#snap reads the kh manga

[todayisafridaynight]

you probably won't even care about yakuza by the time the plushies are out if we go by your track record

i cant even deny this cause my interests do tend to have a shelf life of one year and it'll be one year come june

[mushroom-winners-proof]

this shouldnt be a major highlight of my KH manga reading experience and yet

[cosmamas]

self-indulgent pre ‘before everything goes to shit’ headcanons for @kyecupio ! fyi for anyone else reading this: serenity / usagi / cosmos are all the same person in this verse but she refers to herself as ‘usagi’ while she’s living on destiny islands!.

under a cut because this got way longer than i meant it to be!!!!

pre-birth / baby / toddler stuff

her feelings on being pregnant range from, ‘i love this mamo-chan! i love you! i love this baby!’ to ‘i can’t see my feet. why does my back hurt so much!! get this baby out of me FUCK!!!!!!!’

a real conversation that was had between her and mamoru: usagi: *casually refers to the baby as a she* mamoru: wait how do you know it’s a girl? usagi: oh well every serenity had a girl befor- mamoru: um what do you mean by ‘every serenity’? usagi: lol i didn’t i tell you my mother was named that? my grandma and great grandma were too. i also look like my great great grandma and my great great grea- mamoru: *chuckling nervously* what the fuck!!!!!

she 'talks’ to the baby a lot by telling him stories, singing to him, or even occasionally admitting that she’s terrified of not being a good parent oof! she likes to think that him moving / kicking right after she says something is him reacting to what was said. but he’s really just a little shit that kicks / moves a lot especially when she’s trying to sleep!!

she definitely gets cravings for delicacies that only existed on the moon kingdom and mamoru tries his best to recreate it but usagi’s terrible and vague about the ingredients ( b/c chefs and makoto cooked everything ) so it never comes out right but she appreciates his attempts none the less.

idk when his birthday is ( i’ll let kyecupio handle that ) but he definitely comes late / past his due date which drives her insane because she just can’t sit still despite everyone telling her to and it gives mamoru daily heart attacks. 

she probably goes into full-on labor at night / during a new moon because hahaahah GET IT NEW. MOON. cause it’s a new moon kingdom heir........ i’m deleting. anyway, a lot of symbolism regarding the new moon is specifically tied to starting over, second chances, new beginnings, etc. which is literally what this baby represents for his parents. this is also a moment where the ‘usagi’ facade drops and ‘serenity’ comes out as she gathers strength from the moon to help her get through the pains of labor ( it wouldn’t be surprising if she kind of just...zones out and enters an almost trance-like state and doesn’t snap out of it until he’s actually out ).

do to the close ties the moon kingdom has with kingdom hearts itself as well as the greek references in kh ( χ-blade ) and in sailor moon, usagi thought of the name archísei but the meaning / significance in its meaning was something both she and mamoru desired in a name for their child.

archísei is the cutest baby!!! he has the chubbiest cheeks, the biggest ears, and is very fussy when he’s not being cuddled by mommy or daddy. and yes, he’s born with the traditional mark of moon royalty: the crescent moon on one’s forehead. it’s hidden away but when they’re alone usagi chooses to reveal it by kissing him on his forehead uwu.

because usagi can’t help her home sickness, his nursery definitely has a slight celestial / moon kingdomish feel to it with white, gold, and other neutral colors + a wall with some constellations or stars on it ( and yes, i looked at baby nurseries for this. let me live!!!!!! ).

this is totally them when he starts screaming at like three in the morning. mamoru can get him to fall back asleep pretty quickly if he’s lucky. with usagi, there’s more work because archísei is spoiled and likes to be sang to before eventually falling asleep, usually to one of these ( both of these, especially tuxedo mirage, are like....aggressively about mamoru but we’re going to ignore that because i like the ‘lullabyness’ of how they sound ).

usagi is tall, around 5′9 / 5′10 ( without heels ), so when he’s not attached to her hip / being carried then archísei is always latched to her legs once he starts learning how to walk.

his terrible twos phase is the absolute WORST. usagi regrets the day he learned how to say no.

childhood stuff

mamoru and usagi are definitely the ‘we’ll fuck you up if you even look at our son the wrong way’ type of parents. even if he were to do something he wasn’t supposed to at school or even goes to far while ‘playfully’ sparring with another kid, they would probably argue in his defense but then lecture him once they’re at home.

( an unpopular opinion but i unapologetically love how snarky / somewhat of a jerk mamoru is in the first season of the 90s anime which is trait that...pretty much disappears after that rip :’(((( - and it’s easily my favorite version of the character. his banter with usagi kills me. ) so going with mamoru’s personality being a mix of manga + season one of classic sm then archísei’s snark definitely comes from him + watching his parents playfully go back and forth with other as usagi can be pretty sassy too ( mamoru taught archísei how to rile her up by calling her bun-head which still makes her throw a fit despite being 30+ years old ).

archísei is a momma’s boy but he definitely admires / looks up to his dad because mamoru is definitely important™ on DI, like a doctor or something because he’s got the smarts. archísei is easily smarter than most, if not all, the kids in his age range ( and probably even the kids older than him too ) so he breezes by in his course work and doesn’t find school interesting. as a result, he would definitely beg his dad to let him skip school and go to work with him and because mamoru is weak, he says yes every single time.

did i say he’s a momma’s boy? he’s definitely a momma’s boy. when he’s a child ( and still too young to stop and question her things ) they did almost everything together. from baking ( and failing at it ), to her teaching him how to do his eyeliner ( this one is completely kyecupio’s ), and he would probably learn to dance from her too. overall they’re just very ‘in-sync’ with each other due to the natural link between them ( similar to her and chib’s connection in canon ). she’s probably the person he loves and idolizes the most which is why it’s going to hurt so much once he learns out that she’s been the one lying and deliberately holding him back all this time.

he doesn’t need help with his homework but usagi and mamoru will sometimes sit down with him anyway - although in usagi’s case, he probably ends up teaching her than the other way around.

a lot of the bed time stories he was told where legends passed down in the moon kingdom or vague stories about other worlds she had been told to as a child.

luna is their cat ( although i’m still debating if it’s moon kingdom luna or just a cat with the same name ). regardless, she’s very protective of him and snuggles with him at night.

pre-teen / things go to shit stuff this section wasn’t supposed to exist but here we are

him entering his pre-teens is when his relationship with his parents, specifically his mother, slowly deteriorates. usagi and mamoru have very different approaches on how to handle their son and his desires to see more outside of DI: usagi wants him to play with other kids / make friends while mamoru feels that if he should be allowed to do things at his own pace because mamoru relates / understands him in ways that she can’t. he was ‘different’ by being the boy who lost his parents / memories and he grew tired of everyone taking pity on him so he just learned to deal with being alone in his own way until he was able to grow and move passed it.

they would definitely have family nights where they would sail to one of the smaller islands to have a small bbq, watch the stars, have fun, etc. these decrease as archísei grows older; he makes up excuses not to attend before eventually not even bothering with doing that.

also that natural link he and his mother have? it’s gone now or more accurately it’s like he’s unknowingly created a barrier around himself that effectively shuts her out. so while she could naturally always faintly ‘feel’ him ( whether it was emotionally or just knowing if he was nearby ),  that’s just not there anymore. it hurts her a lot.

he definitely eventually hears them arguing one night over usagi’s ‘past’ and whether they should tell them to truth. usagi is very ‘nope, not doing that’ despite mamoru trying to convince her otherwise. also if luna is moon kingdom luna then that means the cat that’s been watching over him since he was baby, claiming a dedicated sleeping spot on his bed, and has casually walked with him to school can talk and would probably be on mamoru’s side. archísei vc: you guys have even been lying about the fucking cat too????

when he does finally leave, there’s a....denial about it as they try to convince themselves that maybe he’s just staying late at a friend’s house even though they know he doesn’t have any or maybe he’s camping out on that island he always likes to visit. ‘ we’ll lecture / yell at him about breaking curfew in the morning ’ is what they say but then he’s still not back home in the morning. they check his school and learn he hasn’t been there in over a week so then they start knocking on neighbor’s doors, asking if they’ve seen their son and get no answers. they even check the surrounding islands but he’s still nowhere to be found which is when reality sets in hard. they don’t know if he’s lost at sea, dead, or if usagi’s greatest fear has been realized and he’s somehow managed to leave this world entirely. they just don’t know.

and like not to be cliche but......she loves her son so much and that love can never be replicated or replaced by another so him leaving literally breaks her heart in a way that can’t be fixed ( twil.ight, outside of its soundtracks and leah / rosalie, is not good™ but the song in this scene always...made it weirdly memorable to me and i feel like it’s lyrics accurately sums up how she feels internally - i don’t really see her completely shutting out everyone / just sitting around the house as usagi’s been wearing a mask for a long time and can externally hold it together but would she have sobbing fits at the beach in the middle of the night? yes. ).

also mamoru’s pain over losing his son is important / shouldn’t be brushed over because he literally can’t remember his own parents and has been alone until this strange woman falls, quite literally, into his life. she becomes his new family before giving him a son who he loved so much that he risked sailing the ocean and eventually drowning for because he was so desperate to reach him, to tell him he was sorry for the lies, and that everything would be okay. good god what a DAD.

bonus ‘what if things didn’t suck from the start’ b/c i gotta get this all out my system!

usagi meeting mamoru under less dire circumstances aka she’s free to able to travel to other worlds and casually takes him back to ‘her place’ which just so happens to be a secret kingdom. usagi: haha isn’t it rad!!! mamoru: *chuckling nervously* what the fuck!!!!!

archísei is still ‘different’ but more in that he symbolizes how ‘traveling outside of their home can be good for the MK’s people’ instead of something to be frowned upon.

catch him always in nana serenity’s arms, holding her hand, and them having little picnics together. she also gets him out of trouble from his parents all the time!!!

his aunts / the senshi spoil him so much!!!!! ami ( the nerd ) and setsuna ( the time lord ) are his favorites for obvious reasons but he has unique relationships with all of them - minako and rei probably baby him just as quickly as they would discipline him if they needed to. makoto constantly bakes sweet stuff for him and makes him lunches packed with his favorite food. michiru and haraku are the vodka cool aunts who teach him all about fashion and how to not just look better than everyone else but how to actually be better than everyone else too. he would also probably get along really well with hotaru?? she’s kind of the ‘other’ in the group / not really supposed to exist in a way so maybe they can relate to being different and celebrating that.

he still leaves for scala ad caelum to train but usagi is very dramatic and there’s lots of tears and crying. archísei: mama i’m not even going to be gone that long!!! usagi: b-but!!! *starts sobbing again* 

archísei brings eraqus home and mamoru / usagi are just being hella nosy the whole time. mamoru and usagi in union: who dat??? 👀👀👀

there are lots of crying from mom and dad during his coronation / when he eventually succeeds usagi as the moon kingdom’s monarch!!!! 

BASICALLY EVERYONE IS A LOT MORE WELL ADJUSTED AND THIS DOESN’T END IN DISASTER GOODBYE.

[kitsoa]

Magical Dimension Hopping is a Big Jump from Genetic Science Experiments and Other Mind Blowing Revelations Ch 1.

A Kingdom Hearts x Birdmen Crossover Fanfiction 

Sora’s seraph design is here. Please appreciate shenanigans here.

I have never done something so self indulging please save me. It’s also barely proof read so sorry not sorry. Birdmen (read manga here) is set pre-33. KH is technically some hypothetical post KH3 but there is not a single spoiler except Sora can flowmotion up walls cause that’s bitchin. Let’s GO.

“Oh now this is neat.”

Sora wasn’t used to traversing the multiverse alone, so when the Gummiship dropped him off at the decreed coordinates and his magic clothes snapped into action-- he was left to speak his astonishment aloud to no one. By some cosmic choice (or was it magical programming) the garments changed into a suit of pitch black, skin tight and engulfing every surface of skin save for his face. It was aesthetically sleek, similar to his look on the Grid without the glow. But it was the sensation on his back and the ripples of feeling along the suit that suggested very quickly that this was not a fashion transformation alone.

“This is very neat.” Upon his back were very large, black wings, the color of his suit… in fact the same material as his suit. They were smooth and currently folded-- but even then they encompassed his full height.

“Wow… what did I turn into…?” He wished he at least had someone to workshop his questions with. The concept of doing a solo mission at a world he knew nothing about was capable of inspire a dash of uncertainty, but not enough to damper the moment of having wings.

It was daytime, but the location he was in was extremely shaded-- an industrial setting of an empty construction site it seemed. Sora kicked over an obstructing pile of rubble mindlessly as he approached the tarped exit (wait were those talons on his feet?). A splash of sunshine was pulled into view and a street of cars and very average looking commuters passed the blocked off entrance.

“That’s strange… they look like normal people to me…” Sora stumbled out of the site to investigate, his wings dragged behind him (he wasn’t sure how to move them) and into the midday pedestrian sidewalk. Aimlessly, Sora picked a direction and started walking with the traffic flow, the sudden loom of the massive buildings and skyscrapers making his head tilt back in an easy awe. He brought his hands to his head on instinct.

It wasn’t the first time he was in a city by any means, but as a humble islander, the scale and life of a metropolis was impossibly dazzling.  

It took a second to realize that… people were staring.

Not just staring, ogling. Sora’s head snapped forward, the pedestrian that was in front of him now frozen and several meters stopped dead behind him. Cars were slowing, horns honking at the disturbance while people across the street pointed animatedly, cell phones out and fixed upon him. Sora suddenly felt a rare spell of embarrassment grip his gut and his hands fell slowly to his side.

No one looked like him. He, the dimension hopping savior of worlds, was standing out. His transformations usually worked in the opposite manner. Oh… he wished he had a friend to bail him out right now. He wished he hadn’t been so dismissive of Goofy’s concern on the solo mission. ‘Making new allies’ was a lot easier to say and not as fast an achievement as he needed in this moment.

This strange social pain was then consumed by a very real and physical pain-- a jolt of electricity shooting from his wings to the tips of his toes. It left him gasping in surprise and launched his battle honed instincts into overdrive. The whiplash was killer. The crowd of onlookers melted away while Sora’s mental voice warned of imminent battle. (Why though?) But that’s when his darting eyes fell on a familiar void-- a black hole of darkness expanded in the sky above one of the scaling towers across the street.

Heartless.

Sora launched himself into action. With a flick of his wrist and a pull from his heart, his Keyblade burst forth into his hands in a flurry of light. Locked into place, Sora darted across the street with a resulting scream of horns and perhaps a siren in the distance. Without stopping, he took a vertical run up the side of the tower toward the swarm of darkness.

The Heartless emerged from the void as he drew closer, something massive and mechanical-- but it was the surrounding action around it that caught Sora’s eye.

Winged figures, spots of similar black, zipping through the air around the creature. He only counted three when he was yet again rattled by an unsuspecting feature in this word.

“Umino, Kamoda-- pin the bastard down when it emerges. You know the drill Takayama!”

A booming and authoritative voice reverberated directly into Sora’s head, almost knocking off his gravity defying climb up the tower. He gripped the hilt of his Keyblade tight as the lip of the building came into view along with the full, massive scale of the Heartless in question. A snake-like thing dripping in plates of metal and cylinders of ejecting fire.

Using his momentum from the climb, Sora vaulted into the air closing the distance, his Keyblade rending the space in a blaze of light. A satisfying crack sounded and the hulking creature was knocked back. Around it, the flying people hovered in shock. Gravity took hold and Sora fell closer to the knocked back Heartless, and thus, a spatter of jabs rained down.

“It’s that Birdman!” A different voice rang in his head as his Keyblade slashed. The creature suddenly moved out from under him.

“What do we do?”

The snake-like Heartless snapped into a frightening speed and it’s tail snapped around before slamming into Sora’s back. He was spiked to the roof of the building they were fighting over, taking a face full of concrete.

“Back him up.” That initial voice was back, with more chill and demand than before. It jerked Sora to his feet. As he regained his bearings he caught sight of two more grounded winged figures-- one staring at him with intense and furious red eyes.

A crash of impact snatched his attention back and a winged bird-like person was ripping into the plates of metal on the Heartless. It started to thrash and the progress halted in lieu of staying on it’s back. Its apparent ‘mouth’, spitting a jet stream of fire, closed in. Sora felt the panic crawl up his throat.

They were too high up.

“He can’t fly.” This voice was analytic and sure, but it was unnecessary. The intense bird-person, the one with the bone chilling voice and commanding presence, was already on the move toward him. A dull sensation of his wings being pulled preceded a rather rough jostled around the arms, the leader (a shorter boy) suddenly hoisted him up into the air with a powerful beat of his wings.

“Kamoda is so much better for this heavy lifting…” Sora actually heard these words aloud, muttered in a huff of exerted annoyance. His legs dangled as the roof grew distant. Hungry wing flaps from this strange denizen carried him fast. The warring bird-person was back to dealing damage to the enemy despite the hostil bucks. Around him the two other winged figures hovered uncertain. The enemy’s motions guaranteed a nasty blow.

Defiance jerked Sora into a struggling kick.

“Let me go!”

“Are you kidding? You can’t fly!” His lift shouted back.

“I’m close enough.” Sora took the opportunity to slip from his grip… and kick off of him. The sour voice leader squaked, falling back while Sora sailed toward the enemy in a dash. He soon joined the other combatant on the snake’s writhing back. With not so much as a nod, the two began to wail and rip at the resilient creature in tandem.

A massive plate of metal (were those plane wings?) was pried off its skin of darkness. A prime vulnerability.

The elation of an imminent win trilled through the moment. Sora gave his new comrade a glowing look.

“Together!” He invited. And in a unified attack, Sora’s blade and the new friend’s arm of piercing claws, tore into the creature all at once. One slashed with a power primal and honed by instinct, the other bathed in something more foreign and unfathomable.

Something breached and the Heartless exploded into a splash of inky black, dissipating into the air as though never there.

And then Sora started falling. The strange heartless remains like black rain in reverse.

“Kamoda!”

“Roger!”

Once again, Sora felt a pull at his wings and his descent stopped abruptly, a larger bird-person, accented in a deep forest green suddenly above him and gripping the strange things from his back in a cloth-like bunch as though it was rope.

“Yo!” He greeted and behind the visor of his helmet Sora saw eyes twinkling in excitement.

“Hi.” Sora dismissed his Keyblade and gave a casual wave of his free hand. His savior’s eyes bulged wide behind the the visor but left him speechless in their descent. It wasn’t terribly comfortable dangling like that but the roof of the building grew closer.

When they landed-- appropriately on a helicopter pad-- the clicks of talon’s followed. One by one, the ensemble of strange winged people dispelled their helmets, the domes practically liquefying and joining the seam of their suits. He took them in, the green accented one-- Kamoda if he remembered correctly. He was a hulking and tall bald boy with stern eyes that contrasted with the jovial tones of his greeting. Beside him was a petite girl with short blue hair pulled back in barrettes. Her suit was accented in a similar blue shade. They must have been a part of the flying ranks in the operation because two other folks had to close the distance from their observation perch in the corner via walking.

One was a tall, light haired boy, accented white with a neutral expression that belied his piercing eyes of red. The intensity of his stare as they approached made Sora feel uneasy. But not as uneasy as the shorter boy’s similar red gaze. He was undoubtedly the source of all the mental commands flying around by the way he carried himself (taller than he actually was, and hostile-- very very hostile-- didn’t he just help him take down that Heartless?).

“Alright, who are you and what in the world possessed you to walk down the street completely transformed in broad daylight?”

The angry bird-person had a sharp face twisted in a snarl, his wings were perched in a half open position in a manner that made him appear bigger, more imposing. Sora blinked and did a once over glance at the observing ensemble.

“Uh…” Most everyone seemed more curious than angry. His attempt at reading the room was a little more reassuring. Behind Kamoda and the girl was the fifth and final figure-- his helmet was down and he stood back in quiet observation, arms crossed and face flat and emotionless.

“My name is Sora and… I didn’t... know?”

The leader had a snap of anger. “Didn’t know?! You have massive wings!-- We are literally an urban legend at the moment and you didn’t think that would be at least a little unsafe?” The white accented person beside him suddenly clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Back down Karasuma, we don’t know his story.” His voice was gentle even if his eyes never left the creepy, judgemental zone.

“Yeah! Hello Sora.” The girl behind him popped into view, a pleasant smile and a small wave on her hands. “I’m Umino Tsubame-- please call me Umino.” She put that hand forward in greeting.

Sora gave her a grin back, the warmth of her welcome a pacifying balm in this strange solo mission. “Nice to meet you Umino!” He took her hand into a firm shake.

“Is he even telling the truth?” The leader, Karasuma, grumbled.

“Seems so.”

“I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.” Sora offered a fig leaf to the sour ally. “But… we were quite the team taking down that Heartless.” He lifted his tone with a smile, in hopes the compliment reminded him of a nicer potential.

“Heartless?” Umino questioned. “Are you talking about the Blackout?”

“Oh great, first comrade outside the Bird Club and he’s crazy.”

“We just have to touch base is all.” The light haired boy was clearly some kind emotional mediary. His voice was light and pleasant, the kind of cultured and refined way of speaking Sora heard in royalty. “Let’s start over-- My name is Sagisawa Rei. This is Karasuma--” He once again clapped the shorter boy’s shoulder “--you met Tsubame and Kamoda caught your fall. Finally, the birdman back there is none other than Takayama. He’s probably the most experienced among us.”

Sora attempted to make a connection with the stoic figure off to the side. Takayama wasn’t avoiding his gaze, in fact the intensity was enough to rival Sagisawa’s judgement.

“‘Birdman?’” Sora cocked his head and Sagisawa waved away his confusion.

“That is what we are. This really isn’t a good place for this conversation though. My home is in this complex, let’s put away the wings and talk over some tea.”

Sora perked up at the offer and Sagisawa lead the ensemble toward a roof access in the corner, his wings wrapping around his body in preparation to go through the door.

“What’s wrong Kamoda? You’re kind of quiet…” Umino mused as they got to the door.

And with a shaking finger, Kamoda, with his gruff face stretched with bulging eyes and chattering teeth pointed at Sora. “That kid’s got a m-m-magic key-sword.”

“What are you talking about…” Karasuma started but his brow was furrowed and he found himself slacking in realization. He snapped his head up suddenly and he got in Sora’s face. “Where did your weapon go?”

Sora instinctively recoiled back, his mouth a small ‘o’ as the desperate question spun in the birdman’s head. He chuckled to break the tension uncomfortable with the insistent scrutiny. “You mean my Keyblade?-- It’s right here.”

And Sora held out his hand and the giant oversized key from before exploded into existence with a flurry of light.

[Chapter 1 End]

@bird-pun your art sealed the inspiration deal and I dropped everything to write this. Shall I continue?

[themadauthorshatter]

This goes back to the "infinity war" themed post I made a while back, but this time it's something more... interesting.

Picture this:

Given the KH canon so far, Sora has been crystallized or is stuck in the final world, so he needs saving.

Remember that post I did of Sora meeting Nox?

STRAP. IN.

Now for real, this time: PICTURE IF YOU WILL:

The sea salt trio are in an unknown location, though really it should be the sea salt quartet because Isa is with them out of wanting to earn the forgiveness of Lea, Roxas, and Xion. That, and with such a precarious situation and location, it's better to have more party members who can protect the little guys.

Tensions are slightly high, as the past is not easily forgiven and the area is very ominous.

Cut to what I call the Oz quintet, Gert, Mombi, Glamora, Nox, and Amy. The five are also exploring the city, more like a giant ghost town, and as a slight visual gag to lift the mood Nox and Amy are carrying Mombi and Gert respectively on their backs, which leads to a cut to Xion sitting down and rubbing her leg while entertaining the idea that someone has to carry her. Lea snickers out a, "only if you carry me," Roxas asks if she needs a potion, which, following another gag in the 358/2 days manga, is most likely expired, and Isa suggests they take a break for a little bit as they've been walking for a long time.

They do so and we jump back to our Oz quintet. Amy is wearing her silver boots and is constantly fighting the urge to roll her eyes due to Mombi's constant barking about how Dorothy and the Nome King have allied with a bunch of other big bads and that they have to move quickly. Amy remarks how it's hard to move quickly when you have an old lady on your back and can't use magic, something that makes Nox smirk a little.

For context, the Oz quintet are in the mid-Yellow Brick War- pre-End of Oz phase. Nox is in the quadrant and Amy has Dorothy's old, silver shoes. They aren't allowed to be in a relationship. Given the situation, this is especially a shaky good idea, good because there is no for distractions right now and bad because they need to stick and work together if they get separated.

Nox quickly puts Mombi down as he sees Heartless rise up from the ground.

The quartet also see the Heartless and spring into action.

With the three witches unable to use magic, the fighting goes to Nox and Amy, the two occasionally having a small argument before it leads to something genuinely heartfelt. This costs Amy as a stronger Heartless knocks away her knife and lunges at her.

In the nick of time, a chakram cuts through it and flies back to Lea.

With the quartet, the battle isn't as hard, but they are worn from about two or so hours of walking with the sun on their backs and no breeze to cool them down. Roxas is thrown to the ground by a similar Heartless that attacked Amy and Isa stops and almost runs to help him, almost because Xion gets injured and Lea has to heal her, leaving them both open for an attack that he is fighting off. Out of an adrenaline rush, he throws back some heartless and runs to Roxas, only for the blond to recover.

Most of the heartless are cleared with the rest scurrying away and Nox and Roxas spot each other from across the street.

Think of it like this: you're tired, you just got done fighting enemies that are hard to beat at times, you're friend is in danger and the probable cause of the attack, and potential spies for the big bads here, is/are just in your reach.

You can imagine what happens next.

If this were a movie, it would have the camera on Roxas's shoulder as he stares down Nox, and vice versa. The two are panting slightly and on edge, so whoever draws their weapon first is essentially the initiator/instigator for the fight.

One of them draws their weapon and the other springs into action, more like sprints, in Nox's case, but, all the same, the two start duking it out.

It's like the deep dive secret ending in kh1, but with Nox instead of Riku and the two yelling, "what have you done to Sora!?"

Even though it's weak, Nox still tries to use his magic, which does little to nothing for him since the magic Roxas is using is strong in almost every situation he's in.

Eventually Roxas slips up, jumping really high off a building, and Nox grabs him and throws him down.

I imagine Nox, being both an asshole and a trainer for teen assassins, quips, "You got cockey for a second. Don't underestimate your opponent, under any circumstance."

The conversation continues as follows, remember this is a guess, so sorry if anyone's out of character:

"Why'd you send the heartless after us!?" Roxas snaps, "Who told you to do it!?"

"Why are you following us!?"

"Why are- You were following us!"

The fight continues until their respective groups pull them away, Roxas yelling, "I can take him! Let me go!" and Nox just letting Amy and the witches pull him back.

Isa tells them all to quiet down.

Roxas is about to yell at him, but Amy and Lea agree.

A rumble is heard in the street and the Lion's beasts and nobodies race down the street.

Both parties break into full sprints, Gert and Mombi being carried very haphazardly and Xion twisting her ankle and falling behind.

Lea throws her over his shoulder (half joking, "If you wanted to be carried that badly, you could've told me!") and catches up.

They eventually lose the horde in an underground train system and have a moment to breathe and explain themselves.

Amy tells the Sea Salt quartet about Dorothy and the sea salt quartet tells her about Luxu and the Master of Masters.

They form a shaky alliance, concluded with Lea or Isa shaking hands with Gert or Mombi and Nox and Roxas glaring at each other.

SUUUUPER long post, I know, but I hope you guys enjoyed! It might be stupid, but I like mixing the stuff I'm interested in together, and Kh and DMD os something that really intrigues me.

Regardless, THANKS FOR READING!!!

[mushroom-winners-proof]

FINALLY got round to reading the first volume of the 358/2 manga so QUICK REVIEW time :^) under the cut anyway it’s long :^))

As is typical with the Kingdom Hearts manga series, the first volume features a more comedic tone to its storyteller. Even at that however, the volume does a great job in balancing its comedy and sincere moments (though that doesn’t stop on-going jokes from bleeding into serious scenes, i.e. Xion fretting over Roxas waking up but Roxas still having his face covered in markers from the Dusks).

--

Moreover, Shiro Amano’s visuals never fail to impress me. I’ve always been a huge fan of how they capitalize and exaggerate how different the Organization members look from each other (namely Lexaeus and Vexen, but I’m also a fan of Axel’s fox-esque design in the mangas), and the Days manga is the perfect place to let that creativity flourish. I always liked Vexen’s dramatic and over-the-top expressions- it definitely helps accentuate how pompous of a character he was in Days and Chain of Memories and certainly adds to the comedy of the manga (though to backtrack to the Chain of Memories manga, I appreciate how Amano is still able to portray Vexen seriously- or at least not as “cartoonishly” if a scene calls for it).

Since I mentioned Lexaeus, a change that the manga makes regarding the actual storytelling is a marvelous one. Instead of Lexaeus training Roxas by... bashing him over the head like in the game, he sits and does a puzzle with him, explaining that they’re working on a mental exercise and being able to remain calm when anxious. When Roxas successfully solves the puzzle, Lexaeus encourages him to ask questions, to which Roxas inquires about Kingdom Hearts. At this point, Lexaeus solves his own puzzle and vocalizes that Roxas is starting to become more inquisitive. 

I adore the changes this scene makes for a few reasons- firstly that Amano clearly loves having Lexaeus do puzzles, as he does one during the Chain of Memories manga as well. But I also love Lexaues liking puzzles in general because it reminds us that Lexaeus wasn’t just a meat head, but that he too was an intelligent scientist- he just happens to be incredibly strong and a man of few words. The puzzles are a small reminder, but a greatly appreciated one at that. 

But what really makes this scene for me is the visual symbolism in Lexaeus finally separating his puzzle upon Roxas’s question: at this point Roxas has made it clear he wants to know what a heart is and is starting to figure himself out as a person. Knowing of Roxas’s future, Lexaeus saying “You will understand when the time comes” certainly holds more weight than maybe first thought of; as we will learn later on in Days, Roxas’s new goal will be to be his own person and to free Kingdom Hearts in order to “get his life back”. As we know, Roxas’s interest in the heart and what it means to have one will become a major player eventually and this scene is a nice stepping stone in realizing that as a reader. 

Even more, the separation of the puzzle adds on to Roxas’s future desire to completely separate himself from Sora and have him be seen as his own person: with the heart being removed from the crown, it’s hard not to acknowledge that Roxas’s existence is centered on the heart and Sora’s signature symbol is the crown due to his necklace, evidently laying the foreshadowing on thicker this way. Lexaeus completing his puzzle at this point additionally plants the seed of Roxas’s future motivations, and while it’s a quick page I always love scenes like these.

Continuing my love for Amano’s visuals, I’ll always be a fan of their action-heavy scenes. Perhaps due in part because the Heartless disappear into fog, but not only is their line weight appropriately distributed and presents impact where it’s needed. Pardon the mist during battles featuring Heartless, Amano uses this line weight as well as line direction to set up the flow for a fight scene and lays out a subconscious map for the reader’s eyes to follow. They also manage to keep some scenes comedic while not negating the flow of combat (Sure, the comedy isn’t great here. But Axel’s face is still humorous enough for me to mention: it’s visual comedy that contrasts his dialogue, not to mention it heightens Axel’s reckless personality. Basically, it has it’s purpose beyond being a fight-scene panel or a comedic panel), and that truly adds to the charm of the manga.

Alongside with the flow of scenes, there’s generally just very pretty shots in the manga. Amano does a spectacular job coloring a great deal of panels using grayscale, helping to add depth not just to the environment but to add suspense to scenes when needed. The way the balance of light and dark shifts on page 124 does a wondrous job in highlighting Roxas’s emotions: it’s subtle, but effective. Not to mention shrouding the Organization members on page 11 draws attention to how they’re only acting like they can feel things, when in reality they’re just soulless husks who shouldn’t be able to feel at all (according to the rules of the manga, of course).

...And we shouldn’t ever doubt the power of showing and not telling; I’m a fan on how Roxas’s eyes gradually obtain “color” as the first chapter concludes, slowly but surely demonstrating how Roxas is coming out of that “zombie” state. I like how Amano highlights “the moment” Roxas finally leaves that state and is finally in a stable state of consciousness. It’s a pretty big moment for him, and this way introduces us into getting out of the stort of “prologue” part of his story.

The last thing about their artwork is that I love how Amano takes advantage of the panel space they have when they want to; even with simple panels, they make sure to use up as much of the space available to make it feel full and inviting to look at and study. It’s hard to find a panel where a background feels lacking, and if it does it can usually be assumed it’s because there’s a wall from the castle behind a character or there’s a great flash (in the case of the latter, Amano’s detailed backgrounds lend a hand in “brightening up” these “flash” scenes. Then there also exist scenes that want you to focus on a character and, just like with the “flash” scenes, the sudden lack of backgrounds gives strength to these as well). Perhaps because Amano has the advantage of drawing Kingdom Hearts characters where, whether it’s the Heartless or Organization coats, their designs heavily feature black. But Amano’s ability to balance black, white and gray in scenes is also very well done. Circling back to their action scenes, Amano’s use of the full panel additionally makes some fights feel suffocating and suspenseful- as they should! In that they do a wondrous job in putting the reader in Roxas, Axel, and Xion’s shoes and making them feel a part of the scene.

On another note about the Organization members, while the manga doesn’t focus on them for too long it sure enough is still able to give their personalities some space to shine through. I think the only thing I can really tilt my head at is how seemingly colder Xigbar is in the manga, but it’s not a detail that’s going to totally throw me off the manga. It’s a pretty small thing, and while Xigbar can be a bit playful in the games and novel, I don’t mind too much focusing more on this cynical version of him (that doesn’t mean he’s a total prick in the manga, though. He still has his moments of being a bit fun). I can’t really act as though Xigbar was ever overly playful in the actual game either, so again it’s still an appropriate portrayal of him so far.

One final thing I took great appreciation with when reading the manga were the instances where Roxas attempted to say his name, yet was always cut off. The inclusion of these scenes does a wondrous job in how Roxas’s identity really never is his own throughout Days. Roxas’s identity- on paper- is a conglomerate of other people, not to mention his own name being bestowed upon him by Xemnas. Having him not even be able to say “My name is” definitely adds a cumulative weight into Roxas’s person and his desires to have one, yet ultimately never being able to properly abtain one.

So as far as the first volume goes, I’m a pretty huge fan of it and I really love the direction it’s going in so far! HUGE HUGE HUGE shoutout to my best mate @inanotherworldarling​ for sending me this volume and who i promse to make this review for like a month ago OOPS so I could read it and review it for y’all :) 

I don’t know if I’ll be getting the rest of the volumes soon, but I would definitely love to check the rest out and see how Amano takes on this story! Like I said, the Kingdom Hearts mangas are generally more comedic than the games and novels. With Days having arguably one of the most emotional plotlines and resolutions, I’m curious to see if they can appropriately balance comedy yet maintain the emotional impact the original Days provides throughout the rest of the volumes.

[mushroom-winners-proof]

who gonna tell them 90% of KH bosses warp

[mushroom-winners-proof]

i finished reading the CoM manga and my thoughts ????? it was a fun read

post gets kinda long so thoughts are under the cut

the manga takes a more comedic approach to the game which is pretty funny considering how dark CoM is. it really breezes past the story, though it does offer really great fight scenes- in general the art style, shading, and paneling is probably some of my favorite that i’ve seen in manga. 

unfortunately the only major battle that gets proper page time is the second fight against larxene: fights against vexen, lexaeus, marluxia, and even ansem are pretty much cut or are much shorter than they should be for a final fight. 

on the topic of ansem, i did like how there were times he had a sort of lingering, foreboding presence to riku’s story, but it only happens once or twice before their final encounter. i didn’t have issues about zexion’s fight being nonexistent however: zexion isn’t really a fighter, he relies on illusions and tricks to win. he’s more of a tactician than a hands-on person. so for his segment to just be the sora illusion part was pretty fine with me (though i wish it lingered just a bit longer and “sora” guilted riku more, just to really push riku into the mindset he’s nothing but darkness).

riku’s story was never too long in the actual game: playing through it only takes about nine hours, so i wasn’t expecting it to be terribly long. my only issue with its pacing is that i feel like there was a missed opportunity to expand on how isolated riku was by not showing at least one world and showing just how empty it was compared to sora’s (maleficent got to show up though so i mean points for that. it was cute seeing riku’s room in hollow bastion again too)

it doesn’t tackle the serious tones of the game too much. for one thing repliku’s arc is significantly trivialized, not even getting a proper resolution until a gag comic at the very end (he doesn’t even directly interact with riku in the main story).

i’m not going to make this super long since i’m not making a Review review right now, i’m just giving my right-after-the-manga thoughts. my overall conclusion is that i did enjoy reading it: the visuals were captivating, both comedically and just enjoying the art style. the book definitely gives a lighter tone, so it’s certainly something i’d revisit if i just want to have a laugh or a smile.

[mushroom-winners-proof]

Nah you seem more anime like you would have been a big danganronpa person. Maybe jojo. Some of your art has that ring to it

i legitimately know nothing about danganronpa and i have never engaged with DR in any way posible

you're right about jojo though

[mushroom-winners-proof]

Where can I read the BBS novel? I need to see that Good Vanitas Pain for myself since I get so many people using this version of him in their fics, like... (i don't need you to) Worry for Me by Cygna_hime

my brother gifted me the big ol novel collection for christmas so that's where i was able to read it, but if you don't want to sacrifice an arm to buy it then i'm pretty sure you can read it online somewhere if not just buy the novels individually

[mushroom-winners-proof]

aerith literally has no legal rights to ever say shit bout anyones dietary preferences after this shit

this shouldnt be a major highlight of my KH manga reading experience and yet