#vens epilogue killed me actually

[ima-mezz]

Currently screaming crying throwing up over wet birds

[whosthere54]

Song stream notes time

Aesthetic of C!sherb is up until 2 birds

Just kind of vibes for C!sherb (up until maybe brass goggles)

Songs with themes of loneliness potions bleeding - almost magic but more interdimensional stuffs (the beloved)

Brothers starts at 2 birds :)

(family jewels isla coded wait hold on just a minute there)

(When the day met the night Rae and Caspian as well as the fable isla marriage to —> Isla/Enderian to —> alone.)

S1 starts at Fine

Corruption I think starts mainly at Laplace’s Angel

SECOND HALF OF I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE BEING COWORKERS I CARE

WhisperDuo is secret and Hawk in the night

PLAY WITH FIRE CENTROSS AND ENDERIAN

When the world caves in as the finale

Start of s2 as new life

Next section starts at Brutus and it’s the prison

NOT WELCOME BEING CENTROSS

Ends prison arc in Rock in gods shoe

S2 —>3 break starts as is there anybody here (Icarus in the worldport)

S3 starts with Maybe man

Chasing you - The emptiness of not knowing what to do after Haley’s been brought back, it having been their main goal before (very Ic + Haley coded song)

The garden - getting sick of quixis changes. I cannot get the changes to stop, I don’t know what to do, nothing is helping. (whenever talking about crows is talking about chat)

New eyes - Stream where sherb goes to Ulysses and finding out there eyes not their own and then the raft :)

(Two samples I think it’s called?)

The tornado - UNLOCKED THE BELOVED ITS PERFECT (THE END BEING ICARUS BECOMING QUIXIS I LOVE IT SM)

Birds - “I just want to sit here and feed my birds” energy

Look who’s inside again - father isolation

Let me make you proud - self explanatory Icarus wanting to make him proud and earn their fathers love

The fruits - Part of them isn’t them so they can’t be what their father wants them to be

Down the river - Athena and Icarus making potions and they argue about corruption a lil but I care “the dust never settles when you’re around” WHACK

Hero - them spiraling about Centross’s death before fable starts talking I’ll sob

When Centross saves them. Me when. I’ll cry about it.

Can’t catch me now - oh it’s me hallucinating wait he’s actually there rarararara they aren’t coping well but violets watching them

Do what you gotta do - HELP ITS SELF EXPLANATORY ALSO BANGER SONG AND SO FUNNY

Paid in exposure - Coworkers

Natural - also coworkers

Burning pile - CMV

Can’t go back - EVERYTHING IS GOING WRONG

Try to change - Icarus spiraling by themself - I can only do what I’m told I can only repeat history

Lima bean man - killing momboo :d

Shots - why do I kill everything I love?

Prodigal ^^ spiraling and I’m really his son

Solitary confinement - I LOVE THIS SONG FIRST OF ALL

No longer you - (EPIC THE BELOVED) Up to interpretation????

Monster - Penelope Centross - Telemachus (idk spelling) momboo

No children - singing about fable - Rae coming with Vanda

Mr author - Icarus to quixis other half Sherbert to rina

Icarus by luvbug - Fables death I EAT THIS UP (ITS SO GOOD I THOUGHT ABOUT THIS SO MUCH AFTER THE FINALE YOU DONT EVEN KNOWWW)

The bad guy + in my blood - OH MY GOD I WAS SO WRONG (the lyrics in in my blood I yell I rarara)

Daniel in the den - Fable is dead we did it we can move on!

Ruin - female voice is Icarus male voice is Midas (ME WHEN THIS SONG AND THE AMAZING DEVIL) getting ready to jump and die (mainly talking to quixis or the things)

“Nothing quite prepares you for when they don’t come back-“ AGH I LOVE THAT SONG ITS SO THEM AND I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT ICARUS AND MIDAS

Icarus and Apollo - ME WHEN ICARUS AND MIDAS

Show yourself - ASCENTION and Midas welcoming them

Who you are - Midas welcoming Icarus

The last goodbye - Him thinking he’s gonna die then SIKE NOPE WORLDPORT TIME ICARUS AND MIDAS TIME THEM HELPING EACHOTHER AND THEN THE PART WITH CHAT

Still feel - If fable had a bow this is the song when bowing I love it

epilogue things then Icarus

Back to black - WETBIRDS??? ILL UPDATE AFTER WATCHING THE VEN FINALE I GUESS???

SPRING AND A STORM STORYBOARD

Then the next section is specifically Icarixus times

Today today being years of time passing in the worldport I yell

Last section (after today today) is group songs :)

LOSER BABY AS THE DRINKING STREAM

The cave below hero

Ahhhh I love that playlist sm I had THOGUGHTS I was yelling in chat

[not-so-missing-ache]

(My friend and I were talking and I can safely say I’m back on my bullshit again) So like, Gula as Darkness theory, but taken a step further to include Sora and a corpse. This is like 99.9% not gonna canonically make sense but eh So Gula as Darkness but he (probably) ends up in Ven’s heart. There’s atleast evidence that Darkness might’ve been stowing away in there... Anyways, Gula/Darkness got into Ven’s heart during khux times, maaaaaaybe after he died in the keyblade war, or something happens to Darkness once inside the data worlds? Maybe it’s how Darkness or even Ven got back out..? Or maybe like, if Darkness has a heart, once they loose said heart it travels it’s way to Ven. Maybe if they had like a connection, say if Darkness did actually posses Ven and killed Strelitzia that way? By the way, Gula’s keyblade technique in the novel is described as “speedy swordplay” which sounds a lot like Ven, maybe Gula taught him that/he got it from Gula/Darkness possessing him? So anyways, Gula is not with Ven, and later on is there for the creation of Vanitas. (Vanitas by the way essentially means paintings that include “symbols of death or change as a reminder of their inevitability” which sounds a lot like the Strel murder if you ask me) Hmm.. do we actually know where Vani’s heart went after he died in BBS? I don’t think so but I could be wrong on that... So like what if it goes on back to Ven? Then you’d have Ven’s heart that’s in Sora’s, but also Vanitas’s heart in Sora’s, too, except it’s actually Gula’s heart in there. Maybe it’s like a two for one sale so no one recognized this. So now there’d be a connection between Gula/Vanitas and Sora, though, even without the heart thing wouldn’t there still be one? “I’m the piece of Ventus that was taken away, and you’re the piece Ventus needed to be whole again. So, why shouldn’t you and I look exactly the same?” So then he comes back and stuff happens and replica(?) Vanitas dies in KH3. BUT YOU KNOW WHO ELSE MIGHT’VE DIED THEN TOO? SORA. On Twitter there’s been this thing like a Sora is a corpse theory, I forgot the people who had stuff on this but HMK (@ HMKilla on Twitter, HMK on YouTube) I think has stuff on this with who brought it up let’s also. So what if, Sora is actually dead. And is, in fact, an animated corpse in the events after remind. Wait did Chirithy ever mention anything about his heart died appearing, or just himself as a whole? Anyways, what if through that connection Gula was able to gain control over Sora’s body? On a side note, in the khux light novel it says that MoM was more interested in where his apprentices hearts lead them, rather than the fate of the world. Whether this is true or not idk, but, what if like he knew that Gula’s heart would lead him here (and then had plans to do something with that?) Like what if Gula could soooomehow sense that MoM was in that place we saw in the secret ending, and the only way to get there was through one of the kids. (Ex. Sora) Sora was an easy access point for hi, if he acted fast enough. Maybe he still really wants to find MoM after all these years and that’s why he did it I dunno. So then, you’re probably wondering about the epilogue Gula, right? What if, what if, it’s actually Ava? Like it’s a known fact she has the ability to become seemingly perfect copies of others, sooooo... Also maybe the reason Gula is the one to bring up caring about where Ava went is because he doesn’t want anyone to know it’s actually Ava but is just, like, bad at keeping cover or something? So it’s just like, yeah, where is Ava, why’d you exclude her Luxu? (Yes I’m aware of how bad that sounded bear with me please) Also, one tiiiiiny thing from the epilogue that means nothing: Luxu looking around at the four other foretellers, before ending on Gula, and seemingly still looking at him for a second before starting to say “hmm. I guess Ava didn’t make it after all.” Also, yes, I overanalyzed that extremely. I’ve been doing it all day and that’s probably where this “theory” or like collection of random words came

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Do you know of any precanon fics in which Sora first realizes he's in love with, or has a crush on, Kairi?

That’s actually a really good question. I feel that I haven’t read many like this? I think I’ve read a few about Sora meeting Kairi... but I don’t think most of them move far enough along to show him falling in love with her after that. Or if they do, they’re AUs. That seems to be a time not really touched on much by the fandom.

Let’s see if I have anything that somewhat qualifies at all...

This fanfiction, https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3131685/1/Melting that’s about what it would have been like if Sora and Riku were stranded at the Dark Margin longer, has some of that. As it has flashbacks about Sora and Kairi’s life. Like, I think there’s a scene where a young Kairi falls asleep in Sora’s arms at the beach. And there’s a line like, “He was holding the girl he’d come to realize he loved, in a few years time”. And then in the next flashback--that’s after that event--I think Sora has realized that.

There’s this cute, one-shot... but I think it’s an AU. Because I think we all know Sora fell in love with Kairi when they were young. But I dunno. With KHIII maybe retconning that, one could maybe see this as more canon-esque now. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6326975/1/Simple-Instructions

This one https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6123196/1/The-Third-Wheel-Effect maaaaaaay does something like that--though full disclosure: I haven’t read it in years, so I don’t remember--as it’s Riku’s PoV after Sora and Kairi get together... and about how he’s okay with it, and thinks it was inevitable, because they were always pulled to each other like gravity. But if it goes any further into it beyond that, I don’t recall.

There was a fanfiction I read years ago--on how Sora and Kairi met--where when they were in kindergarten, Sora saved Kairi from being bullied by these kids saying “People from Destiny Islands don’t have red hair”, but I don’t remember where it is anymore... and I don’t know if it showed them older and falling in love at all. It may be in “V is for Violet” by WishingDreamer5 on fanfiction.net, but don’t quote me on it.

In this story of mine https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/20111551 (that was my attempt at writing Sora saving Kairi at the end of KHIII before Re:Mind came out, that has all the flashbacks in it), I wrote a “what if Sora didn’t at first like Kairi when they were children” type thing, and maybe you get to see the journey of their relationship because of that? 

In this story https://archiveofourown.org/works/18773989/chapters/44539129 by ParadiseAvenger, there’s a line about how Sora’s loved Kairi since they were children... but you may not want to go through this whole fic, with many trigger warnings, just for that (I say that with love, as I enjoy ParadiseAvenger’s work. But I also know she’s not for everyone).

And then there’s also White Knight https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6277200/1/White-Knight by aradian nights, who’s an old friend of mine. It’s a canon/AU (that’s technically AU, but has so many canon elements--where it gives you “an I can’t believe it’s not canon” feeling--that it may still appease you. And this is still one of my favorite KH fanfictions of all-time, so I might gush about it here (also, spoilers for this fanfic, if you care). Basically, there’s a Realm of Light and a Realm of Darkness (kind of like in KH, but different. There are also in-between realms, I guess, but we never see them in the fic). Master Xehanort is the Master of the Dark Realm and Master Eraqus is the Master of the Light Realm (and like in canon, they used to be friends... but not anymore). Most of the story takes place in the Dark Realm and with the characters who live there (Sora and Kairi live in the Realm of Light, so you don’t really get to see them much. But more on that later). And Master Xehanort is a full-on dictator--with plans to take over the Realm of Light, of course--and he keeps people in line by taking people’s loved one’s hostages so they’ll do his bidding... And he has gatherings where people who break the rules are whipped or killed, and everyone in the Dark Realm has to watch (so there’s definitely some darkness to this fic. But I don’t think it’s Game of Thrones dark or anything like that. Think The Hunger Games, maybe... though Naminé, who’s insane in this for plot reasons, though still a heroine/sympathetic... can do some off-putting things, where she hurts herself or others. So be warned there). The story mostly follows Terra, Ventus, Aqua, Naminé, and later Vanitas, who all live in the Dark Realm. Oh. And Xion and Riku. And Roxas ends up in the Dark Realm later, too. And the main pairings are Terqua, Vennami (the author of this is actually a RokuNami fan--and there’s even some RokuNami ship tease in here--but she did this to challenge herself to see if she could do a Vennami crack pairing, and thus this whole story was born. And it’s marvelous), and VanAqua. Though there’s some other ship tease in there, too. But back to the SoKai... Both Sora and Kairi live with Master Eraqus (Sora’s trained to be a Keyblade wielder with him, and Kairi also tried to... but was unable to really wield any weapon. But everyone was okay with this, because they sensed she was an important light person they needed to keep around and were happy to protect her). And at one point, Master Xehanort kidnapped Kairi to create Naminé, as Nami’s the key to his plans... and he dropped her back on Eraqus’ door again, half-insane. And while other people who lived with Eraqus (like Roxas) tried their best to make Kairi feel better--and to protect her, because after this, Xehanort’s always sending men to try and kill her, because she’s getting in the way of his plans/Naminé--Sora’s the best at it... and you can sort of see how they’re falling in love with each other this way. And there’s this cute scene where they’re both musing over how their lives are too weird... and I won’t spoil all the reasons as to why they’re having that conversation. And Sora temporarily dies in this, and asks Ven to tell Kairi he loves her... but he’s able to come back in the end. But just note that while this story has its last chapter, it never got its epilogue--and never will (because the author doesn’t like this story much anymore, because she wrote it when she was thirteen/doesn’t really remember what she wrote/has moved on, etc.)--so in some ways, you don’t get full closure (though you still do get closure). At least not on, like, two subjects, so it’s sort of a gut punch in that way. But over time, I’ve come to realize that maybe it was the perfect way to end such a story. Oh. And they’re are Final Fantasy characters in this, too.

Edit: This one by ParadiseAvenger (that I think you can read, no problem, as this one really has no trigger warnings) has Sora thinking about how Kairi had always caught his eye at one part. https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/19324915/chapters/45968650

[swankymcgilligan]

Namine and the Nameless Star

I’ve been thinking about the Nameless Star a bit. Most people seem to think she’s Strelitzia, but I really don’t think so. The stuff she says doesn’t really match up imo. For example, she says that the reason her heart was taken away was because it “pines for another”.

Which doesn’t really match up with what happened to Strelitzia. Sure, you could say that she was “pining” for |Player|, but that wasn’t really what lead to her demise. She was killed because Brain wanted to take her position as Union Leader, |Player| didn’t really have anything to do with it. 

I think the Nameless Star is connected to Namine. I don’t think it was just a coincidence that the Nameless Star and Namine were both in the Final World together. There was the reason they were the only two stars with spoken dialog. When I listen to the way the NS talks, it really reminds me of Namine. They’re both soft spoken and gentle-toned, the way the NS giggled even reminds me of Namine’s giggle. And then even a lot of the phrases they use or that are spoken to them are similar: 

1.

Sora and NS in KH3:

Sora and Namine in CoM:

2.

NS about her unnamed friend in KH3:

Namine about Sora in KH2:

3.

NS to Sora in KH3:

Namine to Sora in KH3:

Namine’s origins have always been a bit of a mystery. Even Ansem the Wise was baffled by her existence. Kairi, being a PoH, shouldn’t have really been able to produce a Nobody.  We’ve also never really found out why Namine has blonde hair. We know Roxas got his gold-blonde hair from Ven, but what about her? Where did her platinum-blonde hair come from? There’s also this mysterious file of Vexen’s that Axel found in Days, whose contents still haven’t been revealed:

So I think we’ve had more than enough hints that, rather like how Roxas is part Sora, part Ven, Namine is also not 100% Kairi. Which leads me to suspect that the Nameless Star is in fact the person that Namine got her blonde hair from. So we can rule out Strelitzia and Skuld. And, although we don’t know her hair color, I think we can also rule out Invi, since she appeared in the epilogue. That leaves us with only two possibilities as to her identity:

1. Ava

2. A completely new character

Evidence for NS being Ava:

As others have pointed out, there’s a few similarities between Ava and Namine. They both have a habit of clasping their hands, they both have the power to change their appearance (Namine taking the form of Kairi in CoM, Ava taking the form of another foreteller in KHX), and they both seem to have memory manipulation powers, as I believe Ava was the one who erased the Dandelions’ memories. There’s also the matter of Namine’s almost total exclusion from KH3. She didn’t appear in any of the trailers. She didn’t appear in the opening sequence. She only had a single, optional cutscene where she actually speaks. She doesn’t even appear properly until the end of the game. 

It made me wonder, is this bit of dialog between Xigbar/Luxu and Gula a hint that Ava is the reason that Namine was excluded from KH3?

One final idea I had; NS claims that her name and “everything about her” was taken away. If we assume that Ava is also Subject X, then that would certainly explain why Saix and Axel were never able to find a single trace of her, even after 10+ years. 

Evidence for NS NOT being Ava/ being a new character:

NS says they took away her name, yet Xigbar/Luxu was able to say Ava’s name at the end. Although to be fair, we don’t really know how this whole “name taking” works, so if Xigbar took away Ava’s name, it might stand to reason that he’d be the only one who could still say it. I couldn’t help but notice that none of the foretellers actually try to say her name out loud... Gula simply refers to Ava as “her”. 

[nadziejastar]

Lea/Axel was pretty clingy and had abandonment issues. In the books, he was willing to kill himself and Roxas just they could be best friends together forever. I feel so bad for him. He lost his old friend and his innocence to a cult and was desperate to feel love and friendship again. And when those got snatched away again he snapped, literally being ok with dying just so he could he see friends. He had some serious demons back then. Poor guy

Isa’s Connection to Ice Cream

Yes, Axel definitely had abandonment issues. He bitterly longed for his past and his innocence. I just cannot get over how everything about Lea and Isa in BBS was so happy and normal. Even Nomura said that both of them were just innocent frisbee-playing boys. They were portrayed a lot like Hayner’s gang, and the Wayfinder Trio in the old days. Very innocent and cute. It’s why Axel’s memories meant everything to him.

He desperately yearned to go back to those days. Lea deserved to have someone from his past, like everyone else. It made him FAR more interesting to me than simply being the big bro of the Sea-salt trio. The whole reason he ate ice cream was due to his past. The day where Lea and Isa are thrown out of the castle is a very important day. It’s as significant as the night before Aqua and Terra’s Mark of Mastery exam. And it has to do with ice cream.

Scrooge—An entrepreneur and shop owner from Disney Town. Hoping to take his already massive fortunes to cosmic levels, he moved to Radiant Garden with Merlin’s help.

I always got the impression that Axel’s ice cream addiction was an emotional thing—not just that he simply liked it that much. We never saw him eat it in KH2, but in Days, his favorite flavor was sea-salt. Just like Hayner’s gang. They represent childhood innocence. And Axel ate it ALL the time.

I have a theory. So, in BBS Scrooge took his business from Disney Town to Radiant Garden. This is how Lea is introduced to sea-salt ice cream. And Scrooge’s nephews were coming up with new flavors during that time. Ventus is the one who fixes their ice cream machine. And one of the songs in ice cream beat is called “Dessert Paradise.” It’s the only original song, made just for that mini-game.

Saïx’s Casual Gear is shaped like a banana and is called “Just Desserts” or “Dessert Time” in Japanese. It’s probably safe to assume that Isa had a sweet tooth. I think Lea and Isa ate at the ice cream shop all the time; probably every time they unsuccessfully tried to sneak into the castle and got thrown out. It was their routine, their own icing on the cake. If he likes fruit, Isa’s favorite flavor was probably “Double Crunch”, the one that was given to Ven if he wins the Million Dreams Award. Lea’s favorite was obviously sea-salt. And these memories had an enormous impact on him.

Axel had seen the trio out and about countless times, always talking and laughing. Roxas looked about the same age as them, actually.

Each one held an ice cream bar—sea-salt flavor, pale blue, and distinctly salty-sweet.

Axel was rather fond of it himself. Or rather, he remembered that he liked it.

“…Why don’t we get some ice cream first?”

I noticed a few things. While reading the novels, it didn’t even seem like Axel liked the taste of the ice cream—at least not anymore.

Axel: Man, I miss the old times. Still got it memorized? The day we met, when you got your new name, you and I sat right here, just like this and watched the sunset.

He took Roxas to eat ice cream on the day he got his new name. And in the opening of the Days movie, Axel watched Roxas enjoying his ice cream, but he looked reluctant to eat his. He braced himself, and then recoiled when he bit into it. It was way too salty for him, and he didn’t like it. It seemed as if he hadn’t eaten it in a long time. He only started when Roxas came, when he took him out as a treat. Then, he started getting nostalgic and began eating them non-stop.

Beside the small shop run by the Moogles, an unusual-looking elderly gent, Scrooge, was touting his wares with some blue ice cream in hand.

“Come one, come all, and have yourself a taste! Ice cream, ice cream, sweet, salty, and strange!”

“What’s that?” Lea ran up to check it out.

“Oh, young man, would you like one?”

“I’m…guessing they aren’t free?” Lea asked, jamming a hand into his pocket.

Scrooge hopped up and yelled, “Of course not! Are ye daft?!”

This is from the novel, of the epilogue with Lea and Isa. Are they free? LOL. Definitely sheltered. Lea’s just a kid. He didn’t have a lot of money. He was digging through his pockets. It’s like how Hayner and the gang had to take on odd jobs to get enough money to go to the beach, and get pretzels.

An important thing to note is that this was the day they ate sea-salt ice cream for the very first time! Scrooge just arrived and he just started selling it. Lea didn’t even know what it was. This was one of the happiest days of his life, and is no doubt burned into his memory. He met Ventus, and ate at Scrooge’s ice cream shop for the first time. Lea never looked happier than when Isa said he’d never forget him. Just like Aqua never looked happier than when she saw Terra and Ven arguing like brothers.

“Okay, I’ll take one…no, two!”

“Thank ye kindly!”

Lea handed over some munny and took the two ice popsicles from Scrooge, one of which he gave to Isa.

Despite being broke, Lea buys one for himself. And he still made sure to buy one for Isa, of course. One for each of them.

“It’s cold…,” Isa muttered as he took a bite.

“What’re you talking about? It’s ice cream; of course it’s cold. Got it memorized?”

“Salty, too.”

“But sweet!” Lea added, and Isa smiled a bit.

It’s rare to see Isa smile.

Isa seems like a deadpan type of person, who complains a lot, in jest. “This ice cream’s cold”. Lea’s like “yeah, no shit dummy!” That made Isa smile. I found it cute how Lea reacted when Isa smiled. He is more introverted, so it was rare to get a smile out of him. It gave me the impression that Lea constantly tried to make him smile and was happy when he did.

But, well, friendship means eating ice cream together, talking about stupid things, and laughing like this. Speaking of which, I wonder what that he’s up to….that guy, Ventus or whatever.

“We’ll get another shot at it.”

“Yeah,” Isa replied, gazing at the castle they had failed to infiltrate. Lea grinned and looked up at it, too.

Lea thinks about Ventus when talking about what friends do together. Is it just a coincidence that Roxas shows up, and Axel automatically wants to be his friend and eat ice cream with him?

Axel: C'mon, let’s get some ice cream.

Roxas: Why?

Axel: Whaddaya mean, why? Because we’re friends.

Roxas: So…friends are people who have ice cream together?

Axel: Sort of… That, or laugh at stupid stuff that doesn’t make any sense. Like those kids we just saw–they were friends. C'mon, I’ll show you how it works.

Axel said they were friends, like they had met before, and it was just a given. And he looked so flustered about it. The scene made me think it was a deliberate nod to when he met Ventus.

Axel: It’s sea-salt ice cream. C'mon, I already told you once. Get it memorized, man.

Roxas: It’s really salty…but sweet, too.

And later that day, Roxas sees that he had a WINNER stick. I couldn’t help but notice that Saïx also looked at his popsicle stick in KH3, like it was a WINNER, too. It honestly kills me that we had a potential storyline where Isa was involved with that whole idea, and I’ll never get to know what it was about. It makes me so sad.

“Oh, hey, I just remembered…” Axel idly kicked his dangling feet against the ledge.

“Did you guys know you should be checking your ice cream sticks?”

“Really? For what?” asked Xion.

“Once you finish your ice cream bar, check the stick. It might say ‘Winner.’ Not that I’ve ever seen one.”

Apparently Axel had never seen a WINNER stick before. I definitely think Isa was going to have a much larger importance to Axel’s sea-salt ice cream addiction than we ever learned. I think ice cream was fundamental to their friendship, and Axel’s memories. Isa probably knew that Lea was hoping to get a winning stick. Lea met Ven by picking up the wooden Keyblade Terra gave him, after he was left all alone. So, I would not be surprised if the WINNER stick had a special meaning with Isa, too. After Roxas left it for Axel, it probably made him doubly sad.

Axel: Pfft, me? I didn’t do anything.

Xion: Sure you did. If you hadn’t spoken up for us this morning, me and Roxas would’ve had to split up.

Roxas: And then Xion might never have remembered how to use the Keyblade.

Xion: Thanks, Axel.

Axel: Ahem… How ‘bout an ice cream, then?

Xion: Huh?

Axel: Buy me one, and we’ll call it even.

On the day Xion and Roxas thank Axel for defending them from Saïx, he looks away with a troubled expression. Then he says an ice cream will make them even. He needed an ice cream to deal with the distance between him and Saïx.

Aqua’s eyes never left Terra as he walked away. She had no idea what to do, and her chest ached. Her fingers tightened around her Wayfinder.

It was part of a set, to keep them together no matter where they were. Their hearts were connected, after all.

But—had she made a mistake?

It’s like when Aqua clutched the wayfinder tightly when Terra distanced himself from her. She’d always take it out and hold it when she needed comfort. It represented her unbreakable connection with her friends. I think the ice cream was the same for Axel. He found such comfort in ice cream because it represented his memories of the past—specifically of Isa. He eats it all the time as a form of self-medication. It helped him feel closer to the Isa of his memories.

Axel ducked into the sweets shop. “One ice cream, please!”

“Here you go.”

Sea-salt ice cream in hand, he meandered toward the clock tower.

He’d never deluded himself that tracking down Riku would be easy, and neither had Saïx. It was just that if he went back and reported that he couldn’t find anything, he would have to deal with those attempts at “personality”—the sneers, the snide remarks, the only trappings of human emotion that Saïx ever showed. Not that Saïx was even capable of annoyance or disappointment, of course, what with the lack of a heart and all.

Heading up the slope to the station, Axel bit into the ice cream bar. “This stuff is so salty,” he murmured to himself, as he often did.

Axel often murmured to himself about the ice cream’s saltiness. And he was thinking about Saïx’s lack of emotion in this scene. Of course, he’d want to soothe himself with childhood memories in that moment. Memories like the first time he and Isa had sea salt ice cream together. The same day they met Ven, and Isa told him he’d never forget him. Isa complained that the ice cream was salty, then Lea made him smile. Axel was thinking he’d never see Isa smile again. So he ate ice cream to soothe himself.

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

Axel doesn’t visibly show sadness too often. He guards his emotions well. But when he spoke with Naminé, he had the look of pure heartbreak and dejection. Sora and Riku reminded him of his broken friendship with Isa. He didn’t want them to go through what he did. Axel had the same look Aqua had on Destiny Islands. 

She couldn’t even pass the Keyblade on to Sora. She didn’t want them to go through what she did. These were the most vulnerable looks I’d seen on either of them. Downplaying Lea’s relationship with Isa is like downplaying Aqua’s relationship with Terra. Her fractured relationship with him was the main source of her pain! It’s like saying that Aqua doesn’t need Terra anymore because she met Riku, who reminds her of him. Even when she had Ven, she wasn’t happy until Terra was saved.

“Yep, hard to believe there are so many worlds out there besides our own. The light is their hearts, and it’s shining down on us like a million lanterns.”

Aqua, too, gazed up at the sky as she listened to Terra’s words.

Yes, the light was the radiance of the world’s heart. The hope of the people living within that world.

Terra taught Ven about where the light of the stars comes from.

The sun sank lower and lower as Axel watched, his mind wandering.

If he stared for too long, the image would burn itself into his eyes, visible even after his eyes were closed.

A phantom sun.

Someone had once told him why sunsets were red… Who was that?

The novel hinted that it was Isa who told Lea why the sun sets red.

“An unbreakable connection.” Aqua raised her blue charm skyward. “No matter where we go, we’ll never truly be apart. And that power will see us through, I know it.”

“…Unbreakable connections, huh?”

Ven held his good luck charm up to the sky, too.

Our bond will never break, with or without these, thought Terra.

This was the night Aqua gave her friends the wayfinders. She used magic on them so that they’d always find their way back to each other. She looked at the stars and said they would always be together.

“Yeah. As long as we remember one another, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?”

Roxas grinned. “Who are you, and what have you done with Axel?”

“Hey! I tried, okay?” All that effort to cheer them up, and they just turned it into a punch line. Chagrined, he looked away.

Xion burst into giggles, and then, as if it was contagious, Roxas started laughing, too.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s not that funny!” Axel scolded.

That was also the day Axel looked at the sunset, and said that as long as he had memories, he’d never have to be apart from anyone. The day he said an ice cream would make it even. When Terra said Aqua never stopped lighting his way back, that was the most emotional she had ever been. That unbreakable connection meant everything to her. And I’ve never seen Lea look as happy as when Isa handed him the ice cream. He had the look of perfect bliss. His memories meant everything to him.

[sofibeth]

Kingdom Hearts 3 theory relating to Ava and Kairi

 So I thought up about this theory and it been in my mind for awhile now. I ended posting it on twitter so this repost of it cause I wanted to share it here too.

I would like to know what other people think.

  okay here goes, so I know there alot poking fun about Ava being kairi's grandmother and that one post comparing Namine and Ava poses silmilarities.  But looking back I think there's something there to play around with this idea.

Case in point, Kairi is either a reincarnation of Ava, or has some sort of piece of her inside her.....

Now this theory is on the basis that Ava isn't Subject X and explain why she doesn't appear in the after credits and seenly "disappeared" Of course Nomura doesn't really like to kill characters in the series unless their arcs are resolved.

Case in point: Master Eraqus somehow being inside Terra's heart after his "demise" at Xehanort's hand. This serve so he can come in after the final battle to give Xehanort one last reality check

And since the epilogue hints at the foretellers being that main new threat in the new saga, I can very well see a silmiar scene happening.

Another reason for this theory is it could finally explain why Namine looks different to Kairi if her appearence is based off of Ava since we have never seen the foretellers faces.

 It better explanation than "well she was born different from other nobodies"

It could argue that Ava has a different skin tone to Namine but KH3 ending did take the effort to darken Roxas' hair to look different to Ventus so it does show that the nobodies can be slightly different from the person based off on. (Roxas has Sora's face but Ventus' hair)

Now why or how Ava is reincarnated/inside Kairi's heart doesn't have a basis of explaination yet (granted Ven somehow getting into Sora's heart is still alittle hard to beileve) but story-wise I think it serve as an interesting parallel to Luxu consider what he limpied he did.

  There is some sense of nightmare fuel of Luxu seemly body jumping ro stay alive silmilar to what Xehanort did to Terra but suceeding, MULTIPLE TIMES. Think how many lives he taken just to stay alive and carry out his role!

Now Ava's role is ensure a seperate faction of keyblade wield avoid the war and venture into a new world. The last time we ever seen her in person is during the keyblade war along with the other foretellers so her fate is left vague on what actually happened to her.

So a possible explaination to why reincarnate it to be to observe and make sure their a safe future for keyblade wielders akid to her role, without having to body snatch. 

 She observes instead of take action, She wants to make sure that the Dandelions live on in the new world.

Genius Bonus: Kairi ending up on Destiny Islands can be due to both Aqua spell working and also Ava unicosciously guiding her to a keyblade wielder which Riku just became due to Terra! 

Heck maybe bumping into Aqua wasn't just a out of random dun dun dun

Plus I like this idea as it gives Kairi some sort of interesting plot line and development in the future aside from just being a Princess of Heart. Since KH3 fridged her, it would be nice for the next saga to let her achieve her goal be able to fight and protect those she loves.

Granted this theory purely based on speculation and context clues and prob have to wait till more context from union cross, KH3 DLC, or a new game so be fully sure if this theory can hold any water. (and KH3 really sour me on how Kairi is going to be treated in the future)

But from a story-perpective and the series going forward, I think it good way to insert Union cross in some way and implement the main protags into the stakes of the story. (plus give kairi some well-needed love)

Ava could have moved on with her foretellers after her role is fulfilled, but she too greedy in making sure her accomplisments weren't all for nothing.

 So she lives on in the hearts of people watching as the world evolves.

[breezy-cheezy]

Ok so just a heads up, I just finished Kingdom Hearts 3. It was about 4 ish hours of yelling, screaming, tears (happy and sad, and really really mixed) annnnnd confusion. Like woah, what a ride. I will be posting/reblogging spoilers too...it’ll be under “KH3 spoilers”, for those who want to block it. Because heck there are some THINGS I wanna draw. Those of you who are still playing through, good luck! It’s a treat!! As for me, some general thoughts, questions and semi theories under the cut 

(almost all contain spoilers below this point so, beware):

- Ok FIRST of all....wow. Gotta say the music is PHENOMINAL. Yoko Shimomura just reaaaally outdid herself here!! As one who’s listened to the soundtrack of kingdom hearts over and over, I recognized so many theme songs and key songs interwoven into the story to complete it to such a wonderful level. Not to mention, I got chills over just some reorchestrations, like wowwwwww...

- Donald is over powered as FREAK, gosh O.o;;;; Also, might I mention he’s ALOT better at healing in this game X’’’’D

- GRAPHICS. REALLY GOOD GRAPHICS. I wish I had a screenshot feature on the tv...I’ll have to look up scenes later, because wow this game is so pretty.

- Every part with Sora using the power of waking is so cool. I’m still super duper confused on the....mechanics of it (especially regarding Sora’s fate) but regardless, getting to save your friends through all the worlds was REALLY fun. I wish they could like. Join you as you rescue them. Stampede the enemy. With friendship. 

- Sora’s scream of emotional anguish on it’s own made me wanna cry. Same for Xion. Goodness the voice acting, y’all are killing me...

_ Riiiiiikuuuuu...I love him so much. He’s a good friend, and having to fight his younger self/replica, it’s so clear how far he’s come!! I pointed out that’s what he was like in the first game to my sister, and she’s like “?????? really????” I love this disaster child. I’m sure it’s embarrassing seeing your past self, but also harsh having your past mistakes thrown in your face...anyway, love Riku. Always. He’s a good egg.

- Kairi..........deserved better DX I was REALLY hoping I could play her at least for a little...! But nooooo...at least Aqua was briefly playable?? That was really cool. I just wish...more was done with Kairi. That she had more of a presence through the whole game, like RIku did. Not just the damsel in distress at the end...she did help Sora alot in her own ways I’m just...MAN I feel this could’ve been done better...

- I LOVED getting some closure on a majority of the “villains” of the game. I liked them all. I do wish I knew what actually happened to Vanitas...? Where’d he go?? WHat the...also Repliku’s sacrifice ;;A;; that was really cool. But can’t they just make another replica for him?? Also was Larxene referencing Marly???????? Xemnas’s ending was probably one of my favorites. 

- TERRA COMING BACK WAS FREAKING COOL AAAAAAA--- the wayfinder trio was so terribly tragic, I’m so glad they can be happy again...

- ALSO SCREAMING ALOT FOR SEASALT TRIO, GOODNESS FINALLY FINALLYYYYYYYYYYY *sobs* 

- Axel actually having a reason for his weird face tattoos was really cool. Because this poor man is DEFINATELY CRYING NOW aaaaaaaa, I’m so glad for Isa, I cryyyyy...also who the heck was the girl they were talking about?????? I thought it was Xion but I was obviously wrong......I’m so confused, Square. Nomura. Answer me. Who is she. Anyway happy platonic AkuSaiRokuShi does me so much joy, my skin is clear, 10 years added to my life, blesssss

- ALSO “The final World” was really freaking cool and trippy but pretty. Also I know barely anything about KHX...who is the cat with a purse again and why is he in KH purgatory??? X’’’D him reuniting with Ven was really cute...ANYWAY. I collected way more Sora’s than I should, it kicked me out when I gathered 333. X’’’D but hey I got more maximum health! Which saved my butt constantly in the final battles O.o  finding Namine there was really sweet...but who were the other stars?? Who was the other voice? Was that Marly’s sister or...???? Probably has something to do with KHX again and I got lost, but I was so interested...who WERE these hearts???? 

- I wish I got to explore that last kingdomy place I forgot the name of more...it was SO pretty before Xehanort blew the whole dang thing up. Also I’m STILL very confused on his motives?? Why do you want to like...darkness everything up to make a new light world??? What???? Master Eraqus popping up again made me cry...especially his apologies to his kids apprentices. Also helping his friend pass on. Gosh dang. R I P, both of you. 

- The epilogue was wonderful! Just domestic stuff showing everyone is back and well!! I ADORE Xion’s new outfit, I need to gather references...Isa too. ANd Axel.....

-Well...almost everyone made it back. Sora just...didn’t make it then?? What??? Poor Kairi...I had a FEELING he’d “die” in some way. It’s open ended so he COULD come back but I’m just confused where did he gooo????;;A;; bring my Sonshine back....

- NAMINE IS BACK YESSSSS she’s so pretty!! ALSO RIKU/NAMI GETTING SOME SORT OF CONTENT AAAA YES *THROWS SELF INTO THE SUN* platonic or romantic i don’t care that was a cute scene!!!!!! 

- Overall it all tied together really well, but also it’s...very obvious there will be more. Like...Xigbar as Luxu? ...Who is Luxu???? More KHX stuff??? ALSO WHAT’S IN THE BLACK BOX Y’ALL ARE KILLING ME SQUARE I’M SO LOST

- Also, does Yazora actually have a role to play then?? Why was he in the secret movie? Where is Sora? I thought he was in the world that never was but it also MIGHT be TWEWY’s Shibuya???? Whaaaat? And Riku’s...somewhere...too?? That tidbit gave me way more questions than answers what the heck Nomura?? X’D I mean I wouldn’t mind, he is very pretty?? But I thought it was just a toy story joke?? What in the hap is heckening...

- OH ALSO EPHEMERA POPPING UP AND HELPING WITH ALL THE PAST KEYBLADE WIELDERS WAS RAD I KNOW THOSE TINY BITS ABOUT KHX SO THAT WAS REALLY DANG COOL

- In the end I really really loved this game. My favorite worlds are probably Corona, Toy Box, and SanFranSokyo, man, those were so good. I’ll probably research KHX a bit, because alot of the ending made little sense to me...but for the characters really important to me, they have concluded so that’s good. Well I mean except for Sora. But I’m pretty sure he’ll come back...somehow...

A++++ game Square, exceeded my expectations in many ways, some minor complaints (pacing, Frozen world in general...) and major confusion, but overall I am happy. I loved this adventure, and I’m satisfied with the conclusion ;v;

[tester10001000]

How KH3 could have gone and still been Nomura’s:

I’ve never posted on tumblr before, might never again, but I needed to get this out; for the sake of the catharsis I didn’t receive after 16 years with the end of KH3. The game itself was fine, in fact, I’d even rate it as a ‘great’ up until the Keyblade Graveyard. That’s when things go off the rails. So let’s rethink KH3, keeping all of Nomura’s plot points and intentions, but communicating them in a way that feels, I hope, much more rightful. I hope you enjoy this! First, the good and mostly-good. -Keep Gameplay as is—very nice. Very satisfying. Keep nice world set-up and secrets. Maybe ratchet up difficulty. Make a Coliseum in Zeus’ court to round off the whole thing as a triad. Have Yoko Shimomura write the soundtrack for real life, plz. Keep the lovely humor. Keep Sora’s excellent arc. Keep most worlds as-is: I was pleasantly surprised by how relevant and well-done most of the world’s plots were. -Cut back on the ridiculous amount of minigames that like 5% of people will be invested in and use those resources to make other improvements (like these?).-Rewrite Arendelle and Corona (and maybe Pirates?) to be unique stories–or, at least, only loosely based on the movies, while actually including important plot points. Have Pixar do it, because they kicked butt with their worlds. Include more Disney-bosses and either get rid of 100-Hundred Acre Wood, or do something more with it. -Don’t give Larxene and Marluxia magic cutscene powers like sleep and time-stopping they won’t use elsewhere. Don’t let the others, like Ansem SoD in TT or Luxord in Caribean, became decayed and cheesy versions of their prior threat. Get rid of, or explain better, why there are six new Princesses+Kairi. Explain “the Power of Waking” just a bit better. -Give us scenes between every world with more meaningful stuff re:Kairi and Riku. We haven’t really known them in awhile, so we need to be reacquainted. Have Riku actually do stuff—rather than constantly fail until Sora literally falls from the sky—like, expand on Repliku return? Or involve him in the Maleficent angle, because of his obvious and interesting connection? Maybe follow her around out of suspicion, making the Maleficent stuff feel less-tacked-on?   -Have Kairi do more stuff, with more scenes expanding on her (like that lovely scene where she talks about Namine!), rather than just how Axel sees her as Xion (but still keep that, too—hence, more scenes!) -Insert a mid-climax between Corona and Monstropolis, with a return to Radiant Garden. Seriously needed to unbloat the climax and evenly redistribute the story. You could do some of this: 1. Meet the FF peeps and conclude their plot with RG’s redemption (How cool would be to hear Leon finally say “you can call me Squall”?); see how everyone is doing and how they interact with the people like Ienzo and the apprentices who caused RG to fall. We could setup the replica/sea-salt trio better here (Roxas body/who and how Xion/further Axel redemption), even though it’s probably the best thread currently, behind SDG. The FF folks were foundational to the start, they should at least be acknowledged in the end. 2. Give. Us. Sephiroth version 3.0. and resolution to that thread. 3. Have some seriously needed interaction among the Destiny Trio—(A) as individuals (sorely needed for Riku and Kairi–have her interact with her forgotten home!), (B) as a united friendship (Kairi/Riku, plz!) and © to set up the SoKai stuff better. Like, for real, we need to be able to take selfies with them—seriously, how could we have the phone and NEVER have a change to selfie with our OG friends?!) 4. Save Aqua here (don’t make her passively suck suddenly with OOC decisions) and then Ven; cement their return and relationships to everyone else (so as to stop rushing the finale and let their moment have its own power—just say they need to “rest” till the climax). 5. Tell wtf happens with Demyx. Set up Vexen/Ansem stuff better. Nomura, you could even tease Subject X girl more. C’mon. Have a tease-fight with the Org, rather than saving it all for the end.

6. It would probably be too much to ask to have Kairi and/or Riku accompany Sora the rest of the way, though it would be dearly needed. So have them do something interesting and important with their time post-RG. Make RG/HB the hub world, returning to it for various stuff. Play up Repliku, Namine, and Roxas/Xion in their hearts so we feel more invested in their persons and, thus, more catharsis when they are retrieved. -Expand on the lovely “calm before the storm” moments for our heroes—especially the Destiny Trio. Have the paopu moment, but don’t rush it so much. Have Riku, Sora, and Kairi doing something together. Have Axel engaging with someone about Xion/Roxas—along with the good Isa stuff. Show us what Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are doing -together-. -At Keyblade Graveyard opening, don’t make everyone suddenly suck. Why is Aqua not reacting -at all- to Terranort killing Ventus? What was the point of Kairi’s “infinite time training” if she just stands there so Sora can, also, not draw his Keyblade? Why are Riku and Mickey just twiddling their thumbs? Have everyone be badass, but still get beaten—then do all the interesting Final World stuff, with Riku’s words keeping Sora encouraged in death while SHOWING Kairi, as a PoH, still in the Realm of Light, somewhere in the tornado, ACTIVELY WORKING to keep Sora’s hanging on in the FW, rather than including her passively after. Or show her doing something beforehand. Just show some damn agency and the profound bonds of the Destiny Trio.

-Make the Namine scene here mandatory—I can’t fathom why they’d let that crucial plot point pass as optional.

-Keep sick final-boss rush, but don’t make everyone take a heel-turn redemption (and give us some team-up limits with everyone! Riku/Sora limit! Sora/Kairi limit! Sora/Roxas limit! SoRiKai Limit!). Marluxia and Xemnas needed to be more ambiguous in death. Luxord, Larxene, Xion, Vanitas, YX, Terranort, Xigbar, and Repliku were all great—even perfect. Saix needed to prove himself more, and there’s NO WAY Ansem SoD can suddenly be sympathetic like that. Slow it down. -Give the Xion-return moment to Kairi—not Sora. It’s perfect for her; she’d remember her because she is made of her. Gives Kairi agency and unique engagement for the both of them. Keep giving other characters agency in these moments other than Sora—let Aqua and Ven play centerstage in returning Terra, rather than Sora’s magic. Don’t make Sora the savior of every story—it feels cheap and demeans the character journeys we’ve been invested in for so long when they don’t play an active and significant role in their resolution. -Don’t have Kairi just be kidnapped again after 30-seconds of scripted fighting, after promising to -finally- invest in her immensely untapped potential. Have Saix (+Xemnas?) versus Sora, Xion, Roxas, Kairi, and Axel (also, explain how Axel got his keyblade -back-). Axel, even though he couldn’t face Xemnas, still has -powerful- character moments—at least give Kairi the same respect. Make that the last scripted battle, so that Kairi accompanies Sora to meet Mickey and Riku. -Either have Kairi use her infinite-training to join the fight with Xemnas, Ansem, and YX (to resonate that the whole Destiny Trio is together at the end, evolved, but together) or have her doing something else important (maybe with, I dunno, PoH POWERS?!). Have her ACTIVELY sacrifice herself for Sora, mirroring what he did for her in KH1, rather than MX passively killing her for no good goddamn reason while snarking at the camera that Kairi exists literally only for Sora’s motivation—even though Sora was already charging MX. Also show Riku have some damn emotion about his other best-friend. Sorry, I’m reaallly salty here. -Don’t have MX give up so easily, and get his motivation to work better with what came before in all these years. Don’t swap it out to something else in literally the last 30 minutes of the game. Don’t let the story treat flippantly him being the cause of everyone’s pain and suffering , as he is given a divine “thumbs-up” by turning into a kid with his best bud, giggling, and floating away into the light of Kingdom Hearts. What was that? Xehanort deserves better than that. Have him struggle to the end, and have our heroes really counter him—thematically, emotionally, and physically. Have Eraqus usher him away—stubborn to the end. If you want to redeem him, Nomura, you gotta be setting that stuff up WAAAAAY earlier. -Have anyone, anyone, other than Sora also care that Kairi is now missing. Have Riku and Sora go together to find her—because, you know, they’re BFFs and have the power to. Preferably explain and make it playable how they do that. Then have the lovely ending with Namine returning and with everyone together (except redeem Isa better). Keep everyone’s great new clothes, and have the whole party on the beach—end happily, with everyone (seemingly) together again in satisfied bliss. Wrap up the saga on a cathartic high note, for goodness’ sake. Then, and only then, Nomura gets to keep his ending—but in its proper place, separate in our minds from the ending-ending, in which we can feel full satisfaction for 16 years of investment. -In the Epilogue, before going to the Foretellers, show Sora, Kairi, and Riku leaving the Island. Riku and Kairi are on ahead, everything seems happy and complete (joking about Sora finally getting his mom’s dinner, eh?), when suddenly Sora hears the echo of YX telling him that “there’s a cost for it all” and that “it’s too late for him”—suddenly, Sora fades away. Show Riku/Kairi reactions -together-. Fade his fading into the dust of the Keyblade Graveyard. Do all the Epilogue. Do the Secret Ending. Everything on whatever track Nomura wants—but for us, the audience, all of us, we FINALLY GET SOLID, CATHARTIC CLOSURE FOR EVERYONE IN THIS SAGA AFTER 16 YEARS—WITHOUT IT ALL BEING TEASER BAIT FOR SOME UNION CROSS/TWEWY CROSSOVER COMBINED WITH NOMURA’s OBSESSIVE BITTERNESS OVER FFv13! Sorry, also salty about that. -Secret Ending is Riku AND Kairi going together to find Sora in Shibuya. Boom. -Also, for all our sakes, get rid of the concept of worldlines and minimize the time travel here, plz. That’s the quickest way to undermine the stakes of your story. Tl;dr: Give us more of the characters and their agency, don’t have them act OOC for bad plotting, give us a mid-climax to slow down the rushed 3-hour ending, let us appreciate what’s happening with more characterization, explain some things better, don’t fridge Kairi (and everyone other than Sora, really), give us a real, cathartic ending for 16 years of investment—then tease us in the epilogue/secret. Thoughts? Too much to ask? Too little? I tried only to make only minimal changes to Nomura’s vision, adjusted to some universally shared criticisms among fans. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and what you liked/didn’t like! If you liked this at all, I’ve been writing Kingdom Hearts at Fanfiction under the name “Marsuvees” (with hopefully increasing quality) for over ten years. I love this series deeply, and hope Nomura can get it back on track next time. He really needs to get other people involved in writing and plotting.

[kuurokaze]

kh3 whole game/ending opinions below the cut

ok so the game was h e l l a pretty. so much detail, the movement was so smooth, the clothes actually looking like clothes (as a side note, i absolutely approve of plaid being the design constant in this game rather than ZIPPERS EVERYWHERE or just-for-the-aesthetic straps)

but...outside of the looks and the gameplay itself? it felt disappointing. i spent plenty of time fucking around, and my clear time was still only 48 hours. it was such a short game. the lack of ff characters was glaring, when they’ve had such major parts in the previous games. half the worlds just rehashed the plot of whatever their movie was, with most of the explanation for anything ever removed so you’d be lost if you hadn’t seen the original movie to get the missing pieces

the endgame...was great in that all the different trios were brought back together. lea’s reaction when roxas turned up to save his ass was EVERYTHING. aqua and ven finally getting terra back actually made me cry

but the whole thing raised far more questions than it answered. what was young xehanort constantly going on about with sora being past the point of no return? what IS the power of waking and what’s it meant to be used for, if sora was using it wrong the whole time? how did the new org have xion if her heart was meant to be inside sora’s?

and don’t get me started on the just plain questionable decisions. like ok i can accept lea going by axel despite spending most of 3d reminding everyone that wasn’t his name anymore, because given his refusal of the new outfit as well, it made me think he decided he wasn’t going to be ‘lea’ again until he had roxas and xion back. that’s fine. but what the fuck was that with kairi? talk her up as a guardian of light, then shunt her into very little screentime only to kill her off before she gets a chance to do anything? and the other members of the org, both original and new. they just...swapped sides and admitted their faults on death’s door? i think vanitas was the only one who stuck to his guns and told them to get fucked before he died

and what is even going on in the epilogue and secret ending? kairi’s back with no explanation but sora’s...apparently in twewy’s shibuya? is he in the rg or the ug? because normally i’d say obviously rg but there was a lot of dropping hints through the late/endgame that’s making me think he’s Actually Dead Now. whereas riku’s in the same world as his video-game-within-a-world doppelganger? how’d he even get there? and how’d the twilight town kids get to destiny islands if they’re not supposed to know about different worlds?

not even going to touch on the gimmick battles, or the locking the best weapon in the game behind nine different minigames, many of them with shitty controls

in conclusion, don’t get me wrong, i loved the game. but i have many issues with it as well

[disneydreamlights]

Let's not forget that Lauriam basically drives himself insane over the course of the MMO AU. Marluxia is actually more mentally stable, he just doesn't bother trying to justify his actions because he simply CAN'T care. A lot of Lauriam's insanity actually comes from his refusal to acknowledge his own guilt. This basically means that whenever he does have a heart, he's constantly arguing with his own guilty conscience. Thus, his insanity is a result of his villainy, not the other way around.

Almost everything else is on the same subject so I’m just gonna answer these two together and then reply to that one large thing.

Honestly this is real fucked up. I mean tbh it makes sense. Lauriam and Marluxia have always read as the people who would rationalize everything away. In all honesty I don’t even think it’s his villainy that fucked Lauriam up so bad.

I think it’s Strelitzia being in his heart. In this AU, in Nobody form Strelitzia is just as distantly removed. He doesn’t feel her pain in as Marluxia and so he isn’t constantly sitting there trying to justify what he did to her. He killed Strelitzia. It has about as much power to acknowledge that fact as Scar saying “I killed Mufasa” does on him. But as Lauriam, whenever he sees or hears Strelitzia, a part of him would say “Why did I kill somebody who relied on me, who looked up to me, who needed me? She viewed me as a friend and I betrayed her.” And so whenever you hurt somebody, you look for excuses and justifications. “I needed the book, Ava never would’ve given it to me. If I didn’t get the book I wouldn’t have been a Dandelion and survived. Strelitzia would’ve happily died for me if I had asked her to and it meant I lived.” And so on. And he couldn’t just dismiss it the first time and never come back to it because Strelitzia is constantly there and wondering why she had to die and why whoever it was did it.

And the first time, sure you can rationalize anything and move on. But the more you have to look at your reasoning, the less sound the reasoning it can seem. I’ve experienced this firsthand (wondered if I was truly justified in my actions in a situation I did something rude) and with Lauriam constantly dealing with Strelitzia and rationalizing both in his head and heart what he did, the rationalization slowly becomes less certain, and in order to continue to not regret it, he has no choice but to see his rationalizations become more extreme, to the point where it would start to drive him insane.

(*ahem, insight time over*)

While the main reason Strelitzia goes catatonic is due to her unstable life force reacting poorly to her sudden norting and denorting, she would still go into shock from the sheer amount of trauma she endures in such a short amount of time. It would only be brief, thankfully, but when she comes out of shock to discover that she can't even move... We'd get to watch her recovery during an epilogue DLC.

If recovery doesn’t/didn’t include include adorable scenes with Strelitzia and Terra/Aqua/Ven/Vanitas I riot.