#recreate kingdom hearts ending

[seijunkurosaki]

Don't think twice

Cuz twitter gonna die, I will now try to post here more... I'll really try, seriously I dunno how to use some of the function here and I need to fix some of the codes just to have a good IU design for this art blog.

Model and stage by Jakkaeront

[thefreshprinceofjunes]

part of your world - the little mermaid (1989) // kingdom hearts II (2005)

[cats2019forthenintendoswitch]

Early Adventure Time episodes: Ice King "kidnaps" Wire Princess, a vaguely humanoid heap of scrap with a smiley face painted on its "head" which he obviously made. Finn wants to stop him on the principle of kidnapping being bad, while Jake argues that since his "victim" is an inanimate piece of junk, no one's getting hurt and it might even quell his kidnapping thirst. After a series of shenanigans, Ice King attacks Jake, at which point Wire Princess speaks, revealing that not only was she alive, but consenting to the kidnapping as well, because of Ice King's fluffy beard. But now that she has seen him attack Jake, another fluffy thing, her heart is wavering and she must journey alone to find the true meaning of fluff. The end gag is Ice King screaming "She was alive?"

Middle Adventure Time episode: Raggedy Princess' kingdom is being attacked, and the assailant is revealed to be none other than Wire Princess, whose quest for fluff has turned destructive. PB appears excessively distraught by this, and it's revealed that she created Wire and Raggedy Princess (then known as cloth princess) in a recreation of the monkey experiment to best gauge her approach to ruling, in the early days of the Candy Kingdom. However, when the Wire Princess AI realized the candy people were more driven to Cloth Princess' caring nature, it logically concluded the only biological need of candy people is "fluff", and so tried her best to imitate Cloth's behavior, while Cloth Princess' deeply ingrained love for her citizens caused her to attempt to physically care for them. Declaring the experiment a failure, PB mind-wiped them both, gave Cloth Princess a new kingdom and name, and put WP in sleep mode, as well as left her in Ice King's junk pile. Jake, who has been listening, says "PB, that's messed up, man". Although they deliberate whether to reboot her again, she ends up being smashed by a gumball guardian or something. While everyone staress in shock, Raggedy Princess says "That's messed up, man. Also I didn't have time to say this earlier but I'm fine with either Raggedy Princess or Cloth Princess. So, um, yeah. Anyway, I'm going to call the cleanup crew"

Late Adventure Time episode: A strange techno-magical maze appears out of the blue in the Ice Kingdom. Finn and Jake explore it and find imagery of both softness and some sort of pre-apocalypse university, ultimately discovering it was created by Magic Woman/Betty mind-melding with Wire Princes, who was trying to reverse engineer an AI with love magic infused through Simon or whatever. She inadvertently mind-melded then, accidentally creating the semi-physical maze with her magic powers, and in turn realized that WP was, in fact, not only functional and aware this whole time, but she also had a slowed down perception of time. Finn and Jake sever the link after fighting some techno-nightmares. Magic Woman, despite only having been mind-melded for a day, has experienced a whole year, and appears distraught. But this is only momentary, as she declares that her accelerated madness means that her magic will grow exponentially stronger, and runs off appearing to have a plan. Finn and Jake are worried about Wire Princess going haywire (the pun is pointed out), but she clarifies (her voicebox is working now, but not much else) that actually, since she didn't have or understand emotions for most of her aware existence, she was just fine then. She then goes on a beautiful monologue about how, since she's now bonded to one, she finally, truly understands emotional beings and their complex needs. She renames herself "wire knight", and downloads her consciousnesses onto Finn's arm. A later episode has BMO and Wire Knight debating the trolley problem

[6point5crows]

Kuwei is a character often mischaracterized by the fandom, having been boiled down to just being “Wesper home wrecker” and the hurdle for Wesper to get over. People hate Kuwei because that’s all they seem him as, a tool to give Wesper issues. This shows a lack of understanding for his character as a whole and shows that people will not take the time to understand certain characters.

To begin, his whole life had been spent on the run and hiding. Running from the government due to being Grisha, running from Fjerda, being captured by Fjerdan, trapped in Fjerda, being captured by the Crows, running with the Crows, hiding the whole run of Crooked Kingdom, running from death itself, running away to Ravka, and now hiding out in Ravka. He lives in a constant state of holding onto what little self-preservation he must have left just to keep fleeing at a moments notice, never to turn back and face what chases him because everyone tells him to run and hide.

Why?

Because he’s just a prop to everyone. To Fjerda, to the story, to Ravka, and even to the Crows. He’s just a prop— a bargaining chip— a job. He’s hardly treated as human by anyone in the books, and is constantly spoken about as if he’s an item to be exchanged. Even the fandom speaks of Kuwei like this sometimes, or maybe they hardly take a moment to remember him at all.

Not to mention how much trauma he must have gone through? We don’t know what happened with his mother but we know Fjerda killed his father— Likely in front of Kuwei. Then they tortured him and tried to force him to recreate a drug that Kuwei didn’t even know how to make in the first place. Then he’s saved by kids his age only to discover their plan was just to trade him off to somebody else originally because to them… he’s just a prospect for money. And who knows what would have happened then? Would the Kerch government have gone to torture him too? Force him to do what the Fjerdans were doing? Maybe sell him off once more? What if it was back to Fjerda? Then he was put under constant fire and attacks, always in danger, tucked away somewhere without light and warmth for so long.

If he wasn’t friends with death before, he definitely was now.

Furthering on that, he had to watch as every single country became so after him, that the only solution was to fake his own death in front of them all— like a rabbit in front of wolves. Something which if done wrong, could literally end in his death (though maybe at this point, he was okay with that. It’s not like he’s really been living that whole time anyways). Or the plan could go wrong and somebody could make a grab at him. What if the Crows betray him and instead let him be sold off? What if they all fail? So they have a mock auction— which was real to everyone but Kuwei and the Crows— so Kuwei got to see just how much countries were willing to fight over him. Even if he knew the outcome of this auction, it would not be any less terrifying to hear as the price of yourself be called out. To hear you be auctioned off. To listen as you were reduced to nothing but money.

Then he was back on the run to Ravka, finally able to see the sun, finally able to relax. Right? But after all that, could he ever really relax? Could he ever exist as if any of this was normal? He’s still technically hiding in Ravka, without the freedom to go anywhere else. If he did, he would be killed, sold, used, tortured. And after all that… he’s still just a background character for all these stories. An item. A prop.

Yet he’s meant to represent a Phoenix— of rebirth and fire, to live even when all says he should be dead. To show that Grisha do not need to slouch in captivity or be used, to show that there is hope to fight back. He is meant to represent the fire in Grisha’s’ hearts, to build a better world and to use all of this attention he’s gained to help free the Grisha.

And yet he’s still on the run.

And yet he’s still traumatized.

And yet the fandom and characters still treat him like a prop.

Kuwei is more than just Wesper, Kuwei is more than just a prop, Kuwei is more than everything he’s been reduced to.

[danger-high-voltage]

What I Want for the Kingdom Hearts Missing Link Ending

The final cutscene is a recreation of the cutscene from Dark Road where the elderly Player passes on while watching Xehanort on the beach of Destiny Islands. Except the camera focuses on Player's heart floating away before the scene fades out.

Next we cut to a scene of a woman preparing a meal. When she's done she says, "Sora, dinner's ready! Sora?"

[ifuckinglovedinosaurssomuchjesus]

Chaos Theory Thoughts:

Episode 1

I like the intro, a recreation of a deleted Dominion scene where Rexy disrupts traffic. Surely she'll appear in the show proper at some point? Wouldn't be surprised if they're contractually obligated to put her in every Jurassic World product.

I cannot stress enough that this is just the ideal aesthetic. Dinosaur footprints creating potholes in an asphalt road that a truck has to avoid. This kind of casual urban anachronistic prehistory is my entire jam, I want to live in a world where Sauropods block traffic.

I like that Pachyrhinosaurus gets the obligatory "wow" moment this time around. It's a fine if unremarkable design, but it's really nice to see in the flesh after the little screen in Fallen Kingdom name dropped it as one of the species taken off the island.

One thing I already prefer about Chaos Theory over Camp Cretaceous is that everyone is a fully fledged adult. It tugs on the heart strings to see them grow and I always just feel a bit more comfortable connecting with characters around my age. Darius worked with the DPW in that four year gap between the end of CC and now. Is it bad that I wish we got to see that instead? The "getting wrapped up in illegal trafficking" plot is nice and all but I desperately just want an episodic series of the DPW dealing with dinos.

Kinda hate this scene, not gonna lie. The franchise's dead-set insistence on treating every herbivore as a harmless cow is a teeth grinding pet peeve. Yeah, go up to a wild agitated elephant and pull a thorn out of its foot, you absolutely won't get popped like a grape.

Allosaurus vs Pachyrhinosaurus. I like that the Allo is pretty outmatched, and it runs away after taking a couple smacks to the ribs. The franchise can forget that carnivores have survival instincts at times. Plus we get to up the score to 3-0 for Ceratopsians against Theropods!

A fun twist on a franchise trope, now it's the car chasing the dinosaur!

I like the themes of drifting away from old friends and the loss of relationships over time. The writers understood that it's a big time jump, the characters have grown up, to use that to drive the emotion is... surprisingly mature.

I adore this scene, as Ben's antics and rant in the dead of the night begin to illuminate the danger they're in before he's vindicated by an ominous shadow in the window, gives me chills.

Enter the Atrociraptor. Unfortunately they don't quite live up to the tension, the attack in the cabin is just a bit too contrived. They're loud and smash into everything like they're half blind, victims of falling bookshelves and railing on stairs. Very clumsy assassins.

[one-winged-dreams]

Charming

ship: so i stayed in the darkness with you (adri x terra) source: kingdom hearts word count: 933

the FIRST of the v-day content, I decided to just do one for terra and one for angeal because i can't think of anything polyship related ;_;

tag list: @dearly-beeloved @camellias-and-coriander @rebel-wolf13 @sunstar-of-the-north @mahitoslittlebird @goldenworldsabound @edencantstopfallininlove @adoredbyalatus @dorothys-wife @faerie-circle-ships @kylars-princess @little-miss-selfships

"So… I'm gonna give you your gift now, okay?"

Terra arched an eyebrow in Adri's direction, taking in the characteristic color scheme of black and purple on a frilly dress that was outright thematically appropriate for the occasion.

He only allowed himself to be distracted by the sight for a moment before shaking his head and blinking, the secondary detail brought to his attention being the pose - Adri standing with a bright blush on his face and his hands behind his back.

"U-Uhm," Terra cleared his throat, finding a light blush begin to creep up his own cheeks, "you sure? You don't have to…"

Adri shook his head, biting his lip apprehensively for a moment.

"N-No. It's better to do it now." he seemed to mutter something about 'before I lose my nerve,' but Terra pretended not to hear it. "It's… Well, it's something I'd like to… WEAR. While we're out today."

"Wear…?" Terra asked, tilting his head in puppy-like curiosity.

Adri's blush deepened.

"Ah! Uhm, I hope it's okay, I still don't know if you're the type for accessories or anything. I've been trying to figure that out for a while now, actually?" he laughed nervously.

Terra smiled shyly, chuckling.

"Just a couple of years by now," he light-heartedly teased.

Adri returned to the chuckle, though not any less nervously.

"Y-Yeah, I know…" he said, looking down wistfully before shaking his head again. "B-But anyway, uhm… It's a matching set. Here's yours."

Blinking, Terra watched as Adri pulled a black box out from behind his back while simultaneously taking note of the fact that one of his hands still remained hidden. With a sort of tentative curiosity, he accepted the box, looking up at Adri as if to ask permission to open it. When he received a shy nod in return, he did so, unsure of what to expect.

Inside was a silver bangle, custom to his size, it would appear. It didn't take Terra very long to notice the charm that was nestled in the cushioning of the jewelry box, a perfect recreation of the charm at the end of Black Magic, Adri's keyblade. It was hardly the first thing Terra would have expected as a Valentine's Day gift, a soft breath leaving him as his eyes widened by a margin.

"Adri…" he started, unsure of how to express himself.

"A-And I don't want you to think it's some egotistical gesture on my end or anything! L-Like I said, it's part of a set, uhm… And this one… Is mine," Adri let out his own breath, bringing his hand out from behind his back at last and holding it out to show a matching bangle, this one with a charm replica of the one at the end of Earthshaker.

If the first part of the gift reveal hadn't completely knocked the air out of Terra's lungs, this addition to the gesture had. His eyes widened further, and his blush increased.

"That's…" he once again found himself incapable of speaking, overcome by an array of emotions.

"God, I hope you like it. I was worried it would be a stupid idea, augh, if they're not your thing, I can return yours. I hope you don't mind if I keep mine, though…" Adri clasped his hands, wringing them nervously as he looked down at the floor.

Finally, Terra swallowed the lump in his throat that had prevented him from speaking. Or that's what he told himself, at least.

"Well," he started, "I sure would hope that you keep it. Because I'm definitely never going to take mine off. I-If I can help it, I mean," he stated as steadily as he could manage.

The way Adri's head lifted, his brown eyes practically sparkling, was enough of a bonus present to make Terra feel almost guilty.

"R… Really? You actually do like it?" Adri asked, seemingly needing reassurance that Terra wasn't just trying to make him feel better. Not intentionally, at least. He had long since learned to trust again if not mostly just Terra. The rest of the group as well, but it seemed Terra especially.

Regardless, if it was reassurance Adri needed, then Terra would provide. He immediately tucked the box under his arm, clasping the bangle around his wrist with purpose. The way he stopped to admire the way it looked around his wrist, however, wasn't so much a show of reassurance as it was a genuine emotional response.

A smile crept across his face as he took in the shape of the charm, and suddenly, his arms were around Adri's shoulders without a second thought as to how he could express his gratitude.

"They're… perfect," he spoke into Adri's hair, no amount of shyness getting in the way of placing a kiss on the top of his boyfriend's head.

He should have probably expected to hear a sniffle, spinning the image of emotional tears before he could even consider they might have been inevitable.

"I'm glad…! I love you…!" Adri whimpered into his chest, wrapping his arms around Terra's waist.

"I love you too…" Terra returned the sentiment, smiling gently before pulling himself away with an amount of reluctance. "Come on. Aqua and Dae have probably already met up with Demyx and Bee. If we hurry we won't be TOO late."

Adri blinked, still seemingly the only one left in the dark.

"Okay, but can you tell me where we're going NOW?" he asked as Terra put a hand on the small of his back and began nudging him forward.

"And leave you the only one unsurprised? Definitely not."

[msbilberry]

Mirror for the bride of the King under the Mountain.

MsBilberry

Summary:

Erebor was retaken, Thorin and his nephews survived, and now restoration work is in full swing in the kingdom. Bilbo begins to feel lonely and unwanted and looks for a reason to return home. But it’s very difficult for him to do this, because his love for Thorin, which he never admitted, breaks the hobbit’s heart. And then, one not very wonderful day, the reason is found - Bilbo learns a secret that was hidden from him until the last: Erebor is preparing for the wedding of the King under the Mountain.

Chapter 1 of 5

Of course, the fact that Erebor was successfully recaptured and was being restored right before our eyes could not but rejoice. It is amazing how quickly the dwarves resurrected the former appearance of this mighty kingdom, recreating it even more magnificent and perfect than before. No less surprising for many was the fact that Thorin, the son of Thrain, a mighty warrior and now the rightful King, worked equally with everyone, from moving stones to working in a forge.

However, for those who were closely acquainted with Thorin and knew him well, this was not something out of the ordinary. All 12 dwarves from the squad, during their long journey together, managed to get to know the future King well enough to understand that in his soul he remained the same as they remembered him that evening in Bag End, when their long adventure was just beginning. The fourteenth member of the group, the hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, also seemed to understand this. Thorin's dragon sickness finally subsided, and the fact that he managed to survive the Battle of the Five Armies finally freed Thorin's mind from thoughts about gold and riches as the meaning of life, gave him strength and inspired him to restore his kingdom. Still, Bilbo felt some discomfort. Something has changed in Thorin's attitude towards the hobbit, but what? Bilbo could not give himself an answer to this question that tormented him so much.

Yes, Thorin had become distant, they no longer spent as much time together as before. There were no more long conversations until dawn, no more gatherings around the fire when you could sit closer to Thorin and slightly, as if by chance, snuggle up to him, as if by accident. Now Bilbo could not even see Thorin for a whole day, because he was either working in the forge, or sitting with Balin and other visiting dwarves in the library for papers, or receiving important guests. And then he even began to go with his nephews or Dwalin on visits to other kingdoms, leaving Erebor for a long time. However, maybe these visits were not so long, but for Bilbo, who realized that Thorin was not in Erebor and that he had gone somewhere far away, these days became real torture. He spent hours sitting by the window in his bedroom, which had a stunning view of the Mountain. But neither the wonderful view, nor the richly decorated room that was assigned to him, nor even the delicious food that was now in abundance in the kingdom, pleased Bilbo. And okay, everything else, but the fact that the hobbit wasn’t happy with the treats was definitely a bad sign!

Bilbo didn't understand why he was here. Now that Erebor had been retaken and its restoration was underway, the hobbit was no longer needed here. He probably already looked out of place under these stone arches, replete with inlays of precious stones. He is just a little hobbit, who was once invited by 13 dwarves on a journey and given a unique opportunity to take part in a real adventure. His mission here is completed and he must leave. This thought, although heartbreaking, firmly took hold in Bilbo’s mind and he gradually got used to it. And it broke his heart for only one reason, whose name was Thorin. Bilbo could not, did not want to part with him. The hobbit really wanted to see his cute mink again, return to his native land and again become just Bilbo Baggins from Bag End. But he understood that even if he left, his heart would forever remain here, with Thorin. The little hobbit’s little heart belongs to Thorin, and he doesn’t even know about it. Bilbo needed to leave, but he still couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was looking for a reason to delay his return home, and since all the dwarves from the detachment, and even those whom he had met already here, after the battle, were only glad that Bilbo was still with them, the hobbit still remained in Erebor , tormented by melancholy and a feeling of loneliness and uselessness.

And Thorin continued to solve state issues, only occasionally devoting some of his precious time to Bilbo. But Bilbo was happy with these crumbs too. At such hours they talked again, walking in the fresh air or sitting in the huge library by the fireplace. Sometimes Bilbo caught the gaze of blue eyes on himself, when, as it seemed to Thorin, the hobbit did not notice that they were looking at him. When they were alone, Bilbo always thought that Thorin wanted to tell him something, but did not dare. And when the king did start a conversation, it concerned exclusively matters of national importance and political issues. Bilbo was not interested in these conversations, but he listened carefully, because it was Thorin, his Thorin, speaking. And it doesn’t matter at all what was discussed, just to hear this velvety, familiar voice. Always hear. And at such moments the hobbit felt a lump in his throat. He again remembered that this could not last long.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4.5/5

Book Blurb: June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history. Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.

1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.

Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.

Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he’ll need help to pull it off—but there’s no way to know who he can trust.

When Iseul's and Daehyun's fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen:

Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.

Review:

A girl willing to go to great lengths to rescue her sister from an evil king soon finds herself working together with the king's half brother in order to stage a coup and destroy the king. Based and inspired on real historical events/figures, the story is set in 1506, Josean, in which the evil tyrant King Yeonsan rules. Known for his cruelty and horrific abuse of women and girls, King Yeonsan will kidnap married women and young girls to abuse, traffic, and use as playthings. When seventeen year old Iseul's older sister is taken to become the king's latest prey, Iseul will do anything to get her back. The king's power is absolute and to challenge him would mean certain death. Prince Daehyun has not only witnessed but committed many horrifying acts in order to simply survive in his half brother's rule. He has been forced to shut his emotions off in order to just survive... having to watch King Yeonsan's rampant executions and abuse of people... and Daehyun has been bidding his time, patiently waiting to stage a coup and dethrone his brother. Daehyun and Iseul's path cross and despite their dislike for one another, their deeper hatred for the king will bond them together as they seek to free themselves of this monster. All the while a different monster is on the loose, a killer known as Nameless Flower, prowls the street, leaving behind dead bodies and messages to the king. Can Daehyun and Iseul make it out alive or were their chances impossible to begin with? This was such a heart wrenching and brutal read, especially since it is based on real history and on real atrocities committed. I cannot even begin to imagine the horrors that had occurred. The story was a fantastic look into this moment in history and despite how hard it was to read at some points, I was absolutely gripped until the very end and was so happy with how things turned out. I would absolutely recommend this for anyone who enjoys stories based on history, heart wrenching stories, and just a good read!

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[recusant-s-sigil]

So you know how the card combat system in CoM is never brought up again in the mainline series (non-mobile games)? This got pretty long, so it’ll be under the cut. Spoilers for Union Cross. TLDR: Ven’s presence in Castle Oblivion is what made it have the card system.

According to the 8th of Ansem the Wise’s secret reports in KH2, “[Castle Oblivion] consists of 13 floors above and 12 floors below ground, with the contents of its ‘White Rooms’ transforming in response to its visitor’s memories.” Those memories are etched onto cards, created by sampling specifically Sora and Riku’s memories. Who is the first person we see create these world cards?

Marluxia, who also teaches Sora how to use the cards to his advantage in combat for some reason. Come to think of it, why does Marluxia show Sora how to use the cards? In-universe, I mean. And how do the CO-assigned Org members know how to use them as well? But I’m getting off-track. We’re here to talk about why the cards are the combat system, not how the characters know how to use it.

Castle Oblivion is a place tied to the Age of Fairytales by its inhabitants, both as the Castle and as the Land of Departure. Ven is from then, as are Marluxia and Larxene, who both end up there. Eraqus is (probably but not confirmed to be) descended from Brain. Xehanort calls the Land of Departure a second home and is also related to a Union Leader, Ephemer. Remember, the contents of the White Rooms reflect the memories of the Castle’s visitors, so what then would happen if someone resided there? Would their memory, no matter if they consciously are aware of it or not, affect the whole castle to such a degree that the combat system reflects that of a bygone era?

Did you know that Kingdom Hearts χ, the browser game, used cards as its combat system? Ever wonder why Flick Rush exists? Dark Road also uses cards in its combat system, though it’s less a game of War and more “hit the enemy with sleights as fast as possible before their turn arrives”.

In Unchained χ and Union Cross, instead of cards, your player character uses Medals, which function basically the same but are exclusive to that specific game. Medals don’t show up anywhere else in the series, unlike cards.

At the end of Union Cross, it’s revealed that the events of Unchained χ were taking place inside a datascape, a digital recreation of the real Daybreak Town. Makes sense, then, that Medals only appear in that specific stretch of time/gameplay. We also discover that Dream Eaters, both Spirits and Nightmares, are actually wielders whose hearts have been kept safe by their Chirithy, transforming it into the technicolor Pokémon ripoffs of Dream Drop Distance. Only makes sense that they’d use cards for Flick Rush in that case, right?

Ever wonder why Luxord’s title is the Gambler of Fate when his attribute is time? Cards and dice, the main weapons he and his subset of Nobodies use, have been associated with fortune-telling since they were invented. Card reading, especially Tarot, are popular forms of attempting to predict the future or find out something important about yourself and others pertaining your/their destiny. But in this series, destiny is never left to chance, meaning no need to gamble. Perhaps Luxord is hoping to game the system while staying within the rules.

Back to world cards. Doesn’t the way they work seem oddly familiar? They use the memory of a person to project a world for them to interact with within a single location. Sounds very much like the Book of Prophecies creating worlds from the future it saw (the memory of that future etched in its pages) for wielders to collect Lux from the safety of Daybreak Town, since the actual worlds are too far away to get to besides using a Corridor of Darkness or similar.

I could go into how Skuld, Sigurd, and the Dark Road Norse Name crew connect to this (and possibly speculate about Sigurd’s role in Missing-Link), as well as the strange pods in CO/the Mansion and the significance of the Master’s Defender Keyblade being the one used to lock away the LoD but that’s more research than I could possibly stomach right now so I’ll save that analysis for another time. Besides, that’s more related to fate in general and not specifically cards so it’s probably best to keep that separate anyways.

If you made it this far, I want to thank you for reading! This is something I’ve had on my mind for a while and it feels great to finally get it down on paper (or rather, in a post).

[lucyav13]

Characters

This chapter will be dedicated to all those characters who accompanied us on our adventure for the pure hearts, so I hope you like it :) 

Queen Jaydes, Grambi y Luvbi

(Image credits to its author)

Queen Jaydes is the kind-hearted (but strict) queen of Underwhere. As ruler of The Underwhere, she possesses power over life and death. Queen Jaydes is named hence the god of the underworld in Greek mythology, Hades, as well as "upset," meaning "unenthusiastic" or "bored" (both qualities she possesses). Fun fact: she bears a certain resemblance to the Queen of Shadows.

Following Dimentio's defeat, Jaydes travels to The Overthere upon learning that Luvbi has returned to life. There, she promises to give Luvbi all the love she can and encourages the heroes to visit her to judge her when they finish her games, as thanks for her hard work.

Gambi

His name is a portmanteau of "grandfather" and "Nimbi."

Just as Jaydes is based on Hades, the ancient Greek lord of the underworld, Gambi may be based on Zeus, the sky god and ruler of Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. Additionally, as The Overthere also borrows from Christian theism, certain aspects of Gambi are shared with God, such as his position as head of the angelic Nimbis and his conflict with Bonechill (whose story closely resembles that of Lucifer). However, Grambi is not credited with creating the world or life and is neither omniscient nor omnipotent.

Luvbi

Her name is a combination of the words "love" and "Nimbi." After Bonechill's defeat, Luvbi assumes his true form to save all the worlds. After saving all the worlds, Luvbi recreates herself as a true Nimbi girl independent of the white Pure Heart. (A/N: I have a theory that explains how, so check out the Pure Hearts chapter ;))

Fun Fact: Luvbi plays a similar role to TEC-XX from the previous game, in that they both make a sacrifice to help Mario and his friends at the end of Chapter 7, only to be inexplicably revived upon Mario's defeat the final boss.

Kalamarx

After the heroes defeat Mr. L in the heart of the Whoa Zone, Squirps reveals to them that he is the prince of a forgotten kingdom, Squirpia, and that his mother, Squirpina XIV, was entrusted with the Pure Heart by the Ancients. She then placed Squirps in a hibernation capsule for 1,500 years, so that he could lead the heroes to the Whoa Zone when they arrived in Outer Space. After relaying his mother's message to them asking them to save all worlds, the prince hands over the Blue Pure Heart. The post-chapter narration reads that, his quest finally done, Squirps lay down near the statue of his mother and closed his eyes to rest. He was presumed dead by the heroes; however, returning to Outer Space at any time afterward reveals that he had only fallen asleep, and the player can replay the chapter as normal.

After beating the game, the heroes can find Squirps in the Whoa Zone near his mother's statue, assuring her of the world's safety and that he would restore Squirpia someday.

Tipptron, with her tattle says: His full name is Squirp Korogaline Squirpina. It seems he is actually the prince of a space kingdom... He dreams of ascending the throne someday. I'm sure he has what it takes...

Some fun facts: Squirps' reaction to being fed a chocolate bar can be seen as a callback to Gourmet Guy from the original Paper Mario, who acted similarly when fed Cake and also impeded Mario's progress in Chapter 4 of that game.

He is also somewhat similar to Flavio, as both claim themselves to be gourmets and are initially hesitant to accept the edibles Mario brings them.

Excluding enemies, Squirps is the only character in the game who flips into 3D as the player does; this is the case even when they visit him in the Whoa Zone.

Squirps is the second character in the Paper Mario series to fall asleep and be mistaken for dead by Mario and co., with Admiral Bobbery being the first.

[supahsaucemann]

Destiny Is Never Left to Chance

Only those who have power can decide!

Xehanort Prime

Master Xehanort's superego, lingering desire for power, and deep hatred of Sora and the weak . . . incarnate . . . melted off the original after he defeat, claiming to be the TRUE Xehanort

Read Below for the Fanfic lore of Xehanort Prime

This is the Xehanort everyone knows and hates

This incarnation of Xehanort was "revived" by Brothmancer

Lord Buttercream was enticed by the drama and insanity of the Kingdom Hearts universe and created a sorta "Castle Oblivion-like" pocket dimension, created by the bad memories of the Sora's friends for his entertainment. He also used Xavier, a true hero of darkness, to stir up drama in this world, hoping to see Sora's friends go after Xavier for being the spawn of Xehanort and the Heartless, blaming him for Sora's fate.

Lord Buttercream tasked Dr. Brainfreeze and Brothmancer to study the KH world and it's secrets to make this "stage" possible. They created replicas of there own and two of them where the REAL Young Xehanort, who was timetraveling his was back after his "defeat" in KH3. With his hatred and envy of Sora becoming the "Child of Destiny" still buring in his heart and he memories of said hatred, Brainfreeze and Brothmancer use them to recreate the Master Xehanort we all know and hated, dubbed Xehanort PRIME!

This incarnation of the old master STILL has his delusions of grandeur, STILL wanting the power of Kingdome Hearts to remake the world. He also had all of his memories, includign the events of Dark Road. He muses of Aqua's hatred for darkness, comparing her to Vidar, and even berating Baldr from the beyond for being too weak to summon Kingdome Hearts. Xehanort Prime also loathes his old self for surrendering to Eraqus and relinquishing the X-blade to Sora at the end of KH3, denying it ever happened and claiming his "revivial" was all part of his plan for conquest.

First Phase: Dictator Of Destiny

The first form is his usual garb, but with occasional flaming arms and legs of pure light. In battle, a mini Kingdom Hearts is seen on his chest, similar to the Heartless symbol on Ansem SoD. He's eyes will also glow pure white, unlike his golden Heartless eyes, indicating this is NOT under the influences of darkness, but something far worse.

Second Phase: Symbol of Perfection

His second form takes the appearance of "Kingdom Hearts" with his ugly mug merged into it. This is NOT the real Kingdom Hearts, but a replica also created by the Light Order to fool Xehnanort Prime into thinking he's obtained it's power once again.

Third Phase: HeartBreaker

The final form is Xehanort's face, broken after the previous phase. Now enraged, light heart veins spread, forming the faces of the main seekers in the shape of a giant heart. Xehanort Prime becomes angry and childish, claiming to be the Child of Destiny, takes his anger out on Xavier and Sora's friends. He could summons the seekers and light versions of the Xehanort Replicas and Demon Towers, which Xavier could use against Prime to stop his rampage.

[slavonicrhapsody]

I was losing sleep last night and my brain just decided to connect some dots at like 4 in the morning. I am very sorry if this seem like a long chain of nonsense rambling

The multitude of analysis you had on Rykard (those are really well written btw they have singlehanded sparked my interest in this man) dwelled on his vicious mockery of the Erdtree and the Golden Order through his blasphemous serpentine form being a perversion of these mentioned above yet stands against them, the magma sorceries sharing the same stat requirements as Golden Order Fundamentalism incantations, and how he had immense mechanical and engineering talent from his Carian heritage.

Then I remembered that you can pick up the pulley crossbow from the Craftman’s shack in Mt. Gelmir. The item description have ignited my thoughts: …The complex mechanism, which required advanced mathematical and mechanical understanding to craft, was likely made by a certain genius who learned Golden Order fundamentalism.

Though I would doubt that this crossbow was designed and made by Rykard himself, it seems that his mechanical talent may not be solely established from Carian studies. Knowing that he was one of Radagon’s children and then grew up to be a praetor serving the Golden Order, it is entirely possible that his father’s influence has rooted deep within him long before his duty as a praetor. (Plus, if so - this may be the reason for Rykard to serve the Golden Order, to utilize his talents which resonate with the studies of fundamentalism and to study his father’s ideals, even with Radagon leaving Rennala, breaking her heart and traumatizing all his children?)

And the influence perpetuate further into his life, for his well-documented fondness of torture has been established from when he was still a praetor, and it only seem to aggravate after his betrayal. He started taking victims by force, a behavior “no different” from the gods themselves. The abductor virgins are all works of masterful engineering, reflecting a mind fond to the fundamentalism’s intricate mathematical study. Even after he sacrifice his own flesh and intelligence to the great serpent, his act of devouring countless heroes and champions so that they may be absorbed into his body, be a part of his ‘family’ echoes the rituals of Erdtree burial.

It is almost like a curse that runs within him. The heritage from a god, the great rune, and the golden grace shining through his hair and his eyes.

He did not become the very thing that he has sworn to destroy. He was the very being he has sworn to destroy.

Bonus: Item descriptions of Radagon’s scarseal and Radagon’s soreseal

These seals represent the lifelong duty of those chosen by the gods.

Solemn duty weighs upon the one beholden; not unlike a gnawing curse from which there is no deliverance.

AHH this is such a great exploration on how Rykard reflects Radagon in so many ways…I love the idea that his unique technology could be a mixture of what he learned from both his mother’s and his father’s domains!! And the line that’s killing me is “he was the very being he sought to destroy.” goddd that’s so true!!

All of the Carian children are the product of two lineages that are historically at odds, but still have come together — the Erdtree and the Moon, incantations and sorcery, faith and intelligence. It’s like their very identities are contradictory! And when Radagon left Rennala, they must have felt that contradiction deeply. Radagon’s actions reopen old wounds, reminding his children of why the Moon fought the Erdtree in the first place.

Rykard is full of contradictions in this way… he seeks to destroy the Erdtree, which once sought to destroy his mother’s kingdom. But at the same time, he ends up echoing and recreating many themes of the Erdtree and the Golden Order, albeit in a twisted way. It’s like he can’t help but be drawn towards symbols of the Erdtree, though he hates it, because the Erdtree is fundamentally a part of him — He is Radagon’s son. And Marika’s.

[melesmee]

yk while we're talking about cody and juvie's relationships with losers. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW JUVIE FELT AFTER THE END OF EPISODE 20.

like yeah. mini had been lying and manipulating cody since grd but. imagine being juvie. you've just found out that mini has been here the entire time. ofc you have to get over the shock of "holy shit mini has been here the entire time" but that eventually makes way for "okay, maybe things can go back to the way they were before". even more so now that gma is mostly out of the picture.

and then CODY finds out and just completely loses it. like, just completely drops the whole average thing that he's been unshakably commited to for weeks now and suddenly everything is the same as it was before. do you any idea how pissed juvie probably is. like, they're probably not gonna be able to think too hard about it considering there's more urgent cody-related problems at hand but.

(also sidenote, mini getting an entire episode dedicated to confronting and accepting her past and then almost immediately having all her fears realized is so fucked up)

RIGHT ITS CRRAAZZZYYY

like. haircuts are so symbolic in general. and juvie has more symbolism tied to it bcs MINI gave them the hair tie!!! they grew their hair out specifically to honor mini’s memory !! but like. now mini’s back. and they’re…..moving on, i guess? not from loving mini necessarily, but…..it’s been years. they’ve both grown and changed as people. juvie losing their hair (and more importantly, the hair tie) symbolizes kind of like. a new beginning for the two of them. juvie’s done mourning !! they’re ready to get to know the person mini’s become :)

vs cody!! his initial reaction is ‘omg mini’s alive’ and the relief. all the guilt and self torture he’s put himself through for years lifts a little because mini’s alive!!!! she’s not dead and it’s not his fault!!! and the hypothetical scene that plays as codys reaction is like. they both could’ve done things better. they both could’ve avoided hurting each other, but they didn’t. mini left and cody basically let her. and this is where they are now. they’re…..different people. cody’s gotten better through his relationship with pb. he has a better understanding of being a loser, and he’s opened up to someone about his trauma for. probably the first time ever.

meanwhile, mini has been so obsessed with clinging to the past and recreating her childhood, but without the things she didn’t like. she wanted juvie, cody and herself to hang out in chill haven forever, with no status difference or overbearing grandma to ruin it!! she’s obsessed with things staying exactly as they were back then. she doesn’t really account for juvie and cody growing up, and she doesn’t really even realize how much SHE has changed, either.

and that’s when the rejection hits!!! cody’s changed!! he doesn’t want godhood, he’s not sure if he ever really did!! and after EVERYTHING mini put him through- everything she’s put pb through? pb’s not even a part of this! mini dragged in some random loser to be part of her selfish scheme, and the heartbreak they both suffered was HER fault!! she was gonna send pb to the void after all this! isn’t that fucked up? he’s literally a tool to her, to make her idealized world!! so cody snaps!!! he shows that hey! people CAN change! i might have failed you all those years ago, but i will NOT fail pb. i won’t lose him like i lost you.

and i think juvie understands that. i don’t really think they’d be mad at cody for being so angry, as much as they love mini. i mean, this is what they’ve been trying to get him to do for weeks now, man. stand up for something. take some GODDAMN control of his life. of course they’d be concerned for mini, because she’s not being malicious, but like….how could they be mad at cody? he finally did it.

idk. basically it’s what delusional sorikus want kingdom hearts to be (im delusional sorikus :3)

[raidergamerspice]

I would like to start this particular post off by saying that I do not want to be dragged into Kataang vs. Zutara discourse. I didn't wanna be part of it back then, and I don't wanna be part of it now. It's exhausting enough to be caught up in discourse for Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 7 lmao. Thanks.

Anyway, I love to revisit Xiran Jay Zhao's Avatar videos because they're fun to watch, and I loved learning everything they had to say about the Chinese influences in the show and whatnot. Right now, the way they closed off the Ember Island Players discussion is weighing on my mind: in that they said that Team Avatar decided to forget about the play at the end, just like how the Avatar fandom wanted to forget...you-know-what. And this got me thinking...

Would it be wrong to interpret EIP as non-canon to the rest of the show?

I mean, having an episode where the characters watch their own story play back to them while in a theater? This is literally the plot for all those "characters watch their own story" fanfics, except in this case it's dialed up to 11 because their story is highly exaggerated with obvious bias from the Fire Nation. And in those fanfics, it's usually common practice to send the characters back into their respective worlds with their memories of watching their story erased, especially if they were pulled from the middle of their story to see their "future". That's basically this episode: Team Avatar got a break from being in their story just to watch a recap of their adventures capped off with a glimpse of a possible future (again, highly exaggerated with Fire Nation bias). And when it was over, they seemingly forgot about it and went back to the main story (I mean, I might need to look at the comics again to check and see if they actually mentioned the play in any of them, but for the sake of this post, let's assume they never did). I did always find it strange that these Fire Nation play writers somehow got enough information on Team Avatar to semi-accurately recreate some of their adventures with several creative liberties, even with the listed sources on the poster. I mean, "surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage"? Just how surprisingly knowledgeable was he, exactly? What did he know? 🤨

Now, the main reason I'm proposing this brings me back to the first part of this post. Xiran did point out that the way Aang reacted to the Kataang vs Zutara satire in the play gave off the impression that Aang was pressuring Katara, and as a Kataang, that is hurtful to the ship. But I'm not disagreeing with their point, that was a bad move on Aang's part, even though he was at least aware of his actions by the end.

But hear me out: if we're gonna consider this episode non-canon, that would mean we could also interpret Aang's actions as out of character for him. I mean, I kinda always did, even though I wasn't able to put it into words until now. Because, this was really the only time in the whole show that Aang was jealous over Katara having a moment with another guy. Like, he didn't have anything to say about Katara desperately wanting to help Haru - he did want to help her - nor did he say anything about Katara's obvious crush on Jet (though there was that small line about him saying that Sokka's idea that Katara should kiss Jet to jog his memory in Lake Laogai was a bad idea, but I'm choosing to let that slide because again, it was just a small line). And I'm pretty sure him glaring at Zuko as he and Iroh broke into the Crystal Catacombs had less to do with him possibly feeling jealous over finding Katara and Zuko standing close to each other, and more to do with the fact that...well, Zuko was still the enemy, and he just didn't want Katara hurt. Iroh had won him over, but not Zuko. Yet.

Hell, even Aang making a big deal over wanting to sit next to Katara in the theater seemed strangely out of character, because Aang was acting very maturely in just the previous episode, only for him to whine about not getting to sit next to Katara in the very next.

And you wanna know something else? Considering that Aang and Katara left their conversation at the theater both feeling very uncomfortable and tense with what their relationship currently is, it's rather sus that Sozin's Comet Part 1 opened with them acting like it never happened, right? Like, Katara offered him a drink with a smile, and he ran toward her to get it eagerly, with no sign at all of their tense feelings. And even before Aang blowing up at her and the rest of the Gaang near the end, they talked to each other calmly like nothing's wrong. You could argue that they reached a silent agreement to not talk about it for a while, but...you could also argue that there was nothing for them to talk about because it never actually happened. Because that episode wasn't actually canon. 😉

I don't know, maybe I'm just rambling for the sake of another lengthy post lmao. What do you guys think? Is it okay to interpret EIP as non-canon, or should we still look at it as a rough experience for Kataang shippers among meta commentary? I mean, I did always find it strange that Book 3 had 21 episodes while the previous two had exactly 20, so another reason to write EIP off as non-canon would mean that Book 3 would have 20 episodes, right? 😂

[dwarf-vader-of-middle-earth]

Fritjof Borg Ansgarsson

"Blood! Blood must spill from your corpse to fill the rivers of Midgard, and I will make all drink in gracious glory the remnants of their miserable hero who foolishly stood against me and fell in vain! The Old Gods are dead, and the Norns shall be next! You've taken my people, taken my kingdom, and now I've but to take your precious Yggdrasil, and the Nine Realms with it! If I cannot have my land to rule as I please, I will destroy all life but my own, and recreate the universe in my very image and desire!" -Fritjof in the battle of Ragnarok

This is the tyrant-king, Fritjof of Ulla. He separated half the adults on the island to go on a deadly raid where they ultimately perished, and the other half were imprisoned.

From here, Fritjof hired mercenaries, and beyond them and the king, only children remained within Ulla all alone, their sole guidance the word of their corrupt monarch who abused his power constantly, causing mayhem and murder to neighboring islands, and feeding lies to the children. He permitted the mercenaries to loot whatever they desired from the homes of Ulla, and the children were essentially disregarded.

A young man, Hafgrim, felt in his heart this was wrong, and thus began gathering others who'd felt the same as himself. For years, he trained everybody in the ways of brutal combat, and when the time came, the now-grown citizens of Ulla stole a ship and raided Fritjof's castle, as well as the prison to free their parents. They ultimately succeeded, and Hafgrim cast Fritjof away into a forest where Elves would lead him astray forever.

What nobody expected was that Fritjof learned the layout of this forest eventually, and found that within its heart lay the roots of Yggdrasil. The tyrant-king swore vengeance, climbed the tree, and slew Heimdall to take Gjallarhorn and begin Ragnarok. If he could not have his kingdom, if he could not rule his people, he would destroy life as it was known to recreate it as a subservient universe to his every whim and desire.

And with this, Hafgrim returned with fury in his heart, and a burning will to protect all life in the Nine Realms. He amassed an army of Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Giants, and more, then led the charge against Fritjof to end his bloody reign once and for all.

Ultimately, Hafgrim had no choice but to land the killing blow on his former king. Although he'd tried for decades to spare the man, he could not do so without losing the Nine Realms, the Gods, everyone and everything. He grasped Gjallarhorn from the slain tyrant, and blew the horn to signal Ragnarok's end.