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atomic-taco-muffin · 2 years

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The Legend of Hana Chapter 94

Warnings: Angst? I-I don’t know at this point

Rating: SFW

Darkness. A world without light. King Mickey, Lily, Era, and Riku traveled through the Realm of Darkness in search of Aqua. Riku stopped and Mickey, Lily, Era turned back.

“What's wrong, Riku?” Mickey asked.

“Are you tired?” Lily added.

“Do you need a break? We can stop,” Era finished.

“No, just... I've been here. I should know this place. But that all seems like another life,” Riku replied.”

“Yeah, you’re right. But I know Aqua is here,” Lily said and Mickey and Era agreed. “Think of all you've seen! All the feelings you've felt. Why, you've done years of growing in almost no time at all.”

“I remember my first time here. I was so scared. But now, my doubts and fears are gone. If anything, I feel exhilarated. And it's not because there's darkness in me--I know too well what that rush is like. This is different. And it's not adrenaline either. I know Aqua needs us...but I'm ready. I'm in control now. Maybe it's because you're with me this time.” But Mickey shook his head.

“It's not me. I think it's because you've finally found inside you that special strength to protect what matters,” he said.

“I agree,” Era said and Lily nodded in agreement.

“What?” Riku asked.

“Sometimes you care so much for somebody that other feelings disappear. And then, there's no room for fear or doubt,” Lily said. Riku smiled, looking down at his hand.

“Is that it?” he asked. His thoughts drifted to when he first held a Keyblade, when he met Terra at dusk on the Destiny Islands. “‘Strength to protect what matters’... It reminds me of a promise I made.”

“To who?” Era asked.

“Just someone I once met. Can't tell.”

“Awww, man!” Lily giggled at her brother’s goofiness. He’ll always be that curious child she knew and loved.

“While we're reminiscing, does any of this look familiar to you guys?” Riku asked.

“Sort of, but the realm of darkness has changed since I was here with Aqua,” Mickey said as he looked around. Things were different! At least to them it was.

“Yeah, it's different from what I remember,” Lily replied and Riku and Era agreed.

“Usually, I'd just follow my heart, and Aqua would show me the way. But the closer I get, the hazier our connection feels.”

“You mean...” Riku replied.

“Maybe, but we can't give up hope.” The three nodded and they all continued on to the End of Sea, the Dark Margin, a beach in shadow where a light shone from far across the water.

“This beach...” Era gasped as he approached the beach.

“It's gone...” Mickey replied and the three looked at him confused. “I'm positive Aqua was here. But now...her trail's gone dim.”

“We’ve been here too,” Riku said.

“With Sora and Xeha!” Lily and Era added.

“Really?” Mickey asked.

“This is where we found our way back to the realm of light. Hey, maybe Aqua did, too!” Lily replied but Mickey solemnly shook his head.

“Aqua...has fallen into an even darker abyss--somewhere I can't see her. And I don't think we're equipped to dive any deeper than we already are,” he said.

“So then...” Before Era could finish his sentence, a horde of Shadow Heartless emerged from the dark sand. They summoned their Keyblades as the Shadows twitched hungrily.

“Guys, be careful. Even the least threatening Heartless are stronger in this realm,” Mickey said and the three nodded. The Heartless ran past them, gathering into a huge solitary mass, the Demon Tower. The pillar of Shadows wriggled in the air and dove into the sand near them, scattering the cluster of Heartless across the sand. The four struck down several of them before they reformed into the tower from beneath them, tossing them into the air. After a struggle, the tower dispersed and the remaining Shadows encircled them.

“It's not over. Be careful!” Mickey said. Surging from the ground, the spinning maw of the tower honed in on Riku.

“Oh no!” Riku said as he held an arm up to shield himself but is hit head on by the Demon Tower.

“Riku!” Mickey, Lily, and Era cried out. The tower regained its vertical shape, spinning fiercely with no trace of Riku. He floated in darkness with a sensation like drowning, muffling his sight and his hearing.

“Didn't expect to see you again,” someone said.

“What...?” Riku replied. The voice sounded so familiar but Riku couldn’t tell who it was.

“Why did you even come here?”

“Because somebody needs me.”

“Do you want some help?”

“Who are you?”

“Me? I'm...” Riku suddenly lost consciousness in the abyss. The next moment, he heard the sound of the waves.

“Riku... Wake up... Riku,” Mickey said. Riku opened his eyes, seeing Mickey, Lily, and Era's sad face leaning over him and their eyes brighten into a smile.

“Are you okay?” Lily asked as Riku sat up.

“Where'd the Heartless go?” he asked.

“We got more than half of 'em, and the rest vanished. But, they spit you out first,” Era said as Riku stood up, holding his head.

“Thanks. I owe ya guys,” he replied.

“We know ya feel invincible, but we're not,” Mickey said.

“Are you guys all right?”

“Yeah, thanks to the new gear. But...your Keyblade...” Lily said.

“Oh,” Riku replied as he looked down at the Keyblade in his hand, which had been severed just below the winged teeth.

“The Heartless here are stronger than what we expected. I guess we probably should've powered up our Keyblades before we came in here, huh? I think we need to go back to Uncle Yen Sid's tower so we can regroup,” Era suggested and Riku paused slightly.

“But Aqua's...still down here, alone. Facing enemies like that,” he said.

“I know...” Lily said as Riku walked to the edge of the water.

“What if she's feeling as scared and alone...as I felt the first time I came here? How long are we supposed to keep her waiting in this awful place?” he asked as Mickey, Lily, and Era walked up to him.

“But Aqua... She's like Sora,” Mickey said.

“Whaaat!?” the three asked, stunned.

“No no no... strong like Sora!” The three sighed in relief.

“Oh, right! She’s always been pretty strong,” Era replied.

“Then I guess she's gonna be all right. Sora could fall into any darkness and swim his way out,” Riku added.

“Besides, we won't be long,” Lily said. Riku nodded and walked forward where he planted his Keyblade into the sand, surprising Mickey, Lily, and Era.

“Can't use this Keyblade anymore. Might as well leave it here... for the other me,” he said. With that, they returned to Master Yen Sids.

#hana kingdom hearts #hana imagines #hana kh #hana #lily kingdom hearts #lily kh #lily imagines #lily #kingdom hearts #kingdomhearts #kingdom hearts imagine #kingdom hearts imagines #kingdom hearts OC #kingdom hearts original character #kingdomhearts imagines #kingdomhearts imagine #kingdomhearts oc #kingdomhearts original character

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putschki1969 · 5 years

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Ｗakana Album LINE LIVE ~ Summary

Note: A fellow fan was kind enough to share the recording with me. THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!!!! Here is a detailed summary of Wakana’s LINE LIVE commemorating the release of her first solo album. Btw, I have not forgotten about the lyrics and the interviews. Please be patient a little while longer. Already working on it.

We are back with Nat-chan, Wakana is so happy to see her again. We start out by Natsuko telling us about the content of this LINE LIVE. She congratulates Wakana on her album release and on reaching 8th place in the Oricon charts. Wakana is hyped and super grateful to the fans.

Before they can get to the main topic of the program they have to get something out of the way first. They need to talk a bit about shark. After all, in the last LINE LIVE they realised they have a mutual love for dinosaurs and sharks so of course Wakana wants to know if Natsuko has done anything shark related recently. Nat-chan has in fact been quite busy watching all kinds of shark films. She watched 47 Meters Down on Netflix. Obviously Wakana has watched it as well. She recommends it to everyone. It’s a tough watch though so people should be careful if they can’t handle certain stuff. Nat-chan also watched the MEG movie.

Wakana is clearly so proud of Nat-chan. I think she still cannot believe she has met a fellow shark lover. Nat-chan shares that they have been staying in touch ever since their last LINE LIVE. They spent a lot of time together going on “dates”, attending concerts, having dinner together, sharing their shark stories...They never wanted their time together to end, Wakana says they really are like lovers now. Wakana is impressed by how fast Natsuko can decide on what to eat at a restaurant. It always takes her a lot of time to choose. Seems like they also had a great time getting a little drunk together.

Now it’s time for the main topic, Wakana’s album. Wakana is happy that it’s finally out because she was really desperate for people to listen to this new version of herself. While she was recording the songs all she thought about was performing the songs live in front of an audience, she really can’t wait to go on tour. There is a quick explanation regarding the album title. First of all, Wakana wants people to be aware of her new self so she thought it was fitting to name the album after herself. She also wanted something that was easy to remember XD As we already know, there are 11 songs in total, six of which were written by Wakana. They were written by various composers which are all listed by Natsuko. Wakana is going to talk about each song in detail throughout the program. Wakana is cute introducing the different album types, she confuses type A with type B

We then start to talk about the tracks on the album.

1. Yakusoku no Yoake: Nat says the song sounds magnificent, like the soundtrack to a majestic story. Wakana explains that this song has a special place in her heart and she loves to listen to it whenever, especially when she wants to relax. She actually wrote those lyrics while taking baths. She has a tablet for her bathtub where she can place all kinds of stuff (including her phone, a notebook and a pen). This way it’s easy for her to listen to music and take notes even when she is taking a bath. It seems like this song wasn’t originally planned to be written by her. But during pre-production Wakana was asked to spontaneously come up with a few lyrics for the first part of the song. Usually she would just do some “la,la,la” singing during pre-production. Wakana felt very inspired by the melody of this song and when she first listened to it there were lots of lyrics that came to her mind. The director was very happy with what she came up with so he requested for her to do the rest of the song as well.

2. Tsubasa: Wakana had a lot of fun recording this song because Satoshi Takebe and the band members were there with her. it was easy to feel the groove of the song with all of them there at the studio. Satoshi Takebe also decided last minute to add some backup vocals to the chorus. Wakana says that all the back up vocals you hear in the album were done by herself. Then we get the Odaiba Venus Fort live version of Tsubasa.

Aww, Wakana is so embarrassed to watch herself perform. This is pretty much identical to the studio version, Wakana says this was pretty much right after they had recorded the studio version and it was a strange feeling to sing the song like that (because she was so used to sing the other version). She says it became quite a different song once they did the studio recording.

3. Ruriiro no Sora: Nat says it’s a very moving song. She wants to cry when she listens to it. She feels like women in particular will be very touched by the lyrics. Wakana agrees, it feels very mature. She worried a lot about how to sing this song. We will watch the live version later so viewers are asked to be patient.

4. Nagareboshi: The blinging noise you hear in the beginning, that was actually done by Wakana. Shusui who composed the song for her suggested she should try playing an instrument during the recording. She got to play some sort of small cymbal. She was very proud to be part of that. Wakana says this is a very sweet song about the happiness of being together with the person you love. Nat-chan asks about a particular line in the song => あなたとわたしの歌 => anata to watashi no uta. She wonders why the “watashi” is written in hiragana instead of kanji, whether there is a meaning behind it. Wakana is surprised Natsuko noticed that. There is in fact a story behind that. As a child she would always write it like that, she thinks it fits better together like that and for her it emphasises the togetherness of two people. Nat-chan is in love with this piece.

5. Kioku no Hito: Wakana was super impressed by the demo tape provided by Yuko Ando. She wondered how she could best approach the world created by Yuko Ando. It was very difficult for me. Especially since there are quite a few low parts. The musicians had actually recorded the song quite some time before with a stand-in singer. Wakana was a bit disappointed to not have been part of that recording process so they all decided to do it again for Wakana. Wakana was super grateful her manager was able to arrange that for her. There is so much female strength in this song, Wakana feels like she has become a stronger woman just by singing this song and she got inspired to become even stronger.

6. Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni: It feels weird to Wakana that it has barely been a month since the release and now her album is already out. Since this is her very first song she still kinda worries about the lyrics not being good enough. Even after singing it so many times. [awww, you really shouldn’t worry, the lyrics are great!]. Nat notes that the song is right in the middle of the album and wonders why she decided to put it there. Originally they planned to use it as the first track but then Wakana really wanted to start the album with Yakusoku no Yoake since it represents a new beginning. Right in the middle felt appropriate to Wakana. Then we get the live version from Odaiba Venus Fort.

Wakana is literally the cutest ever when she is listening to herself singing. Precious cinnamon bun She really loves these songs. Awww, the viewer comments are so nice. Everyone is saying that they are crying.

7. Hard Rain: In the beginning she received a short demo tape with just the first part of the song (until the first chorus). She immediately wanted to hear more of it because she loved it so much. The demo tape was sung by Kana Yakubi and she really loved her rendition. She couldn’t wait to sing the song herself. Natsuko loves the rain noises in the background, they add a great vibe to the song. And she loves how it builds up with the chorus, it has a very dramatic feel to it.

8. Kinmokusei: As we all know already, this was the final song she recorded. Just as with Yakusoku no Yoake she was asked to write lyrics for one part of the song but unlike Yakusoku no Yoake she had a lot of trouble doing the whole song, she didn’t know how to continue. So it’s a good thing this was the final song because she could take her time. Nat assumes that this is another song Wakana wrote while taking a bath and yup, spot on. She did. Wakana explains there are many songs where she feels like she has to be outside looking at the sky to get inspired but for this one she knew she would have to be in the bathtub to think of something. Off to the bath!!!

Nat asks why she chose that title. Wakana explains that smells influence us so much in life so she thought it was suitable to use a flower as title. She opted for “fragrant olive” as title because the smell of olive trees is incredibly strong. The olive tree blooms in all kinds of places, especially in autumn so she it’s something that forever stays in your memory

9. Boku no Kokoro no Tokei: Satoshi Takebe decided to add the ticking noises. Wakana really loves it. When he told her that he had written the song for her she was super happy, she loved his piano version so much that she immediately started writing the lyrics, she felt incredibly inspired. That’s one of the songs she didn’t write in the bathtub. She actually wrote them pretty quickly while getting all kinds of inspiration from Satoshi Takebe.

10. Toki no Ne: Nice transition from one song about time to the other. Wakana thinks that is very fitting. After all, time and clocks were a major theme of her autumn tour last year. Some people see time as something negative, as if they are constantly racing against time. But for her, time is something truly amazing, something that should be treasured.

11. Ai no Hana: Wakana says she was super happy to work with Shusui and Stefan Aberg who she had both met in her teens during auditions. Back then it was her first time meeting someone from Sweden so that left quite the impression. Wakana think it’s amazing how music can re-connect people after so many years. Eri Ishikawa’s lyrics are heartrending but at the same time they are full of optimism. Wakana loves that.

We then get the live version of Ruriiro no Sora. Wakana says they had just recorded the song a week or so before that performance so she was super nervous.

It’s Wakana’s turn to do some promotions,she lost track of where they left off so she has no idea where to continue. Nat reminds her she should introduce the different album versions again. First they are doing Type B with all its lovely extras including a B-sized poster.

Nat is having fun looking at Wakana’s photobook. She tries to show some sneak peeks without spoiling anyone. Then Nat talks about the double purchase tokuten lottery. I wrote a post about that ages ago. If you bought both the single and the album you can add the note from the single to a postcard from the album. When you send that in you are applying for one out of two special tokutens (wooden piano signed by Wakana, music box playing Toki wo Koeru Yoru ni). 10 winners will be chosen for each tokuten. Deadline is May 31.

Then they promote her upcoming tour. Wakana says she will start rehearsals the following day ~ tomorrow desu ~ She can’t wait to work with Satoshi Takebe again.

Natsuko asks about her live goods. Wakana is so hyped already because she thinks her goods are amazing. Everyone should look forward to the shark goods.

Nat warns her not to spoil anything in all her excitement XD They then announce that Wakana started her own instagram account! BANZAI. Wakana wanted to make a post but at that point she couldn’t get away from the welcome page, I think her account hadn’t been set up properly yet, there were still a few settings that had to be arranged. They both totally fail so they promise they will post something later. Nat then manages to figure it out and Wakana chooses a picture to post. She wonders what to write...maybe ”I am sending it now”...Nat is like, “eh? that’s weird...” She finally ends up writing a short greeting and uploads the picture. Success!!

Wakana says she will post lots of sky pictures on her instagram. Hopefully everyone will like them. They take a picture together and Wakana has a final message for the fans. Nat-chan and Wakana will go on many more dates from now on. And that’s a wrap. Bye bye!

Google Drive Link

#kalafina #wakana #my translations #line live #first solo album #wakana first solo album

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yo-namine · 5 years

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Last KH3 playthrough post! Endgame spoilers are below the cut.

Just a warning: This post is REALLY long and contains, um… opinions.

I’m glad the final battle trailer scenes happen right off the bat. I had no idea what would come next, and it made the experience that much more interesting.

Why do none of these keyslingers know how to block? First Aqua tries to shield Ven with her own body, then Sora does the same for Kairi. Just hit square, guys.

ZETTAFLARE DONALD ILU SO MUCH

The way Riku and Aqua stepped up to Sora’s side made me think they were going to be party members in another demon tide battle, but nope. Boo.

I’m surprised that Aqua just… let the demon tide take her? What the hell?

Sora loses Kairi, Donald, and Goofy and just… crumbles. He completely gives up and says it’s all over. Riku almost starts to try to soothe him, but instead, he gets up, tells Sora that he knows that’s bullshit, and then faces off against the demon tide (which was polite enough to wait for Sora and Riku to finish their conversation before attacking, by the way). It’s like a moment of tough love, and it’s actually what I was expecting Roxas to do back when I assumed he would be the one to show up in the Graveyard and pull Sora back on his feet. I wasn’t expecting a bunch of reassurances like “no, you’re not worthless, we can still do this, everything will be okay” but rather, “Get up, we’re not finished here.”

So Riku confronts the heartless and Sora just… watches in horror as they take him, too. And he doesn’t even fight back when they turn and come for him. And then the screen cuts to black and shows the final line of the prophecy, and… That was a really effective way to end that scene. Damn.

Yeah, I don’t know how to play chess, but I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to just conjure extra pieces from thin air, Eraqus. That was a nice line from him, though, about light from the past. Like, “The light doesn’t need time travel bullshit to kick your ass because HEARTS.”

Sora fucking died. Sora actually, literally fucking died. He goes to the Final World because he died. Holy shit.

The Final World is beautiful, and the music is lovely, too. The first thing I did after getting control again was take some selfies of dead Sora, ngl.

Sora’s been to the Final World before in his sleep, and Chirithy just let him pass through lmao.

Who is the first star that Sora talks to here? At first I thought it was Xion, but she says a “somebody” sent her to the Final World, so… Strelitzia? Ava? Skuld? lol I like that Sora just sits down next to her like this conversation’s the most normal thing ever. He’s dead and talking to another dead person, and he just rolls with it. I love this kid.

Some of the optional star conversations really got to me. One of them says that their friends replaced them after they died (“That was my seat. That was my place at the table.”). There’s also one that was apparently a child looking for their father, and that one actually made me tear up.

I’m not sure who the one who talked about being “identical” was. I think a third talks about their mentor, and perhaps that was a past keyblade apprentice? Another says that people teased them and a friend about being an item, and they pulled away from the relationship, and the other person never closed the distance. All of their little stories are just… sad. Jesus.

Naminé has a star! I missed her star on my first playthrough, but I replayed this part just for her scene. I wish I’d gotten it the first time, though. She clarifies that Kairi’s the one keeping Sora tethered to the world of the living. And god, Naminé’s words are so sad. She truly doesn’t think anyone really misses her or that she matters at all. But Sora says that he and the others (including “someone else special,” who I think may’ve been Xion?) miss her and want her back. AND she mentions her conversation with Terra from the orchestra! Holy shit, WHY was this conversation optional? That was important story stuff that explained why Lingering Will shows up when we rehash the fight in the Graveyard. Naminé came through for everyone in a pretty major way, and if you don’t talk to her star (which is VERY easy to miss), you’d never know it. Though… I guess that’s kind of fitting in a meta way. Naminé helping people from behind the scenes and not expecting any credit, I mean. Still, I wish I hadn’t missed this on my first playthrough. Anyway, Naminé’s “Let’s just say I’ve got your back?” was really cute. And then Sora thanks her and gets all flustered. “That’s not the official thank-you!”

I’m… still not clear on what exactly the power of waking is or how it differs from restoring someone’s heart the old-fashioned way (i.e. taking a Keblade of Heart to the chest), but okay.

JIMINY SURVIVED ALL OF THAT JFSKLFFJL

I liked going through the different worlds to save all of Sora’s friends. It was a nice callback to KH1, when you visit different worlds in End of the World, and when you get to Realm of Chaos and have to rescue Donald and Goofy from Ansem SoD’s heartless… ship… thing. It was really annoying fighting the same boss over and over again, though. It wasn’t difficult (save for one instance where the lich spammed aeroga and pinned me against the ceiling. I only survived because it triggered rage form.), and I get that it was just a series of symbolic battles, but I dunno, maybe just giving him less HP for me to have to mow down would’ve made it less tedious.

So the power of waking is “traversing hearts to reach worlds.” So I guess that’s what Sora was doing while falling through the different Stations of Awakening and then arriving in different worlds.

“There’s no saving you.” Fuck, okay, after finishing the game, this line in the sleeping San Fransokyo hits a lot harder. You think Kid Xehanort knows that Team Nort is planning to snatch Kairi and use Sora’s desire to save her to ultimately destroy him? Because if so… ugh.

Sora and Kairi’s little spin when they reunite is so cute.

“I feel strong with you, Kairi.” Awww but also UGHHHHHHHH because I know what’s coming. And then Sora has flashbacks to Eugene and Anna sacrificing themselves for someone they love, and I’m not 100% sure why. Is it just foreshadowing his sacrifice for Kairi? Is he afraid that her rescuing him will cost her her own life? Whatever it is, Kairi seems to read Sora’s mind and says that he’s safe with her. And again, that’s really sweet, and I like that her PoH powers are FINALLY being explored in some way, but fuck, knowing how this all ends makes watching this scene so painful the second time around.

I was so confused when Sora was revived and we started replaying that confrontation scene in the Graveyard. The first time I played it, I was very seriously considering skipping the cutscene and reloading my save because I thought I’d gone the wrong way or something, but then Lingering Will showed up and the scene changed. Phew. I guess we went in a little time loop there. But wait, if everyone’s aware that Sora revived them, then they must remember how they were taken in the first place, right? If that’s the case, why the hell did Ven run up to Terra a second time? Why didn’t anyone stop him? Why did Aqua have to look “Terra” in the eye a second time to know it wasn’t him? Am I to assume that if Naminé hadn’t summoned Lingering Will, these dingdongs would’ve all lost their hearts AGAIN?

I’m so over demon tide boss fights, but damn if that battle theme doesn’t kick ass.

EPHEMERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY SHIT, OF ALL THE THINGS I NEVER SAW COMING. He helps Sora use the keyblades of all the fallen wielders from the first war to fight off the heartless, and you use the names of all those KHUX users who won that KH3 contest as attacks. Oh my gosh, what a sweet tribute. I like thinking that Larkey’s keyblade helped, too. <3

Oh god, when KH1 Riku showed up and Forze Del Male started playing, my entire life flashed before my eyes. I DID NOT want a rehash of that fight. I was relieved that I didn’t have to, but I was also just a little disappointed because that Xehanort shadow that emerges from him looked like a cool potential boss. I feel like there are actually a lot of scenes that happened in the Graveyard that would’ve worked better as actual battles or gameplay, tbh.

Also, that Forze De Male remix was hot as hell.

R.I.P. to all of fandom’s “Yen Sid is useless” jokes. What a way to go.

“You’re a whole pint by yourself, Sora.” I LOVE THIS DUCK SO MUCH.

I like that the maze tries to force you to choose between helping Riku or Mickey first like it’s some tragic moral dilemma. Like oh gee, let me think: Best written character in the series, or corporate icon Ricky Rat? That said, I actually did go to Mickey first just because I couldn’t get past the moving wall puzzle lmao. I wish this area had had a few more puzzles, though. I felt like I breezed through it way too fast.

Riku is really nerfed as a party member. He was CONSTANTLY KO’d in my fight against the Norts. Like damn dude, even Kairi stayed conscious through her battle (all 5 seconds of it, but still).

Repliku tears himself away from his own vessel and leaves it. For Naminé. Fuck, I didn’t expect that at all. What a great scene, and what a better ending for a character whose story I thought ended in CoM. I loved that.

Didn’t love that Riku and Sora just left Naminé’s vessel facedown in the dirt, though. Like… at least prop it against the wall or something guys, geez.

I like that you get a sort of farewell scene between the heroes and all the main villains of the series. It may’ve been a little fanservicey, but oh well. I’m not so hot on it from a story standpoint. Like I know we’re doing the anime thing where “I defeated you in battle, now we’re cool” but it still felt… odd. But at least it’s not as obnoxious as what comes up later with Master Xehanort.

I liked Larxene’s take on this especially, how she’d rather be destroyed than be a Nort. Why she joined up in the first place is still a mystery… And her answering Sora the way she did implies that the Norts aren’t just possessed mind slaves. They do have agency, though I guess that was clear from Even and Demyx turning against them, now that I remember it.

Building on the agency thing, I liked Vanitas’s scene with Ven. Ven wanted so badly for Vanitas to come to the light, but… It really wasn’t what Vanitas wanted for himself. “We decide who we are.” “I did decide who I am.” It’s tragic, but I like that it showed that not everyone was getting a happy ending from this game, and that there are some people you just can’t save.

COME GUARDIAN WAS TERRA’S HEARTLESS AFTER ALL. FUCK YES. I love that theory and I’m so happy it turned out to be correct!!!!!

And then we finally get a Wayfinder reunion!!!!!!

“What final words do you have for your superior?” Okay, I know this game is rated E10, but I half expected Axel to just look up and say “Fuck you.”

Xemnas and Axel’s conversation was so meta. Axel bragging about how popular he was, Xemnas calling Axel’s keyblade a joke. Like… Damn, they really paid attention to fandom over the years, didn’t they? I just wish they’d paid this much attention to all the fans who wanted a good storyline for Kairi. Anywho, Xemnas destroys Axel’s keyblade, so we lose two Lights from this scene. I’m kind of grateful that happened, actually. Having Axel lose his spot made it a little easier to accept Kairi losing hers. But only a little. Kairi getting kidnapped AGAIN was still stupid and contrived.

Unlike the other Norts, Xion’s apparently not acting on her own free will when the fight starts. Sora telling her “You can stop now” seemed to break something within her. And then Xemnas turns to attack her, and Sora’s heart reaches out to someone, and then BOOM. Roxas shows up to sass Xemnas and save the day!!!

I barely did anything in that Isa fight, lmao. I tried to land a few hits on him, but then I realized Roxas could handle him just fine alone, so I just hung back with Xion and cast cure here and there.

I’m disappointed that there’s almost no interaction between Roxas and Sora beyond a couple of nods, tbh. It’s kind of a weak payoff after all the fuss Sora made about wanting to save Roxas at the start of the game. That was what Sora decided to fight for “with all his heart,” and then once Roxas is back, we just keep blazing ahead with the story without a moment to appreciate the fact that he accomplished his goal (or rather, someone else accomplished it for him).

Aww, Xion looked so left out when she stood of to the side and started crying. It was almost like she was hesitant to join Axel and Roxas after she came so close to almost killing both of them. She didn’t even reach for the other two when Axel pulled them into a group hug, she just kept her hands clasped tight together and sort of curled in on herself. Aw, honey. Anyway, I’m glad these three will get to be together again.

I half expected Riku to snap “ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?” when Sora tells him that Kairi’s been kidnapped.

I liked both Xemnas and Ansem SoD’s sendoffs. Kid Xehanort doesn’t give a shit that he lost, though, he just fucks off back to the past knowing damn well what’s about to happen. And to that, I again say ugh.

And then we get… that scene. What the fuck did Xehanort mean by “You need motivation.”? Motherfucker, we are already out here in the Keyblade Graveyard having this showdown. Kingdom Hearts is looming above us. Sora just got done killing all ninety-seven billion Xehanorts. This fight is happening no matter what you do. This doesn’t make any fucking sense. Having Xehanort kill off Kairi was stupid and unnecessary and pointless and lazy and truly horrible, horrible writing. And see, I can’t even give Nomura the benefit of the doubt here because he actually had Xehanort call Kairi Sora’s “motivation.” That was it. That was the only reason Xehanort killed her. Not because she was a keyblade wielder who was in the way of his goal, not because she was a Princess of Heart whose power could pose a threat. Not because of anything Kairi did or who she was as a person, but because she was a THING that was important to Sora. Fuck that. Fuck that entire scene, fuck everything about it, fuck everyone who gave that writing decision the green light. Fuck it. And knowing how this game ends (with Sora apparently sacrificing himself to save Kairi), Kairi now has more motivation than EVER to fight to get him back, but you know Nomura won’t give a shit when it comes time to write scenarios for KH4. He’s just gonna throw Kairi back on the islands and have Riku be the hero. Riku will find Sora, they’ll have adventures together and apart, they’ll continue to grow as characters, and then they’ll go home to where Kairi’s just sitting pretty, waiting to be the perfect reward for everything Sora’s accomplished. So there you go, that’s Kingdom Hearts IV. I just saved you $50 in the future (not adjusted for inflation).

Just. Jesus Christ, of all the idiotic tone-deaf bullshit… To have so much self-awareness while writing Naminé’s dialogue in the Final World and Axel’s scene with Xemnas in the Graveyard and then NONE OF THAT WHATSOEVER when it came to writing Kairi’s final scenes… That’s unreal. It’s almost unbelievable, but I really shouldn’t be surprised. Nomura’s pulled this shit before, so oop @ me for actually expecting better from him. Lesson fucking learned.

Anyway, after we get past all that stupid sexist bullshit that I actively hated, Sora gets ready to leave for the next area. I like that Donald and Goofy literally pick him up off the ground and help him stand, and that they go with him afterward. I just love the Trinity Trio in this game so much. They feel so much like a family now, and since I’m clearly never ever ever ever getting any decent Destiny Trio development, that’s a nice comfort. The other keyslingers stay behind to keep Kingdom Hearts shut, and Xion tells Sora that she can sense that Kairi will be okay, which… Yeah, alright. I just saw Xehanort slash into her back and shatter her into thousands of pieces, but no, I’m sure she’s fine. flskjdf Okay, sorry, I get what that scene with Xion was trying to do, but it just doesn’t make any sense? Xion is Sora’s replica, not Kairi’s. I could buy that she can sense Sora’s heart, but she has no real connection to Kairi’s at all, so how would she know that Kairi’s okay? Maybe she was just saying that as a way to comfort Sora, like a “she’ll always be in your heart” kind of thing, but even that feels off. Like that’s the kind of thing you say to someone a couple weeks after the funeral, not right there at the crime scene. Oh well. I guess it was sweet that she at least wanted him to hear that.

Then we get to Scala ad Caelum, which was kind of a letdown, really. I was hoping to get to explore the city, but you really just have one large area that’s ultimately just a battlefield. The boss battles weren’t much of a challenge at all, and you don’t even have to defeat them all, which was disappointing, but eh. The only tense moment was when Xehanort triggered Sora’s rage form in the final battle, but Donald and Goofy kept me healed up enough that it wasn’t much of a problem.

Xehanort uses the “one sky, one destiny” line from Kairi’s letter. Like it’s not enough that he killed her, he’s gotta plagiarize her, too. Dick.

Donald and Goofy help Sora ward off Xehanort’s final attack! Like they literally, physically help him push back against it! I love these half-pints. <3

Eraqus! He asks Terra to look after his other apprentices for him, aw.

Xehanort gives Sora the X-blade, and there’s no “sorry I killed your friend” or anything. He just goes on to be at peace with Eraqus. Seriously? This dude abuses Ven, hijacks Terra’s body, throws Aqua into the Realm of Darkness, murders Kairi, and he still gets to pass on peacefully into the next life with his bff? Come the fuck on.

Hearing “Always On My Mind” again was nice. That was always one of my favorite tracks from KH1.

Okay, after rewatching the ending cinematic, it makes a lot more sense to me. Riku suggests that they all go back to Yen Sid’s place to figure out how to save Kairi (which… why are we all acting like this is something that can just be undone? She wasn’t taken into darkness by the heartless like before; Xehanort struck her down. We didn’t see her heart leave her body or anything, she just shattered. To me, that looks like an E10-rated game’s version of death.), but Sora knows what he has to do. It wasn’t until the second time through this ending that I realized he was already planning on waking her heart at the expense of his own life. Knowing that, it’s a little odd that Riku just lets him go with a roundabout way of saying “I believe in you.” Kairi’s supposedly Riku’s friend, too, isn’t she? And he knows how to wake sleeping hearts, too, so why couldn’t he go with Sora to find her?

I loved seeing the Wayfinder Trio laying flowers at Eraqus’s memorial. I also like that keyblades are apparently used specifically for this when the wielder has passed on. That’s a nice bit of world building. And Chirithy is reunited with Ven after all (who apparently remembers them)! Aww. I still don’t know how the hell Ven exists in this timeline, but still. Aw.

I love Xion’s new outfit, and that she and her boys got to go back to Twilight Town together. I’m not so hot on Isa being there, though, and I’m really put off by how chummy he and Roxas seem. I know these scenes are taking place after a little time has passed, so maybe there was some tension between them at first that we just don’t see because it’s not particularly relevant, but still… Anyway, a shadow passes over them for a moment, and I think it must’ve been the gummi ship arriving to pick them up and take them to a party on Destiny Islands. Nice.

When I got to the scene of Naminé waking up in Radiant Garden… I actually started sobbing. Like that’s embarrassing to admit, but that scene hit me so hard. Just watching her open her eyes, and then seeing Dilan and Aeleus lead her out to the courtyard where the ship lands. Seeing her smile when Riku holds out his hand to her… I started crying while typing this up just remembering it, haha. I loved that moment so, so much. I’m so happy she gets to be her own person, that Ansem helped restore her to finally give her a life of her own after everything he put her through. I love that Riku’s the person to welcome her onto the ship, that he’s doing this for the Replica who gave up the vessel for her, but also because she’s been his friend, too (albeit largely off-screen). And the final shot of her laying her hand so gently in his... Holy god, what a finale shot. That scene ALONE was worth the thirteen year wait for me. I am truly stunned that that was part of the ending, that Naminé—of all characters—was the final person they built up to. That was just so much more than I had ever hoped for for her.

And then the actual final scene. You have all the main characters playing on the beach. Xion and Naminé are finding seashells; Riku, Roxas, and Terra are running around doing… something; the Twilight Town kids and Goofy and Donald are making sand castles; Lea, Ven, and Isa are playing frisbee. And then everyone stops to look at Sora and Kairi on the paopu tree. Sora vanishes, and you see Kairi start to slowly curl in on herself as the scene fades to black. And… upon rewatch, I actually like this ending? I was confused the first time I watched it because I didn’t have Kid Xehanort’s words in San Fransokyo fresh on my mind at the time, but when I went back and watched all the scenes together, I understood that Sora woke up her heart, and him “abusing” that power took its toll. I’m alright with us actually not seeing him do this (or at least, I’m not bothered by that by itself. I’m really bothered that it happened like that after Kairi got fridged the way she did, but on its own, it’s fine.). I’m upset that Sora’s gone, but truthfully, I was sort of expecting it. And like I said in my tirade about Kairi’s writing a few bullet points up, you know he’ll be back. It’s just really upsetting to know that Kairi now has to live with the guilt over the fact that he gave up his life for her, and that—as far as she knows—she’ll never see him again. And you just know that Nomura will absolutely, positively not let her do anything about it come KH4, to which I can only say, again: UGH.

I don’t care about Braig being Luxu, bye.

I think I’m still too raw from the emotional highs (and lows) of this game to really analyze everything as clearly as I’d like. There’s still stuff I want to talk about, but I’ll save that for another time. I can’t deny how much I enjoyed everything that happened before Kairi got fridged, but man, that one point really sours a lot of this game for me.

But yeah, that’s all for now.

#kh spoilers #kh3 spoilers #my posts #kh3 #kh3 bloggin

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