starlightwayfinder

[starlightwayfinder]

Some illustrations I did for @samepagezines a Fashion KH zine! All the beautiful outfit designs were made by Ace Check our little shop if interested

[starlightwayfinder]

Actually...what an interesting concept for an AU. "AU where little Kairi's pod did accidentally end up in Quadratum, and she never got to meet Sora or Riku."

I'm not sure how such a thing would play out. She's a Princess of Heart, so the worlds being short a princess is...probably not a good thing. Especially if she took the World's light with her and she can't pass on her power to someone else (due to being in a different reality). That could upset the light/dark balance of the World, potentially making the Realm of Light more prone to darkness since one of the pillars that upholds it is just, plain missing.

It would also drastically change the events of KH1. Sure, BBS establishes that Riku wanted to see the outside world partially because of Terra, but it was also partially because of Kairi. Her absence might mean his curiosity and desire for freedom never grow strong enough for him to act on those feelings, meaning Destiny Islands doesn't fall early (or at all) and no one gets the Keyblade in time to escape the world and eventually put a stop to Ansem's plan.

(Not to mention, since Kairi doesn't end up on Destiny Islands, Xehanort/Ansem never locates a Keyblade wielder like he wanted. Which I think he needed in order to forge/wield the Keyblade of Heart, maybe? This might be another reason why Riku and Sora's journey would never begin.)

Though, can Ansem even achieve his plan without Kairi? I guess so, since in KH1 the Keyblade of Heart was never actually completed with her heart, anyway. Canonically, Ansem had to use his back-up plan instead: the artificial Kingdom Hearts made from the hearts of all the worlds he destroyed.

So...Ansem's plan succeeds in this scenario, perhaps. Darkness unleashed, utter destruction.

Meanwhile, an amnesiac Kairi lives a normal life in Quadratum as a normal teenager, completely unaware that her absence from her original reality has brought about the end of all worlds.

#Man… that would’ve been something #Xehanort definitely took a gamble sending her away like that #it’s interesting too that the reason she could’ve gone to Quadratum is because of Keyblade wielders there? #I wonder who she would’ve found… #maybe she wouldn’t have had such a normal life if she ended up with the foretellers or something!

[starlightwayfinder]

watching the sky

#Ventus #Roxas #Xion

[starlightwayfinder]

I know this was probably not 100% intentional/planned since Xehanort’s BBS/KHDR armor originates from the final Xemnas boss fight in KH2, but I like how Xehanort’s old armor is adorned with gold crowns and white feathers and light colors (Child of Destiny imagery, maybe), meanwhile Xehanort’s boss armor in KH3 is all dark and sinister with the blacks and reds and the horned ram helmet. And no more crowns in sight.

Just. The shift from the angelic to the demonic. Xehanort thinking he’s the savior meant to fix the world but in actuality being a twisted and failed chosen one instead. Fallen angel vibes.

And it reminds me of how Riku's Way to the Dawn Keyblade (and the Book of Prophecies symbol) pair angelic and demonic imagery, too.

#Yes yes yes yes yes #favorite #Xehanort

[starlightwayfinder]

Starlight and I technically discussed this already, but this post was sitting in my drafts and I figure I may as well make a separate post about the information anyway.

Something interesting about the old and new KHDR intro: in the old intro, all the worlds we see the KHUX player visit are worlds that are playable in KHDR. Makes sense, right? This serves to foreshadow the adventure that's to come.

But in the new intro where the scenes were changed to remove default Player from being visible (so as to make Player's appearance more ambigious and not imply a "canon" Player), there were two new worlds added that weren't in the original intro and aren't playable worlds in KHDR: Castle of Dreams and Enchanted Dominion.

Enchanted Dominion, at least, makes sense. Though not playable, it featured heavily in the plot, being the setting for the upperclassmen's deaths.

But the inclusion of Castle of Dreams is...strange, right? It's neither playable nor featured anywhere in the game. If this was a world cut from the final game, you'd think it'd be the other way around, with the old intro featuring the world and the new one removing it. But instead it's the opposite. Did the devs just run out of cutscenes to use to fill up the intro, and had to dip into other, less relevant worlds? (Seems unlikely to me given how many quests KHUX has). Or is this indicative of scrapped content that was accidentally (or, knowingly but carelessly) added back in?

#Right—so interesting!

[starlightwayfinder]

Perhaps I spent a way too long on this, BUT it was totally worth it! They definitely deserve more appreciation! ✨♟️

Twitter   |   instagram    |   Etsy-Shop

[starlightwayfinder]

Being a fan of Roxas and Naminé’s friendship is so hard. They’re best friends trust me guys (they have not interacted since 2005)

#Trust me #trust me on this one #they’re so close #Nomura told me himself

[starlightwayfinder]

@lightandfellowship re: your tags on this post (just to kind of bring this out to a different post).

I was thinking about making a separate post to expand on those tags anyway because they were a little off topic to the op, but I was like, you know, it's that Xehanort was worse to the Dandelions than Luxu was, yes. But Luxu was supposed to be that callous to the Dandelions in the first place. He was supposed to think of them as tools and to just let whatever fucked up thing was supposed to happen to them just happen. And with anyone else he can, but he can't put his personal feelings aside enough to 'do what needs to be done' for this set of people alone.

But Xehanort can.

And I think that's really interesting when looking at Xehanort as the 'replacement Luxu.' Xehanort who, as observed by another post I don't have immediately to hand, speaks with MoM twice. Xehanort who is chosen by MoM and manipulated into doing his bidding the same way Luxu was, given the same coat and made the heir to Luxu's keyblade, Xehanort who actually is allowed to take action to bring the Keyblade War about and revive the Lost Masters while Luxu is only allowed to watch.

Actually I started this post with a different thesis ('Xehanort is able to put his personal feelings aside and be ruthless even where Luxu fails to follow his role') but writing that paragraph I've changed my mind actually. Because Luxu has basically no agency in this situation, whereas Xehanort does.

Like, both of them are assigned roles by their mentors but Xehanort isn't really given a road map about how to fulfill his role. He's being manipulated, sure, but he's also making choices himself all along. They're choices that are fucked up but he understands they're fucked up and is choosing them anyway because he strongly feels it's necessary for the greater good.

Luxu has been told these things are necessary for the greater good. He's been told what to do. He's been told to just watch and that he can never take action. He doesn't even have the illusion of agency that Xehanort, who is actively choosing to lean into his feeling that destiny is inevitable, does. What is that like, to live hundreds of years never having any sense of agency? For Luxu, helping the Dandelions is fucking up. It's doing what he knows he's not supposed to, what he's been told is against the Plan, but he has no agency and this is his little way of rebelling, even if this is, to us, the 'right' thing to do. There's a question of what actually is 'right' and 'wrong' here and whether Xehanort is a 'better Luxu' than Luxu for choosing to simply follow The Plan.

Also I'm rambling here but putting things together as I go, sorry to also expand on other tags on posts I reblogged from you lol, but like. Luxu also very clearly has Lucifer stuff going on, the same way Xehanort does, down to the name. Xehanort takes on the Satan imagery over time - but it was Luxu's first. And Luxu is the one who actually tried to rebel against his Creator by deviating from his role (only to watch) and intervening with the Union leaders.

The thing about angels is they are not, in Catholic traditions (I can't speak to other denominations) is that they are not supposed to have free will. Free will is for humans; angels only follow The Plan, with no agency or say in the matter. They're messengers and avatars created only to execute the will of God. The Foretellers seem to play this role, if you will, in relation to Master of Masters. He hands them roles to execute the plan he's already designed. If we're, in this analogy, considering Master of Masters to be in the role of 'god', both Ava and Luxu are ultimately fallen angels - they both question the will of their creator, both rebel - but Luxu rebelling was built into the plan. He is Lucifer, and Lucifer rebels, and so he was still allowed to come back to the fold at the end of kh3, having fulfilled his duty even considering his rebellion. He still had no agency in the end, even having done what he thought was exercising it by saving the Union leaders.

Anyway I'm just rambling on at this point and don't really have a conclusion to this but the whole interplay between Luxu and Xehanort, agency and servitude, angels and devils, light and dark, feels really compelling to me.

[starlightwayfinder]

In a way.....Luxu is telling the truth. He wants to do what's right by defeating darkness, so he follows the Master's plan. It's not really moral, but it is what he considers right. And even with that, Luxu occasionally does show instances of defying the Master's orders, such as with Brain, the True Dandelion (Strelitzia), and Skuld, giving them another chance to live.

[starlightwayfinder]

A Single Step

(A short Xehanort fic inspired by this ask @starlightwayfinder sent to me.)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sometimes, Xehanort just...sits.

That strange (and frankly, highly suspicious) man he had met while preparing for his Mark of Mastery exam had been right, in the end: after some time, Xehanort didn't need to wear the black coat inside the dark corridors anymore.

Repeated exposure to the dense darkness within these corridors had strengthened Xehanort's heart and toughened it, much like how repeated exposure to the elements toughen the bottom of your feet after walking barefoot for miles and miles. Eventually, the skin hardens, and the sharp edge of spite, the biting chill of indifference, and the scorching heat of animosity become—for the most part—bearable. Nothing can stop you from making any trek, no matter how perilous the terrain may be.

He no longer required the protection of the coat, and sometimes, he just sits within the depths of the dark corridor. Waiting.

It doesn't usually take too long for "it" to appear.

The afterimage of his mentor.

He doesn't really know what the afterimage is, exactly. Oh, he has theories, sure, based on his own observations and what he was taught in school. But no true way to test those theories. And in any case, he doesn't particularly care about the specifics—not now, anyway.

The resemblance is striking, he thinks. No, not their appearance, for every time Xehanort has run into them in this place, their face has, without fail, been obscured by the hood of their favorite blue cloak. But their heart—their heart!—he can feel it: their emotions.

The emotions are different each time (he recalls them with ease, as if they were engraved upon his own heart: guilt, doubt, pity, grief), but he recognizes them as belonging to his mentor all the same. It's them, somehow. Were it not for the figure's ghostly translucence betraying their true nature, Xehanort could almost swear that his mentor was standing right next to him again, alive. Rhythmic waves of emotion imitating the heartbeat that he used to know so well, that used to lull him to sleep every night as a baby.

Used to.

Use—yes. He utilizes these dark corridors so frequently now. A journey of hundreds of thousands of miles, reduced to nothing more than a brief stroll. A method of travel that is quick, convenient, and covert. It would be foolish not to take advantage of all the benefits such travel provided, so of course that's why he's gotten into the habit of using the dark corridors whenever he can. For efficiency, and for proving the strength of his heart. No other reason, really.

But sometimes he doesn't pass through the corridors with the swift, purposeful pace that he ought to. Sometimes, he loiters, peering into the turbulent darkness as if looking for someone. He waits, in those halls that should not be traversed by the living.

And he just sits.

Finally, a figure coalesces several feet ahead of him. He's so used to it by now, and yet he can't help but draw in a sharp breath at the sight of it.

His mentor. Or something close to them.

Close enough.

Xehanort gets on his feet, and slowly inches his way towards the apparition. He's encountered it several times already, but has always kept a safe distance away. Today, however, will be different; today, he will indulge his curiosity.

The spirit remains perfectly still as Xehanort approaches. It doesn't react, doesn't turn to look at him, doesn't seem to notice him at all. He may as well not exist.

He's only a couple of feet away from the spirit when suddenly, something inside of him shatters. His knees buckle on their own from the shock, and he crumples to the floor without meaning to.

All at once, the pain he was so masterfully ignoring up until this point hits him in full force: the rapid, uncontrolled beating of his heart; the bone-deep ache in his legs; the soreness of his feet; the lightheadedness and stinging intakes of air that follow running out of breath.

The rough skin of his heart had finally fractured under the strain of the corridor, and the darkness that flows into the cracks feels like water rushing into his lungs.

He doesn't know what caused his heart to falter like this. Was this the spirit's doing, somehow? But the pain is so relentless, so overwhelming, that he can't focus long enough to consider the possibilities.

Endure it. Keep going.

His arm shaking, he desperately tries to grip the hand of the only parent he's ever known (known, but not the only parent he's ever loved) to steady himself, but his own hand passes right through.

He knows this will happen. He knew this would happen. But a pained sob escapes his throat regardless when he fails to make contact, soft and broken and child-like and utterly drowned out by the sea of unintelligible whispers surging all around him.

Trying to stand up in this state would be a futile effort, he realizes. Instead, he crawls the final few inches to his intended destination and collapses, curling up next to the memory of someone long gone.

And, for once on this seemingly never-ending journey of his,

he just

sits.

#YEAHHH!!!! #I understood a lot of these! #But I still love to hear the full explanation #also yes I adore how Cori describes his empath abilities too #This makes me appreciate the fic even more #really well done!

[starlightwayfinder]

[ KH4 spoilers ]

Waaaait a minute. In Melody of Memory Apprenticenort implies that Kairi's lifeboat pod might accidentally send her to unreality instead of to its intended destination (a Keyblade wielder).

If Strelitzia (a data version of her maybe?) is the true Dandelion who got put into that lifeboat pod by Luxu, is that how she arrived to Quadratum in KH4?

I wonder if that was the intention, or if it was a mistake and she was simply supposed to arrive to the future like the rest of the Dandelions, not get sent to a completely different reality.

#I think that’s right!

[starlightwayfinder]

In a way.....Luxu is telling the truth. He wants to do what's right by defeating darkness, so he follows the Master's plan. It's not really moral, but it is what he considers right. And even with that, Luxu occasionally does show instances of defying the Master's orders, such as with Brain, the True Dandelion (Strelitzia), and Skuld, giving them another chance to live.

[starlightwayfinder]

While I don't think that "trying to reclaim his lost strength + figure out a way to unlock the Power of Waking" is, like, the worst premise for a console-game Sora journey, I still can't help but feel that it's not quite as impactful as the more personal/emotional premises of KH1 and KH2, where the goal of his search was to reunite with his best friends.

It also doesn't help that the "Power of Waking" is loosely defined and kind of nebulous, making it difficult to tell when/if any progress is being made towards that goal (the pattern seems to be: "Sora, did you find the power of waking yet?" "No." "Okay. Keep looking", rinse and repeat until the end of the game.)

I think instead I would've liked KH3's focus to be more on the "figuring out how to bring back Roxas, Xion, Namine, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua" part. The very beginning of KH3 sets this up for Sora when he's visiting Twilight Town in search of clues for how to bring Roxas back, but then over time Sora's journey drifts from that goal as Mickey + Riku, Hayner + Pence + Olette, and Ienzo + the Radiant Garden Crew do a lot of the heavy lifting elsewhere while Sora explores the worlds.

(Side note: I've said this before, but to be clear: I don't think the Disney worlds were pointless to Sora's journey, I do believe they were important to Sora figuring out how to call upon the Power of Waking.)

I guess what I mean is, I just wish Sora got the opportunity to be more directly involved in every aspect of their return (including the more logistical stuff), instead of being sidelined for a lot of it. It would also do wonders for making KH3's basic premise feel more meaningful to the player, as you'd be taking more direct and frequent steps toward bringing back your favorite characters.

[starlightwayfinder]

does anyone understand my curse

#Sent this to my class and they all felt it haha

[starlightwayfinder]

young artist posting your work online, heed my warning. im holding your face so gently in my hands, you have to stop caring about numbers right now and start caring about making the weirdest and most self-indulgent art you possibly can

[starlightwayfinder]

so many male characters are held back by the fact that they're not wearing earrings when they so clearly should be wearing earrings

[starlightwayfinder]

sometimes the best fanfics are written by middle aged adults with years of writing experience who simply know how to craft a good story. but also sometimes the best fanfics are written by a sixteen year old girl with something deeply wrong with her

#🤝