#knowing what happens to Xehanort is so sad
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Sora may have opened the door in KH1
This isn’t to say Riku didn’t do wrong in KH1. He did. But, as far as the door and Destiny Islands is concerned, I think we’ve been getting hints for 20 years that it was Sora and Riku just got blamed for it on top of what he DID do.
How did Riku leave the islands? He disappeared into darkness and woke up at Hollow Bastion. You’ll recall Alice Lidell did the same. A disappearing act, so to speak. Data Riku and Xehanort leave through a dark corridor as well.
In the film, Alice cried tears and floated into Wonderland. Water plus sadness equals DARKNESS, my friends. She never opened the door.
Whether KH2 First Visit Belle is a Riku or Sora parallel in this particular scene is in the eye of the beholder. She’s a Disney character in a relationship so she’s one of the characters that it switches depending on the circumstance to create a balance in the relationship that is Sora and Riku but...
The 3D scene in the dream had me very...curious as to what was going on because we didn’t see Ansem SOD in the original version and sleep holds our memories they say which is why Roxas was able to access Xion’s memories and tell Axel something only Xion would know. That he’d always be there to bring them back. I don’t want to imply Ansem SOD possessed Sora in this moment but it’s plausible since...they met earlier. It always came off as odd to me that Ansem SOD would even speak to Sora if he wasn’t about to use him.
YMX says that Ansem SOD possessed Riku and saw his experiences in real time which...okay, then why wasn’t he with Riku here...? He doesn’t follow Riku when he runs to the inlet. He doesn’t follow him in the dark corridor either. We don’t even see Ansem SOD again until Hollow Bastion way later on when we KNOW he actually does possess Riku. Riku doesn’t know him in the COM Novel when he meets him on the islands during Departure. HE DOESN’T KNOW HIM. Sora does. Isn’t that...suspicious? All Ansem SOD says is that the door will open soon and Riku goes off to find Sora. He doesn’t open a door!
He doesn’t remember Ansem SOD being there.
But he was following him.
Right before this scene, Data Riku states something very interesting after Data Sora accuses him of causing the bugs (the cause being Sora’s shadow). He says: “This world has been connected. Memory and reality now stand tied. It’s time for you to learn the truth.” Ansem the Wise states that data is a clue. The Datascape is shown again in Re:Mind to “remind” us that the future is already written and to go back and revisit the game known as Coded. But I recommend ALL the games on top of that so you can put the pieces together like I have. This is what Remy from Ratatouille was trying to tell Sora and co. about the fruit that he was gathering. (Essentially Nomura trying to hint to the audience that the answers are all THERE if you do enough digging.) He was trying to take the pieces and make it into a dish. In each game, therein lies another hint. Another piece of the puzzle. This is how I work out my theories. I treat each game as apart of each other without the assumption that nothing was planned. This is how Riku laughing like Namine did in COM WORKS even if it’s only finally shown in 3D and KH3. Writing evolves over time and so do characters.
“On the road ahead, more than one truth will come to light.”
What strikes me as even odd is that what they use to put Sora in a deeper sleep in 3D is things that happened back when the Islands fell but one of them wasn’t Riku holding out his hand or Kairi being swept away from darkness. It was something we never saw. It’s Ansem SOD coming up close to Sora while he’s either sitting or lying down. Perhaps...before he took a nap at the start of the game even. Hopefully, you’ve read my meta on how Replica Riku has some of Sora’s memories. Horrifying really as he’s used to play on Sora’s guilt as a way to get him further into the castle. But there’s one line in particular that bothered me to no end in the COM novel.
Ventus didn’t remember what happened to Strelitzia nor taking the book for himself. Baldr didn’t initially remember what happened to Hoder. It’s not that hard to grasp Sora might...not correctly remember a good chunk of things. Especially with how vaguely he describes his KH1 hurt in KH3. I imagine a person whose eyes cannot lie like Master of Masters...might educate him on the truth and it will probably be very ugly. My understanding is Sora’s true darkness will involve remembering. Yes, forgetting can hurt but knowing the truth will hurt you even more. I think remembering everything will be what breaks Sora. It certainly didn’t have a good reaction on Ventus or Baldr, now did it?
A very small bonus. Yuffie, a memorable “thief”, opens a door and hurts Donald in the process in the world right after the door opens and the darkness carries Kairi away so...there’s that. Sora is shown running through it also.
TLDR; check out the rest of this scene from KHUX below.
Alice is on trial for opening the door to Wonderland and she didn’t do it but is found guilty despite the lack of evidence against her. Hm...but how did Player get into Wonderland, I wonder? Ever consider that?
*glances at Sora*
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Book 6 Finale
Leona threw gold into hell. Also, I thought Leona was going to kill Ortho for that. And I out of the teams, besides Vil’s, Leona and Jamil’s team is the best. I love this group so much. Especially with what Leona did. He didn’t have to help Jamil, but he did. I want an anaylsis. Leona is one of the best characters in this app.
I.... this was translated for me. I love this so much. Also, those mini games were a lot of fun! I loved it! That and fighting and searching. I love those kinds of mini-games!
Hahah! Even Azul can only handle Riddle for so long!
.......... I think in a fist fight, yes, Azul could take down Riddle.
I loved how both were so happy to take down the titan. They had so much fun. This is true friendship right here. Also, I just noticed this, but Azul’s hat and Riddle’s crown are gone after that fight.
No, I am with Vil on this. Rook is supposed to look after the dorm if anything happened to the house warden. Sure, Rook went to save his husband, but Vil’s right. Those students must’ve freaked out about this.
He’s really laying on Rook. I agree with him still.
Oh wow. Dang.
Sir, I’ve played through the KH series, I will be fine. (And others, but I see my Yuu as the player who failed to raise Xehanort).
I really like this. Gods, I can’t get over Vil. He’s such a good character. He takes his position as the dorm leader very seriously.
Aw....That’s sweet.
The fans rejoiced! I was blushing too. It isn’t every day someone like Vil does this, and he means it too. More importantly, ROOKVIL KISS?!
Proud apple child right here.
That’s not the best success rate....
So... Ariel ran a non profit organization.... You didn’t believe that and searched... Realizing it was true. Your mind went “FREE!” Fricken same. Especially in this economy...
They were so close. I really do feel bad for them, but this wasn’t good either.
They really did help the students.
School traditions are stronger and more impactful. Love how Rook agrees.
That is terrifying. They’re 18-16, and they know this. But gosh darn, this is written so well. I cannot wait for Book 7 with this level of writing. It is going to be immaculate.
Yes, yes, yes!
I still can’t believe Vil is a Xiao build. Rook, yes, but Vil? Well, yes... Beanfest proves this. Never mind, I am wrong.
Hot dang! Yes!
That is final boss dialogue, and I love it so much! Vil got his wish too! He’s a hero!
Ok, so I love stats, but Idia not only gives himself a boost in fire magic, but he also gets a healing factor too in grass. I love Hades and Persephone, so I am going to believe that’s why he has it.
HE JUMPED AND FELL TO THE BOTTOM AND AFTER IDIA, ORTHO, AND GRIM!
This hurts so much. Out of all the Overblots, Idia’s is the most tragic. Riddle, Leona, and Azul are relatable. Vil’s kind of, and I hope to gods no one is in Jamil’s situation. Idia’s backstory is tragic.... I was so silent. He’s been carrying that pain, guilt, and not grieving for so long.... No one should ever have to do that. If you are suffering, please talk to someone. You deserve to be happy and not go through anything like this alone. I love you all and hugs all around.
THANK YOU FOR NOT TRANSLATING THIS ONE WIERDLY! I WAS SO WORRIED! NO, BESIDES AZUL’S, I LOVE HIS! THAT SOUNDS SO EPIC AND AWESOME TO ME!
Welcome! We love to have you! You have friends now!
Idia, you nearly destroyed the world. Azul, you saved it. HOW ARE YOU BOTH ARGUING ABOUT CHESS?! Oh, Azul got his hat back.
I am surprised they even let you back onto the premise after this. I didn’t think they would either.
Hahah!
Do not get me wrong, this was sad. But also, Hercules turned old. You know who else did and scarificed their beauty? The Evil Queen! She’s an amazing writer!
Can you blame him? He lost his dream and lively hood there.
FORESHADOWING! I’M CALLING IT! Also, thanks for helping Vil, Malleus!
HE’S A REAL BOY! I AM SO HAPPY FOR HIM! HE’S A REAL BOY!
Also, yes, Crowley, Silver and the mirror, Lilia’s old speech, and Malleus’ thoughts are so suspicious. I cannot wait for the next book! We get to fight a dragon prince who is suffering from loneliness and realizing he’s going to outlive his friends! YAHOO! I really want to fight the dragon! LET ME FIGHT THE DRAGON!
Welp! That’s it for me! I’ll work on Harveston next, but please be patient! Final month for me, and I can’t wait! So, that is all! Thanks everyone! And remeber to love your friends and family and those important to you. We love you and will always be there to listen if you need it! I love you all! Thanks! See ya soon!
#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland spoilers#twisted wonderland Idia#twisted wonderland ortho#twisted wonderland vil#twisted wonderland epel#twisted wonderland rook#twisted wonderland leona#twisted wonderland jamil#twisted wonderland azul#twisted wonderland riddle#rookvil#these two are just relationship goals at this point#i don't make the rules
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Back on my 'being sad about Xehanort' bullshit again while I should be going to sleep but thinking about how Eraqus in kh3 is able to succeed where Hoder failed (at coming back from the dead to talk Xehanort down) because it is the first time in Xehanort's actual entire life that he has ever been offered what he perceives to be unconditional love.
Like going back to 'my guess is nobody's ever loved you' like we the player as an objective third party now know that's not true and people did genuinely love him but like... Does Xehanort know that? His whole life is characterized by abandonment and the subtle implication that he will be rejected if he fails to live up to expectations.
Like. His very first chronological experience on screen is being given up by his mother. When he's only like five years old he asks if he can see her again if he can be strong enough at resisting darkness - even at that age, he feels that being able to meet HIS MOTHER!! is conditional on his performance. He describes the Dandelions as 'seeming like they all like each other' and asks if that's what having friends is like because he's not allowed to have friends, unless he's good and strong enough.
Player loves him but they love him for being Ephemer's blood. They put so much pressure on Xehanort about being the child of destiny, how can Xehanort interpret that in any way except that if he fails at that, he's not worthy of Player's love? Then Player dies too and it's not even clear how long Xehanort was TOTALLY ALONE on that island before Ansem sent him on his way, but what does that isolation do to him? No wonder he hates Destiny Islands so much??
And then in Scala he finally has friends but there's this undercurrent that any relationship in Scala is conditional on agreeing with the dogma about the light. Xehanort kind of tentatively floats the idea a few times that it's more complicated than that but he ALWAYS pulls it back when Eraqus has a serious negative reaction to the idea - and then he sees what happens to fucking Baldr, where Hoder rejects him right in front of Xehanort for falling to darkness, and he loses everyone but Eraqus, the one he cares about the most but also the one most likely to judge him and find him lacking. Of course he ends up feeling isolated, and like he can't confide in Eraqus?? Just like Baldr, he can't feel safe talking to his closest person about his feelings, because for him, love has always been conditional, and remains conditional throughout his entire life. Of course he gives up on it, and decides to just burn the whole place down, if that's the thing that's expected of him. The only thing that makes him worthwhile.
Until... The end of kh3. When Eraqus, who realized his mistake with Terra was also his mistake with Xehanort, extends the same grace to Xehanort that he learned to with Terra. When he says 'I know what you've done, but it doesn't change that I love you and want you to turn back.' It is the first time anyone has ever told Xehanort in literally his ENTIRE LIFE that they're not going to abandon him regardless of what he does.
Like not to have turned into a big ol Xehanort Apologist but it genuinely just makes me so sad. His life is so lonely. We have all dragged Woody because Xehanort had friends but Woody is right; no one has ever loved him at that point in his life in the way he needed. If they had, he probably would not have turned out Like That.
(Edit to clarify when it's not midnight: this is about Xehanort's perceptions of how the people in his life love him and not necessarily how his parents/parental figures actually felt. Yes Xehanort was an empath but not a mind reader and there was no way for him to know that the love he felt wouldn't be revoked if he didn't live up to the expectations on him, given his track record of repeatedly losing almost everyone who loved him.)
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Examining Vor's motivations
(Major KHDR spoilers)
So if you’ve experienced KHDR's story, then you’re probably aware of how...confusing and seemingly contradictory Vor’s motivations are, at least on an initial viewing. Because of this lack of clarity surrounding her circumstances and inner thoughts, it can be a little difficult to get a solid grasp on her character. However, I think her motivations, feelings, and choices start to make a lot more sense once you analyze her cutscenes closely. The key to understanding her, I think, is realizing how human her emotions are. And human emotions are oftentimes a complex web of contradictory ideas that can't always be easily defined, explained, or reconciled.
In light of this, I decided to engage in some character analysis where I examine her story more in-depth, going over some scenes from the game and trying to break down her motivations into something a bit more easily understood. (Also be forewarned that this post is fairly long and image heavy, so you might want to open it in a new tab or something.)
So, Episodes 1-2 aren’t very useful for analyzing Vor’s character, one because not much happens in those episodes, and two because those episodes utilize the “pick your party member” system where the characters are sometimes interchangable without many significant alterations of dialog (sometimes no alterations at all.) Technically Episode 3 uses the same system, but at least here the dialog changes are substantial enough to make a bit of a difference. So let’s just start with the end of Episode 2 and go from there.
(FYI, I wanted to use even more images in this post, but I was running into some issues, so I decided to reduce the number of them. I apologize if the lack of an image in certain places creates any confusion.)
Episode 2/3
The end of Episode 2 has Vor noticing that Xehanort and Eraqus are scheming a plan together, and she's suspicious/curious enough to (rather forcefully) insert herself into the group so that she can get all the juicy details. That is if you choose to take her with you as your third party member, which...why wouldn’t you? It’s clearly what the story wants you to do.
But just for the sake of thoroughness, know that if you don't pick her, she'll dramatically pout with a "Aww..." and look really sad while everyone else smiles. It's played for laughs but she honestly looks pretty upset about it.
Anyway, when you give in to her request, she’s very pleased. She jumps up and down excitedly and says that Xehanort and Eraqus won’t regret bringing her along (even though Eraqus looks pretty unhappy about it). Even as early as this moment you can see that Vor likes being included in things and getting the opportunity to prove her usefulness/worth to her friends. As the episode goes on it becomes even more clear:
She gets upset when Eraqus still refuses to let her in on the plan despite allowing her to tag along, throwing a tantrum and smacking him repeatedly.
"Don't look so surprised. You made it pretty obvious." She reveals that she's way more observant than they give her credit for, correctly guessing that their plan involves the Queen of Hearts and her darkness.
"...so you were going to leave me to do your own research!"
She gets upset again when she finally learns the details of their plan and questions why they were leaving her out of it/refusing to let her help them.
And finally when Xehanort and Eraqus explain that they didn’t want to involve anyone else for fear of their classmates getting hurt, Vor ignores their concerns and confidently declares that they should go visit the queen together. Xehanort and Eraqus are, in a way, trying to exclude her from their plans with the excuse that she might come to harm, but she won't let them leave her behind.
Again, just to reiterate: it’s clear that she loves her friends a lot, wants to be included in everything they do, wants to feel like a useful, strong, reliable member of the team, and something that will be stated more directly later: she wants to feel like she belongs somewhere.
Episode 4
Where all the important stuff actually happens, but mostly at the end.
But some details of minor relevance before we get to that: Vor is the first one to rush off to help the seven dwarves when Xehanort, Eraqus, and Vor overhear that a cave-in happened in a mine. Makes sense; she’s naturally curious and likes to be helpful.
After they help the dwarves reunite, Vor makes a comment about how the seven dwarves remind her of her and her six classmates. Her friends and her place among them is fresh on her mind, for reasons that aren't known to the player yet but get revealed soon afterwards.
She also looks pretty pleased with herself to have a solution to Xehanort and Eraqus’ problem, when they say that tracking down Darkness isn't going to be easy. Vor corrects them, and reveals that she discovered an all-knowing Mirror that could potentially solve all of their problems. Again, this ties in to her desire to be a helpful member of the team.
But anyway, on to the actual meat of this whole thing.
Xehanort, Eraqus, and Vor go to speak to the Magic Mirror. The Queen interrupts their discussion, throws a potion at the mirror, and the group fights it. After it's defeated Vidar shows up, and compels Vor to reveal A Secret.
Here we learn through a flashback that when Vor first discovered the mirror, she discretely asked it a question of her own without telling her friends that she did this. She asked it if she would ever become a Keyblade Master.
A single sentence question, but it implies a lot about Vor. The fact that she’s asking this at all means that she isn’t confident in her abilities or her future. Even the use of the word "ever" suggests a level of desperation to her query.
So here's the thing: when Eraqus approaches the mirror, his first instinct is to ask a silly question like “How can I beat Xehanort at chess?”, and Xehanort makes no attempt to ask the mirror a personal question at all (though knowing him he would probably ask about his dream friends like MX does later in life). I imagine even if Hermod, Urd, and Bragi had the opportunity to ask the mirror a question, it wouldn’t be about the possibility of them failing to become a Keyblade Master, it would be about something else that bothers them. So I think this anxiety about failure might be unique to Vor specifically.
But what makes her think that she might not become a Keyblade Master? Some possibilities: maybe she feels like she’s falling behind on her studies compared to her friends. Maybe she feels like she’s become complacent in her comfort. Or maybe she feels like people underestimate her abilities because of her appearance and stature (Xehanort and Eraqus were shocked at her picking up that boulder, after all.) Vor is very observant and has a good intuition (even her name comes from a Norse goddess with this exact reputation) so if people were looking down on her, I think she would notice quickly. And this might be why she’s so eager/persistent to be included in activities and allowed to be useful. She feels like she has to prove herself constantly in order to be on the same level as her friends.
Anyway. The mirror gives its answer but it wasn’t the reassurance she was hoping for. “With friends thy heart doth lie, content and free of woe / In comfort stagnant calm, forward thou fail to go.” Let’s break this down line by line before we get into her reaction.
“With friends thy heart doth lie”. She spends a lot of time with her friends, yes, but also the focus of her heart, the focus of her affections, is directed at her friends (wouldn’t surprise me if they’re the most important people in the world to her).
“Content and free of woe”. She has a pretty good life with her friends, for the most part. “Content” doesn’t necessarily equate to an overabundance of happiness though, the connotation of it is like...satisfactory enough. Right? “I’m content with something” vs. “I’m overjoyed with something”. Things could...probably be better? Maybe underneath the surface Vor can tell that something is wrong, but since things are Good Enough, she doesn’t try to think about it too hard, y’know? Don’t fix what isn’t broken. This Is Fine. If I try to improve things I might accidentally make things worse instead.
“In comfort stagnant calm”. Comfort. Something that eases the pain. Friends who make you forget about the pain. Stagnant. Unchanging, unmoving, lifeless or unable to support life effectively (like stagnant water), unable to progress or develop or improve. Your friends are moving forward and bursting with potential and you are not. Calm. Stillness. Peace. But it’s unexciting, unrewarding, you’re not being challenged by anything or anyone and it isn’t conducive to improvement or learning.
“Forward thou fail to go.” Pretty open-ended wording, but since Vor was specifically asking about becoming a Keyblade Master, that must be the subject matter the mirror was answering about. For whatever reason being with her friends is going to prevent her from becoming a master. I kinda have a theory that the mirror was basically saying (in his usual cryptic unhelpful way) “if you stay with your friends you won’t become a Keyblade Master because you will DIE” but who knows.
Vor takes this. Not well. In fact, she’s very angry. She runs up to the mirror, gets right up in its face and yells at it, and then raises both of her arms up into the air like she wants to break it. We've seen this before where she’ll smack Eraqus over and over again (despite her official bio saying she shies away from battle, she’s surprisingly prone to some mild violence) but it almost seems like she’s ready to kill this thing, lmao.
She does say something interesting though. First she yells “That’s not true!” and then clarifies “I want to become a Keyblade Master as much as everyone else!”
Is that true? Is she just as motivated as everyone else? Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll get to that.
But the Mirror’s matter-of-fact statement about being literally incapable of lying makes her calm down real quick with a quiet "Oh."
We flashfoward back to the present. Vor explains her feelings in more detail.
She says that recently, she started to realize how she really feels. I think the moment she’s referring to is actually shown in the game: it’s the flashback that plays at the end of this scene where the lower classmen discuss their reasons for wanting to become Keyblade Masters. So let’s go out of order a little bit and talk about that.
Vor asks all her friends why they want to become Keyblade Masters. It’s hard to say exactly why she brings this up, whether she had a specific reason or if it was just idle chatter. Everyone gives their reasons and at the end Eraqus returns the question to Vor. Why do you want to become a Keyblade Master, Vor? And wow Vor practically goes through the five stages of grief within the span of five seconds when asked this.
First she’s a little taken aback, like she didn’t have an answer prepared (because she didn’t). Then she looks confused, like she’s NEVER BEFORE asked herself this question and is suddenly realizing that her brain can’t find motivation dot exe. Then she looks HORRIFIED, the true implications of what this means dawning on her. And then realizing that she needs to put back on her cheerful mask before her friends start to suspect something, she pulls herself together enough to come up with an excuse for why she can’t answer. She makes a joke about how wishes won’t come true if you say them out loud so HAH I tricked all of you! Now NONE of you will become Keyblade Masters!
So. Okay. That was a lot of emotions she just went through in a short period of time. But what does it all mean? I think it means that she never once stopped to consider why she wanted to become a Keyblade Master, because she was just following in her friends’ footsteps. She wants to go wherever her friends go, that’s all. Like a baby duck following a bunch of other baby ducks. Oh, all of my friends are joining the Keyblade wielder program? That’s gonna take up a lot of their time and I won’t get to spend as much time with them as a result...wait, what if I join too? Then I get to hang out with them during school and outside of school, and we get to go to class together and do activites together and go to lunch together and I get to belong somewhere and and and! Oh, why would I want to become a Keyblade Master? Shhhh don’t ask me that la la la la I can’t hear you!!!
What’s interesting though is that despite seemingly coming to realize that she might not actually have her own personal motivations for becoming a Keyblade Master, she still asks the mirror if she'll ever become one as if she still wants to. Maybe it’s not a matter of needing to find a different path in life, maybe she just needs to find a better reason for wanting to become a Keyblade Master? Or maybe she just wants to prove herself capable and strong enough to accomplish this feat? Or maybe she was in denial? I guess denial would make the most sense actually since she reacted pretty strongly to the mirror's implication that she wasn’t as motivated as her friends, even though she’s probably already realized this about herself at this point.
Her lack of a definite reason isn’t the only thing she realizes, though. She also realizes that even if she finds her true motivation, even if she successfully becomes a Keyblade Master, one of her other desires will inevitably escape from her grasp: her desire to be with her friends. Because for whatever reason, the path of the Keyblade Master requires them to go on their own separate paths. And even in the scenario where Vor fails to become a Master, she has no reason to believe that her friends will fail alongside her, meaning that they would all eventually leave her to go do their own thing anyway.
So, you can see where all the contradictory feelings start to converge. She wants to become a Keyblade Master. She doesn’t want to become a Keyblade Master. Actually, maybe she does want to become a Keyblade Master? But in the very least she wants to do it for a better reason than “because her friends are doing it”. But wait, if she and her friends become Keyblade Masters, then they’ll go their separate ways and they won’t be together anymore. Vor doesn’t think she can handle that. But what could she possibly do to prevent that? She can’t ask her friends to give up on their dreams just to make her happy. So is separation inevitable, then? In that case, how can she reduce the pain of that separation? The longer she stays with her friends, the more she’ll grow to love them, and the harder the separation will be. But what if she left now? Wouldn’t that be easier in the long run? Plus, the mirror said that staying with her friends will prevent her from growing, so isn't leaving undeniably a good thing?
And so she leaves.
It seems that Vor’s departure from the group kills two birds with one stone: leaving her comfortable bubble allows her to escape the stagnation that’s been plaguing her development, and it also allows her to preemptively nip in the bud the pain that’s only going to grow more and more unbearable over time. She’s essentially ripping the bandaid off in one fell swoop rather than peeling it back slowly and painfully.
As for Vidar...at least initially, Vor’s decison to help him probably had nothing to do with wanting to help him and everything to do with just needing a good excuse to finally bite the bullet. He gave her an out and she took it. After all, Vidar gave her NO EXPLANATION whatsoever on what his plans were. How could she possibly judge whether or not he was worth helping with zero information to go off of? However, once she finds out that Vidar is trying to do something “noble” and “good” (defeat darkness) I imagine it wasn’t too hard to get her on board. Though I’d be curious to know what she thought about the whole “purging the world” thing. Unless he just kept that part under wraps and was vague about what “defeating darkness” actually entailed.
The next time we see Vor after her departure is in the lamp room in Agrabah. She doesn’t say much in this scene other than reiterating that she wants to help Vidar. However, there are two moments during this scene where I think we can get a glimpse at what she's really thinking. The first:
Here we see Hermod angrily denouncing Vidar's plan, saying that what they're doing is wrong. And Vor looks pretty startled and upset about that. She's probably not too comfortable knowing that her friends don't approve of what she's doing.
Second, is when Vidar says this:
And now look at how her expression changes with each line of dialog.
She starts off sad/worried, then becomes a little more despondent, and then gets really upset (eyes shut tight).
Vidar talks about losing sight of what's truly important, and when Xehanort asks what that important thing is, Vidar basically says "my friends, and us fighting by each other's side."
Interesting thing to say in front of someone who you helped convince to leave her friends, and therefore is no longer fighting by their side...
You could argue that Vor is only making these faces because she's sad/upset about what happened to the upperclassmen, but it's so much more interesting to me to think that in this moment, she's starting to seriously doubt her decision to leave.
One other thing. At the end of this scene when she’s about to leave, there’s a pretty sad moment between her and Eraqus. Vor looks at Eraqus, who is GLARING DAGGERS at her. She's upset about it for a split second before her expression becomes determined instead (sucking it up, trying to harden her resolve). She walks through the portal and leaves, and Eraqus, perhaps realizing that his anger isn’t actually making him feel any better, drops his glare and goes back to being sad instead. But here's the thing: she never sees him drop his anger. She leaves thinking that Eraqus hates her right now. Why is that important? Because it’s the last interaction they have before they meet up again during Vor’s death scene. Oh. Great. :’)
Speaking of her death scene. Yeah that’s the next time we see her. Or, we see her talking to Baldr a couple of times before this, but her death scene is the next relevant topic.
Vor apologies, saying she messed up big time. Eraqus incorrectly assumes she's talking about...her death? Not being able to stop Baldr? Something like that. But she clarifies she's not talking about now, she's talking about her decision to leave her friends behind. Leaving them was a mistake. A mistake that, in her eyes, was her fault. Since she's dying she doesn't really delve into why it was a mistake or how she came to that realization. Instead she simply states "This is where I belong."
Whatever happened on her journey with Vidar, she must have concluded that leaving her friends early on in order to minimize her pain later wasn't the right call. Why? Because her true place of belonging was with them, regardless of the inevitable pain that may result from that.
Perhaps she thinks that leaving them was a moment of weakness, that she should have been stronger, strong enough to endure the pain. Perhaps she thinks that her friends deserved better, didn't deserve to be "selfishly" abandoned by her. Perhaps she realized that Vidar's plan was wrong and she shouldn't have left her friends to join him. Or perhaps she simply realized that being separated from them actually caused her more pain in the long run, which would kinda defeat the point of her decision to leave them in the first place. Either way, she ultimately changes her mind about leaving her friends, seemingly re-finding her purpose in a life she already had before but now has tragically lost.
Without further information about Vor's journey, it's hard to say if she ever got closure to...anything. Does she still want to be a Keyblade Master, or no? Is she still afraid of change/not changing? What does her decision to return to her friends mean for her character? Because like, it's entirely possible that her choice to return was a form of character regression, where she realized that she couldn't handle being disconnected from comfort and familiarity. Or maybe it wasn't! Maybe she realized that she could fight against her stagnation and her tendency to follow others without having to abandon everyone in her life to accomplish that, and we just don't get to see that because she died prematurely. With so little information to go off of, I think it ultimately comes down to personal interpretation. What flavor of tragedy do you want her death to be? What kind of resolution do you want for her character arc (positive or negative)? Is the tragedy of her death that she crawled back to her bubble and remained stagnant? Or is it that she died right as she achieved enlightenment about her true desires and her place in the world, meaning she didn't get to reap the benefits of her character development?
Anyway, that's about everything I have to say about Vor for now. If you have any thoughts or feedback, feel free to send them my way in the form of tags, reblogs, replies, or asks. I'd be curious to hear other people's interpretations of Vor's character and story. Especially if I missed any important details that you think are essential to understanding her.
Thanks for reading!
#khdr#kingdom hearts dark road#kingdom hearts#kh dark road#kh vor#vor kh#rambling about kh#rambling about dim path#ch tag: vo#ch tag: era#ch tag: vid#ch tag: xeh#khdr spoilers#long post
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Kingdom Hearts Dark Road Discussion: The tragic past and fate of Xehanort [Spoilers ahead!]
So yesterday I watched the scenes of the last few episodes of Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, thanks to Everglow on YouTube. Please suscribe to his channel, he works hard to give us translated scenes as soon as possible when it comes to Kingdom Hearts.
There's nothing I love more than a villain who was supposed to be the chosen one, a villain who was supposed to save the world, one with a tragic backstory. I remember many people were complaining about Dark Road being about a character who has already passed on in the Kingdom Hearts universe. But it's always interesting to see the history of the villain, what led them to this path of darkness. Kingdom Hearts is known as a series with many games, but all these games are centred around Sora, our main protagonist. It's interesting to see the story of our antagonist.
Thanks to Dark Road, we've been able to see and understand why Xehanort became the way he is today. Since KH3, I had felt this certain empathy for Xehanort, I felt sorry for him seeing as through his eyes he just wanted to save the world. The finale of DR has made it seem that much more painful. We all know that people are never born evil, there's always happens to us that makes us go through down that route, and with Kingdom Hearts it's not so black and white. Xehanort is a perfect example of a grey character. We knew from the ending of KH3 that his intentions were good but the way he went to achieve his goal wasn't.
The post credit scene of KHDR, really shows us the innocence and tragedgy of this character. Xehanort was a curious child who could feel the emotions of other people's hearts, just like Sora's. He loved his guardian dearly. He was believed to be the Child of Destiny, hailing from the Islands (but he wasn't seeing as he was never born there, he was born elsewhere). The most painful part of this scene in my opinion was the fact that he wanted to see his mother again, regarldless of never meeting her, he wanted to see her. He held no ill will to the mother who gave him away, especially at such a young age. Xehanort was a bright child with such a beautiful heart.
It comes as a surprise that he too was actually a Blueblood, being a descendent of Ephemera. He truly was just like him, kind and loving to his friends and loved ones. I find it so beautifully poetic that Ephemera and Blaine's friendship continued on through their ancestors.
The sadness of it all was the reason why Xehanort had gone down that dark road (get it?) to achieve his goal. We know that the darkness possessing Baldr wanted to summon Kingdom Hearts to reset the world from darkness, to protect the light. With his dying breath, he told Xehanort his goals, as if asking him to carry them on into the future. After everything Xehanort had gone through during that time, what with the death of his friends as well as Baldr changing completely, his heart would have been left fragile and broken. Then we have the Master of Masters who spots Xehanort during his second travel to the worlds. Xehanort had seen the rest of the world after his trauma and had his suspicions about light and darkness. It took only a few probing questions/dialogue from MoM to make him realise that there was something wrong with the worlds and that Baldr's goals were right.
And even after everything Xehanort still missed his friends, he kept them in his hearts, even the ones he had never met in his lifetime. We know that people deal with trauma differently, Xehanort's story was extremely sad, there were things he went through and seen that no child or even person should go through. His past was more tragic than Sora's if you think about it, but trauma is trauma no matter what kind. What I think happened with Xehanort was that he couldn't deal with his trauma properly. Sora had gone through so much, losing his home, loved ones and friends. Just like Xehanort, his best friend Riku was possessed by darkness. But Sora had his friends and the strength of his heart and resolve brought back all that he lost. Xehanort, unfortunately, wasn't able to; Vor, Urd, Hermod, Bragi (in a way) and Baldr, were all dead, as in dead-dead with no way of bringing them back. All he had left was his best friend and his teacher who just retired because of everything that had happened and it wasn't enough.
In a way Xehanort could have been the Child of Destiny, seeing as he was raised on the Destiny Islands and he felt the emotions of other's hearts. But maybe like Riku in KH1, the mantle was passed onto Sora. My theory is that Xehanort was the red herring of the prophecy, a distraction, a fallacy, something which could be but it isn't. Sora, is the chosen one, he ticks the boxes. Other may think it to be Riku, but he hasn't displayed that trait of feeling other people's emotions, our baby boy has. I think at the end of KH3, Xehanort had realised that it wasn’t him, that Sora was the true Child of Destiny, handed him the x-blade and entrusted the worlds safety to him.
When I watched the finale yesterday, it has left my heart aching, even today as I write this. My heart aches for Xehanort, and what Woody said to Young Xehanort really made everything so much more painful. I'm playing KH3 again and I'm at San Fransokyo, and to be honest I'm not ready for the ending during the battle against Xehanort. It's sweet that he managed to get some closure before passing on, but for me it's not enough. The man, although did very terrible things in his later years, went through so much at a young age. And I'm excited to see that he may be reborn into the new world, Quadratum, like the Player was.
I'm excited for KH4, to see who had Xehanort may be reborn as. I hope their life and fate will be less tragic and painful that Xehanort's was. I'm also excited for Missing Link, according to Nomura it will explore blood relations, so we will see Blaine, maybe Eraqus's grandfather and hopefully Xehanort's mother.
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🍜 and/or ⛓️ for the Wayfinder Trio
(For the friendship ask game)
🍜Food — how do their tastes in food differ? do they have a favorite meal to eat together? do they ever cook for each other, whether it be a nice meal as a gift, or a nasty one as a prank?
I fully agree with the novelization that Terra isn’t particularly into sweets, but Aqua and Ven love them. Terra’s pretty health-conscious anyway, so it’s fine that he doesn’t. Since Ven is from Daybreak, he has slightly different tastes. If/when he remembers, he’d make them some foods from his past...which they would eat to be polite 😆 (the Ephemera special…)
Aqua is the best cook/baker, but Terra and Ven still take turns making food and snacks for everyone after training. They’ll sit outside and have tea together if the weather is nice—though with Ven’s track record he might need coffee to stay awake.
Also: It’s kind of funny the first time they try going to Scrooge’s Bistro. None of them really know what they’re doing since they’re only used to making their own meals…
⛓️ Chains — how do they respond to learning about each other's trauma, or what holds them back?
(long answer incoming)
First and foremost, everything they deal with—ESPECIALLY for Terra and Aqua—is worsened by the fact that they believe it’s spurred on by the darkness. They’re scared of falling a second time, and the way they view it, a lot of their negative thoughts come from an outside source. (You could argue they’re right in some cases, but there are also plenty of times when people are just… sad. And it’s perfectly normal.) That guilt feeds into whatever they’re dealing with and makes it way harder to reach out for help for fear of being judged.
Terra feels that his role is to take care of Ven and Aqua, so he can be especially tight-lipped about what’s troubling him. He remembers things from his possession in dreams, and not always having the context for those memories makes them worse. He didn’t fully realize the extent of Xehanort/Xemnas/Ansem’s actions at first, so there’s an added layer of guilt whenever he learns more about that.
His connection to the light gives him an occasional vision of the future, like in BbS. Terra doesn’t know what to do with those visions though, so they can unfortunately be more upsetting than helpful. Ven and Aqua don’t know about this.
He can be self-isolating at times, and Ven and Aqua have to pry if they want him to open up. Of course, having them around helps immensely, and they always surprise him with how understanding and supportive they are. Terra appreciates physical affection the most, so Ven and Aqua are more than willing to hug and cuddle with him when he’s feeling down. Words of affirmation and praise are a huge deal to him too, (which is part of why he was so willing to listen to Master Xehanort in BbS to begin with.)
Terra and Aqua know something’s up with Ven since he doesn’t get consistent sleep. It’s something he struggled with when he first came to live with them, so it’s not unfamiliar—just sad that it started happening again.
Terra knows a little more about Ven’s history thanks to what Xehanort told him, plus they were both manipulated by him. Whether he realizes it or not, Terra is a big role model to Ven, so if he can forgive himself for what happened, Ven will have an easier time forgiving himself too.
Ven is a little hesitant to share anything with Aqua out of fear that it will change how she sees him, but it just builds more trust between them when he does.
On that note: Ven’s an interesting character to me because while he struggles with a lot of deep fears and complicated emotions, he can turn around and help someone else through the exact same feelings in a heartfelt and mature way. He’s sensitive and empathetic—not in the literal sense, but because he remembers his own experiences and what he needed to hear to heal from them. (He embodies a big theme of the series in that way: that “hurt” ultimately serves to bring people together.)
As for the form of affection that means the most to him, I’m going to go ahead and project with “gifts”. He has his wayfinder from Aqua and wooden Keyblades from Terra, his telescope from Eraqus, photos on his Gummiphone, letters and drawings and postcards in his room... Terra could give him a pebble from the garden and it would go on his windowsill forever. However, it's not the gifts themselves that are precious to him. Like he tells Stitch and Peter, friendship is more than an object—and the real treasure is the love that the items represent. They just serve as a tangible, visual reminder of that when he’s alone.
(The flip side of this is true too. The others understand if Ven excitedly gives them like… a dandelion or something, in his eyes it’s a special thing and symbolizes a lot.)
Aqua has a ton of trauma from the Realm of Darkness, and unlike the others, she remembers it all. It’s worsened by their trips there to search for Sora, and eventually Terra and Ven have to force her to take a break from going. She can’t really grasp why even when she’s safe and back home those feelings and memories are still plaguing her, but trying to ignore them doesn’t help. Ven’s the first to catch on to just how bad things are getting for her, and he pulls her outside to sit and talk things over. (In 0.2, she mentions that Ven helps keep her darkness away—I think that’s literally true, considering that he has so much light in his heart.) Terra does his best to help Aqua too, and he can definitely relate to her struggle with the darkness.
Quality time is what Aqua likes most. It doesn’t matter if they’re cooking or doing chores or training, she just likes their company to make it brighter. It’s also nice for her considering how much time she spent alone.
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Sora x Tifa
Part 31
Part 30 below
Barret and Wedge were Tifa’s choice so Sora headed to look for Cloud and Biggs. Finding Biggs was easy and they spent only a minute talking. Cloud happened to be at the gym, chatting with Terion, the boss of the Guard.
Sora gently interrupted them and asked Cloud to go somewhere more private. As they were outside, around the corner of the building, he said:
- Believe it or not, some monsters from my past appeared here. Tomorrow we’re going to the other world to talk with my friend. He might help us solve the mystery. In the meantime, please keep your eyes open. Unversed are quite dangerous and won’t hesitate hurting people.
- Unversed, huh? That’s new to me. Are they like Heartless?
- Sorta. But instead of hearts, they feed themselves with sadness.
- That sounds even weirder.
- I know but that’s the truth. And also watch out for a guy in full red armor. His name is Vanitas and he is extremely dangerous. Don’t be surprised if he takes his helmet off. He looks exactly like me.
Cloud was clearly confused but promised to be careful. Sora said that it should not take long and they should be back at night.
After that Keyblade Wielder went home to meet up with his girlfriend.
Tifa was already home, getting ready for a shower. They both went under the water and Sora decided to wash her. He gently moved the soft sponge full of soap from one spot of her body to another. When her perfectly round breasts and flat stomach were clean, he kneeled to take care of the lower parts. He couldn't resist kissing her intimate area which made her moan with pleasure. She pushed his head closer to make him continue. Sora used all his passion to please her with his tongue and didn't stop until Tifa was screaming and shaking, completely breathless. Then Sora stood up, turned her around and made her bend over. He entered her quickly, with one hand holding her long, black hair and the other on her breast. Tifa had to grab the tap tightly to maintain balance as Sora was thrusting her quickly. When he finished she felt like she was going to faint with the amount of pleasure and had some problems with standing as her legs were shaking. He was out of breath as well and all he wanted to do was to lay in bed with her. Few minutes later they crawled under the sheets and fell asleep in no time.
As the sun raised, Tifa woke up and stretched under the sheets. Sora was still asleep so she silently got out of bed and went to the kitchen to drink some water. She then took a quick shower and sat on the couch with a book about martial arts to kill time. An hour later she heard her partner yawning loudly so she stopped reading and went to him.
- Morning sunshine. - she smiled.
- Hello beautiful.
Tifa's face got brightly red.
- Get ready, I'm sure Riku is already waiting for us.
- Right, I need ten minutes.
In no time the couple was entering the bar and of course, Riku was up and ready to go any minute. After a quick breakfast the trio left the bar and headed towards the Midgar borders.
- Where’s your ship? - Tifa asked Riku.
- It’s out of town. I had to hide it well.
They were reaching the end of the city when they noticed someone standing in their way in the distance. Someone in a red and black suit and with black spiky hair.
- Is that…? - Sora froze in terror.
Vanitas started approaching them and they did the same.
- Hello Sora. - Vanitas was smiling with an evil look in his eyes.
- How? How’s that possible? - Sora asked.
- Thanks to you, my dear friend. Your connection with Ventus and your sorrow brought me back. Oh, how good it is to exist again.
- What do you want? - Riku asked, ready to summon his Keyblade any second.
- Me? I just want to destroy every other Keyblade Wielder. Xehanort was the only one to control me, so now I can finally do what I want.
- Why? - Sora was discreetly looking at Tifa, trying to figure out how to keep her safe.
- Because I can! - Vanitas laughed evilly. - This time nobody will stop me.
He summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at Sora. Both Sora and Riku were surprised with what they saw. He was holding the Soul Eater.
- This is my Keyblade! - Riku shouted.
- Yeah, it was, one day. - Vanitas looked at it with admiration. - Now, the most ultimate dark weapon is mine.
He once again pointed it at Sora in a battling pose, waiting for them to strike.
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I have no backing for this but I feel like every post about KH I’ve been making lately has been very negative??? Idk I reblogged a post today and realized it was really really negative? And like. I don’t like KH3. I stand by that. And it’s because I fucking love this series. I love it’s characters. I love how much of a madman Nomura is.
But. I can also feel the lack of love that went into KH3. That’s not to say there wasn’t any love. The world designs are phenomenal (did you know they modeled a specific city block in San Francisco for San Fransokyo’s level? I need to post that comparison soon). The gameplay, while too flashy and breaking the flow of gameplay constantly, looks really good. The game looks good. It feels good to play. I hate the game yet it’s my most replayed KH game to date.
Yet I can’t help but feel like Nomura was tired when writing it. He was tired of these characters. Tired of this arc. He wanted to move on. I don’t blame him. He’s been working on the Xehanort arc for around a decade. Damn, I would be tired too. But it’s a problem when I can feel that tiredness in the story.
And it permeates the story. The sequel-baiting. The bringing up things out of left field. Fucking Verum Rex. It’s just. KH3 feels tired. It feels tired of its own IP. It feels tired of the arc it’s supposed to be ending. It feels tired of Disney and Sora and the characters we’ve been following for years.
Idk, I mostly just feel disappointed about KH3. At this point, I’m just tired of it. I loathe the game because I love the series and I hate how lackluster of an ending KH3 got because Nomura got tired/wants to do other things with the series (*side eyes the hideous rebrand of Versus XIII as Verum Rex*). This series is near and dear to my heart and it’s just sad. When the game came out, I felt betrayed. There was too much coming out of left field. Too much focusing on what was ahead instead of closing off arcs. It was too little too late.
We waited thirteen years—and for what? For Sora to be sent left and right with no direction across 6 Disney worlds? For everything to be wrapped up in a nice little bow with little to no struggle or emotional agony that all of the previous games have consistently given us? For Sora to just be able to fix things with no consequences? For every world Sora was sent to to feel inconsequential (and I can see the effort there. I can see so, so much effort to make something. Each movie featured has themes of loss and sacrifice but it’s just not there in KH3)? For Sora to not even take a front-seat in most of the story? He’s just there, a vessel for the player to watch events that he has nothing to do with unfold? What happened to Sora, the main character? Why does no one want to involve him on anything? Now he’s just the dues ex machine all the important people get to call when they get in trouble. Where’s the setup? Where’s the payoff? Where’s the hours of Lea agonizing over Roxas and Xion? Where’s Aqua and Ven trying desperately to save Terra, knowing he might be too far gone? Where’s Sora, facing up against the biggest foe of his life, who’s supposed to be the most conniving, deceitful man ever? It all just gets shoved to the end, barely mattering outside of a single world.
The worst part is—I know Nomura can write something good. I know he can do the setup and payoff. He explained why Mickey was shirtless in KH1 for Pete’s sake! He did really good at Union X’s story and making us really care about the new characters we have never met! He made impeccable Disney Worlds in Dark Road that had plot relevance! I know he can make something good, great even! So why didn’t he with KH3?
Sorry for the long post. Figured I’d explain some of my disappointment in KH3. I really do love the series, and it’s what makes KH3 so disappointing and bad to me. I know this is a 5-year old conversation but I’d figured I’d put my 2 cents into the pot.
#kingdom hearts 3#not kh3 friendly#collectors thoughts#not linked universe#I’m feeling chatty today I guess#I love kingdom hearts#but it’s been feeling bitter lately
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Writing based of my thread on twitter.
Of course Ventus would hate himself after everything. The realization that your happiness has made others suffer, that your whole existence has brought bad luck... it's a nightmare. You WERE meant to exist, Ventus. But the world would be better off without you, wouldn't it?
"Ventus. Listen to me."
Ventus. The boy who's brought nothing but misery. You wanted to be happy, and Strelitzia died. You wanted to survive being split from Vanitas, and he suffered under Master Xehanort's teachings. You didn't want to die, not really, so you took sanctuary within Sora's Heart, and since then, his life has been hell.
"Stop that. Stop talking to yourself like that, Ventus."
Why shouldn't Ventus think of himself so lowly? You've brought nothing but pain. You never meant to, but you did. And despite it all, despite knowing people have been hurt and that the universe would be happier without you, Ventus, you're selfish enough to be scared of being punished. Being blamed. Paying for what you did with your life--
"You didn't DO anything!"
Despite knowing people were hurt, Ventus is still selfish enough to WANT to LIVE.
It's not until Ventus feels wet fabric against his face that he realizes he's been crying into someone's shirt.
"Those people were hurt, yeah. It fucking sucks," Roxas whispers into Ventus' ear, holding the other tight against his chest. "But do you really think beating yourself up about that's going to change anything? You really think Strelitzia and Sora want you to hurt?"
They should want you to hurt. It's what you deserve.
"Yeah? Well people told me all I deserved was to become part of Sora again. That it was my destiny to be a part of him and nothing else."
Ventus is quiet. Shaky, selfish arms grip Roxas closer. Ventus feels his fingers tangle together. It's hard to feel connected to his body right now. So any sensation that proves he's still here is helpful. But deep down, Ventus knows he shouldn't be holding Roxas so tenderly. Shouldn't be allowing himself to feel this comfort, after all the pain he's caused.
"Sora couldn't wake up until I was put down. He'd never wake up if I wasn't killed. Do you think I deserved to stop existing for his sake? Do you think he should've stayed asleep for mine?"
Ventus feels his throat tighten. His lips quiver all fierce, and he finds himself rubbing his forehead against Roxas' chest. His breath hitches. Roxas' voice is still strong, but it's a lot gentler. More quiet. Still determined to get a point across, but so very, very caring.
"See, Ven? It's more complicated than one person deserving to live and someone else deserving to be hurt. Bad things might've happened to you. And some might've happened because of an accident. But you didn't cause this shit. You didn't mean to hurt them. All you did was exist. All you did was try to survive
and do you really think anyone should be punished for that? For just wanting to live life, for fighting for their survival?"
Ventus sobs. Roxas rubs a hand along his back.
(Ventus remembers a long time ago, when he begged Terra and Aqua to "put an end to me". He'd brought the two of them nothing but suffering, hadn't he?)
(. . . But if he'd REALLY only brought them sadness, then why didn't they destroy him? Why did they fight so hard to keep their family together?)
"You might not think you have a right to exist. But I do. We all do."
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You know the writing good when you sympathize with the main villain (dark road spoilers)
I feel bad for Xehanort in dark Road
Dark Road is a game that wasn't needed but it came to be just to show the backstories of Xehanort and Eraqus along with their tragic yaoi romance—
Like he was my favorite character in that game. Also Eraqus is just so silly.
But the story is tragic and heartbreaking
You thought birth by sleep and Days was bad.... You gonna need a drink for this one
And when someone asks you were you crying, NOOOOooo you don't cry over games that's silly.... Right?
First it's the events of the game that make it tragic and what they have to do.
They watch all of their friends and upperclassmen basically get murdered.
Orion is a terrible master probably one of the worse in the series decides when the students go missing to send in the amateur underclassmen— Like that's a good idea?
Maybe go yourself or get some other masters?
And then there is that one student who's sister died and is facing depression and darkness. So what does Orion do— the stupidest thing ever and isolates him from everyone.
Then it turns out that student is faced with darkness and the darkness uses him to kill everyone, until Orion the master decides Xehanort kill this person.
And Xehanort has been thinking how the way of worlds isn't always correct and that some darkness isn't bad, ect.
So doing that and everything is just PTSD
And like all the future flash forwards you get make you feel so sad because of their doomed friendship and they somehow got on opposite sides
And honestly in BBS it makes sense how Eraqus reacted to Terra.
Like he saw him as a son, he watched his previous friends get killed and ruin by the darkness and he doesn't want that to happen.
Like it's understandable where he's coming from now. Was it right, ehh debatable. He shouldn't have used Aqua to find this out. And darkness isn't inherently bad like using it for good reasons— Riku.
Though did he pulled the sympathy card when he dropped off Ven—that it was an accident and he didn't mean to get the darkness out of him, just like he told Terra?
Like we saw previous flash forwards of Xehanort and Eraqus fighting because of the darkness, so why did Eraqus think ah yes my friend who now been a bit corrupted by darkness should be near and watch them take the mark of mastery exam?
Also him doing that easy version of the exam was probably because he saw what it did to his friends that died and he cared for Terra like a son.
And it's just really interesting at the end of dark road we see them head off to their own mark of mastery exam. And it's like that exam affected Xehanort with his encounter with MORE DARKNESS and him talking to the Master of Masters.
There is also that one flash forwards of him leaving and it's like their friendship because doomed and it's sad and you feel for both characters. Though I still want more why exactly did Xehanort decide to use the darkness?
Just random thoughts, as I hope for more KH news Missing Link or KH4 please
#kingdom hearts#young xehanort#Eraqus#young eraqus#dark road#kingdom hearts dark road#kh dark road#tragedy#birth by sleep#terra#rambling#Xehanort is really interesting#His backstory makes him interesting#I felt bad for him and Eraqus#knowing what happens makes it sad#I liked their dynamic and friendship and he replaced that for darkness#He didn't want the old man yaoi experience#Xehaqus#master of masters
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Battling Vanitas for the first time as Ventus. Other assorted BBS thoughts below.
Alright, based off the intro sequence with Ventus' messed up heart where Ventus connected his heart with someone else's, the fact that Vanitas is established as an alter-ego of Ventus' (if we can believe Xehanort at all, which, after finishing the Terra route where he manipulates and manslaughters his whole way through, eh), the fact that Sora's VA also voiced Vanitas (I didn't recognize his voice at all! I'm impressed!)- to which I first debated inwardly if it was plot-relevant or coincidental, but now... noticing how Ventus and Vanitas both do the "See ya!" Sora would always do after fire spells... I can't help but think the casting was deliberate in some way. Maybe Ventus connects with Sora's heart in the intro, which would influence older Sora to do his little "See ya!" as well when he does fire spells, and would also explain why on earth Roxas looks like Ventus- something that has been bugging me the entire time. If that happens in the past though... the ramifications of what that would mean on his identity, Sora fusing his "new heart" (that "I'm a new heart line" is particularly one that's stuck with me in regards to this theory) as stated in the intro with Ventus' from such a young age... I don't know, I just find it interesting. How much of Sora would be Sora, and how much of Sora would be Ventus? I definitely see the similarities between them, but hm... if the story decides to go in that direction, I wouldn't be too surprised, given how much it likes exploring messy and enmeshed identity. I'd additionally feel more sad for Roxas as a character, because damn not even your face is yours, bestie.
P.S. I'm very impressed with how Roxas'/Ventus' VA so effectively and immediately demonstrated two very different personalities with the same voice, yet different tones.
P.P.S. I have to get it out of my system: The Destiny Islands section that took me off-guard during Terra's story has been haunting my brain. I figured we might see younger Sora and Riku at some point in the story, given their brief appearance at the end of the intro movie, but I had admittedly kind of forgotten about them until that scene. And WOW, Riku emitted more light than multiple Princesses of Heart?? You're kidding me, right? Was this only not noticable when he was older because he was shrouded in the darkness of teenage angst, has he lost this quality, or some other reason? I was wondering if it was just a childlike innocence thing, but Terra didn't really even seem to care or particularly notice Sora, so alright. The silver-haired kiddo is quickly ascending into Chosen One status, as per the narrative (I'll need to verify with tiny Kairi's heart, to be sure. This is a threat, SE. If I don't see a tiny Kairi happy and healthy in Radiant Garden before its destruction, I'll go bonkers). That was sort of touched upon in KH1 with Riku being the "rightful wielder" of the Keyblade- but I now question how much of that was influenced by Terra sort of anointing him spontaneously, and how much of that was Riku just being some wonder kid from the get-go. It would definitely explain his long-standing desire to go to other worlds and... apparently just a strong intuition at their existence from a very young age, outside of just childlike imagination (and he doesn't seem particularly whimsical as a child, moreso a very solemn one that I could imagine being reluctant to play around other kids at group times- y'know, the articulate but shy types where you have to help them warm up to others. It's really highlighting how unnatural and forced Riku's KH1 tough-guy act was, seeing him as he is in the present, and as a small child. It seems that innately, while doing some competitive talk on occasion, Riku's much more gentle and thoughtful in demeanor than he'd like to let on, sometimes.). I'm also very intrigued by little Riku's knowledge of 'some kid' that left the Islands before. How did he come across that information, I wonder? And the fact that Terra caught a glimpse of Xehanort and older Riku in what seemed like a brief prophetic instinct for some reason in that moment makes me assume that Xehanort was a Destiny Islands' native himself, then, which would, of course, make him that 'kid' that little Riku mentioned. Although it was established in KH1 that Xehanort saw himself in Riku's desire towards freedom, it's really becoming interesting just how linked the two seem to be. Xehanort's unwillingness to fully relinquish his hold upon Riku as a vessel or person of influence might run deeper than simply "muaha, I am evil villain."
And I couldn't help but clutch my heart at the "to protect the things that matter, y'know, like my friends!" On top of him letting Sora win the race across the dock. He really was such a sweetheart to Sora, from the very beginning. It's such a shame that Riku ended up isolating himself so much from him with age; you can clearly see Riku thought the world of him from day one. I don't mean to sound too much like a doting grandmother- but what a sweet kid. He should probably know better than to take Keyblades from strangers, though. (I laughed at how Sora seemed to notice Terra and just go "ooo-kay, moving on." At least some kids know stranger-danger, lol!) I wonder if either of them remember Terra, present day? Probably not, haha.
Okay, that's nearly everything out of my system so far. I've not gotten too invested in the overall story so far, admittedly. I mainly attribute this to most of the dialogue feeling pretty clunky. I know I've poked fun at occasional cheesy lines across the games, but Birth By Sleep especially seems... eh. I'm also spoiled after jumping here directly after finishing 358/2 Days, which had some lovely dialogue, in my honest opinion. Gameplay is awesome, though! I've decided to try to explore different combat styles with each character to really get the full effect. Physical/Earth centric stuff is what I decided for Terra, of course, and I'm trying more status-affecting and Thunder/Wind stuff for Ventus. Hehe, I like theming them. (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)
Oh, but they're all going to have Break Time, of course. I found that during Terra's run, and I must see what the others do. My new favorite skill, lol.
Anyway... back to getting my butt beaten by Vanitas in all of his mysterious totally-not-linked-to-Sora glory... at least I've got Mickey Mouse now (Oh, and don't get me started how he wields the key Sora used for duel wielding in KH2, as opposed to the one he's had in the other games).
EDIT: HOLD THE FUCKIN PHONE, I *KNOW* I JUST HEARD AN EDGIFIED MOTIF OF SORA'S THEME IN VANITAS' COMBAT THEME JUST NOW.
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It feels forced
After I watched the Dark Road finale my mind drifted back to my old post about Dream Drop Distance and it has left me feeling like the ten years since DDD (2012) has been some cheap pitch to like Xehanort as a character.
And, to be blunt, I don’t. You can show me all the toddler Xehanort’s or classmates you want but nothing fixes my core issues with this person. It feels like Nomura seen people complaining about how Xehanort was defeated in KH3 and then tried his best with KHDR to say “please like this character as much as I do”.
Now I don’t expect you to read that old post before this one. I’ll tag it for the curious but I know the young folk online are lazy so I’ll give you the gist.
DDD made the series up till that point feel invalidated and it cheapened the other incarnations of Xehanort by robbing them or their “self” in favor of old Xehanort’s “It was all me”.
Since that point I’ve cared nothing about Xehanort. There was no hate nor any intrigue or care. He was quite literally a Aizen-parody but nowhere near as believable since his “intelligence” usually came from the script making the heroes seem dumber than they are.
Then KH3 just dropped the ball entirely by trying to make me believe that this man, this old crotchety man, was a misguided hero. This man who smiles gleefully as he does some unspeakable shit to children on numerous occasions.
Even the young Xehanort we see in DDD & KH3 is just as happily malicious as his oldest self. His final act in KH3 was to talk shit to Sora because he knew Sora was doomed. This was not a remorseful person....
As much as I hated what DDD there was at least some consistency in the young and old Xehanort’s openly malevolent actions and behavior. That is, until, KHUX ended and Dark Road began.
Amidst what the main series was doing the mobile games show me this (yet again) starkly different Xehanort. If DDD invalidates the prior titles then Dark Road feels like it’s trying to invalidate DDD & KH3 all in an attempt to rewrite Xehanort’s motivations.
Motivations that have shifted every couple games already. Granted, the mobile game was on hiatus for half a year so I wont claim the game did a bad job of selling this new Xehanort’s motivations.
I mean, the game did, but I wont stoop as low as my younger self and blame personal failing on development failing. They may correlate but I dont work at SE to know to what extent.
The point of contention for me was the intent. This game was trying to sell me a wholly different Xehanort to the archetype from DDD and I couldnt help but stare at these scenes feeling like it was a weak pitch. A flawed argument really.
Nomura wants me to like Xehanort, empathize with him, or believe his motives were heartfelt but flawed and the game simply failed to do so.
This Xehanort feels like some random new kid and while it is tragic what happens to his classmates there’s nothing in the game that sold me on Xehanort’s existence.
If anything, Baldr’s actions felt like something Xehanort from any other game entry would do without remorse. Hell, it feels like something the young Xehanort from KH3 would do without remorse.
I’m not sure how to articulate it any better. I feel like Nomura’s trying to use his best sales pitch to get me to like his OC and I just don’t.
I feel so confused seeing these people online being so positive or sad for Xehanort simply because they saw him as a toddler or in a classroom. I dont want to bash them for liking it but I am utterly baffled by them.
The best I can rationalize it is they like the specific Xehanort shown in Dark Road or they’re so enamored with KH that they ignore flaws. After all, I was like that once and even now I think it’s fine to like a thing that’s flawed...so long as you can acknowledge it is flawed or offer me a good argument to the contrary.
In Summary
Bluntly put, DDD ruined interest in Xehanort for me and Dark Road didn’t sell me on him at all. No amount of exploration will make a redeemable man out of him when he smiles like a jackass as he cuts down a 15yr old girl on screen. (among his other bullshit)
If you can give me a thought out argument to the contrary then I welcome it but until someone convinces me otherwise I see Dark Road as a years worth of wasted time.
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Omg what crack theory about them you got that’s really sad? 😭😭😭 For me, I think MOM is Riku’s parent basically and Riku either lied about his name to protect himself or he lost his name and doesn’t know what he truly is cause MOM hasn’t revealed a face after so long so after Xehanort referring to KH as an unseen land I went “0: Oh my god you’re Riku’s mom dad”
Okay very short and cheesy and probably bad phrased summary because it's midnight and I thought of this like, six months ago so my memories are jumbled BUT -
It was less of a theory and more of an au based on a crack theory, in which, in an alternate reality to the canon one, Sora, overwhelmed by trauma, succumbs to darkness completely in a fresh new way, and consequently gets a bit dangerous ("a bit"), while Riku loses himself from the combo of his connected person succumbing to darkness + despair to save Sora and becomes the Master of Masters, mainly because despite his immunity, with Sora getting corrupted, he gets corrupted by proxy. He's a bit between our Riku and the nightmare version we saw in ddd. He is not quite fallen to Darkness, but not fully in the light either.
And because time travel is now a thing I imagined, again this all in crack theory fun, that he went back in time to try and find a way to save Sora (hence yozora being tasked with saving sora, and MoM calling Darkness "Old Friend"), and is currently trying to prevent Sora in our timeline to succumb to darkness, so that none of what happened will happen (hence encasing him to save him - can't succumb to darkness if he is frozen in a coma).
And he probably took an eye out when he clashed with his version of Sora in some previous instance, so he could track him around across eras, as you do, you know. Best friends matching outfit. The romantic friends to lovers to enemies longing for each other kinda deal with a swor-er, keyblade, pointed against him because you love him and you need to do this exactly because you love him, even though you know it's going to kill what little was left of the old you and make you a bit funkier in the head afterwards. Just another Tuesday here.
So you have our Riku, probably getting strung to work with him, not knowing he's an alternate version of himself, and then eventually going against him because he realizes his plan is, essentially "I tracked my old self down because while Sora was still Sora I was immune to darkness so I need you to find him and destroy him, and either this goes well or I will make sure we'll all be destroyed so darkness can have an end" and no, he's not doing that, he's not hurting Sora in any version, end of the story. He spent too long making it up for the one time he hurt him and he is not going to live through that guilt again.
And then because I am always a slut for cheesy romantic hurt/comfort stuff I thought our Riku would dive into Sora's heart again and get him to face his trauma so he wouldn't fall to darkness, see a Sora stuck in a reality where things are fine (you know the trope), get him to realize what is happening, get him to face his trauma, kiss him as dream reality collapses around them, and save him and the world. The end.
Note: it was a crack theory. My actual theory on what might be happening is quite different but the gifset reminded me so much of this one. But ironically from the khux ending and khdr I do think the solution to the war will ultimately be finding a way to live with Darkness as opposed to annihilating it so I guess at least I am coherent with my theories, crack or not. Although I also get a sense those two might pull a Fang/Vanille way of saving the world. Cause, you know, parallels.
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I posted 223 times in 2022
That's 106 more posts than 2021!
29 posts created (13%)
194 posts reblogged (87%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@chuplayswithfire
@projectdestati
@nyctoheart
@xhnort
@askkairi
I tagged 220 of my posts in 2022
Only 1% of my posts had no tags
#kh - 85 posts
#khdr - 43 posts
#fe3h - 26 posts
#xehanort - 23 posts
#xehaqus - 18 posts
#hfw - 18 posts
#kingdom hearts - 17 posts
#akusai - 16 posts
#eraqus - 15 posts
#sora - 14 posts
Longest Tag: 136 characters
#i don't even remember when i started using washboard but it was long enough ago i still have no idea if the app has tag blacklisting now
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Is Disney Dreamlight Valley intended to be played as a Kingdom Hearts Animal Crossing starring the KHUX player character? No, definitely not.
Am I playing the game that way anyway? You bet your ass I am.
(My KHUX avatar in the closest outfit I could find in offline mode and my Dreamlight Valley Player avatar ft 'mashed Lauriam, Skuld, and Brain's vibes together for the outfit' for comparison purposes:)
See the full post
15 notes - Posted October 23, 2022
#4
AND ANOTHER THING!! (more MAJOR DARK ROAD SPOILERS BELOW because I keep thinking of things)
Xehanort's also not even Player! The friends he remembers were NEVER HIS FRIENDS. Even if he met them they wouldn't know him! He's put HIMSELF in a role of seeking a closure and resolution that was never his, that could never be anything but an alienating disappoinment, and Player knows and doesn't even fucking tell him this. Doesn't tell him he's tapping into Player's memories, doesn't tell him those friends and experiences aren't his, doesn't tell him that he would be a stranger to those people if he ever met them, and Xehanort ruins Ventus chasing friends who will never, ever reciprocate his level of attachment to them.
Idk it's just so tragic. NOTHING about Xehanort really belongs to him, except Eraqus. Only Eraqus is only his, is real and solid and actually Xehanort's and it's just so fucking sad how this man's ENTIRE life from the time he is a baby is dedicated to trying to live other people's lives. He never gets to live for him and that tragedy just ripples through the entire series, leaving trauma and destruction in its wake. Don't even get me started on the tragedy if Skuld really is subject X that there's not even a bond there to fall back on, that he will never be anything to this person he's sought all his life but a source of terror and loneliness and pain. Fucked up, man!!
Also, side note, real stressed for Sora in upcoming games by extension.
24 notes - Posted September 21, 2022
#3
Okay I'm not even done I need to get these feels out I'm just.
MAJOR DARK ROAD SPOILERS BELOW
It's just. Xehanort wasn't even actually the chosen one. He wasn't even chosen!! The prophecy was about fucking Sora the whole time!! They misread the fucking book and ruined this kid's life raising him in isolation trying to make him fit a prophesy that wasn't even about him, that was NEVER about him!!! None of that needed to happen to him, except that it was inevitable as soon as he was taken from his mother and thrust into a role that was never meant for him!!
He was NEVER CHOSEN, but he thought he was, and he was manipulated when he was at his most vulnerable by an adult who saw him as _useful_ to fool, who twisted the best parts of Xehanort into the very thing that doomed him, just like it doomed Baldr, and it worked because Xehanort really believed that the prophecy meant him! People believing what they want to believe to justify their actions after the fact applies to him too. He spends his entire life trying to be Sora, and the only reason Sora is ever able to fulfill the prophecy is he's left alone to have a normal childhood, because he doesn't have the weight of a prophecy or a bloodline hanging over him since infancy, because there's no one left but Xehanort and Luxu to even think to look for him, and Xehanort looks at him and refuses to see what's right in front of him, because if Sora is the chosen one, then Xehanort was himself just a dull, ordinary boy from the beginning, and he ruined his life for absolutely nothing.
I just. Xehanort was the scapegoat, from the beginning, just the SHEER INJUSTICE of that twist, that he was never anything more than a normal boy who was ruined by being thrust into a role that never fit him and never would, just has me so fucked up for Xehanort! The writing was incredible and I'm feeling all the things they wanted me to feel which was this tragedy was so pointless and also so inevitable and I am DESTROYED in this Chili's tonight about Xehanort Kingdom Hearts.
38 notes - Posted September 21, 2022
#2
Back on my 'being sad about Xehanort' bullshit again while I should be going to sleep but thinking about how Eraqus in kh3 is able to succeed where Hoder failed (at coming back from the dead to talk Xehanort down) because it is the first time in Xehanort's actual entire life that he has ever been offered what he perceives to be unconditional love.
Like going back to 'my guess is nobody's ever loved you' like we the player as an objective third party now know that's not true and people did genuinely love him but like... Does Xehanort know that? His whole life is characterized by abandonment and the subtle implication that he will be rejected if he fails to live up to expectations.
Like. His very first chronological experience on screen is being given up by his mother. When he's only like five years old he asks if he can see her again if he can be strong enough at resisting darkness - even at that age, he feels that being able to meet HIS MOTHER!! is conditional on his performance. He describes the Dandelions as 'seeming like they all like each other' and asks if that's what having friends is like because he's not allowed to have friends, unless he's good and strong enough.
Player loves him but they love him for being Ephemer's blood. They put so much pressure on Xehanort about being the child of destiny, how can Xehanort interpret that in any way except that if he fails at that, he's not worthy of Player's love? Then Player dies too and it's not even clear how long Xehanort was TOTALLY ALONE on that island before Ansem sent him on his way, but what does that isolation do to him? No wonder he hates Destiny Islands so much??
And then in Scala he finally has friends but there's this undercurrent that any relationship in Scala is conditional on agreeing with the dogma about the light. Xehanort kind of tentatively floats the idea a few times that it's more complicated than that but he ALWAYS pulls it back when Eraqus has a serious negative reaction to the idea - and then he sees what happens to fucking Baldr, where Hoder rejects him right in front of Xehanort for falling to darkness, and he loses everyone but Eraqus, the one he cares about the most but also the one most likely to judge him and find him lacking. Of course he ends up feeling isolated, and like he can't confide in Eraqus?? Just like Baldr, he can't feel safe talking to his closest person about his feelings, because for him, love has always been conditional, and remains conditional throughout his entire life. Of course he gives up on it, and decides to just burn the whole place down, if that's the thing that's expected of him. The only thing that makes him worthwhile.
Until... The end of kh3. When Eraqus, who realized his mistake with Terra was also his mistake with Xehanort, extends the same grace to Xehanort that he learned to with Terra. When he says 'I know what you've done, but it doesn't change that I love you and want you to turn back.' It is the first time anyone has ever told Xehanort in literally his ENTIRE LIFE that they're not going to abandon him regardless of what he does.
Like not to have turned into a big ol Xehanort Apologist but it genuinely just makes me so sad. His life is so lonely. We have all dragged Woody because Xehanort had friends but Woody is right; no one has ever loved him at that point in his life in the way he needed. If they had, he probably would not have turned out Like That.
(Edit to clarify when it's not midnight: this is about Xehanort's perceptions of how the people in his life love him and not necessarily how his parents/parental figures actually felt. Yes Xehanort was an empath but not a mind reader and there was no way for him to know that the love he felt wouldn't be revoked if he didn't live up to the expectations on him, given his track record of repeatedly losing almost everyone who loved him.)
38 notes - Posted October 31, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
So I'm not actually sure if I was supposed to take "Master Odin changed his name to Yen Sid when he fucked off and retired" from Eraqus's line about Odin's intention to "leave Scala and settle down in some cozy little world" but it sure is what I took away from that line.
And lmao like if that's the intent, then that sure puts some new context to Yen Sid in kh2 being like 'I'll just leave out the true nature of Nobodies so Sora doesn't end up feeling sorry for them and deciding not to kill them like I need him to," doesn't it.
46 notes - Posted November 6, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
#tumblr2022#year in review#my 2022 tumblr year in review#Somehow I became a Xehanort blog in 2022 rip .....
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WAIT!! Does this mean Ephemer knows what we did at the end of khux was just a act?! Is that in the book of prophecies like with maybe when Brain would show up?! Does he know we got a second life?! Or are we consider unimportant, just a foot note or not in the book at all?
I thought about this when khux ended but now that khdr ended im thinking about it again but in a new way.
Is this why Ephemer is a ghosty boy in kh3? Is he hoping to meet us and the union leaders again? What does Ephemer know? How much did the master actually write in the book? Cause some of this info has to be vague at best for it to happen if its what MoM wants to happen. Like us taking Xehanort to destiny islands has to not be in the book, just the “child of destiny will hail from destiny islands”.
So is there anything about us in the book for Ephemer to know or does he still have to live on with the pain and sadness of one of his friends fell to the darkness he had to fight them. Odin mentions that 4 of the darkness where sealed away, aka our ending in khux. But was that in the book? Was that info Luxu’s doing? Does anyone other then Luxu and MoM know what we did then?
Will missing link please give me a straight answer when it comes out. I need to know if Ephemer ever got to know what happen to us.
#tarudce talks#kh#khdr spoilers#i need to rewatch all of dark road again and analyze it but this thought just hit me and now i cant stop wondering about it#my brain is going on loop trying to know what brand of pain sadness and/or guilt everyone has in this series
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Dark Road spoilers below the cut! (Mostly I’m just like...rambling about my thoughts and stuff, haha.)
I was surprised by how much I ended up really liking the main DR kids and their interactions? They had a lot of really nice moments--especially in the Disney worlds. (The scene with the magic carpet in Agrabah made me laugh, it was so silly, haha.) And like--I really liked how they handled the Disney worlds in general! They were really well integrated; I’d absolutely love to play through all of them in a console game. (Or at least, with updated graphics.)
Also congrats to Hades for being one of the few characters in the series to actually acknowledge that these characters died. Like, when everyone was saying the upperclassmen ‘disappeared,’ I figured they were just going to use euphemisms the whole time, but NOPE. It stands out a lot in a series that’s normally pretty shy about actually using the term.
ALSO. LORE. Xehanort being able to feel other people’s emotions and take people’s hearts in and stuff was just--!! It’s cool!! It’s cool that it makes him even more of a foil to Sora! And it’s neat that it’s implied there are others out there like that! And then VEN, who was implied that Xehanort thought he was like...the ACTUAL chosen one. (Please, Nomura...please can we have a Ven focused game...there is so much lore surrounding him, PLEASE.) The stuff with Vanitas was also really interesting and actually somewhat encouraging? Because the way he was written made him seem like he was...questioning things. Like maybe Xehanort wasn’t entirely correct about him not being Ven’s darkness--either that, or that Vanitas was changing in some way. It actually makes me somewhat hopeful we’ll get a Vanitas redemption! (Though...I’m going to be careful about getting my hopes up too high, just in case.)
I said this already, but the after credits scene made me cry. I am sad that Playernort is no longer a thing, because there were so many cool things that could’ve been done with that, but that absolutely didn’t stop me from getting emotional over the Player and the Union Leaders at the end. (”They all seemed like they liked each other a lot”--YEAH. YEAH, THEY DID, XEHANORT.) Actually pretty happy we DID at least get confirmation that Xehanort and Ephemer are related, though. What I’m worried about is what Xehanort said about Skuld reminding him of his mom. Which, you know, could be a red herring, like Brain’s virus speech in UX, but STILL. Narratively speaking, there’s nothing technically wrong with the choice to have Skuld stay behind and make, say, Ava Subject X, but from a personal standpoint...I’d be very sad. I want Skuld to still be alive, please. ...That said, I’ve also learned not to trust Nomura as far as I can throw him, so until we officially see Skuld again, I will be clinging to the ‘Skuld is Subject X’ theory for dear life.
Interesting that we didn’t officially see what happened to Scala, though the implications seem to be that it really was just...there weren’t enough Keyblade wielders left, and so they just...moved to a different world. That was honestly not something I expected to be a correct prediction; I really thought we were going to watch Scala get destroyed.
BUT SPEAKING OF PREDICATIONS--I CALLED BRAGI BEING LUXU THE MOMENT WE GOT HIS NAME. Luxu, we need to talk about why all of the people you’ve possess have VERY SIMILAR names. Like...are you going for a theme? Are you renaming your vessels and just don’t feel very creative so you’ve been making up things that are similar to ‘Brain’? This doesn’t seem like it would work very well if you wanted to stay hidden.
The actual ending parts did end up feeling kind of rushed, though. Which is fair, considering writing this stuff takes a lot of time, and then you also have to animate everything and--yeah. I wish a lot of stuff around the ending could’ve been built up more, but I understand why it probably ended up the way it did. On that note--it also feels like it didn’t entirely tie everything off...? Maybe that’s just me, but while the middle section felt pretty tight, the ending was definitely a bit...looser. But, ah, again--probably a lot of that was the time constraints. It probably would’ve helped to have a couple of more passes to focus around tightening up the ending stuff, but they probably just didn’t have the time for it.
Still largely a nice update! There was some good stuff, and it was nice to get some more KH content...even if I feel like Nomura’s going to kill me with the lack of knowledge of what happened to Skuld.
#khdr spoilers#dark road spoilers#just lots and lots of thoughts#throwing them out into the world to get them out of my head
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