#the whole game is about the fact that Xion is a girl!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

oveliagirlhaditright · 3 years

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Apparently I'm in a "Shanna is Annoyed" mood today. But even though I know it'll never stop, if I hear one more comment about Kairi being useless... one more time, I'm going to slap somebody.

The Kingdom Hearts fans think you're only useful if you can whack something with a pole, essentially. And Kairi actually DOES decently with her Keyblade in KHII, KHIII, Re:Mind, and Melody of Memory, for someone who's never fought before a day in her life.

But she inspires Aqua in BbS and Sora in KH1 not to give up. She's part of the reason Riku wanted to see other worlds. And she's their motivation, for them to actually get up and do things, for a lot of the games (she was also Riku's morality pet in KH1). And she always wants to go and help out: it's Sora and Riku who tell her not to.

She saved Sora's life in KH1 twice. And even though she wanted to go with Sora to find Riku, she settled on Sora giving her lucky charm when he told her not to do that. And I DO think it was magic and helped reunite the trio.

The fact that Sora can never truly forget Kairi, is why he didn't become a Heartless puppet of the Organization's in CoM.

And Kairi gets stronger physically in each game she's in. She does. In KHII, she's stronger than she was in KHI, and in KHIII she was stronger than she was in KHII. Same thing with Re:Mind after that and Melody of Memory afterwards. But in KHII, she's tired of waiting and becomes more active. She goes to look for Sora the moment the opportunity is presented to her. She escapes Axel twice. First with the help of Pluto and Riku, then by herself. Axel says, "I kidnapped Kairi, BUT SHE GOT AWAY FROM ME. After that, Saïx caught her." And in KHII, she seems ready to get into fist fights with people in order to defend herself: something she didn't do in KH1. She and Sora create the path for him to get into the Castle That Never Was. She jumps off a balcony and fights with a Keyblade for the first time. And in doing this, she helps SDG from being overrun by Heartless.. She recognizes Riku and is the one who convinces him to say. She points out things the others need to notice before they see it, in KHII and KHIII. She goes into the final battle (before she's kicked out of it), which never would have happened in KH1. And by KHIII, she's IN the final battle, almost the whole time and fights members of Organization XIII (she's pretty evenly matched with Xion, and will try to SLAY Saïx in gameplay, if you manage to defeat Xion in that little window), Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed. Oh. And she gets Sora and Riku out of the Realm of Darkness.

In KHIII, she's training to be a Keyblade wielder because she wants to help the world, too (and is FAR more athletic and agile). She holds onto Naminé's heart and brings her back. And by her fighting to keep Sora from fading when he dies, she overturns the prophecy about light expiring and leads to everyone else being rescued this way, as Sora goes for them. She gets to defeat Master Xehanort (her murderer) alongside Sora in some sick gameplay. And she gets to put the final blow on him with everyone else.

In Melody of Memory, she fought better than we've ever seen (cutscene-wise. It's even one of the best fighting cutscenes in the series, and mirrors Cloud versus Sephiroth at the Edge of Creation in FFVII Remake). And only lost to Xehanort because he was a manifestation of her worst fears about him. Sora possessed her body in order to win the fight, but I think it's implied it's both of them together fighting him (even though they do a bad job of showing it. I also heard that in the Japanese version, it's said that Kairi turned into Sora of her own free will? Because she knew she could better defeat Xehanort that way? But don't quote me on that). And now she's training with Aqua to get even better, so she can finally stand with Sora and Riku. My girl is not useless, guys. Even if Nomura is sexist when it comes to her, and gives her hurdles that no one else has to overcome:(

And while I'll never defend the choices Nomura made here, before anyone goes "she should have gotten out of that wrist grab and/or kept herself from getting killed", she couldn't have gotten out of it without breaking her arm. Destiny's-Force (who is a KH fanfic writer that I've talked to a few times) had a friend who was a martial artist look at that scene. And they said, with the hold she was in--and how far away Xemnas was from her--the best thing she could have done was kick wildly at him, but even that wouldn't have done anything, since he was so far away. The kicks would have had no impact to them. And as much as it sucks, this is better than how easily anticipated she is by Axel in KHII (with him just daintily grabbing her ONE wrist and somehow getting her away like that). It's like I said: she DOES get better every game, even if the stakes against her compared to everyone else is ridiculous. Why can't something like that happen to Sora? And, no. I don't think Kairi could have just summoned her Keyblade into her other hand, because we've never seen anyone else in the series do that. And if she had, those swings would have been weak, too. And then Xehanort put a sleeping spell on Kairi to kill her, and didn't even give her a fighting chance, the bastard. But that kind of shows that they actually thought she was more of a threat than her KHII or KHI counterparts, and she was.

Edit: And Kairi learns! She always does! Look at her in Melody of Memory, realizing she can let go of her Keyblade and summon it again, if someone has her by it.

And she’s a Princess of Heart. And the only Princess of Heart Keyblade wielder! And Yen Sid said that the Princesses make up all the light in the world, and that without them the world would fall to shadow once more.

She also brought Sora out of that illusion of Memory Skyscraper that Xemnas put him in in KHII (Sora’s first fight with him), by calling his name. And I think she tried to get Mickey back from the explosion when DiZ’s Kingdom Hearts encoder was blowing up, because she knew he was caught up in his friend Ansem sacrificing himself and would have gotten himself killed that way.

And as TV Tropes says, her situation in KH1 isn’t even that bad. Her heart is safe within Sora (who she may have even chosen to protect it), and her body safe with Riku.

Edit 2: Also as TV Tropes says, she escaped prison in KHII with the help of Naminé, who technically WAS hee.

And in KHIII, it's implied she's chosen to fight--and keep her Princess of Heart powers--so innocents won't have to.

#kairi #I will defend my baby girl until the day I die #melody of memory spoilers

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snowflake-of-destruction · 4 years

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Namixi and Soulmates

Okay, so let's establish a few things before we go skipping off merrily to AU land. For that spice of angst, this should be set in an otherwise canon compliant universe. I'd go with the always good standby of soulmate's name on your skin, because, while I like first words or symbols just as much and sometimes better, well, we want to be clear in this case. We'll keep some of the ambiguity and extra angst potential though in that the soulmate names can be platonic or romantic. This isn't quite so relevant for Namixi (unless there was an actual fic to come out of this and some extra misunderstanding and/or skirting around each other was called for) but it does still get this au to retain the bisexual disaster Destiny Trio not quite sure what is going on and having unnecessary and unresolved competitions and tensions leading into KH1 despite the fact they all have two names...but how Riku deals with his Sora and Kairi feelings is another essay. Let's jump into Naminé and Xion headcanons.

Naminé comes into being with the names of all three of the Destiny Trio written on her, but Sora and Riku fade within hours. They belong to Kairi not her. Kairi's name stays, as her source, the part of her that matters, who she needs to go back to if she wants to have any meaning. There are many explanations given to her, and she believes even the latter ones, not knowing better.

Naminé is set to play cat's cradle with Sora's memories and his name reappears. It's not real. He doesn't belong to her. Nobody belongs to her. She doesn't even belong to herself. She belongs to Kairi, as a lost object, not as a real soulmate. She can look at Sora's name and pretend for a moment though...not that she wants Sora to be her real soulmate, even though he is very nice, she'd just like to not feel so empty or alone.

Riku's name comes back too as more games are played. The word Replica accompanies it, and the seven letters that show this one is hers and not Kairi's make the heart Naminé shouldn't have flutter, though mostly with guilt, because she doesn't feel quite as grateful as she should for having one of her dearest wishes granted and she doesn't do right by the Riku Replica, not as much as she could have if she'd been stronger/braver/faster at least. But enough about Naminé's insecurity and self-flagellation for now

Riku fades again, but Replica stays. It's curious. DiZ calls her broken. It won't be the last time.

Replica morphs into Xion while Nami is sleeping. When Naminé finds out more about Xion, it makes sense. It's parts of the whole in the literal sense, the same as Kairi. It's ....disappointing, but she's used to disappointment.

Xion is born with more names she doesn't recognize than just Naminé. Naminé stays steady though, even when others shift, disappear, reappear, are forgotten, or are only remembered in moments just after waking.

Xion doesn't pay attention to the shifting names, except to occasionally scoff with Roxas over not even knowing what much less who a Sora was. She's fascinated with the Roxas and Axel on her neck and arm that prove she is a friend, and blocks the others out, except for Naminé.

Xion finds Naminé a real comfort. Maybe she's a friend, like Roxas and Axel. No, definitely Naminé is a friend or one of those other words Roxas was talking to Axel about, the friend-plus-extras, the even different from best friends. Naminé gives her a warm, happy feeling, even when she's just a name...especially when she's just a name, because the real Naminé is being forced into a role just like Xion is.

Xion would rather save Naminé and herself, but she goes along with the roles in the end, for Sora, for Roxas, for Naminé.

Everyone forgets Xion, but the name remains on Naminé's wrist and she wants to cry every time she sees it without understanding why. It's yet one more reason that it's almost a relief to merge with Kairi and not have to fully exist anymore.

Neither girl expected a new life, a life all their own, but they get them, and they couldn't be more grateful.

Finding each other is neither dramatic nor immediate. They both just go about their lives, stunned at the novelty of being allowed to.

Naminé helps Even and Ienzo with research, and flies away with Riku when he gently reminds her she gets to choose now. She'll be back, when they need her, but she's spent enough time locked in different white rooms, so she'll let herself be selfish for a bit. She paints with Rapunzel, builds a snowman with Elsa, and when Riku says everyone is meeting up on Destiny Islands, she follows without even asking who the everyone is and if he's only inviting her out of pity.

Xion eats ice cream and picks out an apartment with Roxas and Axel. She debates about enrolling in school, but concludes classes are probably not as fun as practicing to beat the boys into a hundred tiny pieces in the next struggle tournament. She hears beach party reunion and she's there.

They'll never know if Roxas suggested the same patch of shore to them both as the best place for shells on purpose and distracted or actively threatened anyone else who would have gotten too close, but they will both have suspicions.

Naminé's hand brushes the back of Xion's where her own name resides. She shows Xion the inside of her wrist. It's fair play

Naminé explains away that it's because they are both parts of Kairi with a small, nervous laugh.

Xion points out she doesn't see Kairi's name on Naminé anymore since Naminé came back as her own person and not just Kairi's Nobody. Naminé voices her surprise that Xion was paying attention enough the one time they met before to remember seeing Kairi's name much less where it was. Xion blushes and backtracks., saying it was a guess since Roxas doesn't wear Sora or Ventus's names anymore.

Xion reorients the conversation saying she never had Kairi's name on her except for when she took Sora's form, so Naminé's explanation doesn't fit. She needs a new hypothesis. Maybe they can come up with one together as they look for shells.

Maybe they should just treat it as if they had normal soulmarks and had just found their soulmate. Get to know each other and explore what kind of bond they might have or form naturally.

Maybe they can start with an ice cream date.

Maybe they'll live happily ever after.

#namixi #namine #xion #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts au #snippets #soulamte au #send a couple and an au for headcanons #ask meme

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starcharmfunzies · 4 years

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spoilers My thoughts on KHMoM

Although I’m not done with the game yet I already finished the story, and with 30 hours of game time under my belt I think it’s enough to share my thoughts on it, both good and bad:

At first I thought Kairi’s narration would come to a close with her retelling the memories of her heart to someone (Ienzo, Ansem the Wise, etc), but it’s obvious by the fact that she mentions things there’s no way she could know of that the narration is more likely for us the players. This took me out of it a little because it couldn’t fit with MoM’s story; yes they were searching Kairi’s heart and it would have made sense if it was only Kairi’s perspective, but a lot of it has no place in her memory at all. It was just the franchise’s recap, and anybody else could have been narrating. Chirithy could have been a better option since he may actually know a lot more than Kairi does.

Alyson Stoner does a good job voice acting, but she’s not good at voicing Kairi. Her narration sounds more like Xion than Kairi, so you can tell she’s not able to separate them like Jesse does with Ven and Roxas. Alyson’s hoarse raspy voice in the narration gives Xion vibes, but idk if she was directed to do so because in KH3 her Kairi actually sounds a little more high pitched than she does in the narration of MoM.

Although the mapping of some songs could have been better I immensely enjoyed most of the songs in the game. I played in Proud mode and it felt balanced, challenging and fun.

The memory tracks were fun as well since the slight difference in gameplay, and I liked how they adapted it to boss battles as well.

Mickey changing outfits depending on what team you’re using is nice. I especially appreciate his look with the black coat it looks so silly I love it xD

I can’t believe there are 6 songs for Neverland plus Ruler or the Sky’s theme and “Neverland Sky” did not make the final cut goshdangit.

I’m genuinely surprised there were no Pirates of the Caribbean tracks. Probably something to do with copyright.

Seeing Aqua fly was lovely she looks so graceful and pretty I loved it QwQ

I appreciated that One Winged Angel made it, it was a pleasant surprise xD

Original Simple and Clean was nice but I was kinda hoping we’d have at least one of the remixed versions. Oh well.

It was so strange being able to interrupt Aqua’s animations to have her attack or jump because of how I used I was to having to wait for all her animations in BbS xD I mean it was nice! But it felt weird like ‘woah I can do that???’ Crazy stuff.

To this date KH3D is one of the games I like the least of the franchise and after playing the songs I realized how much I don’t like its soundtrack either xD Only songs I can actually hum from memory is All for One. For me most of the Disney world songs are pretty meh.

I can see what they were going for adding the extra Disney songs of Circle of Life, Beauty and the Beast and A Whole New World but because they can be kinda slow songs I don’t feel like they fit so good for a rhythm game? Specially Beauty and the Beast I did not like as much.

Seeing Elsa being shoved on the back of the box felt so shameless from Disney’s part you can tell they had Square at gun point and told them to have her there. That and also that Arendelle’s song was Let it Go instead of the actual world song like the rest of KH3′s Disney worlds.

VS Battles online are fun, I like ‘em c:

In the final battle it felt so wrong that Sora was the one to fight Xehanort instead of Kairi. It felt like a slap to the face after Kairi was so hyped as protagonist for this story. You wanna include Sora in this fight? Have Kairi fight with the Kingdom Key instead of Destiny’s Embrace, that way Kairi gets to fight Xehanort while also letting the players know that Sora is there helping her.

Seeing the flashback of her being taken by student Xehanort was hella interesting and creepy but in a cool way. I liked it.

I... don’t know how to feel about the fictional world. I’m still taking it all in xD but I’m open to it.

The way Kairi and Riku were so excited to see each other was hella cute ngl <3

I was kinda hoping Nameless Star would be Strelitzia, but it really seems like she’s Yozora’s gf. That’s fine I can live with that, she’s nice and I like her.

I can understand the logic of why Kairi did not go with Riku. Really, I do. But it felt like another slap to the face xD Like damn this poor girl barely got the spotlight before Riku went away with it again.

Kairi is gonna be Aqua’s student!! I’m actually really looking forward to this and I hope we get to see more of their interactions c:

Mickey trying to run off after Riku and having Donald and Goofy tackle him was so funny like bro who the hell are you kidding? You went off on your own to do shit without telling anyone all the way back from KH1.

“But Master Yen Sid, he’s all alone in a world we know nothing about!” That didn’t stop you before from taking your sweet time to rescue Aqua did it??? 💢💢💢

See? I told you guys there wouldn’t be any new Ven dialogue :’v

The final credits with everyone flying with Sora that one moment where it was him, Roxas and Ven just made me go 😍😍😍😍😍 !!

Yen Sid asking Donald and Goofy to tell everyone to stop their respective searches was such a relief Terra, Aqua and Ven can finally get out of the Realm of Darkness after a year of searching there QwQ

The setup for the next entry in the franchise got me definitely excited! I’ll be looking forward to anything new Nomura releases, and I’ll be on the lookout for KH’s 20th anniversary in 2022 c:

#khmom

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cup-noodle-recipehs · 4 years

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Some Re: Mind Thoughts (Now that I calmed down and paid more attention)

Using this as my guiding key:

So assumedly, this is Sora experiencing some personal battles in Ven’s heart...and then the secret boss (Dark Inferno) is what comes out of it:

Not sure exactly what it has to do with Ven yet, but it maybe give some kind of answers as to why Ven currently has no memories of KHUX? Did some sort of strong darkness in his heart taking this form cause memory loss?? Lol no clue!

“Seeing as you have also taken the forbidden path, you too must be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice.”

So I’m thinking this is still Xehanort speaking through Terra’s body at this point, telling Sora that he knows that he time traveled back to try to redo things again...? And like Young Xehanort, he’s warning Sora about how the abusing time and space with the PoW will cause him to disappear. But he said you TOO, meaning he had to make some kind of sacrifice as well. I’m still a bit lost on how Xehanort taking this forbidden path of time traveling apparently ended up costing him (because he seemed to have it all planned out to go exactly his way), unless he just means that the ultimate sacrifice is just giving up your corporeal form in order to travel...which going by how well it went for Xehanort, doesn’t seem that ultimate of a sacrifice...? Idk, this one’s still got me, too.

That IS INDEED the WHOLE SQUAD fighting Xehanort’s 13 Seekers (the ones from Scala Ad Caelum) HOO BOY THAT’LL BE FUN

OKAY NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS! That’s the wrecked version of Thebes around them, so this scene must take place in that one fragment of time towards the beginning of the game where Xigbar starts to say, “May your hear--”

AND THEN LUXORD SHOWS UP AND FREEZES TIME, THAT’S WHY IT CUTS OFF SO WEIRD!

AND I’LL BET ANYONE THAT’S THE CARD THAT LUXORD GIVES SORA RIGHT BEFORE HE FADES, THE WILD CARD.

Here we have some nice filler explaining how the vessel for Namine got back to Radiant Garden (and Riku keeping his promise to the Repliku COUGH AND HIMSELF COUGHCOUGH to get her back)

Upping the difficulty of (most likely) all the boss fights at the Keyblade Graveyard by separating them out and giving them a crap ton of health

Meanwhile Sora be like Aw shit here we go again

A cheeky Namine portrait in Riku’s heart 😏Nomura said LOOK EVERYONE I SOLVED KH1′S LOVE TRIANGLE!

Also NOMURA SAID SOKAI HAND-HOLDING IS MY KINK AND I WILL PUT IT IN WHEREVER I GODDAMN PLEASE

Kairi: It’s so pretty!

Sora: *TRYING TO RESIST THE ‘YES YOU ARE’ COMMENT*

Sora: *TRYING TO RESIST THE SEA AND SKY PUNS*

Sora: 😍💕💘✨🔥😍😍💖💖💖💘💘💖❤️💯✨✨🌟❤️😍💕💘✨🔥😍😍💖💖💖💘💘💖❤️💯✨✨🌟❤️😍💕💘✨🔥😍😍💖💖💖💘💘💖❤️💯✨✨🌟❤️😍💕💘✨🔥😍😍💖💖💖💘💘💖❤️💯✨✨🌟❤️😍💕💘✨🔥😍😍💖💖💖💘💘💖❤️💯✨✨🌟❤️😍💕💘✨🔥😍😍

HELL YEAH GET IT GIRL, CANCEL HIS HAPPY ENDING AND GET YOURS

(Also Sora as your teammate?? WE LOVE A BATTLE COUPLE)

OOOF I CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS! Not having anything to really explore there felt soooo empty and unfinished before! Hopefully they added some substantial content there.

ALSO LOOK. AT. THAT. KEYBLADE!!! OATHKEEPER’S BACK, BABY!!!

Axel: Get back what’s OURS. ??

Everyone’s saying Saix/Isa, and this probably is a fight against him. But Roxas and Xion don’t give a shit about saving him at this point, right? So what exactly is Axel talking about?

Riku: ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS THAT?

RIKU MY BOY YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THE MEMES BUT I AM

Aqua: But don’t worry. I’m not alone this time.

IS AQUA GOING BACK INTO THE REALM OF DARKNESS?? WITH SOMEONE ELSE?

Does this take place near the beginning of the ending, when they first start looking for Sora? Maybe Aqua and someone else (Riku, or Terra/Ven?) checked the RoD for him?

VERRRRY interesting that this looks like The Final World, except at night. I’m thinking it’s symbolism for the fact that Sora is now in a different dimension of sorts...almost like the dark side of where he was before. And very telling that that’s where he runs into...

ESPECIALLY considering how the Yozora ending seemed to suggest that Sora and Riku were both in Shibuya, but in parallel/split versions of it.

(That doesn’t sound like Ray Chase voicing Yozora to me, btw...it sounds like a combination of David Gallagher and Jason Dohring, and I feel like I’ve DEFINITELY heard it somewhere before but I can’t place it yet.)

AND IS THAT KINGDOM HEARTS I SEE STARTING TO PEEK OUT FROM BEHIND THE CLOUDS THERE??

Also I REALLY REALLY DON’T LIKE what Chirithy is saying during this part:

“You yourself will vanish from this world, and without your powers, you can’t return to the world you came from.”

WHY IS OUR BOY LOSING HIS POWERS?? Did saving Kairi mean having to give up the keyblade or his ability to connect to his friends???

SEND HELP.

#Kingdom Hearts #Kingdom Hearts 3 #Kingdom Hearts 3 Re: Mind Trailer #spoilers #and wild theorizing #these are just some of my errant thoughts #Beyond this I have no idea what's going on #BUT I'M HYPE

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nadziejastar · 4 years

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That moment, a ball rolled up and bumped into Roxas’ foot.

“Scuse me!” A boy came running up.

“Hayner, not again!”

Behind him, a girl came running, and then following her, a slightly chubby boy.

Roxas picked up the ball at his feet, and threw the ball back to the boy and his friends. The three dipped their heads in a bow, and ran away again with the ball.

“—They’d be around the same age as me, wouldn’t they,” Roxas muttered.

“Huh?” Axel asked, and Roxas wondered if he hadn’t caught it.

“Nothing.” Roxas shook his head slightly and started walking. Roxas turned to watch the pigeons in front take flight.

Thank you for another interesting video. The Youtuber said that RAX just eating ice cream didn’t really make them feel that close. He said it could have worked if being in the organization seemed REALLY that bad and ice cream was the only thing they had in life to give them pleasure. I actually did get the impression that ice cream was all they had. But I think the little short story “Roxas: Somewhere in Time” did a better job showing just how bored and unhappy Roxas was with the monotony of his organization life. That’s how I think they originally intended the Axel/Roxas friendship to be before they came up with the idea of Xion.

“I wonder whether it’d be fun to fly like that.”

“—It’d be fun, I guess,” Axel replied, taking a bite of his ice cream.

“I wonder how long it’ll be okay to do this.”

Axel stared at Roxas. Maybe Roxas is feeling the build up of doing the same kind of missions day after day. Every day, Roxas was given the same mission, to subdue heartless. But it couldn’t be helped, Axel thought. Roxas was special. To the Organisation, and to Axel. Just like how the Organisation can’t let Roxas know anything, I don’t think I’ll let him know anything myself.

This is betraying Roxas, isn’t it?

“We might not always be able to be together,” murmured Axel, without realising.

“Huh?” This time, it was Roxas who looked at Axel.

“What’s with you, don’t make such a scary face.”

Axel turned his face away from Roxas, and bit his ice cream. Roxas didn’t know of Axel’s unrest. And, Axel didn’t know of Roxas’ unrest.

This story takes place the day after Axel comes back from Castle Oblivion. Roxas sees Hayner, Pence, and Olette playing ball and then wonders just how long he can keep doing what he’s doing. He’d rather play with them–kids his own age. Axel knew that. He knew Roxas was unhappy. He was lying to Roxas so he wouldn’t leave. He knew if Roxas had the choice, he would leave him. Their friendship was not strong enough for Roxas to stick around just for him. Axel ALSO knew that their arrangement was living on borrowed time. He and Roxas simply weren’t gonna be together forever and there would come a time when they’d go their separate ways. They friendship wasn’t super cuddly or cutesy, nor was it particularly intimate. But it was interesting.

I actually should not exist. I was just a doll. I chose to disappear because I did not want to become what Xemnas had planned for me. Therefore, I had no regrets. I remember disappearing in front of the clock tower while Roxas held me. Roxas also went to sleep afterwards, leaving Axel alone. The person who probably suffered the most was Axel. Because he’s the one who forgot the most. Being forgotten and forgetting, they’re both painful. I am a bit uncertain whether I should actually exist or not. Sometimes, even if for a fleeting moment, I feel that I truly should not be here.

To address his point about Xion: I was honestly fine with the fact that Xion felt like a living plot device and that she felt like just another version of Kairi. I don’t think she was supposed to feel distinct from Kairi. That defeats the point. He also said that she needed more inner conflict about helping Sora wake up because it made her death scene less effective. I disagree with all this.

I think Xion wasn’t supposed to feel completely “human”. Because she’s wasn’t. She was the embodiment of Sora’s memories of Kairi. She’s not really supposed to exist. Even in her Character File story, she doesn’t sound convinced she should really exist. When she disappeared, it was supposed to feel right and natural, like she went back to where she truly belonged. After beating the game, you weren’t supposed to come away with the idea that she was supposed to return and live happily ever after with Roxas and Axel. And that’s how I felt. I was 100% okay with her disappearing at the end and never coming back. Her death scene was beautiful, IMO. When she came back in KH3, it felt tacky and cheapened her whole character.

I completely agree that it is very disappointing that we never got to see the other members’ backstories. KHUX is NOT the right place to explore Marluxia’s past IMO. But I don’t think Days was the right place, either. Many of the members died too quickly (though more could have been done with Demyx and Luxord). I think BBSV2 was meant to be that game he wanted 358/2 Days to be. I’m sure that the Days timeline would be covered in BBSV2. But 358/2 Days was supposed to be about Roxas’s “blank period” in the organization. So, I am okay with it focusing on mostly RAX and, to a lesser extent, Axel/Saix. The rest of the organization’s past required a separate game to do them justice.

“Let’s eat some ice cream. We are best friends. You are right. Ha-ha-ha.”

I loved the part where he did the robot voice making fun of the dialogue in the game. There’s a lot of truth to how forced it was.

“The biggest problem with the friendship between Roxas, Axel, and Xion is how stilted it feels. More often than not, the game just TELLS us what the characters are feeling, instead of letting it be revealed through their actions. We’re continually TOLD how great the trio’s friendship is, yet the only evidence of that is them smiling while eating ice cream.”

This is a quote from the video. I can understand why he feels like this. And to an extent, I agree. But I only agree because I think most of the fandom fundamentally missed what Nomura was trying to do with the sea-salt trio and KH3 didn’t even bother to follow through with the original idea.

“Well, Roxas—why do the three of us eat ice cream together every day in that place?”

“….Huh?” I don’t really get what he’s trying to say.

“I have no use in doing that either, do I? If you think about it, it’s troublesome, right? Do you want me to tell you?”

Roxas looked at Axel, and waited for his answer.

“It’s because we are best friends.”

At least for Axel, the game DIDN’T tell you what he was really feeling. You DID have to look at his actions and read between the lines. That’s what I loved so much about the story.

In KH2, Axel and Roxas were so-called “best friends”. And this is the reason the story of 358/2 Days pushes the idea of “best friends” in such a forced and artificial way. Even in Days, Axel first called them best friends, not spontaneously, but in response to being incredibly hurt by Saix and also from remembering some specific incident from his past.

He wasn’t really supposed to be “best friends” with Roxas and Xion, though (cute as they are). I mean, he’s a GROWN ASS MAN, for crying out loud. Naturally, it’s embarrassing for an adult to be best friends with two kids.

Pathik: The fourth chakra is located in the heart. It deals with love and is blocked by grief. Lay all your grief out in front of you. You have indeed felt a great loss. But love is a form of energy, and it swirls all around us. The Air Nomads’ love for you has not left this world. It is still inside of your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love.

I’m sure a lot of KH fans have seen ATLA. The way Axel/Roxas/Xion was handled really reminded me of how Aang/Katara was handled. I think the audience misunderstood the Aang/Katara relationship and saw it more cutesy and simplistically than it was intended to be. Aang did genuinely love her, just as Axel genuinely loved Roxas and Xion. But at the same time, he was completely obsessed with her, just as Axel was obsessed with Roxas in KH2. Aang was just a kid. In his mind, Katara was his “forever girl” and they were gonna be together forever and ever. He was quite pushy about it at times, just as Axel is quite pushy about how Roxas is his “best friend” in KH2.

Aang: On stage, when you said I was just like a … brother to you, and you didn’t have feelings for me.

Katara: I didn’t say that. An actor said that.

Aang: But it’s true, isn’t it? We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we’re not.

Katara: Aang, I don’t know.

Aang was infatuated with her from the moment he laid eyes on her. On top of that, he met her just after he ran away from home to avoid his entire life changing and losing everything he knew and everyone he loved. And he wakes up in her arms to find out that all his people were completely wiped out because of that decision. He was all alone in the world and deeply traumatized. And he clung to Katara to avoid facing that loss. Axel also lost everything, including the one person he couldn’t bear to lose. Roxas and Xion were the first people he got close to after his life changed. And he starts realizing how much Saix changed and he can’t cope with the enormity of that loss. He hides all of those feelings, and later becomes obsessed with Roxas to avoid facing them. Very similar idea.

Aang loves Katara but not in the way he should, as it was based on replacing the absence of the Air Nomads, and Guru Pathik believes he never learned what it meant to “let go” of her.

Aang and Katara are not on the same wavelength as there are many times where Katara attempts to shelter him from the harsh realities of life - which creates a chasm between them. Katara discovers she can communicate so much more easily with Zuko, and he with her.

Aang finds out that some of his people were alive all along and just hiding; living their lives for the past hundred years without him. His love for Katara grew from the love of the Air Nomads, so what if his people came back? Would he realize that his love for her was not as genuine as he once thought?

--ATLA cancelled Book 4 plot

Katara never seemed to reciprocate Aang’s romantic feelings. Though only a few years older than him, she was VERY mature for her age. She felt more like his mom than his girlfriend, just like how Axel seemed more like R&X’s dad than their best friend. There was a chasm between them. Katara couldn’t communicate with Aang on her level or confide in him about her own pain, just like how Axel could never communicate with R&X on his level or confide in them about his pain. They were too immature. Aang relied on Katara and took her for granted, and Roxas took Axel for granted. When Aang lost Appa he took all his anger out on Katara, just like how Roxas took all his anger over losing Xion out on Axel.

Aang and Katara had a very wonderful and realistic dynamic, which I liked a lot. It just…wasn’t believable as romantic. And Axel/Xion/Roxas had a very interesting dynamic I liked a lot. But they were just not believable as best friends. They weren’t on the same wavelength and Axel sheltered Roxas from the harsh realities of life, creating a chasm between them. Aang needed to find out his people were still alive in order to cope with his pain and “let go” of Katara. Axel needed to find out that the Isa he remembered was still alive in order to cope with his grief and let go of Roxas.

“He seemed a tiny bit startled as he scanned the room, and his eyes fell on a particular drawing. “This is…me? And that guy Axel…?”

It was Naminé’s drawing of Roxas and Axel, standing side by side.

“You’re best friends,” she said. Right. Those two had been friends—well, Axel believed they still were. Roxas was his only friend and his best. And Axel was the same for Roxas—probably.

I like this passage from the novel. It’s the very first time Axel and Roxas being best friends is mentioned in KH2. Roxas is Axel’s best and only friend. And Naminé figures that Roxas feels the same way… well, probably. What made Axel such an interesting character was that his feelings toward Roxas were one-sided, just like Aang’s feelings for Katara were one-sided. Seeing Roxas again was the only thing that gave his life any meaning. The thing is, Roxas didn’t feel the same way. He cared about Axel, yes. But Roxas would have been VERY uncomfortable and creeped out by Axel’s obsession with him. This is a big problem that NEVER gets addressed or resolved.

On the sofa opposite him, Naminé spoke up instead. “Sora and Riku are best friends.”

Axel’s eyes crinkled as he remembered his own best friend—the only friend he’d ever had, in fact.

“If your best friend goes away, you’re sad, and if you get to be with them, you’re happy,” Naminé added. “Isn’t that how it is, Axel?”

“…That’s about the size of it.” Axel nodded and sat down on the remaining empty sofa, staring at the sea-salt ice cream he held.

“So you are capable of sincerity,” said Riku.

Axel only shrugged at the jab and finished his ice cream pop.

Like Aang, Axel suffered a great loss; the loss of someone he couldn’t bear to lose. And he never dealt with it. Why does Axel feel the need to assert over and over that Roxas is his only friend and his best friend? Because he was using Roxas as a replacement for Isa–his actual best friend. Axel was desperate to fill the void of that intimacy with another best friend.

“Finally awake, huh?”

Roxas looked up. “Axel…”

His only good friend—his best friend—Axel had arrived with two sea-salt ice cream pops.

Roxas is pretty casual saying goodbye in KH2FM. He’s just like like “take care, okay?” He’s smiling and not visibly emotional or anything like he was with Xion. Axel, on the other hand, is reduced to tears. He is most definitely NOT okay. IMO, the problem was not that 358/2 Days didn’t do a good enough job making Axel/Xion/Roxas feel like best friends. The problem is that KH3 still went with the notion that they ever really were best friends to begin with.

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koukoupepia · 5 years

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You said it was "misogynistic" for KH3 to do what they did to Kairi, and I agree that she shouldn't have died, but in KH2 she gets kidnapped twice and flattened as a character. In KH3 even though her role is bad she at least manages to do some shit.

like....... both games can be sexist at the same time. i never said that kh2 didn’t have issues?? i spent a lot of time talking about kh3 because it kind of just came out. marketing heavily implied that kairi would have some plot agency (as well as the endings of bbs and 0.2) so when she didnt people were understandably upset. also, killing her just to spur manpain is arguably worse than getting kidnapped imo

im not gonna write a whole essay bc i already talked about this so much but kairi exists only as a plot device in kh3, like her early scenes with lea are only to cause him to start to remember xion and she doesnt think about anything other than sora except for the really tasty moment at the beginning of the game when she talks about how she cares about namine that unfortunately didn't go anywhere and she didnt appear to have played a part in saving her. im a little bit biased bc kh2 is probably my favorite game in the series, but despite getting left on the islands for too long, getting kidnapped a couple times, and she doesnt even get to summon her own keyblade, she still exhibits some agency, makes choices reflective of her character, and actually interacts with more than 2 other characters. she was never a very well written character (like, she’s in a coma for most of kh1 lol) but since she’s only been in 3 games the fact that she has as much personality as a cardboard cutout in kh3 is really glaring.... you could replace her with a rock and the plot wouldn’t change. the new kh3 novels attempts to explain the fact that she freezes every time she’s about to get bodied by having her write that she’s struggling during her training and having a hard time getting her legs to move but that’s still not something that’s in the game

kh1 established kairi as friendly and charming, having a strong interpersonal skills and high sense of empathy, but she also likes to tease her friends. she still retains some of that in kh2 and even in 0.2′s ending the way she tells riku, “well, we still like you” is so cute. kh3 having none of that and only having her as this boring quiet demure girl is soo disappointing

#kh3 spoilers

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marshmallowgoop · 4 years

Photo

Doing yearly writing reviews isn’t really a thing. But once you start doing ‘em, it doesn’t feel right to stop, you know?

Seeing progress in other arts is of course a lot easier than seeing progress in writing, but I think there is some forward movement for me, especially when I also consider my compilations from 2017 and 2018.

In regards to 2019, I’ve selected various kinds of writing for this post: analytical essays, opinion pieces, news articles, creative fiction, and maybe some works that can’t be categorized so easily, too. It was a very difficult year on many fronts; I dealt with job struggles, financial insecurity, destroyed relationships, medical hardships, seemingly endless cyberstalking and online harassment.

But there were good things, too. New friendships. New passions. New outlooks. I feel like I’ve learned and grown a lot more in these past couple of months than I have in a long, long time.

The end of 2019 is more than just the end of one year. It’s also the end of a decade. But I think the best advice I’ve received all decade comes from this year:

✄ Sometimes, you have to say yes to saying no.

✄ If you can’t do something well, do something poorly!

✄ The best option may be to simply not engage.

✄ You don’t have to apologize for disappointing others.

✄ Your worth isn’t measured by how much you “accomplish.”

✄ You have rights: the right to have your needs and wants respected, the right to make mistakes, the right to determine your own priorities, the right to not be responsible for the actions or problems of others, the right to express yourself, the right to be human. It’s not selfish or narcissistic to stand up for your rights.

And, since it is the end of the decade and all, here’s also a comparison between one nerdy fandom essay from August 2010 and another from August 2019:

2010 (with added spaces because yes, this really was just a huge block of text originally):

Also, in my own opinion, nobody really gave a damn for Xion all that much save for Roxas. I mean, yeah, Axel cared a little, but in the end, he got totally mad at her, got mad any time she was mentioned, got mad whenever Roxas worried about her, got mad when she showed up at the clock tower. She was his friend, yeah, and he didn’t want her to go, but in the end, he would have chosen Roxas above her anytime.

The other “mean villains” didn’t really care. Luxord didn’t care, Demyx didn’t care, Xaldin got exasperated once at her, but overall didn’t care, Xigbar didn’t care, Xemnas outright said he didn’t care, Saix was rather cruel to her, but really, in the end, he didn’t give a damn for her. The others weren’t around long enough to have an impression on her. I think even Riku didn’t really care all that much for her, in all honesty. He just wanted his best friend back.

Also, you have to keep in mind that we played the game through Roxas’ perspective, and it’s in my personal belief that he fell in love with Xion. And if you’re in love with someone, when she gets into a coma, or goes missing, or ignores you, you’re gonna be upset, and talk about it. So Roxas did.

But you know, he doesn’t actually do a lot of it until the end of the game. Before that, it’s all about the THREE of them. He loves his friends (even if he doesn’t know it), and he wants them to be together forever, but when Xion goes missing or whatnot and they can’t ALL have ice cream together, he gets upset.

2019:

I’ve written more on the subject here, but to keep it short, Ryuko only tries to take Nui’s life when she’s convinced herself that she’s a monster, and her development is less about her becoming less okay with killing people and more about how she won’t let her anger and rage control her. What makes Ryuko’s attitude so different in the end isn’t that she’s reconsidered her thoughts on murder but that she’s composed. Come episode 22, Ryuko ain’t saying that she’s gonna kill anyone to sound tough or to intimidate. She keeps her cool even against her worst enemies.

But that’s just what I think! Maybe I’ve interpreted the character all wrong. But Ryuko’s freak-out after she goes berserk and hurts others in episode 12, her devotion to defending even people she’s just met… I just struggle to see her as someone who’s actually a-okay with killing. The fact that Ryuko’s perfect fantasy in episode 20 depicts her as a sweet girl without any of the violent tendencies that she has in reality also points this way; not to mention, Ryuko outright admits that her picking fights and causing trouble are bad things when remarking on her childhood in episode 8.

And Ryuko? She doesn’t want to be bad. All the poor girl’s ever wanted is love, and I can’t imagine she’d ever think that getting angry and killing people would get her a lot of that.

Progress may be slow, but it does happen.

At least, I think so.

Image Texts

January 2019

And personally? I find that sweetness just absolutely, utterly charming. When I understood what the rap was trying to communicate, I couldn’t imagine listening to the song without it. Heck, even before I understood, I found the “without rap” edits empty and barren. No matter how “silly” the lyrics might come off, the unabashed cheese is fantastic. The rap section that I was once “meh” about legitimately became my favorite part of the song.

Plus, I really can’t stress enough how sad the song is when it’s purely Ryuko. The official [nZk] remix replaces Senketsu’s rap with a reprise of Ryuko’s first verse, which recounts how she and Senketsu met. And it’s tragic! She says, “But I’m all alone,” and she is. Senketsu isn’t singing with her, no matter her claim that she can hear his voice. Considering what happens to Senketsu in the end, his absence in the song hits even harder.

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/182361051017/oomoj-marshmallowgoop-the-rap-is-good

February 2019

The focus then shifts away from Ragyo, but Kill la Kill ain’t at all done with building the audience up yet. As the scene moves to the following day, viewers are met with quick, close-up shots of Uzu’s note to Ryuko, timed right to the beat of “Blumenkranz.” Uzu wants to duel, and we soon get to see his full request in an engaging low-angle shot where Ryuko looks up to this sign looming over her. The weight and gravity of the situation is effectively conveyed: the smooth transition from Ragyo to here, as well as the music and shot composition, let us know in no indirect terms that this fight isn’t something to be brushed off. Uzu’s duel is a big deal, and it’s very much connected to Ragyo’s expansive empire.

And the tension just keeps growing. Ryuko’s reaction to Uzu’s note is presented with a dramatic canted, high-angle shot. The camera—which is just slightly tilted—peers down at both Ryuko and the sign, communicating a sense of danger and unease. Viewers already know that the upcoming battle is important, but here, we also understand that it’s not going to be easy.

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/182841724817/all-the-discussion-around-episode-6-of-kill-la

March 2019

Kill la Kill the Game: IF is currently being featured at the 2019 Game Developers Conference that runs until March 22nd in San Francisco, and a flurry of new gameplay videos are now available for viewing. Notably, these videos feature full English subtitles for the character dialogue for the first time since EVO 2018 last year and never-before-seen stages, such as what seems to be the Fiber Castle in the Kiryuin Manor.

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/183766224117/kill-la-kill-the-game-if-gameplay-footage-from

April 2019

I mean, Kill la Kill ended over five years ago now. There’s been fairly minimal new content ever since—an OVA in September of 2014, a few pieces of merchandise here and there, a small crossover with Grand Summoners last year. And then, not even 11 months ago, out of seemingly nowhere, there was confirmation for a full-blown Kill la Kill video game. That we now know will be released in just 14 weeks!

Lots of jokes were made about the announcement for a game so many years after the series finale, but, like, seriously, as a longtime Kill la Kill fan, it’s hard to wrap my head around. Ever since the show ended, I’ve dedicated over half a million words to writing about it, spent tens of thousands of yen on books and Blu-rays and CDs, devoted nearly 60 GB to my own GIFs and edits. I’ve loved this thing to death. I’ve always found more and more that I want to write and create from this series, but I never really imagined nor expected that we’d ever get much more official content from the original creators themselves. And now we are getting so much more, and???

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/184228103137/kill-la-kill-the-game-if-releases-on-july-25th-in

May 2019

Kiznaiver: Oh, I was so excited to love this show! I was lucky enough to see an advanced screening of the first two episodes, and I was totally hooked. It was drop-dead gorgeous—and probably the prettiest series Trigger has ever put out—and I was very intrigued by the plot and characters. I remember just coming back to my hotel room at like 3:00 am after the premiere, utterly filled with excitement. I mean, Kiznaiver was directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi, the episode director behind the two episodes that got me hooked on Kill la Kill (episodes 5 and 18)!

But… my excitement quickly died. The story tried to develop way too many characters in way too little time, and I never enjoyed the romantic pairing of Katsuhira and Noriko, finding it shallow, undeveloped, and nonsensical (in a bad way), which… kind of ruins a lot of the series when that’s arguably the heart of the whole thing.

Kiznaiver is still super, super pretty, though. That last episode’s animation got me shook.

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/184700944732/so-have-you-watched-the-other-stuff-studio-trigger

June 2019

I do recognize that many, many matters do not warrant conversation. I do recognize that the phrase “I’m just trying to have a conversation” can be—and has been—utilized as a means of directing criticism away from inflammatory, unacceptable, inhumane remarks. I in no way feel that hateful, discriminatory comments should be promoted.

Simultaneously, however, “conversation” should not automatically be a dirty word in the field of analyzing and seriously engaging with fiction, and thoughtful reactions should be supported and striven for. Nothing in fiction is ever black and white. There are so many nuances and complexities to the storybook realities of our media. I want commentators and critics of fiction to be passionate about listening, considering, and rethinking those nuances and complexities. Isn’t that why we do this work at all? To share our own point of view and open ourselves up to others?

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/185289615202/we-need-to-change-the-way-we-seriously-discuss

July 2019

Initially, I was really bummed by this lack of development. But as I thought about things more, I… didn’t mind so much. If this dream or universe or whatever is something that Satsuki “experiences” before the events of the anime, of course she won’t grow as a character here. Maybe this game is kind of the Kill la Kill prequel I’ve been begging for for over half a decade.

And as much as I didn’t get anything, I thought the ending bits between Ryuko and Satsuki were so good.

Like, I suppose Ryuko’s absorbing the Life Fibers or something?? But wow, pretty.

And the part where they talk before Satsuki disappears? That’s my kinda anime bullshit. It’s the kinda anime bullshit I wanted from the OVA between Ryuko and Senketsu.

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/186648065467/goop-plays-kill-la-kill-the-game-if-satsuki

August 2019

That book, Log. 2, is a fan doujin from Kotaro Nakamori, who worked as an animator and animation director in Kill la Kill. There’s a bunch of assorted fanart in there, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Nakamori is a fan of Urusei Yatsura and wanted to make a little crossover between that series and Kill la Kill.

Personally, though, as someone not too familiar with Urusei Yatsura, I kinda just saw the image as oni-Satsuki (with oni being demon/ogre-like creatures in Japanese folklore). Oni are traditionally depicted wearing tiger skin loincloths, and Lum herself is definitely basically a space oni. So, I saw the cover and got super excited about oni-Satsuki because I love oni a lot, haha.

Fun fact: character designer Sushio has also drawn Kill la Kill characters as oni for setsubun, a celebration that’s held on the last day of winter (February 3rd). During setsubun, you might see folks dressed up like oni—who get beans thrown at them in an effort to bring in good luck and chase naughty demons away.

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/187228888187/do-i-see-satsuki-wearing-lums-outfit-in-your-last

September 2019

Though I don’t see it much anymore, I remember lots of comparisons between Ragyo and the villains of Saturday morning cartoons back in the day. She was described as a generic, two-dimensional “evilz for the sake of evilz” baddie and criticized for her simplicity.

And though I did admittedly agree to an extent—I craved a lot more depth and insight, particularly in regards to her haunting line about “still having something of a human heart” whilst brutally attacking her own daughter in the final episode—I also found Ragyo to be a remarkably compelling, powerful, and horrifying villain even without tons of backstory and explanation. Perhaps my write-up on her first scene in episode 6 best details why; this woman has such a presence, and the visual language of the series amplifies that presence spectacularly. Ragyo’s intimidating and scary without the audience even needing to know anything about her.

And… I’d say that’s a good villain. That’s exactly what a villain should do.

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/187987858537/on-ragyo-kiryuin

October 2019

And, though there are no visuals, so I can’t be sure if it’s an “Ocean of Light” or not, the fourth Drama CD also has the same kinda deal happening. In the CD—which takes place immediately after Ryuko learns the truth of her origins—Ryuko’s pain manifests as an explosion of light that knocks both her and Senketsu unconscious and pushes Senketsu away from her. The sound effect here is familiar, and I’m personally convinced that this is another “Ocean of Light” moment.

Which brings me to the “light” part of the terminology. Light is often associated with good, yes, but light is also associated with heat, and heat is associated with pain. In the Drama CD, Ryuko’s light is so hot that Nui even remarks that Senketsu “almost burned” from it, and when Mako embraces Ryuko after swimming through her “Ocean of Light” in episode 12, Ryuko’s touch scorches Mako’s skin.

I’ve already written an essay on the symbolic and narrative use of fire, warmth, and heat in Kill la Kill (that you should totally read because it’s actually maybe Kinda Good, Maybe), and relating to that, I see the “Ocean of Light” as a physical representation of Ryuko’s fiery spirit. That fire can be used for good, and that fire can also be painful, but no matter what, that fire is a part of Ryuko.

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/188247077227/i-always-wanted-some-explanation-you-are-smart

November 2019

She looks around her cottage. Her eyes find the walls and the furnishings. Her eyes find the scratched floors and stained wood. She does not voice it to the once-emperor, but she had never been able to remove the stains from the attack. Her son's blood has painted the brown wood red. It is a reminder of what she cannot remember. It is a reminder of the past she has forgotten.

“This home feels so desperately lonely,” she admits. “I do not know who is missing. But it is not complete.”

The man is quiet. He did not expect to find himself feeling sympathy for the woman's plight. Perhaps she is a fool, to have given her heart to a demon. But kindness ought not be punished, he thinks. Or has he grown so cold that he believes it should be?

December 2019

🏀 Michiru and Shirou’s relationship may be the focus, but Nakashima emphasizes that Michiru’s relationship with Nazuna is also involved in the story in a big way.

🏀 Nakashima stresses the importance of depicting teen girls realistically. Two women screenwriters are on board: Kimiko Ueno and Nanami Higuchi. Both wrote for Little Witch Academia. Ueno also wrote for Space Patrol Luluco, and Higuchi was behind the production reports in Trigger Magazine (and, interestingly, wrote the script for the anime adaptation of BEASTARS).

🏀In regards to Michiru and Nazuna’s relationship, producer Naoko Tsutsumi (also an animation producer for Kiznaiver and Little Witch Academia) provides input as well. Nakashima says that they greatly value and take to heart the opinions of the women creators.

Full post: https://marshmallowgoop.tumblr.com/post/189928986922/otomedia-winter-2020-bna-brand-new-animal

#shut up goop #goop makes a (kinda) personal post #ramblings #writing #on to 2020!#right before the new year in my time zone as per usual lol #image texts under the cut #kill la kill #kingdom hearts #brand new animal #kiznaiver

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yo-namine · 4 years

Text

Okay, time to talk to myself about Re:Mind and Limit Cut Episode.

Spoilers galore under the cut!

I'm just gonna start off by talking about how the DLC handled my biggest gripe with base KH3, which was obviously how Kairi was written in the last few hours of the game. Like I said in my other post, Re:Mind doesn't totally fix those problems, but... Well, here's what we get:

Kairi's "murder" is reframed a bit in the DLC. Base KH3 presents it as Xehanort killing her just to provoke Sora et al. into "clashing" with him to make the final key. In Re:Mind, we learn that Xehanort was actually stowing Kairi away (by "crystallizing" her, which... means she wasn't dead? But Sora still takes all the steps Chirithy gives him that are specifically for restoring a heart from death, and it works, so...?) as a fail-safe of sorts in case he needed another Light. Xemnas foreshadows this a bit when he says that Kingdom Hearts needs the Princesses of Heart in case the whole 13 Clashes of Light and Darkness thing doesn't work out. And for what it's worth, I do think this is a little better for Kairi as a character just because it shows that she was "killed" due to something unique and special about her, rather than what she was to Sora. She's still being used, and she's still sapped of her agency, but presumably no other character could have worked in that role against Xehanort, so... that's something, I suppose.

During the Xemnas/Saix/Xion fight, there's an added scene where all the Lights get to take a shot at Xemnas, and Kairi actually broke that motherfucker's guard and made him stumble when no one else could... And then she got captured, bloop, but at least this time it was because she was actually fighting and simply got bested. I can appreciate that. I liked seeing her shield Axel from Xion's attack, too.

And of course, she does get the chance to take on Xehanort later. She has a nice battle set-up (a sort of warp dash ability similar to Riku's and Roxas's, shotlock, reflect, and a GORGEOUS link attack with Sora), and it's a little cathartic to play as her taking Xehanort down. However, I don't think she ever learns that Xehanort took her as a safety measure for his plan or why she was the one chosen for this in the first place. She doesn't speak to Xehanort at all, which makes her big battle with him at the end feel rather... impersonal? And never mind him "killing" her in KH3; Xehanort's ultimately responsible for her losing her family when she was four years old, as well as the destruction of her home world. I'm not saying Kairi and Xehanort needed to have some long overwrought conversation or anything, but there definitely should've been some dialogue between them.

Kairi's actually involved in Naminé's restoration after all!!!!!!!! I remember the Ultimania's explanation of Naminé's return leaving a bad taste in my mouth because it seemed like they framed Kairi's death as ultimately a good thing, because hey, at least her murder freed Naminé from her heart. But that's not what actually happened; instead, Kairi and Sora go to Radiant Garden at the end of the game, and she lets him use the keyblade to release Naminé's heart from hers. And honestly, that scene right there? That was probably my favorite part of this entire DLC. The fact that Kairi really did play a part in restoring her Nobody is a much better payoff to her earlier lines in the game about wanting Naminé to have her own experiences. She wanted to give Naminé her life back, and rather than that being something wrenched from Kairi against her will, it was something she did for Naminé of her own volition. I just. 😭

/tl;dr thoughts on kairi

As for everything else in Re:Mind:

I loved the background moments with Sora and Kairi in the ending cinematic. Each one is framed so that you can't see their faces, so they all feel like you're looking in on something secret. The "Behind the Curtain" trophy name is pretty fitting (and just downright cute, lol). And like I said above, I loved the scene where Kairi and Sora restore Naminé's heart. You just see him pull the keyblade away from her chest, and then she cradles Naminé's heart in her hands and fjsldfjskd. I teared up at that. It was just such a sweet and gentle little moment. Sora and Kairi taking Chirithy to Ven (and Sora even giving them a little push, lol) was really sweet, too. I loved their body language while they watched Ven run off, how you see them turn toward each other just slightly.

I also like how Sora and Kairi's relationship evolved from "Even if we're apart, our hearts are always connected" to "Heart connections are nice and all, but I'd much rather actually be with you."

Demyx and Riku interacting was something I never knew I needed. Riku's like "PLEASE be careful with that vessel, it's very important--" and Demyx is just "Bro, I got this," and hoists it over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Sora and Roxas actually talk to each other! I liked the scene where Sora's Station of Awakening starts to peel away to reveal Roxas's, and you get little glimpses of Roxas's memories. And it turns out that Sora actually did release Roxas's heart from his, and it wasn't just Xemnas kicking Xion into his chest that did the trick, lmao. I like that change.

Xemnas mentions that the original Organization doesn't remember Xion, but they do have records of her. That's a nice little tidbit to have for my Day 4 AU. 👀

Saix says the Guardians must be desperate if they're getting a Princess of Heart involved in the war, and Axel's like "Nah, she's our trump card." Aw. I also thought it was interesting how Saix purposefully uses Axel and Roxas's names to try to trigger Xion's memory of them.

I had to watch the recusant's sigil bit like four times before I understood what the hell was happening, lmao. The sigil represents the Sea Salt Trio's actual connection to one another that they had to "reclaim" from Xemnas, which... okay, but why was that needed? The thing I always liked about this trio is that they're the only one that we see develop fully from the beginning to the end of their relationship. They were always the most believable (canon) trio to me because of that, so throwing in this whole "The sigil binds us together!" thing just seems kind of stupid and unnecessary. They're friendship is good enough as-is. You don't have to add in this nonsense to represent their bond; their relationship development itself already did that. But whatever, they still had a really cool combo attack.

Scala ad Caelum is expanded on! I really enjoyed exploring it and solving the little puzzles to put Kairi's heart back together.

I LOVED THE GUARDIANS VS. NORT REPLICAS BATTLE SO MUCH I HAVE TO YELL ABOUT IT. I ACTUALLY DIED THE FIRST TIME BUT I DIDN'T CARE THAT I HAD TO REPLAY IT BECAUSE I WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN. THE TAG TEAM ATTACKS!!!!! AQUA, XION, AND MICKEY'S COUNTER-ATTACK!!!!!! EVERYONE ACTUALLY WORKING TOGETHER!!!!!!!! IT’S ALL I EVER WANTED!!!!!!!!

There are so many cute dialogue exchanges during the Guardians vs. replicas sequence, too! Ven and Roxas compliment each other, Aqua scolds Axel for talking too much (twice, I think? Axel fusses at her the second time, lmao), Terra says something to Riku that I couldn't quite catch, and Riku's like "All thanks to you!" It's just so cute and charming, and it really made the Guardians finally feel like a team.

Mickey Mouse straight-up Boromir-ing his way through the Nort replicas was... I think I loved that? Yeah, no, I loved that. I was laughing through half of it because I kept getting knocked back, but it was a great sequence (visually and gameplay-wise).

Connecting all the keyholes was very satisfying, and was just a beautiful visual altogether.

Sora and Kairi's reunion was adorable. And then Sora sees Goatanort enter the scene, and he just looks at Kairi and is like, "You ready, B?" and Kairi's like, "FUCK yeah, I'm taking his trachea through his kneecaps!!!!!" Okay, not really, lmao. Actually, Kairi's surprised when Sora asks her that, like she didn't expect him to let her help, or maybe she felt like she wouldn't even be able to, but she says she's ready anyway. Kairi’s under-confidence in her fighting skills is a little more apparent in the DLC. Like she says "I can do this" right before the final battle, but it comes off as her trying to reassure herself. She even has a counterattack where her battle quote is "Please work!" and I don't remember hearing her say that in the base game. Girl knows how outclassed she is compared to most of the other Guardians (and Xehanort), but she fights like hell anyway. Attagirl. 🎉

And as for Limit Cut:

Aww, I love that Terra calls Riku "a great leader."

Cheers to David Gallagher for saying "Are you sure about this?" with the exact same inflection as the John Cena meme.

Riku's a master now, right? When will he get some spiffy keyblade armor???????

Okay. Riku is having dreams about looking for Sora. Sora is dead (?), and "the edges of sleep and death touch." Kairi has been asleep for the past year so that the Radiant Garden team can study her heart in effort to find Sora. Nomura? Nomura? Nomura. You cannot fuck this up, man. You can do this. You can write the Destiny Trio working together again. You can write a full story in which Kairi has an active role. You can write her and Riku interacting. You can do it. I believe in you.

The data battles are so hardddddd. I wound up just watching all the LC cutscenes on youtube, lmfao. But I do want to try to beat at least some of these bosses. Tragically, Riku is TRAPPED IN MERLIN'S HOUSE, so you can't leave to grind or anything. Boo.

I don't really care about Yozora. I think we got a confirmation from Sora that Nameless Star is Stella (?), and that's cute for her I guess, but I genuinely don't care, lmao. But I definitely understand the compulsion to include beloved characters from old cancelled projects in your newer ones, so I hope Nomura has fun with that. ...That sounded sarcastic, lol, but I meant it. I hope he gets to do something cool and creative with this recycled cast. It just might not be a story I'll end up following, is all.

Data greeting is SO much fun. I sank a couple of hours into that the other night just creating scenes and playing with effects. The controls are really easy to use, and it's even fun to just explore environments like Radiant Garden and Scala ad Caelum without messing with photos at all. I hope we can unlock more character outfits and poses in the future, but I can definitely enjoy it as is for now.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with this DLC. True, about half of Re:Mind is a rehash of the Keyblade Graveyard scenes with some extra content here and there, but it's sort of justified story-wise since we're in a timeloop. I enjoyed the extra Kairi scenes and the interactions between the Guardians the most. Limit Cut is mainly just bonus bosses, but like I said, I do want to actually beat those once I can figure out a strategy for them. And I'm obviously having way too much fun with Data Greeting, lmao, so yeah. Not a bad update.

#my posts #kh3 bloggin #dlc spoilers

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thefinalkey16 · 4 years

Text

KH3 Re:Mind spoilers/Reactions

So Xemnas gave the order?? To find the box?? But why??

So did Xigbar actually lose the box? YOU HAD ONE JOB

Oh we’re starting HERE HUH

I forgot how pretty the graphics are

Why is Riku so pretty???

Nomura really went “this DLC is about SOKAI and I’m gonna make sure you KNOW IT.”

Nomura really cares about his ship and I appreciate it so much

LETS GO SAVE OUR GIRL!

Heck yeah REMIND TIME

I love the music in this game so much

YES WE GET MORE MOM

Why does MOM adopt smol children lol

It bothers me that MOM has no actual face behind the hood. It’s like Ansem’s original form

So Xehanort is where Xemnas’s confusion of the heart comes from lol

OH THIS IS PREMASTER XEHANORT

I’m sorry, Xehanort is more powerful than darkness?

I’m sorry MOM is too scared to take off the coat???

MOM is a psychology teacher who gets exasperated by his dumb students

OH THATS JUST RUDE NOMURA

LEMME KNOW HIS NAME

A lost..Master?

Well we know where Xehanort got the hands behind the back walk from

OOO A NEW THEME

OH I LOVE IT

I’m 100% sure that MOM told him his name was “Noneya,” and it took a few decades before he realized what he actually said

DID THEY TELEPORT TO LOOK COOL ON THE ROCKS

I’m sorry they have holograms??

Did they actually call him Riku Replica lol

Wait they were actually nobodies

XEMNAS AND XEHANORT WERE REPLICAS?

“Why we have assembled here,” because Xemnas and Sora destroyed your sick castle

Poor Terra got possessed TWICE?

Demyx! You get Demyx!

I’m sorry 20??

No. I

Oh so they don’t actually remember Xion

Does.. does Xigbar remember Xion?

Wow they got Vexen just to get his daughter in their gang. How rude

Xehanort fell asleep while they chatted I’m cackling

Crazy old man

Now when do I get to save Kairi? :3c

YAY ITS TIME

YAY ITS CHIRITHY TIME

ITS MY SMOL KITTY

“Back so soon?”=you died again?? You’re lame

Chirithy is a mood

Sora you watched your GF get shattered

Oh so that’s why Sora dies

IS SORA SAILOR PLUTO

Oh my god he’s Sailor Pluto

Lose powers? He’s done that so many times 😂

Getting banned from one world? He had a phone and friends with gummi ships lol

ARE WE GONNA SEE EVERONES HEART STATION??

NOOO VEN That still hurts to watch

AWW SORA TRIED TO CATCH HIM

Wow he’s a ghosty ghost

Oh I love Ven’s heart station so much

Wow Vanitas really said that Ven is Baby

YAS GIMME VANITAS

Also wow Vanitas is protecting Ven’s heart and I love that

OH NO NOT THIS GUY

I beat him by using Meow Wow. meow wow is best boy

Oh no oh no it’s this pet

Gotta love Big Bro Lea

I forgot they call him Axel

ITS THE HUG

It’s Donald’s Safrifice ;-;

Donald Really channeled his inner Molly Weasley and said “Not my son you WITCH.”

WASTED

Also aw Sora got to see what Donald did for the first time

AQUA’S STATION IS SO PRETTY

Poor Aqua ;-; this is the moment where everyone hates her for

Also aww she trusts Kairi to protect them

We love Big Sis Aqua

YES WE GET ANTI AQUA FIGHT AGAIN

NAMINEEEEE

I’m literally screaming and I scared my grandma

Oh my god She lost Kairi and she immediately went to Sora cause she knew she’d be safe there ;-;

Namine’s Really here bringing everyone together

Agsisgsjdg I forgot Terra can do the keyblade whip thing lol

AND the cannon

Wow they’re really fighting in the sky

Anyone else getting Star Wars vibes

AWW HE JUST WANTS TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY

I still hate Terra’s pants

Imagine your heart crushing your body. Like really

NO LINGERING WILL

HECK YEAH SORA YOU KICK THEIR BUTT

Wow Sora you’re so cocky

LINGERING WILL NO

OH MY GOD

I forgot that Marluxia is an Ouran Host Club character

Wait, that Mickey finisher was new, wasn’t it?

Okay but I still have no idea what Xemnas did to Luxord

Cards: *Appear*

Sora: PTSD from watching his friends get destroyed from the cards in the manga

Mickey: *is captured*

Sora: PTSD intensifies

I’m really happy that we get to replay all of the Organization battles, they’re so much fun!

I’m so soft for Replinami ;-;

He loves her so much, and all he wants is for her to be safe and happy ;-;

Ven: we aren’t the same. You’re Edgy. I’m Baby

Aqua when Sora appears: TWO Baby’s :0

“If I’m a traitor, then Kairi’s the trump card.” LEA DRINKS RESPECT KAIRI JUICE

Aww Kairi’s so confused. She doesn’t see how she could be a trump card ;-;

HE STRAIGHT UP FLEXED

AWW XION REMEMBERS

Ohhh Isa’s jealous.

YES THW CHAKRAMS

LETS GO

Jealousy mode has been activated in Isa

WHAT WAS THAT RUN

OH MY GOD THAT SCREAM

YES KAIRI GO

PROTEXT YOUR BRO

“Yup” Kairi really just wants this over with so she can go home 😂

The way Kairi’s face lights up at seeing Sora gives me life.

Wow Xemnas was really hurt by Axel’s betrayal. Frankly? I’m shocked.

XION’S HAND IS SMOKING

HER HAND IS BURNING BECAUSE SHES GRABBING THE BLADE

Xemnas does NOT drink Respect Xion juice

ROXAS KEPT XION’S MEMORIES SAFE INSIDE HIM

AND SHE HAS HER FACE BECAUSE HE GAVE THEM BACK TO HER

Lea cares about the small girls he adopted as his little sisters

AWW THE THREE OF THEIR HEARTS ARE CONNECTED

NO XION ISNT ON HIS HEART ANYMORE

YES KAIRI’S HERE TO KICK BUTT

Wow Nomura really got tired of people dissing Kairi so he amped her up with cool stuff

“Oh? Tired of Kairi not doing anything?” Heres her literally overpowering Xemnas and him having to restrain her with a stop spell and magic to stop her

KAIRI IS THE SCARLET WITCH AND XEMNAS IS THANOS

Oh and in case you think she’s weak? Here’s the same thing for Sora too.

God I love Nomura

Oh my god she’s in so much pain because of the darkness

OH MY GOD SHES IN SO MUCH PAIN BECAUSE OF THE DARKENSS

SORA LITERALLY FAINTED AFTER 2 SECONDS BUT KAIRI’S HOLDING ON OH MY GOD THE STRENGTH

OOOOOOOO ROXAS TIME

The MUSIC

THEIR ATTACK IS CALLED “THINKING OF YOU” BECAUSE THEY REMEMBERED XION I CANT

I can not believe i was forced to relive watching Kairi die

SHE WAS CRYSTALLIZED?? SHES NOT DEAD??

I love Donald and Goofy so much ;-;

They aren’t gonna leave their son alone

Also wow Xehanort was just staring there forever

I FORGOT WE GET TO EXPLORE SCALA :D

KAIRI?!?!

Getting KH1 vibes with this

“The heartless that is radiating light” how is that possible??

Okay but this is such a good parallel to the first game, with him saving Kairi ;-;

Except for the fact that HEARTLESS SORA DIDNT GET BEAT UP

Okay so her heart is a thassala shell. Will we have to collect the pieces to make her wayfinder?

Oh my god I see the thing at the top of the screen. We totally are making her wayfinder ;-;

THAT MEANS SHE LITERALLY GAVE HIM HER HEART SO HE COULS RETURN IT TO HER OH MY GOOOOD

Okay so I love the puzzles they have here

XEHANORT?!

I’m sorry you hid her heart? What are you, five?

What do you MEAN almost out of time?!

OH NO KINGDOM HEARTS

Oh no not these guys again

So many keyholes

IM SORRY IS THIS WIZARD OF OZ

Oh my god Lea is so overwhelmed lol

SGAKSSGE ROXAS CAUGHT XION

Okay so for the team ups, I love how all of them were mix and matched from the trio’s

I loved Terra and Riku, the Master and apprentice

I loved Ven, Roxas, and I can’t remember who else was in it. “Thanks Roxas.” “Youre welcome. You’re not too bad yourself.” THAT WAS ADORABLE

Xion, Aqua and Mickey being mages and protecting everyone

Aqua and Lea, him trying to talk and Aqua telling him to shut up and focus

MICKEY’S STRUGGLE TO SAVE HIS FRIENDS BROKE MY HEART

We now present: Kingdom Hearts 3: connect he dots

Connect. Connect the dots. Get it?

KAIRI’S HEART MADE A FLOWER

THE KH2 THING

“SORA :D”

THEIR HUG

HE JUST HOLDS HER CLOSE

TIME FOR PLAYABLE KAIRI BABBYYYYYYY

“I can do this.” YES YOU CAN

I’m sorry you think I want to play as Sora? After waiting my whole life to play Kairi? HA

KAIRI IS THE MOST POWERFUL

Seven wishes saved me in that fight

ONE HEART

THEY HAVE ANGEL WINGS

OKAY YALL HAD YOUR SORIKU ATTACK NOW WE GOT SOKAI :D

Now we just need Rikai and Sorikai and it’ll be complete ^^

AGSKSGSKDGSJS CHIRITHY

“I was trying to give you some privacy” awwww

CHIRITHY IS CRYING

THEYRE GOING ON DATES

Chirithy has my soul and I love it

Every scene with Chirithy adds 7 years to my life

Afsjsgsajg Sora DONT PUSH THE CAT

NAMINE

THEY WERE THERE TO FREE HER HEART

Aaand he’s gone and I’m crying again

LIMITCUT EPISODE TIME BABBYYYY

GAJSGSJDG RIKU AND TERRA ARE TOGETHER

Oh my god Riku and Terra being bro’s are my favorite thing

Wait what are they gonna do

ARE THEY SEALING THE WORLD

OH MY GOD THE ARMOR

HOW DARE THEY NOT SHOW US THE FRONT PARTS

OH they’re going to search for Sora!

IS RIKU IN CHARGE OF THE LAND OF DEPARTURE

ONE YEAR???

Agajsgsjdg MERLINS HOUSE

CLOUD

PRETTY BOY

YUFFFIIEEE

AERIITH

CID

OH MY GOD THE GANGS ALL TOGETHER

THEY WENT TO THE REALM OF DARKNESS WHAT

“The Twilight Town gang” ITS OFFICIAL

OH NO WHAT HAPPENED TO KAIRI

WHY DOES HE LOOK SAD

NO WHATS GOING ON WITH KAIRI

They’re searching her heart?

SHES BEEN ASLEEP FOR A YEAR?!

Riku’s been all ALONE

DATA SORA??

Battalion oh my god lol

I’m mad about Kairi being asleep for a year though

AGSJSGS WE GET TO EXPLORE

Wow. A video game inside of a video game

I spent the rest of the day failing the Data battles and making funny Data Greeting pictures. Hopefully I’ll be better st the battles tomorrow!

#KH3RemindSpoilers #kh3spoilers #KH Re:Mind #kh commentary

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zerot0all · 5 years

Text

Forbidden Fruit | M

[Oneus -7- ]

-BUTTERFLY EFFECT-

.RAVN POV.

We sat in silence. I played on the mixing console as Xion and Keonhee watched me carefully. It’s been .. odd. What once used to be one big happy family, was now full of doubt and betrayal. It even hurts to say that things probably would have been better if they didn’t know. If we all played the blind game and went on with our lives ... but we can’t. No anymore at least.

“I thought the girls were coming?” Keonhee spoke up , finally. After a long period of nothingness... someone had to say something.

“Not anymore ... Leah is at home, said she didn’t feel good so Anais stayed behind with her. Hwanwoong and Leedo are on their way.” I went on, watching as their eyes traveled down to their feet. Almost like as if they were avoiding my eyes for some reason.

I understand where their coming from. They used to be babied by the girls. Always able to be around them with not even a single doubt. I’m pretty sure the girls were like their sisters and something as strange as them being with us ... threw them off. I can see they still care but just like us ... we’re all still so fucking new to this.

The evening went on as planned. The guys were in and out of the booth , while Leedo and I wrote out some more lyrics. Our manager would make an appearance every once in a while to ask about brainstorming the tittle track but the whole time , my mind was on Leah.

She had sent me a text message before I got to the studio saying she wasn’t feeling well. She didn’t explain exactly what was wrong , but something in my guts told me to just let it go. So I did. Till maybe , mid session when Keonhee asked me a very cryptic question.

“Do you think Leah is feeling weird because Seoho is gone?”

I pondered for a bit , remembrance of the last few months. We’ve been inseparable. The common denominator... her. It was either work or her ... there hasn’t been much between us , but it would make sense that she would feel strange without him around.

“They should be fine .. she still has Ravn. It’s not like she likes one more than the other ... then that would be super awkward.” Xion added , not taking his eyes off the lyrics in front of him. I cocked my brow , ready to answer when-

“Now you’re just being an asshole ,” Hwanwoong says sharply as he steps out of the booth and back into the studio. Leedo had stepped out to take a phone call, so I took anyone’s words instead of mine any day. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone right now and I’m sure these two acting like brats is going to push me over the edge , sooner or later.

“I didn’t say it out of spite , I’m just saying , wouldn’t that be something that happened in those sort of situations ? Didn’t she like one first ? Or whatever ?” Xion continues , eyeing Hwanwoong like he knew something. The three youngest go silent , a heavy aura carrying itself through the studio and into my mental state. I don’t need this .., not now.

“That... is none of your business. How this works out or how it doesn’t ... there is no need to be such an ass knowing well enough WE are still figuring shit out.” The way Hwanwoong responded with some venom behind it , made me think something was up with his partnership. Relationship?

God , this is stressful.

Things became radio silent. The harmonies were put down for the song , along with some lyrics making the song about 40% done. Groaning a sigh of relief once Xion and Keonhee headed to the cafeteria, I needed them away for a few moments to gather my thoughts. Keonhee’s question and Xion’s words have been bouncing back and forth in my head , I couldn’t even help record like I used too. I was antsy , fumbling over my words and cracking my knuckles like as if I needed to release some much pent up anger. It was only Leedo and I left in the studio as Hwanwoong went to go talk to our manager.

“What a day,” Leedo whispers , taking a seat next to me on the couch. The long one which faced the booth, the glass showing our reflection which displayed two faces drained of color. I replied with a hum. Something in the way Leedo nodded back lead me to believe he also was going through it. Before I could even ask, Leedo huffed out a deep chuckle.

“This shit is so ... so fucking weird. I don’t like second guessing how I feel. I ... I’m strong headed about my emotions and Anais is number one in my heart and mind but,” he slowed. For some reason , i resonated with his words and he still had more to say.

“But you’re not sure how this will turn out in the long run?” I stare absentmindedly, unknowingly answering because I too understood his struggle. The thing about this polyamory relationship .. in this case, for her ... is that she has two of us while we only have her. So to speak, I’m not attracted to Seoho like that. I mean, yeah I encouraged that first time threesome but because I wanted to show her that I’m open to her wanting more. It was all done on a whim to show her , that I would do anything for her. And clearly Seoho would too.

Leedo went on to tell me about his little confrontation with Hwanwoong at home, something about stirring the pot. As much as I take care of that little fucker , he does have a way of getting deep into people’s heads. He messes with them badly , and you add a guy like a Leedo into the mix and it’s game over.

Leedo is a passionate guy.. loving and caring , he is also on the same boat as me. Agreeing to anything for that one special girl.

But I know Hwanwoong doesn’t mean wrong .. Seoho doesn’t either. Even though he’s a fucking child sometimes , clingy as fuck to Leah like as if I’m not right next to her.

I’m not mad, or bothered , but like Leedo said .. this shit is so fucking weird.

“Hey guys,” Anais greets us once we get into their place, walking straight to Leedo and placing a chaste kiss on his lips. Hwanwoong was still back at RBW, something about a dance solo coming up , I don’t know. I wasn’t listening ... but what I did hear was silence as we walked deeper into the apartment.

“Where’s Leah?” I finally question Anais, she’s already in the kitchen preparing our food then finally turns to me. Pointing toward the hallway to Leah’s room. I nod and make my way to see my girl.. the only person that has been on my mind since I’ve met her.

Opening the door , the room was dark but soft whispers and snores sounded off deep inside the bedroom. She was sleeping ?

“Baby girl?” I whisper as low as I could, not sure why if the main reason is to see if she was sleeping and it was obvious.

“She’s been sleeping since she dropped off Seoho. Kinda came back sort of sad ...” Anais’ voice brings me out of my thoughts , looking back at the doorway as Anais stood there. Hands crossed over her chest as Leedo stood behind her. He cocked his brow at me .. almost in a warning manner and I hated how my mind raced back to our talk earlier.

“Okay, thank you Anais,” I reply shortly. They left , closing the door behind them.

I stood in an awkward silence , wondering why she was so sad. I mean, she still has me. In a notion to try to ignore my gut feeling , I took off my coat. Carefully making my way into bed to cradle her. Protect her and show her nothing but love and warmth. She hummed in her sleep as soon as her head touched my chest. Cuddling closer into me.

“You’re home,” her airy voice sounded dreamy, but even her half asleep beauty , I couldn’t conjure up the courage to ignore how I felt.

“Leah, baby... what’s wrong?” I started off with a simple question, whispering into her head as I placed small kisses on her forehead. She moved a bit, lifting her chin up at me. I can see her eyes glaze over as she thought deeply, her hand running up and down my chest swiftly. Her mouth opened then closed , unable to form words but I knew what I had to do.

“Seoho is only going to be gone for a week. He’ll be back soon... it’s not like he’s leaving you and even then, it’s not like you’ll be alone anyways.” I could have worded that differently, but it slipped. My jealousy was showing and I couldn’t take back what I said. I can see her furrow her brows as she lazily goes to sit onto her knees, looking down at me like the fuck up I was.

“D-Do...do you think I have more feelings for Seoho ?” She stuttered , her voice almost seeming in utter pain at my statement. I pushed up a bit, needing to try to be at eye level with her small frame but something in the way she was looking at me made me shiver.

I shrugged. I couldn’t bring myself to actually answer her question since it has been in the back of my mind for a while. Leah huffed out loudly, glancing around the room as if she was looking for encouragement or something to throw at me. At this point , I’ll take her punishment any day ... instead of watching her puzzled about how she feels. Because even though I asked and it’s been bugging me ... I wouldn’t want to know her true intentions. Knowing a truth I don’t wish to know ... was far worse than walking away from her.

“I would never favor one more than the other... I’m hurt you would even think that, Ravn.” Her whole demeanor had become weak , fearful as her eyes tried to meet mines. She scooted closer to me.

“I don’t know , it’s just ...” I groan out annoyed in the fact that I couldn’t even come up with anything to reply. My emotions seemed to bottle up once more as I continue to watch her come closer.

“Baby, this isn’t a relationship where one finds their missing half. We’re different... the both of you complete me. Without you or Seoho ... I am ... nothing.” Her voice ends on a sudden whisper, making my skin crawl with how unhappy she was about my accusation. I tried to interject but was suddenly pushed back , my body immediately crawling back to lay in bed as she hovered over me. Her hands plastered over my chest , keeping me down as she swung her leg over, straddling me.

“I’m sorry I made you feel like you weren’t important to me , because you are. If it wasn’t for you .. my love for the both of you wouldn’t have bloomed.” Her words were clear indication of this conversation going somewhere completely different and even though my jeans tightened , I couldn’t help but feel relieved that I wasn’t going to get tossed out. I think?

“Let me show you how much you mean to me baby,” her tone turned seductive as she leaned down , meeting my lips in a slow kiss turned passionate. I reached up for more , needing her mouth on me completely. every moment with her had to be eventful , the beauty behind how much power she holds over me is unimaginable. But I’ll let her ... I’ll let her completely ruin me if that means keeping her by my side no matter what.

Leah began to rock on top of me , my cock begging to be freed with each motion of her hips. I groaned into her mouth , hoping she understood and she did. Her small hands ran down my chest, until they met my jeans. Skillfully, she unbuttoned them and reached in. Her fingers skimming the tip almost instantly making me pause the kiss. We pulled away from eachother but only for a bit, while we both stripped hurriedly. She was naked as I lastly began pulling off my boxers , which then showed my length. She giggled to herself as she crawled back up my body, her cute little ass meeting my pelvic region soon after. It was like second nature for my cock to rest between her folds as she went to kiss my neck. She rounded her hips , the circling motion bringing my whole body to blaze. I took deep breaths in hopes to not be too loud but just the simplicity in her movements were driving me crazy.

“Baby girl .. please,” I suddenly begged. Not realizing how pathetic I sounded. She smiled into the kiss , loving the power she had , circling more so the tip grazed her pretty little clit. That little button I’ve come to love so much ... her weak spot. She then moaned shyly, wanting to hold back as I began to thrust upward. Rocking with eachother on a level of intimacy so deep... I didn’t even need to be balls deep just yet.

We teased eachother like that for a while , enjoying the playfulness and erotic feeling of being so close. It wasn’t till she was rounding her climax when she lifted her hips, aligned my cock at her entrance and sank down roughly; making us both hold our breath.

A deep, heavy moan left my mouth as a sexy whimper left hers. My name dripped from her tongue as she began to ride me. Her hands cupped my face , keeping me as close as he can. While my hands reached down to cup her ass, gripping as much as I could. She then whined as I proceeded to guide her on top , maneuvering her to a certain rhythm it had her gasping.

“Y-Yes, yes..” she chanted sofly , holding back her cries of pleasure as I quickly flipped our position. Laying her down as careful as I could, I went back to fucking my girl. I gripped the mattress by her head , and pounded into her tight hole. Going deeper into her , thrusting harder , building up a sweat as both our voices meshed into one.

Heavy breathing , moaning and slight groaning took over our room. The walls seeming to close in on us the longer we go at it. She begged and begged , wanting more and I did what I could. Holding her close to me , we came together. The intensity of our session clouding our manners , not caring that others stayed in this apartment.

Leah laid there. Fucked out of her mind , hair sprawled over the pillows , her body gleaming with sweat making it seem like she was made out of glitter, it was a scene only a few would understand. Watching as her eyes flutter closed on a sigh, her tongue poking out to lick her lips. Every little thing she did after was glorious, and I admired her till we both fell asleep.

She’s fucking beautiful and she’s all mine ... well, kind of.

_______________

[MS]

Chapter 8 coming soon...

Go back to Part One for the rest of the links of this series.

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darkzeruda1214 · 5 years

Text

I’m not going deny, I was heavily inspired by just a Pancake’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoIpdFLz-Ls&t=4s

The Fandom does a much better job at writing and developing these gals than game has ever done or shown. I do love these three but stuff like this still bugs the shit out of me.

I love these gals. But I’m not going to deny that Just a Pancake really makes a valid point. And to be fair after some thinking I see the argument he was trying to make.

Now I know we all have own opinions and that’s fine. I stay firm with mine as you do yourselves. And that’s what makes a fandom, we all have a right to dislike and disagree if we want to. In fact I do encourage because it allows debates and second thinking if needed.

Anyways… back on topic, I’m going to be blunt. But Kingdom Hearts just dosen’t make good female characters. (This is not including Disney girls of FF, just KH original characters)

And it’s kinda sad considering how few main original KH female characters there are. You think they’d be able to bulk up personalities, but that seems to go to all the male characters.

As amazing and fun this game is, it needs some tweaking on making their female characters, feel alive.

Now I’m not talking about the fandom perspectives of these gals, because I’m going to be real. The fans do an INSANELY better job at portraying these girls. (TAKE NOTES NOMURA DAMN IT!)

Now there are a few exceptions a couple being Larxene and Olette. To me (and feel to disagree with me) they were the only ones that felt like had something to offer.

Larxene has more character than all the other gals. Being sarcastic, sadistic and snide (at times insufferable bitch) and to me that breaths a lot of personality and I love her for it. Even her voice actor has put a great amount of effort in bringing Larxene to life. Out of all the KH girls she is the one who brings in most of the attention. And even in the few scenes she gets the spotlight without even trying.

The second being Olette. Now I know some of you are already typing as to how she has anything to offer. She’s not even a main character! Yes, and that the thing, I think because she has no major role in it allows the writers to give her a character that comes off as simple and sweet. She’s the only one to demonstrated that she’s as normal and ordinary as a person can be in this series. Something we don’t exactly see happening in the KH franchise since every named character has a role to fulfill, and for her to be a small breath of fresh air is a nice change of pace. It shows: yes there are normal people, with normal lives. They have no scripted important task ahead of them, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of it.

And not only that, we did get to know bits and parts of her personality. And her interests thanks to small details sprinkled in KH2 and 3. Such as showing she has her priorities straight and 'actually' doing her homework/jobs before the due date. She loves going to the beach and loves spending time with her friends. Also she like to go shopping. A simple character, with a simple purpose. And to me she feels alive and just in general, a simple but easy character to relate to. She’s a perfect example of a beauty in simplicity.

Now… as for the main girls.

Aqua is literally my favorite KH girl. However, the thing about her, is that she shared too many similar features with Sora. Now I don’t mean personality wise because Aqua is much more mature and level headed than Sora could ever be

However, as much as I really hate to admit it. Aqua doesn’t have anything to offer other than a serious role model and as a plot device...

I think what made Aqua popular is the fact that she’s a strong independent female character who doesn’t need no man to save her. (Also, she has a really well thought out design). And for that I praise and respect her for it. Yet… throughout the game, she relatively keeps the same straight face. Her expression has shown to be sad, angry or just stoic. Nothing too bad, but as far as that, we don’t see Aqua have any interests beyond wanting to save her friends. And to me that’s all she did in the series, I’m not going to lie the first time I played Birth by Sleep, I saw absolutely no reason for her to be in the game. I mean Xehanort (he can go suck a dick) focused all of his attention on Terra to take over his body. And on Ventus to play a role in forging the X-blade.

But as for Aqua, to me it seemed like she was just walked in there to simply fill a space and create another trio. Now I’m not saying under circumstance that she is useless. After all, her role in the game is a huge catalyst for the events of KH1. It gives her a purpose and is one of the most important characters. But to me that felt more like a large plot device and changer other than being a person. Aqua suffered a lot in the series, no doubt. But being a catalyst isn’t enough to be a good character. She’s not bad by any means, as I still hold her a place in my heart. But I feel like she was put on plot pedestal in the series instead of being given a full fledged personality that makes her relatable. There are only two instances that allowed Aqua to not be a emotionless character:

One being with Zack asking her on a date and the second is when she tried to help Cinderella and Jaq in Castle of Dreams world. To see an awkward/embarrassed expression instead of the dull zombie-like one was a nice sense of relief to give her something.

Another character that suffers from this treatment is Xion. She is one of my favorite characters from 358/2 days, but beyond the fact that she got the short end of the stick of being forgotten by her own friends (and everyone else for that matter). Her story is a tragic one, one that always gives me the feels and her theme is both beautiful and sad. But I wouldn’t say she had a character that made me connect with her as much as it could have.

She definitely has more expression and personality compared to Aqua that’s for sure. But not by much, however hers is within good reason. After all she was a puppet created by Vexen and Organization XIII don’t get me wrong. I understand that, and I would say it’s unfair for me to be saying this to her. And you’re right, it is unfair, but Xion eventually learned how to have emotions. How to cry and what happiness and laughter is and feels like.

The one thing I did get from her is that she loves sea salt ice cream and is one of the cutest and sweetest character in the game. But as far as her interests goes, there’s not much to go by. Now I know you can argue that both Roxas and Axel don’t exactly express their interest beyond their time in the clock tower. And it’s true, but Xion doesn’t add much more either… again I feel like she was only added in the game last minute. And that’s why in the story she’s forgotten so they have an explanation as to what happened to her and why she’s not recalled in KH2. Xion also gets the “plot device” treatment rather than as a character. And to me it feels like a disrespect to her character! (Her manga incarnation is MILES better).

However, I also don’t say much on her either only because she is still learning how to be her own individual. But my point still stands, though it’s prone to change, mostly because she now has the opportunity to be a character after KH3 since everyone remembers her and has her own body. And she might finally get an personality expansion in the next set of installments in the future.

Now as for Kairi…

Well this topic has been talked and reviewed over to death. In fact I even spoke about her character in this post here: https://princesszelda-heroine.tumblr.com/post/187815960646/kairi-deserved-better

But to sum it up, Kairi hasn’t been given a chance to shine as an individual compared to her friends and the others. And after what happened in KH3 I’m just more frustrated with the writers and developers that they won’t allow her to grow with sustenance! Whatever she had in KH1 and 2 was totally stripped in KH3.

My point being. Being a plot device in game or a catalyst for another one. Or having amazing/original design, does. Not. Make. A. Good. Fleshed. Out. Character.

I’m sorry to say this. But it’s true.

This is why I hate the treatment these gals go through in game. I stick solely to fan works because they give these girls the justice they deserve and makes me love them more as a whole.

I know there is a lot of things I didn’t cover, and maybe I missed a couple of points. But this is how I see this, and how I think the franchise is really missing a lot of good opportunities developing them.

They really don't have much to offer as far as personality growth. Thank You KH Manga series.

#kingdom hearts #kh #kh3 #aqua #Kairi #Xion #rant #personal confessions #confess series

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juliettelime · 4 years

Text

tagged by @ameliabedeliagoesonline to list 10 favorite female characters from 10 different fandoms so here’s some late night ramblings ~

rue/princess kraehe - princess tutu (DELIA I’M GONNA TRY TO BE VAGUE ABOUT THIS TO NOT SPOIL PRINCESS TUTU FOR U LMAO) god i love rue? so much? i love how she’s written as cool on the outside and beautiful but manipulative and jealous but vulnerable and scared but redeemable and loving, and that the story doesn’t just throw her away. she keeps fucking up bc she’s just trying to stop things from changing, like any girl would do if the one you love started slowly slipping away from you because of someone else. she thinks she’s got it under control but she’s only so many steps away from crumbling...... god i love rue

xion - kingdom hearts aaaaaaaa xion made such a big impact on me as a kid. kh days was my first kh game so i was very attached to the roxas/axel/xion narrative and the pain that is xion being erased by the end of the game. i especially love how she’s characterized in the kh days manga, the way she feels like a teenaged girl really stood out to me for some reason. there’s this scene where she’s with roxas and axel and they’re talking about something and i think at this point she knows something’s sus about her existing in the first place, so when roxas asks her what’s wrong she just kinda passive-aggressively replies? she’s like, oh, yeah, because you two are such good friends. but there’s layers to the fact that she feels like she doesn’t belong and i love how that plays into the plot later in the game

panty anarchy - panty & stocking uh i’ve had a big ol crush on panty since i first watched psg in 2012 but i’m only now able to admit it lmfao. i...... love.... her........ i love how she owns being a bitch, but also how even though she’s not a perfect person at all she’s still not like completely heartless either. i don’t think i have anything more profound to say about her because it’s psg lmao..... so yeah idk she’s hot? i love her design? i love that she’s dubbed by jamie marchi? i love d. city rock? dfjhgsd

chibiusa - sailor moon i am rini!!!! i swear to god!!!! like ok of course i loved rini as a kid bc she’s the one with the pink hair (my favorite color) and she reminded me of me (my sister is a witness she can verify i literally am rini dfjkhgskdhf) but also now having read sailor moon i just resonate with her whole ass character arc? wanting to grow up into a well-composed and respected Lady but being aware of your shortcomings and being frustrated and insecure about it? not being taken seriously because you’re the kid? yeah.

spinel - steven universe uuughhhhhh other friends & drift away broke me. the past four years of my life was just me being angry and sad about being replaced and left behind by someone i’d trusted, so when the su movie dropped like literally it couldn’t have been better timing. aren’t you tired of being Nice? don’t you just wanna go apeshit, especially since the way you were apparently wasn’t good enough so might as well not be good at all? yeah.

marinette/ladybug - miraculous ladybug oh mari means so much to me!!! truly!!!! (i say that knowing full well i haven’t watched ml in like almost a year lmfao oops i’ll catch up soon i swear) but i just love the marinette/ladybug dynamic, like she’s a goofball and absolutely cannot function around her crush but she’s still a genuine person and then ALSO she can pull her shit together when she needs to do some superhero saving. i just want the best for her. I’m Care Her

wanda maximoff/scarlet witch - marvel my love for wanda has a lot to do with the timing of me getting into marvel comics/mcu/x-men: evolution being around a messy time in high school for me so i kinda just projected onto wanda hard (so hard that i even made a sona whose character is literally she wants to be the scarlet witch lmao!) it’s also just kinda hard to talk about what i love about wanda when there are those three versions of her i mostly think of... i love mcu wanda’s tragedy in losing those closest to her, i love x-men:evolution wanda’s weirdly super goth design and her conflicting dynamic with pietro, and i really loved the 2015-2016 scarlet witch series of comics. i loved that it focused on her dissonance with who she thought she was up to this point and how much learning that she’s not a mutant affected her (i mean i don’t love that she’s not a mutant but whatever that’s a whole other rant entirely), so she puts herself to work on this whole witch thing like hey this is the New Me while simultaneously still running away from the shame and disappointments of her past.

piyoko - di gi charat my daughter! my sweet eight-year-old panda daughter who must absolutely be protected by her three Big Boy Bodyguards as they try to take over the world. that’s it that’s the whole dynamic of Leave It To Piyoko and i loved it as a kid and i love it now oh my GOD have you seen this opening that’s the mid 2000s i-found-this-from-a-local-dvd-rental-place shit i MISS

korra - legend of korra wacky writing issues concerning the whole show itself aside, i love korra as a character a lot. i’m definitely biased because the show aired from 8th grade to junior year hs for me and something about that timing just made watching korra grow and struggle and change really stick with me. oh and the fact that she and asami helped me realize i’m bi lmao.

rapunzel - tangled my favorite disney princess from my favorite disney movie! especially when i was younger, i too resonated as an artist held up inside dreaming of seeing the world beyond my confinement but not able to because mother knows best

#ask box #i mean not exactly but i dont have another appropriate tag lol #it's 4am lmao GOODNIGHT

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imagine-organization-xiii · 5 years

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Org members reacting to/comforting their SO when she's on her period.

Xemnas - Doesn’t like talking about it but he knows it’s something you can’t really help, so he’ll do his best to make you comfortable in any way that he can. Tries to keep the others away from you - more for their sake than yours - because he knows you get very snappy when you’re on your cycle. Kind of steers clear of you around this time of the month because he knows you prefer it that way.

Xigbar - Surprisingly? Pretty damn great about this sort of thing. Will definitely, without complaint, go out and get you pads and tampons if you need them and he isn’t ashamed of it in the slightest. I mean, they obviously aren’t for him and who the fuck cares what anyone else thinks? As a matter of fact, he wants the guy behind the register to give him a weird look so he can brag about how he has an s/o and him getting feminine products means that he’s also getting laid. Super kind about it in general. Let’s you complain your little heart out and doesn’t get mad when you get snappy at him.

Xaldin - Wants to be 500,000 feet away from that shit but he knows he would be a complete douche if he just abandoned you. Does his best to help you by running errands and making everyone else leave you alone. Still, the whole thing kind of weirds him out a bit - you’re literally constantly bleeding for days on end? It shouldn’t be biologically possible.

Vexen - He’s a scientist, right? So this is nothing new to him. He probably knows the way your body works almost as well as you do, so he knows the best kind of treatments and medications and things that can help you feel better. However, he doesn’t really understand how physically affection - like curling up in bed with you or allowing you to curl up in his lab chair wrapped in a blanket - but if you say it makes you feel better then he can’t really argue with you.

Lexaeus - Lexaeus is the sweetest man. He has a heating pad ready in the bottom drawer of his bedside table exactly for these moment. Also has your favorite chocolate ready as well as pain meds, extra tampons if you need them, and is ready for an emergency cuddle session or back massage at any time. Let’s you complain and yell and cry and laugh hysterically when your emotions go all out of control.

Zexion - Another guy who’s pretty knowledgeable about the whole menstrual cycle thing. He’s read a few books on the subject and brushed up on his knowledge when the two of you started dating pretty seriously, so he’s PREPARED. Knows that your mood swings go out of control when you’re on your period, so he’s fully prepared when you go from not wanting him to touch you to wanting to bury your head in his chest. He’s fine with both, honestly - you have to do whatever you need to do to be able to cope.

Saix - Kind of knows when you’re on your menstrual cycle because your attitude changes and you’re always seriously exhausted, so he tries to lighten your workload by giving your assignments out to other people. This is also one of the only times you’ll ever get a back massage from him - and those massages are almost guaranteed to put you to sleep.

Axel - Doesn’t know what tampons are for and at this point in his life he is literally too afraid to ask. He’s vaguely aware of what a ‘period’ is but he tries not to think about it. Will definitely go and get you some sanitary products if you need them, though. He also doesn’t mind when you get a bit cuddly with him. He understands that you just want a little comfort!

Demyx - Totally god damn skipped sex ed in school and literally knows next to nothing about the female anatomy so he’s at a loss as to what to do. You tell him you’re on your period and he doesn’t know… what to say to that? He’s like. “Uh, nice?” And you have to actually ask him, “Demyx, do you know what that is?” “Am I supposed to?” So you tell him to look it up and when he comes back, all of the blood has literally disappeared from his face and he wordlessly goes over to you and hugs you as if you’re dying.

Luxord - Does his best to distract you with things that will take your mind off of your aggravation and pain - card games and tricks, movies, just chatting and distracting you. He ends up being surprisingly caring, much more so than he usually is! Tries not to treat you any differently and does his best not to baby you, but he does feel bad that you’re in a lot of pain.

Marluxia - Herbal! Teas! Everywhere! Marluxia makes you a homemade tea with herbs specially picked from his garden and they always make your stomach feel a lot better. He also tries to get you to eat healthier foods since he knows the fattier, sugary foods make your cramps worse. Also always has a fresh bouquet of your favorite flowers on your bedside table to help you feel better.

Larxene - Larxene gets really crabby and irritable - more so than usual - when she’s on her period, so she definitely knows when you want to just be left alone to suffer. She’ll bring you Ibuprofen or Advil or some kind of meds to make you feel better and lots of water because she knows that excess carbonation from sodas just makes you feel worse.

Roxas - Man the boy is awkward as hell. Has no idea what to do when someone is experiencing their ‘time of the month’ and would probably avoid you if he could. Just the idea of you bleeding… down there is enough to make him cringe. However!!! He’ll definitely help you if you ask for it. He’ll run you a hot bath and let you borrow some of his comfiest pajamas, and even go out and get some of your favorite foods if you’re having particular cravings.

Xion - Another girl who knows what it’s like to have menstrual cramps. She totally understands and is prepared to help you in any way you can. Snacks? Cuddles and hugs? A movie night? Extra blankets and pillows? Xion is PREPARED for whatever it is that you ask of her.

#organization xiii #organization xiii headcanons #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts headcanons

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