils down to it the fact that they both think v highly of the others' skill as drivers (oscar constantly calling lando one of the quickest guys on the grid, lando saying his recent run of form is in part due to oscar being good enough in his own right to push him, "i mean, he already is") adds a whole new layer of intrigue. bc even when they get along there's that undercurrent of caution/what's he gonna do next/etc and who kneowsss how this aspect of their relationahip is going to evolve over the next three (3!!!) years together as teammates but i for one can't wait to watch :')

they barely (if ever) touch. compelling 2 Me

[madrone33]

Listened to the Circe Saga last night! (I'm in the superior timezone, 15 hours before the americans lol /j) Absolutely incredible, did not disappoint!

Here's the notes I hastily typed out during and afterwards lol:

Puppeteer:

The plucked guitar in that melody, thinking of Polites fr fr

Eurylochus sounds less autotune than in the snippet. Musta been compression.

Fuck i can't believe i'm actually listnening to it!!!

The time skip is wind I think?

"Inside we heaard a voiiice!" SO GOOD! SO SMOOTH! I LOVE IT!

Those deep strings tho- oof so good!

"What." HAHA add it to the count XD

CIRCE! It's fucking Circe!!!! Her little riff on "Go ahead and rest where-ver you liiiike!"

The party music is really cool

Her voice at "This is the price" is angelic!

Huh. The party music comes back in the Eury and Ody second verse, but it's weirdly off beat.

Second vese is a bit different from the old snippet. Ody is less... soft sounding?

Ok time to write down the overlapping lyrics.

Yeah I still don't really understand Circe's lines rip

Also, Ody's final line is strangely not emphasised a lot? It's easy to miss behind Circe.

Wouldn't You Like:

Hermes giggles are so mischievous lmao

Ody is shocked and awed at seeing his Great-Grandfather while Hermes is just there for the lols

OOOF YES! The fucking amazing bass in the first chorus!!

The rising and descending harp!

"She can TURN you into an a-ni-mal!" I'm smiling so hard rn, it's HERMES

Here in the root of this flower! So smooooth

That high note on "bEING of your cre-A-tion!" Hell yes!

Not how I imagined that Holy Moly part ngl. Thought it'd pause for a beat to let the joke sink in with Ody's "Ah." being very dry, but whatever, it works, I'm sure I'll get used to it!

Also the beat transition to the end chorus reminds me of Micheal Jackson? Or- wait. Did I just get rick rolled??

The end chorus with all the harmonising vocals and the chorus and Ody' high riffs!! It's so damn GROOVEY

Ody sounds so happy and grateful awww

Pffft Hermes that's cold bro. So blase and teasing. Also yeah, lowkey King George vibes lol.

Done For:

The ELECTIC GUITAR!!

Ody is so sassy passive agressive lmao

The LFOs!!

The chimera roar snarl is very cool!

Ody is one cocky snarky mf

Circe is bitching and sassing and sounds so done with Hermes and Ody both lmao

The HARMONIES ON THE LAST CHORUS!!!

The LFOs and electric guitar mixing!

The sound effects of the BOSS BATTLE! The heavy thuds of footsteps and the snarls. Also that's one sharp sounding sword

There Are Other Ways:

The waltzy sounding strings are so pretty!

Que the key change! And more fantastic overlapping hamonising vocals!

The... hand- drum thing? Took me off guard, still not sure if I like it.

The abrupt "I CANT." YOU TELL HER ODY!! Bro I was so tense without know how he was gonna get out of that.

Not the Penelope stringssss!! *adoring sigh* The Penelope strings... It's so fucking cool how you can just immediately tell exactly who he's thinking about.

"She's my everything... My Penelope..." AHHHHH

Just now realising that Ody tells Circe "Back at home my wife awaits for me" and Circe respects that and helps him, while him telling Calypso that Penelope's his wife doesn't deter her in the slightest. Yeah.

"12 long years" Timeline lore? Write that down write that down!

God of Tides is such a cool epithet

The "Circe" and "mercy" rhyme took me off guard in the best of ways.

And then he hits me with the breathy high "let us puppets leeeave" like bro COME ON

Nylon strings my beloved!

CIRCE IS HELPING!!!

The deep piano drop at "Problem is, this prophet is DEAD" lmao

The return of the LFOs lesss goooo!!!!

Ody sounds so baffled and hopeful and excited like SAME BRO

"There are many ways of persuasion" as in, he managed to pursuade her in a way she didn't expect!!

"Maybe showing one act of kindness, leads to kinder souls down the road..." HOLY FUCK! HOLY FUCK! Circe's on the mercy end of the ruthlessness scale?? Also took it to mean if she shows him mercy, maybe he won't turn and become like those strangers that dealt a heavy loss to her nymphs.

"I have been in love once before" 👀 Circe lore??

"Maybe one day the world will need a puppeteer no more..." When I realised where this was going! The END FUCKING RIFF IT'S FROM THAT CLIP! THE HIGH NOTES I LOVE IT!!!!

Odysseus and Circe friendship is real!!

OMFG THE CIRCE SAGA'S OVER WHAT????

I love it! The Circe Saga is out, and it's amazing! Thank you Jorge and Talya and Troy and Armando, and everyone else who worked on this amazing project to show us this incredible music, thank you so so much! You should all be proud!

[exploring-in-space]

For the fanfic ask game! 🤦🏻, 📃 , ⛰

I always can count on you! 😘

🤦🏻 A fanfiction/chapter you are embarrassed about having written?

HAHAHAHA literally anything I posted in the [redacted] fandom 🤣 but more than that, probably the Second Person fic I wrote on quizilla. Thank god that site is gone forever lol

📃 Ever written something inspired by someone elses fic?

Yeah I think there have been elements of my fics that I was inspired by other fics. Can't think of anything off the top of my head, but it's usually from other fandoms that I'm inspired for robron fics.

⛰ Hardest fic to write?

Probably Ashes to Ashes. Especially the self-harm and suicidal ideation. It was extremely tough to write, and in a sensitive way that didn't make it seem like I was being blase about the situation.

[marley-manson]

☕️ margot verger? And also any of the other main women

Margot:

I liked her, I love Katharine Isabelle and I feel like she fit the vibe of the show. I was disappointed that she wasn't a butch lesbian like in the book - I know Fuller's reasoning was wanting to avoid the transphobic tropes in the book, but like, he could've done that while keeping her butch lol, I feel like his actual reasoning is that he just likes these hyperstyled feminine characters lbr.

Was not a fan of the had to fuck Will to get pregnant to get medically abused storyline either, it's the biggest dsappointment of season 2. I wasn't as upset about it as some people, but yk, it wasn't great fam.

Overall though I think she's a fun character, love her blase attitude towards Hannibal, love when she finally kills Mason, love that she hooks up with the former het love interest lmao, I find her solidly enjoyable.

Alana:

I think she's interesting, though she was stifled in her love interest role in the first two seasons. I like that in season 1+2 her biggest flaw was woobifying Will lmao and basically not treating him as someone with agency, I like that she's self aware about her tendency to fall for dudes in distress but still ends up hooking up with Hannibal after he nearly gets murdered lmao. I like her perturbed outside pov on Hannigram. Loooove that she ends up married to a woman. Love her development in season 3 in general, don't think it needed to be justified by ~bone marrow in her blood~ but w/e I've whined about that before lol. Oh and I love that she's basically Hannibal's nemesis now, and specifically started working at the BSHCI to guard him herself, it's fucked up and interesting.

Abigail:

I'm pretty meh on her honestly, she's fine but she's not that interesting to me, I'm not really into the murder family thing, and she's most interesting as a plot device to bring hannigram together and tear them apart as far as I'm concerned.

Bedelia:

Adore her lmao. I love that she's constantly a little contemptuous of Hannibal yet fascinated by him, was so pleasantly surprised at how she turned out to be manipulating Hannibal in Italy when, after the first episode of s3, I was fully expecting her to just be a damsel. Bedelia getting high and lying to Jack and Will was one of the best scenes of the show. Loooove her ridiculous over the top dialogue. Love her crushing the bird speech (the bird is Hannibal). Love her shift from Will's ally in season 2 to also contemptuous of him. I think the fact that so many people assumed Bedelia cut off her own leg in the post credits finale scene is hilarious and unfortunate and shows that a lot of people completely misunderstand her.

But tbf the show actively obfuscates everything so yk.

Freddie:

Fave. Looooove her. Hope she makes millions off her murder husbands book, she deserves to live a long and happy life. Love how Hannibal kept calling her rude and she slipped neatly by him anyway. Love how she's kind of Will's nemesis lol, in a much pettier, funnier way than Alana is Hannibal's.

Molly:

She's fine. She's a good down to earth element that the show was crying for lol. Loved her final girl style escape from Dolarhyde. Love that she just knows Hannibal sent him after her like the bitchy ex he is. Love that she peaced the fuck out.

Bev:

Fine, also down to earth which was great, the 2nd half of season 2 was sorely lacking in the vibe she provided. Her death was a little eyeroll worthy, which was unfortunate, she deserved to go out in a more badass way imo.

Bella:

Quite like her, love Hannibal's respect for her (the fact that he even flipped a coin says volumes tbh,though I also think Hannibal would've responded that way to most people, it's still a great scene), love that she slapped him, think she was kind of shitty to Jack in not telling him about the cancer for so long lol but I also get it and empathize with that choice, think she was incredibly shitty to try to kill herself in front of Hannibal but in like, an interesting way lol (even though it was probably just plot convenience writing-wise). Love Gina Torres in general.

Have I forgotten anyone important? Hope not.

Thanks for the ask!

send me a ☕️ and a topic and i’ll talk about how i feel about it

[zalrb]

I saw a post saying that the writer of Goblin is over rated and all of her characters are one dimensional and boring and I got extremely offended lol. The point of this ask is how do I properly explain that characters of Goblin are actually not boring. I've been through your blog specifically tvd posts and the chemistry masterlist and you have a clear way of putting things (and I sort of tend to muddle things up)

I think I know what post you're talking about and it's actually a common criticism of Kim Eun-Sook (the creator) that she writes shallow characters with snappy dialogue but one thing that should be noted about KES is that she intentionally writes her characters in tropes and cliches. Early on in her career, she wrote a drama that was critically acclaimed and with a certain kind of depth but that no one watched and she decided to switch gears:

Kim said she "contemplated on whether to write a drama that benefits the world or one that will garner good ratings" and decided to "abandon the depth I showed in City Hall". Instead, she "made an easy, light drama for the whole family to enjoy on weekends," and intentionally wrote it "to be fun."

And that's KES' model with the dramas

"Although some might say it is another unrealistic story, a drama is a drama. I just want to make people enjoy the fantasy."

She admitted that she utilizes cliches, "but all my previous works used plenty of cliches and were embraced by audiences. The key is making characters that are different, so the audience forgets the clichéd setting. That's what I'm good at, and that is what I find fun. I want people to think, 'I've seen something like this before, but still this is strangely fun.'"

She generally has her finger on the pulse of what audiences want to see and writes to what's popular, which a lot of the time means fantasy fulfillment.

That being said, when it comes to Goblin, she does take certain archetypes found in kdramas and apply them to her characters, for instance Eun Tak is definitely the Cinderella Trope but Eun Tak in my opinion is also different because from what I have seen of characters in that trope, they’re either perpetually optimistic to an annoying degree or mopey to an annoying degree and Eun Tak while never quite despairs is allowed to experience a myriad of emotions in any given scene.

Shin technically isn’t a chaebol heir but he has the wealth and the smugness and aloofness of a chaebol heir trope but being nearly 1000 years old, carrying the weight of every loved one’s death plus the deaths of his enemies, falling in love with the woman destined to kill him and struggling with the realities of being immortal.

Ironically, the character I find to be the most shallow is the character that’s a fan favourite i.e. Sunny.

There was praise for Sunny and Reaper’s storyline as being more fleshed out than Eun Tak and Shin’s and I was like, just because they have chemistry doesn’t mean they have the narrative because really, it was weak. The bones were there as this epic love story between two people who found each other in their reincarnated selves doomed to be star-crossed because of a bloody and heartbreaking past but in the present all Sunny and Reaper did was stand in front of each other and cry and the show relied too heavily on four flashback scenes to draw connections between the two of them and Sunny, as a character, had personality i.e. she was confident and she was blase and she was headstrong but had no storyline outside of Reaper. However, Yoo In-Na had the skill to make her pop onscreen and appear less one-dimensional than she was.

[nadziejastar]

As someone who also feels like KH3 handled Isa all wrong--and, admittedly, a shameless LeaIsa shipper--I also feel like they handled Lea all wrong, too. He seeme... far too blase about losing a childhood friend. He knows Roxas and Xion one year and it's the end of the world when they're gone, but when it's Isa, it's like all his opinions and thoughts on the matter are an afterthought.I guess what I'm trying to ask is: What do you think of Lea's character in regards to Isa? (I LOVE YOUR BLOG BTW)

KH3 Destroyed Lea’s Character

Thank you so much! Oh, boy. I have a LOT to say about this. I was appalled by how Lea was handled in KH3. He was so blasé about even about his own backstory. He acted like being forced to follow Xemnas for a decade barely affected him. The only thing that mattered about his past was the mystery phantom girl. Isa was a total afterthought. They took away everything I liked about Lea’s character.

I found it so cringeworthy when Lea said he’ll bring everyone back, but “especially Roxas”. It didn’t even feel like Lea talking. Everything about KH3 felt like a bad fanfic written by a focus group trying to put in what they thought would have the most “popular” appeal.

No shame in being a LeaIsa shipper. I am, too. But I find that it goes even beyond just shipping with me. The handling of Lea’s relationship with Isa ruined his entire story and character arc. It spit on all of the core values of the series. These themes are all associated with the “Key to Return Hearts.” Ansem’s research data. The power of waking. Everything about Lea’s arc was about preparing him to learn it:

“What is it you are so afraid of?”

“Getting trapped in the darkness”

Mickey: You want him to dive back into Sora’s sleep? But Master, Sora’s heart is down in the darkest abyss. If Riku’s not careful, he might just get trapped down there with him.

If you are to use the power of waking, you can’t be afraid of the darkness. To wake the person, you risk getting lost in their abyss.

Mickey: You used the darkness to get here? That was reckless. But gosh, I didn’t expect you to save us…Axel.

Lea: Axel didn’t. My name is Lea. Got it memorized?

Well, the series went out of its way to show that Lea wasn’t afraid of that. He went looking for Isa as soon as he woke up. This was his childhood friend. They both experienced severe trauma together. They were both prisoners of Organization XIII for ten years. Isa’s personality totally changed after being in the Organization. Lea wanted to help him. He used the Corridors of Darkness and risked getting corrupted just to find him. But he was always smiling. He was happy to do it.

Why did Lea visit Disney Castle when he should have been looking for his friend?

To search for his friend he needed the power to move between worlds, and there is no way to do that other than become a Keyblade Wielder. At the time, wanting to be made a Keyblade Wielder, Lea saw a message recorded by Ansem the Wise in the past and, knowing it was dangerous, used the Corridors of Darkness once more to go talk with King Mickey and the others. That’s why after Maleficent left he was asking at the Mysterious Tower.

I spoke to one person who got the impression that in KH3D, Lea was barely concerned about Isa, and went looking for Roxas. No. He wasn’t looking for Roxas. Why would he be looking for Roxas? He knew exactly where he was. He went back inside Sora. That’s what Axel’s arc in KH2 was all about.

Isa was the one who was mysteriously missing. And while looking at the D.T.D, Lea said he was going to bring Braig and Isa back. I’m sure Lea had different plans for Braig when he brought him back than he did with Isa, lol. But he wanted to bring Isa back for the same reason he wanted to bring Roxas and Xion back. Because that’s his friend. I’m sure Lea would have asked Sora about Ventus, but he certainly wasn’t looking for Roxas. No, he was clearly looking for Isa.

“Causing someone to be hurt”

Naminé: At times, the pain can be wiped away. But there’s also a pain that always stays with you. There’s only one way to deal with that; you face it head-on and then you accept it. And if it happens that the hurt is too great for you to bear it alone, well, then you turn to a friend close to your heart.

Sora: It’ll bring us closer together; the hurt will only make us stronger. I’m willing to try! I’m ready to face all those memories that you found. It might have to be painful, but I can take it.

To use the power of waking, you have to be willing to deal with the consequences. The person went to sleep because they were experiencing too much pain. Being conscious means they’ll have to deal with that pain head-on. They’ll need someone to rely on during that time if they are to deal with it.

Axel: You can’t turn on the Organization! You get on their bad side, and they’ll destroy you!

Roxas: No one would miss me.

Axel: That’s not true… I would.

Axel wasn’t afraid of causing someone to be hurt if he thought it was for their own good. He wanted to prevent Roxas from being destroyed. He fought him to bring him back.

Xion: It’s for the good of everyone.

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

Xion: This is right.

Axel: They’re gonna destroy you!

And he did the same with Xion. He’d rather cause them temporary hurt than see them get destroyed. It was a fundamental aspect of his character. He’d always bring his friends back, even if he has to get his hands dirty.

“Losing something that’s important”

Axel: Huh…you’ve got a point. So, okay, say you don’t need a heart for things to be important to you… Maybe the closest thing we Nobodies have is our pasts. It’s the memories that give things value.

This is the correct answer. On Day 150, Axel said the most important thing to him was his memories of the past.

Day 150: Too Precious to Lose

Axel and I talked for a while about the things we can’t bear to lose. Axel thinks that for Nobodies, it’s our pasts, because that’s all we have to remember the pain of losing something. I don’t remember my past, but the idea of losing the present—Axel or Xion—scares me.

Because that’s all he has to remember the pain of losing something. Day 150 is called “Fear”. Axel was afraid of losing something important in the past.

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

Axel: Scary? Scary’s a feeling, man.

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

Axel: A thought, then. But not a feeling.

Roxas: Are you sure?

Axel: Maybe you just remember what it’s like to feel scared, and think you’re feeling it now.

But now, he says that Nobodies can’t feel fear, and doubts Roxas when he says he’s afraid. This is because, unlike Roxas, he already lost what he considered most precious to him. He has nothing to fear anymore. He forgot what it felt like to be afraid of loss. He thinks it’s because he has no heart. But it’s really because he gave up on his dreams a long time ago. Roxas and Xion remind him of what it felt like to have a heart. They remind him of what it felt like to be afraid of loss. They were also supposed to remind him of something else important, but that will come up later.

“What is the one thing you care about more than anything else?“

“The hearts connected by light”

Mickey: There’s something real strong that binds us to each other. Even in the darkness, you can reach him. All you gotta do is follow that connection!

This is very important. To use the power of waking on someone, your connection has to be powerful. If you don’t have a strong connection, you can’t locate them. It’s why Riku and Mickey had trouble finding Aqua. They had only met her once.

Yen Sid: You’ll recall, in your first journey, that you brought many worlds back from the darkness–but some never returned completely. They still sleep, cut off from all outside channels. Not even the Heartless can enter.

You have to be able to go where they are—in the deepest, darkness abyss, where light doesn’t reach. Then you can lead them back to the Realm of Light. But that’s not all.

Fairy Godmother: Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother. I appear to those who believe that dreams come true.

Aqua: Then I am honored. But why would you advise me not to fight darkness with light?

Fairy Godmother: Strong rays of sun create dark shadows. Sadly, Lady Tremaine and both her daughters are jealous of Cinderella’s charm and beauty, qualities that appear to you as “light.” Jealousy is darkness. Light and dark go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other.

Those who have been in the darkness long enough will be filled with dark qualities. Jealousy, anger, hate, rage, and sadness.

Xehanort: Master Eraqus, you see, is so afraid of darkness, that he too, has succumbed–not to darkness, but to light. It shines so bright, he forgets that light begets darkness. And Aqua and Ventus, their lights shine too bright. It is only natural that they cast shadows on your heart. Eraqus… He is such a fool! Light and darkness, they are a balance–one that must always be maintained.

The stronger the light, the greater the shadow. Your light only makes their darkness stronger.

Aqua: A pure heart filled with light… It’s strange, The Master taught me darkness needs to be destroyed. But how, if not with light?

Fairy Godmother: Oh, my dear, you’re too young to know. Experience more things, and you’ll find the answer. Just trust in your dreams.

To use the power of waking, you can’t destroy the person’s darkness with your heart of light. The Fairy Godmother hints that love is what can really bring a person out of darkness.

Terra: No… I succumbed to it. Just like when I stole Princess Aurora’s heart of light. I can never return home now. I’m a failure.

Having a strong light is only one part of it. You have to enter and accept a person’s darkness before you can lead them back into the light. You have to be able to ease their pain. This is why Eraqus failed to reach Terra. When Maleficent put Terra in a trance, Eraqus was the literal personification of his darkness.

Eraqus: No, you were right. I failed you, Terra. Perhaps I’ve no one to blame but myself for the darkness inside you. And now I’ve done worse–raised my Keyblade against you and Ventus. My own heart is darkness!

He was so concerned with getting rid of Terra’s darkness, that he failed to make him feel unconditionally loved. Terra began to doubt his master’s love for him, which only enhanced his darkness. He felt unworthy, feared rejection, and began to isolate himself. This made him extremely vulnerable to Xehanort’s manipulation.

Eraqus: Has the darkness taken you, Terra?

When Terra became a victim of Xehanort, Eraqus failed to understand him. He just assumed he was the same as Xehanort. In his fear, he thought he needed to destroy him. He realized that Terra turned to darkness because he hadn’t confronted the darkness in himself.

Aqua: The darkness can’t have you!

But Aqua was able to reach Terra. She cared more bout saving him from his darkness than she did about extinguishing his darkness. She stayed in the abyss just so he could escape. She was always lighting his way back.

“I’m fading… Fading away…into the light…?”

If he was a creature of darkness—if he couldn’t fight the darkness with his own strength—then there was no other way but for Sora to destroy him, Riku thought hazily.

And if someone had to destroy him…he would much rather that Sora do it than anyone else.

You have to recognize the darkness in yourself before you can help someone overcome theirs. Sora had plenty light and love. But that’s not enough to wake someone who is in the Realm of Sleep. He wasn’t supposed to be done developing. Riku was able to become a Keyblade master, while Sora did not. This was because he confronted the darkness within himself and overcame it. He suffered, and it made his heart stronger. He could resist greater levels of darkness than Sora could, because of his past experiences. He gained the power of waking and could enter the darkest abyss.

Sora: Exactly, believe. I thought it was all over for me, but a friend of mine looked me in the eye and said, “You don’t believe that.”

Sora broke down during the final battle, after everyone was wiped out and it seemed like all hope was lost. It was Riku’s words that had the most impact on him. I think Riku’s sacrifice was originally supposed to be the key. It would teach Sora the lesson he needed to finally learn the power of waking and bring everyone back. Riku was stronger in the face of darkness than he was. He sacrificed himself for Sora, and believed in him. Just like Axel did before. Sora finally realized what it was that he was lacking, thanks to Riku.

“We don’t disappear… We’re only reborn,” Naminé murmured, perhaps to herself.

“I’m not like you and Roxas,” Axel said flatly. His hand holding the ice pop stick paused in midair.

“But—but you…” She looked down, clenching her fists.

“It’s because I don’t have a heart,” Axel went on. “I don’t want to disappear, but I’m not upset or sad about it.”

Lea’s character arc was ALL about this. I mean, he was sneaking into the castle when experiments on the darkness of the heart were taking place. He knows that he’s got darkness in him. Axel saw himself as a creature of the dark, just like Riku did. He sacrificed himself, even when he had no hope for a next life. But he came out on the other side stronger than ever. All of his suffering would have prepared him to gain the power of waking.

“The strength to protect others”

Eraqus: You must know, I care for you like my own son. If I could have my way, I would name you Master in a second. But, how can I, when you are so obsessed with power? Terra, you mustn’t be afraid of losing. Fear leads to obsession with power, and obsession beckons the darkness.

Axel wasn’t like Terra. He was never concerned with becoming strong. Terra’s fear of losing led to his darkness.

Terra: Is there some reason you’re interested in the outside world?

Riku: Yeah. I wanna be strong one day. Like that kid who left. He went to the outside world– I bet he’s really strong now. I know it’s out there somewhere–the strength that I need.

And he wasn’t like Riku. He wasn’t competitive. He never tried to prove himself that way.

Larxene: Haven’t decided yet… I think what intrigues me more is what you see in him.

Axel: There was a time he became a Heartless. And if one becomes a Heartless—

Larxene: They lose their minds and their feelings… They’re consumed by the darkness.

Axel: Right. But not Sora. He held on to his feelings, even as a Heartless. And there’s only one other man who’s been able to do just that.

Larxene: It’s the strength of his heart… That’s what interests you. Why the Keyblade chose Sora’s heart.

Axel: To unlock the mysteries of the heart. Isn’t that the Organization’s mission?

It was the strength of Sora’s heart that interested him. He waned to know why the Keyblade chose him. When he saw how devoted Sora was to Riku, he decided to do everything he could to save him. After that, he changed and started to feel like protecting others. Lea didn’t ask to be a wielder because he wanted to be a strong fighter. He didn’t see himself as a peacekeeper or a Guardian of Light. The only reason he wanted to wield a Keyblade was to look Look for Isa.

“My close friends”

Riku: I told you. I didn’t want to be found. Not like this…I couldn’t. I fought with Ansem. With…Xehanort’s Heartless—when it invaded my heart, and I won. But to use the power of darkness, I had to become Ansem myself.

This is the correct answer. Riku reacted to his darkness by isolating himself from his close friends.

Aqua: I’m not so sure. I’ve been to the same worlds as you and I’ve seen what you’ve done. You shouldn’t put yourself so close to the darkness.

Ven: Listen to yourself, Aqua. Terra would never–

Terra: You mean you’ve been spying on me? Is that what he said to do? The Master’s orders?

So did Terra. He was ashamed and pushed Aqua and Ven away.

Axel: Does it hurt, Naminé? Watching your two childhood friends fight all because of you? You have my sympathies. From the heart. But don’t waste your time. We Nobodies can never hope to be somebodies.

Axel’s darkness was different from Terra and Riku’s. He didn’t push his friends away because of his darkness. His darkness was caused by losing everything, and being rejected by a close friend. He cared for his friends more than anything. It was the root cause of his hatred. He was wiling to kill Naminé because she was driving close friends apart.

Axel: We’ve got something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss someone we care about. Hey, I feel like we’re friends already.

Kairi: You’re not acting very friendly!

He kidnapped Kairi all because he wanted to see his close friend again.

“What do you wish?”

“To heal the pain from the past”

Terra: Is something wrong?

Cinderella: It’s just that my friends made me the most beautiful dress–but my stepmother and stepsisters ruined it. And I was so looking forward to the ball.

Terra: Darkness always finds a way into a wounded heart. You have to be strong. Strength of heart will carry you through the hardest of trials.

Cinderella: But I…I can’t believe…not anymore…

Axel’s pain was caused by losing something important in the past. He lost Isa, his best friend from childhood. And he also lost his connection to his inner child. He lost his innocence. His faith that his dreams could come true. His ability to believe.

Cinderella: There’s nothing left to believe in…nothing.

Voice: Nothing, my dear? Oh, now, you don’t really mean that.

Cinderella: Oh…but I do. It’s just no use.

Fairy Godmother: Nonsense! If you’d lost all your faith, I couldn’t be here, and here I am. Oh, come now, dry those tears. You can’t go to the ball looking like that.

I feel like people a lot of people missed the entire point of Roxas/Axel/Xion. I know Axel/Saïx was written with a lot of subtlety, but I’m surprised so many people just didn’t pick up on what the writers were getting at.  

Terra: Her heart was full of light. Why didn’t I see it? What did you do? I can hardly tell she’s the same person.

Fairy Godmother: Terra, in your heart, do you believe that dreams can come true?

Terra: I do. But I also believe you have to make an effort to make them come true.

Roxas/Axel/Xion wasn’t created simply so they could sit around and be ice cream buddies in the epilogue. I mean, sheesh. How boring. Yes, they grew to be close friends. But there was supposed to be a lot more to it than that. There was something a lot more meaningful planned.

Fairy Godmother: Yes, of course. But sometimes just believing in dreams is easier said than done. Cinderella believes her dreams can come true. I wanted her to see that she is right.

Terra: So that’s what made her shine–faith in her heart that anything is possible. Where did she go?

Fairy Godmother: To the royal ball at the palace. Go. And when you see her dancing…you’ll know that she believes, and that will help you to believe, too.

Having strength of heart IS important. But in order to have that, first you need to believe.

Axel: I’m not feeling it, Roxas.

Roxas: C'mon, try again. Believe me on this, Axel!

Axel: Okay… I believe you…I can fly… I can fly!?

Roxas: You can fly.

Roxas and Xion reconnected Axel with his lost childhood. That’s why Axel had such an iconic moment in Neverland with Roxas.

But small fragments of light survived, in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It’s the world we live in now.

They taught him to not give up hope. To believe. Lea knew how to believe. He said that inside people’s memories, he could live forever. Axel stopped believing this.

Day 118: You Changed, Not Me

Talking to Roxas and Xion always brings back memories of my human life, back when I was a kid. It’s a weird sensation. I ought to be able to share all this with Saïx, but I just don’t feel like it anymore.

Lea met Ven when he was a kid, on the day he ate sea-salt ice cream for the first time. On the day he said he wanted to live forever inside people’s memories. The same day Isa said he’d never forget him. When he began to spend time with Roxas and Xion, they reminded him of who he used to be, and all that he lost.

Axel: Nothing lasts forever, man. Least of all for a bunch of Nobodies. But you know, we’ll still have each other…even if things change and we can’t do this anymore.

Roxas: Yeah?

Axel: As long as we remember each other, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?

Axel said he didn’t have best friend, and that nothing lasts forever.

A wish that they could always be together—was longing for the impossible. But at least they could always remember one another.

He wished that that he and Isa were still inseparable, but that’s impossible. So he has to settle for just the memories.

It’s strange, but I’m content with just missing what’s gone. I’m not the one who changed. You did.

Axel never wanted to never forget his memories of Isa. As long as he had them, they’d never have to be apart. He began to believe in Isa, even though he didn’t realize it.

So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away.

I totally agree with you. He knew Roxas and Xion for one year. He cares about them. They mean a lot to him. But he’s not gonna forget his childhood friend and fellow prisoner of Organization XIII, just by becoming friends with them. That wasn’t what Roxas and Xion were meant to do. They weren’t there to replace Lea’s relationship with Isa. Just like Lea wasn’t there to replace Terra when he picked up Ven’s wooden Keyblade. Roxas and Xion were supposed to help Lea get Isa back.

Terra: There’s this girl here–her name is Cinderella. She made me realize how powerful it is just to believe. No matter how impossible things seem…a powerful enough dream will always be enough to light the darkness.

They were there to be Axel’s Cinderella. It wasn’t by accident that they chose two characters that had pure hearts of light. They were supposed to teach him to believe in his dreams. To fave faith that he can restore what he lost. To not give up on his friend. The same way Riku’s light inspired Terra to make amends with his friends.

“To protect my friends”

Terra: Funny… This whole time I’ve been telling myself I want to be stronger, more independent… But the second I let my heart do the talking… I find out how little I really know myself. And how much I miss them. That experiment of yours… You sure about him? Maybe, in his heart, he wants friends just like the rest of us.

Terra thought he wanted power. But he really wanted friendship more.

Terra: Strength for what?

Riku: To protect the things that matter. You know, like my friends.

Same with Riku. The only reason he wanted to become strong was to protect his friends. This is why Terra found Riku worthy enough to inherit the Keyblade.

Sora: What? You wanna be a Keyblade Master?

Lea: Yeah. I mean, I came here to learn how to wield one.

Sora & Riku: YOU!?

Lea: Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence. You know, I was gonna come swooping in, Keyblade in hand! But I just couldn’t get mine to materialize. Must be in the snap of the wrist or something.

Lea cares about his friends more than anything. He awakened his Keyblade after unsuccessfully trying to bring his friend back.

Yen Sid: I will tell you what your friend needs right now. It is not your protection. He needs you to believe.

But the power of waking its not about protection in that sense. It’s more important that you believe in them. Lea was overpowered in his battle at the Keyblade Graveyard. A lot of people were mad about this. But that’s because his victory wasn’t supposed to be about his strength at using the Keyblade. That wasn’t what his character was all about. It was the strength of his heart that really mattered. After Lea looked into Isa’s eyes, he stopped attacking. Then Xemnas broke his Keyblade. If Isa’s heart had broken free of Xehanort’s control and defended him, he wouldn’t have come across so disempowered. It would have been a victory of his heart.

Roxas: Hey, Axel. You haven’t forgotten?

Axel: Hm? What?

Roxas: You made us a promise.

Axel: I did?

When Axel had a dream of Roxas before he woke up, it was not to show that he went looking for him afterwards. It was to show how Lea reconnected with his old self. Now that he’s been recompleted, he feels full of hope. He was wrong. He was able to get his heart back. He did have a next life.

Roxas: That you’d always be there…to bring us back.

Axel: Yeah…

Roxas: Got it memorized?

Axel: Best friends forever.

Maybe his dreams still can come true. He can believe in that now. Roxas and Xion (when he remembers her) taught him that. And Sora made it all possible by defeating Xemnas. The most important thing to Axel was the past. He sought out Mickey to find Isa, even after everything his Nobody did.

Ansem: Our most precious treasures–even an empty puppet–the trees of the forest, and the petals on the wind–there are hearts around us everywhere we look. And it does not take superhuman powers to see them. Surely we remember as children the way our hearts made everything seem so shiny, and perfect. Sora has a heart like that–uncorrupted, willing to see the good before the bad. When he sees the heart in something, it then becomes real. When a connection seems broken, he may have the power to mend it.

Sora was supposed to do the same thing for Lea that Roxas and Xion did. He has the pure heart of a child. That’s the type of love needed to use the power of waking. Not anything superhuman. Just love. But unconditional love. The kind that’s willing to see the good before the bad. And that’s what Lea’s relationship with Isa was ALL ABOUT. Lea was willing to see the good in the bad. He was able to still see his beloved childhood friend in a Xehanort clone. He loved with the pure heart of a child. He never gave up on Isa’s pure childhood heart, either. This would have allowed him to mend their connection. I found the prospect SO touching.

Lea: Axel? Please. The name’s Lea. Got it memorized?

Xigbar: You’re not supposed to be here!

Lea: Promises to keep. I’ll always be there to get my friends back. What, bad timing?

In KH3, Lea acted SO out-of-character. I couldn’t believe how blasé he was about Isa. He acted nothing like he did before. I kept waiting for him to bring up Isa, and he never did. Then I saw the clock tower scene and was just speechless. The game was written like I was supposed to know already that Isa willingly joined Organization XIII. Well, I never got the memo, so I was very confused.

Nomura: In order to wield a Keyblade, the most important requirement is to be “the owner of a strong heart.” Regardless if it’s a good heart or a bad heart, a strong heart is necessary.

You need to believe before you can have true strength of heart. And you need a strong heart to wield a Keylade.

What happens to Lea hereafter now that he has become a Keyblade wielder?

Lea, having returned to his human form, chosen by the Keyblade. Does him getting a Keyblade have anything to do with his best friend Roxas? And is there a possibility that Lea’s become one of the protectors of Light?

Roxas and Xion (when he remembers her) taught Axel how to believe again. And because of this, Lea’s heart became strong enough to awaken the ability to wield the Keyblade. And thanks to them, Lea would have found out that Isa never forgot him; he was just asleep. It would have made Roxas/Xion/Axel SO much more meaningful if Lea learned the power of waking due to them. They would have made Lea’s dreams come true. How beautiful would that have been?

“Recover Something Important”

Riku: I remember my first time here. I was so scared. But now, my doubts and fears are gone. If anything, I feel exhilarated. And it’s not because there’s darkness in me. I know too well what that rush is like. This is different. And it’s not adrenaline either. I know Aqua needs us…but I’m ready. I’m in control now. Maybe it’s because you’re with me this time.

Mickey: It’s not me. I think it’s because you’ve finally found inside you that special strength to protect what matters.

Riku: What?

Mickey: Sometimes you care so much for somebody that other feelings disappear. And then there’s no room for doubt.

Riku: Is that it? “Strength to protect what matters”. It reminds me of a promise I made.

This is the right answer. The other two answers are important. But this is the MOST important. Healing pain from the past allows you to believe. Believing gives you strength of heart.

Hercules: I owe you one, Hades. I didn’t hesitate to give my life for Meg’s. And then, I remembered: A true hero is measured by the strength of his heart. I’ll never forget that again.

And strength of heart allows you to care about someone so much that nothing else matters. It gives you the strength to protect your friends. But also the power to recover something important that was lost.

Even though Axel had been eliminated in Kingdom Hearts II, since that time, had you considered having him appear again in his human form Lea?I thought a lot about that. Should I leave him as he was or should I bring him back again? However, when I considered the people that Lea wants to bring back, his existence plays a big role. I think Lea has successively become a key character.

Lea had people he wanted to bring back.

Nomura: Right now there are a lot of things that Lea wants to regain. That desire is connected to the strength of his heart.

His strong desire to regain something that he lost was directly connected to his strength of heart, and his ability to wield the Keyblade.

Though he’s a member of Organization XIII, Axel is shown in the end of KH Re:coded in the memories of “pain”…

Since healing the necessary “pain” of Axel’s is different than with other people, if he is revived he will take a form like Xehanort’s. In the end of the story, Namine says, “Those whose memories are sleeping inside Sora need relief.” In the KH BbS secret cutscene “Blank Points”, certain characters call out to Sora, however in that scene Axel is the only one who appears and doesn’t say Sora’s name out loud.

Axel doesn’t say Sora’s name out loud. Why? Because his pain was different according to Nomura. What makes his pain different?

Naminé: They’re waiting for Sora. He’s the only one who can put an end to their hurt. DiZ told me…he hid something inside you during the year you were asleep. I asked him what, and all he would say was that he was “clearing his conscience.”

Naminé: Sora must be the key to saving the people you saw…and the ones you’re about to see.

Asnem studied the heart’s connection to memory. He could bring back a person’s lost past. All the characters connected to Sora could be brought back that way. Naminé’s a part of Kairi, but Sora can thank her. Roxas can be revived through Ven getting his memories. Xion through Kairi. Aqua by Sora gaining access to Ven’s memories and using the power of waking. Ven, by bringing back Aqua. Terra, once Ven is saved. If this wasn’t the plan, then why was Sora supposed to be the key? In KH3, he wasn’t the key to bringing them back. But he was the one with the memories sleeping inside him.

Ansem: Sora was the only one able to return to his human form without destroying his Nobody. That is a statement to the love in his heart for other people, and the bonds that tie them together. Perhaps…he has the power to bring back the hearts and existences of those connected to him– to recreate people we thought were lost to us forever.

Sora is the key to healing all those characters’ pain. But he only has the power to bring back those connected to him. And Nomura’s quote suggested that Lea had pain that would NOT he healed by just bringing back the characters connected to Sora. It’s why he didn’t say Sora’s name out loud in Blank Points. He wouldn’t be fully healed with just Roxas and Xion. There was someone else he needed to bring back.

Lea (Axel) ended up playing an unexpected role. I was wondering what was running through your mind when you thought to make him a Keyblade wielder.

I figured since he had returned to being human, he wouldn’t have much luck bringing back the people he wanted without some sort of power. Throwing his chakrams doesn’t really count.

And he needed his own Keyblade to bring them back. He didn’t use his Keyblade to bring back Roxas and Xion. And Sora was supposed to be the one who needed to save them anyways.

Lea: You know what? I’ll bring ‘em back myself.

Ienzo: Huh? How, exactly?

Lea: Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?

He wanted to bring back Braig and Isa.

“You both think you can do whatever you want!” He summoned his flame-wreathed chakrams to his hands. “I’m sick of it. Go on, you just keep running. But I’ll always be there to bring you back!”

It was a plea, a cry, a bitter lament, and a vow.

No matter how many times you leave, I’ll bring you back. Every time. Both of you. For my sake and for yours.

And he used the exact same words when he went looking for Xion.

But I told myself to grow up and stop wishing for the impossible. Well, I’m done with that. That’s not the answer I want.

This is what he was thinking before he went to get Xion. He wants to be with his friends. It’s impossible, but he doesn’t care anymore. He’s not content with just memories. That was his wish.

Lea said the same lines, “Why do I always get the icky jobs,” and “I’ll always be there to bring you back,” to Xion in KH Days when he brought her back. Does he remember that?

Nomura: The nature of the being known as Xion and all memories to do with her were erased, but he would remember other things.

Nomura said he didn’t remember Xion, though. So why did he use those exact words?

Xehanort: While I know this future now that I have lived it, returning to my own time will erase the memories and experiences I have gained here. Still, my appointed path is now etched in my heart, which will first lead me to seek the outside world.

Because those memories are etched into his heart. When deciding to look for Braig and Isa, he felt the exact same way as when he went to bring Xion back. He remembered what it felt like to wish for something impossible.

A wish that they could always be together—was longing for the impossible. But at least they could always remember one another.

He used to just accept that it was impossible. But that’s not what he wants anymore. He chose to believe in the Isa of his memories. He wants to recover that Isa, no matter how impossible it seems. His wish is to bring his friend back.

Yet in KH3, Lea gave up on Isa. Axel constantly complained that his friend’s personality completely changed. In KH3D, he just learned that Xehanort has the power to turn an unwilling person into a vessel. He just received a ton of evidence that Isa was possessed and never Saïx to begin with. Just as soon as he has reason to believe all his dreams could come true…he stopped caring! We had all this buildup, and we never got to see his dreams come true. WTF!!! Why even give him a Keyblade!?

I was very loyal to this series. I bought all the spin-off games. I was following a specific story for over 10 years. I patiently waited for the conclusion to that story. KH3 was NOT the same story I had been following. It felt like a slap in the face as a fan. I felt totally led on. And I felt like all of my loyalty to the franchise had been betrayed.