#of whether to accept or reject riku

[mykhanalysis]

Why Vanitas has one of the best, yet frustrating, death scene, in my opinion.

*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*

I want to share my comment that I left (and deleted) under a KH post discussing the deaths of the organization, so I pasted it here. I want to give credit to @demnocts because I reblogged their post because it summarized the scene so well.

*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*✭˚･ﾟ✧*･ﾟ*

Many people interpret Vanitas giving Sora and Ven the middle finger as his way of telling them to “fuck off” but to me, I believe he wasn't telling them to "fuck off"; rather, he was genuinely expressing the reality of his situation, accepting things as they were, and eventually finding closure.

If Vanitas had really wanted to be nasty about it, like Young Xehanort did, the scene would have been much shorter. Instead, we got a scene in which Vanitas remained calm throughout the conversation, calmly explaining and acknowledging his connections. He recognized Sora and Ventus as his brothers who complemented each other. Despite this acknowledgment, Vanitas refused to be swayed by their convictions and chose to remain true to himself.

—x—

In a world where Sora, Ven, and others have the freedom to choose their paths, whether it be the path of light or any other, it seems only fair that Vanitas should also have the right to choose the path of darkness. After all, he is a dark being himself, and it feels fitting for him to embrace his true nature. His decision is not inherently right or wrong; rather, it is a reflection of who he is at his core.

Anndd that's precisely why the conversation between Sora, Ven, and Vanitas annoyed me. It treated Vanitas' decision as ‘wrong’ or implied that he could have done ‘better’. It tried to undermine the validity of his decision.

Ironically, it was Sora and Ventus themselves who initially suggested to Vanitas that he could decide who he wanted to be. Yet, when Vanitas embraces his true nature and remains faithful to himself, they question him and become defensive. "And what you are is darkness?!" or "How is that okay? Vanitas?!” It seems as though Sora and Ventus were urging Vanitas to embrace a different path (standing on the side of the light), discouraging him from fully embracing his identity as darkness and suggesting that he could do better.

But, Darkness is his very nature and the way he came into existence. There is no room for compromise or finding a middle ground in his case. He is not a whole person in the same way that Sora and Ven are. Darkness is simply who he is. It would have been rather stupid for Vanitas to deny or reject that aspect of himself. So, instead, he acknowledges and wholeheartedly embraces it.

Vanitas was well aware that Sora and Ven had chosen to align themselves with the light. He never passed judgment on them, whereas Sora and Ven failed to extend the same acceptance towards him.

“The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.”

—x—

Not only was that part annoying, but what bothered me further was Ven's comment, "We should be free to choose. Not just light, not just darkness". While he is right that anyone can be more than just light and darkness, I feel that Ven, of all people, shouldn't be the one to tell Vanitas this.

If Riku had said that to Vanitas, it would have made sense given what Riku had gone through and how he found closure. But, when Ventus said that to Vanitas, I couldn't help but laugh lol.

Neither of them had any say in their separation; it was an unfortunate circumstance for them. However, when it comes to certain aspects of their separation, it could be argued that Ven had the better outcome. Ven was less likely to be judged or shunned because he was inherently connected to the light. He has an advantage in terms of societal acceptance over Vanitas, who was born with the nature of darkness and negativity. Moreover, Ven was provided with nurturing care and proper healing after the separation. He found himself surrounded by companionship and support, which undoubtedly contributed to his well-being. This environment and the presence of individuals who cared for him allowed Ven to flourish and grow to an extent.

On the other hand, the less appealing aspects of their separation fell on Vanitas.

- He was born from not just one, but two chaotic elements: darkness and negativity. Vanitas was doomed to be anything but normal, let alone stable, due to this confluence of chaotic elements.

- Darkness and negativity were already stigmatized and viewed as undesirable traits, andddd Vanitas embodied both. DOUBLE HOMICIDE lmao ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- As if being born from darkness and negativity couldn't get any more dire, the depths of his existence extends as his negative emotions leak out and manifest into physical monstrosities.

- Vanitas will always feel incomplete because he isn't a whole person. He felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction and emptiness, even after reconstructing his heart using negativity. The led him to attempt to extract Ven from within Sora, as absorbing his other half would complete and stabilize him.

- For four years, he was raised by Xehanort, a man who was neither virtuous nor morally upright. This is so self-explanatory. TRIPLE HOMICIDE.

(Off topic: Did you guys know that in dark road, Xehanort implied he was going to harm Vanitas, and even THEE, Vanitas, was shaken by the threat?)

Anyway, it is definitely easier for Ven to say that considering he ended up with the more advantageous share of their separation, while Vanitas was left to deal with the less appealing parts.

Even though I was annoyed by the conversation, I was satisfied that Vanitas went out the way he did. It’s refreshing to see an antagonist who isn’t easily swayed by the protagonist or the heroes. He remained true to his himself and embraced his role as a harbinger of chaos and evil.

#vanitas #kingdomhearts #ventus #xehanort #kh riku #kh sora #kh vanitas

[daylighteclipsed]

Sora always without fail chasing his friends to his demise

CoM:

Re:Coded:

DDD:

“Well… my heart was aching. That’s why I kept going.”

“Aren’t hearts great? Steer us wrong every time.”

In DDD, Sora chases after all the people in his heart. Mickey, Donald, Goofy. Namine, Xion, Roxas. Kairi, Riku (who briefly morph into Aqua and Terra before returning to normal). In every instance, his friends are moving away from him, and he’s struggling to catch up, to reach them.

Kairi and Riku are the last people he “finds,” and the dialogue delivery suggests he’s been looking for them the whole time/the most, as if there’s a silent “finally” in his breathless, “I found you!” In CoM, Kairi and Riku are the illusions/false truths (in the forms of Namine and Repliku) that Sora chases through Castle Oblivion — like DDD, the villains there are trying to trick him into renouncing his self and autonomy. And as we all know, Kairi and Riku are the people Sora consistently chases through all of the games.

Castle Oblivion does lead Sora nowhere, to nothing but fake memories and a fractured sense of self and reality. He suffers, and it changes him, and he does not like who he becomes. This is a repeated fear he expresses, turning into or realizing he is somebody else. He is warned he may not be the same after Castle Oblivion, and he rejects his new self in the end. “Make me like I was.” The existence of Roxas, the idea that Sora is not who he thinks he is and has memories he’s not aware of, deeply disturbs him and makes him increasingly hateful towards the Organization members that insist on calling him “Roxas” or “traitor.” Earlier in DDD, Xemnas also unnerves Sora by questioning if his memories and feelings — and thus, his character and identity — are in fact, his own and not the products of someone else.

The dreams in DDD lead him nowhere as well, just deeper into the Chasm of Dreams, the darkness. In both DDD and CoM, he is warned to stop, to recognize the difference between real and unreal, but clings to his friends and unreality regardless. Perhaps because it would hurt more to lose sight of them than to chase them forever just out of reach. “My heart was aching…”

There is something ironic about Data Sora being the only version of Sora to learn how to let go and manage his hurt/loss. Loss of others and/or loss of self — which Sora so closely ties to others. All of his power comes from others. His value. His purpose. Who he is expected to be. Sometimes loss is agony. Grieving a friend or mourning who we no longer are. But loss is part of life, and, as Re:Coded says, the pain of loss helps us understand others better. It can shape us into someone kinder if we accept it, and it can destroy us if we don’t.

It does not feel like a coincidence that Sora, the real Sora, continuously fails to let go/cut his losses and is nearly destroyed or falls to darkness because of it. I pegged this as a flaw all the way back in KH1, after he kills himself to free Kairi’s heart from his body, and it looks like I was right.

Sora has not learned to accept loss, whether it’s letting go of a friend or someone he used to be. He hasn’t changed, and the narrative has not demanded he change much. But now it’s striking next to Riku who has changed a lot, overcoming his flaws and insecurities that prevented him from growing back in KH1. Riku’s developed an immunity to darkness. He’s a Keyblade Master. He’s grown up. Sora has not.

Considering he’s afraid of becoming someone else, it would be cool if some parts of Sora are a product of Ventus and he struggles after losing Ven’s heart. Or if the negativity Sora buries bubbles to the surface more often… in which case it’s less about becoming someone else and more accepting he’s already different. Like growing older irl, his experiences have changed him, and sometimes it’s hard to love who we become. We know the darkness has gotten to him (hello anti-form), but nobody around him seems to notice.

I suspect Sora’s going to keep facing loss and the pain of loss until he learns to accept it. He’s managed to avoid any major consequences up to now, but with how close he comes to being Xehanort’s final vessel DDD is a really close call. It feels like a warning.

#kingdom hearts #sora #me: I’m gonna talk about riku now #also me: so SORA— #i think it’s cause riku’s arc is so straightforward and up front #whereas with sora’s arc it’s like maybe I’m wrong. maybe I’m reaching. #maybe they’re not gonna do anything w his character and he’s just the stock shonen protag #… but what if they do #i think it’s cause the narrative already holds riku accountable for his flaws #so i don’t feel the need to talk about them #but i know sora’s not infallible and I’m not gonna buy any narrative that insists he is #i don’t want to see that

[ayuuria]

Yashahime Translation: Animedia Magazine April 2022 Issue

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Para más información sobre el uso de mis traducciones, haz click aquí.

Even If They’re Apart Now, The Yashahimes and Rion Are Sisters at Heart

Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha have continued to battle rigorously against Kirinmaru. The girls meeting with Rion allowed them to gain new weapons and power up. No matter if each of their circumstances differ, whether they be half-demon, quarter-demon, or demon, their faces are that of ordinary girls. A bond like comradery/friendship has sprouted between the 3 Yashahimes and Rion. However, danger has now befallen on that connection. Kirinmaru’s incarnation, Kirin Osamu, has kidnapped Rion and is trying to create a new world using her and the Grim Comet’s power. Can Towa and the others save Rion who’s been absorbed by the Grim Butterfly? For the days the 4 of them spent together laughing to not end in memory, they take on the final battle that is about to begin with strong determination!!

Character Bios

Higurashi Towa Sesshōmaru’s older twin daughter. Even though she uses the Zanseiken that Rion entrusted to her, sucking up demonic energy steals her Kon at the same time; thus, she risks her life fighting.

Setsuna Sesshōmaru’s younger twin daughter. She can cut the threads of fate of humans and demons with the naginata, “Yukari no Tachikiri”. She worries about Towa fighting with the Zanseiken.

Moroha Inuyasha and Kagome’s daughter. Receiving a bow that Kagome made, she faces the threat of the Grim Comet alongside Towa and Setsuna.

Rion Kirinmaru’s daughter. For 600 years, she was sealed within the barrier of Mt. Musubi. Cooperating with the Yashahimes, she attempted to stop Kirinmaru’s ambition but……

The Yashahimes & Rion’s #Warm and Cool Secret Stories of Family Love

The Way That the Yashahimes Interact with Their Parents Has Changed Family Love Up 100%!

“Though recognizing him as “Sesshōmaru” at first, around the time they saved Rin, Towa and Setsuna started addressing them as “Father” and “Mother”. With Moroha finally reunited with Inuyasha and Kagome, she has surprisingly started to show that she felt lonely. I think those are the things that allowed each of them to accept their parents’ existence.” (Hishida)

Rion’s Separation from Kirinmaru #Daughter’s Rejection Shocks Father Parent-Child Love Roughly 0%

“Kirinmaru and Rion’s relationship is mixed with love and hate or rather, the daughter finds the parent’s attachment suffocating which I think is close to a common problem in actual parent-child relationships. It’s like the stereotypical parent-child relationship that’s not going well.” (Naka P)

Can the Yashahimes and Riku Stop Rion!? #We Want the 4 Of Them to Be Friends Forever! Believe in a 100% Bond!!

Rion gets absorbed by the Grim Butterfly that emerged from the Grim Comet. It seems that the Grim Butterfly has the power to erase all demons from this world, but there’s no way Rion herself would wish for that. Believing that, Towa and others confront the Grim Butterfly together with Riku. Those feelings, will they reach Rion……

Secret Stories One After Another, “Yashahime” A Long Conversation on the Eve of the Decisive Battle Director Hishida Masakazu X Naka Hisakazu

With a depiction that has crossed over from The First Chapter to The Second Chapter, the Yashahimes’ battle is finally reaching its climax. We had Director Hishida and Producer Naka talk about Kirin Osamu, who’s existence has become that of a final boss, and highlights for the final stage!

The Final Decisive Battle Has Finally Come! Kirin-Sensei Holds the Key

— Gearing towards the climax, Kirin Osamu’s existence has become big, but what is the “difference” between him and Kirinmaru?

Naka: In The First Chapter, Kirin-sensei was still something like “an existence that had some sort of connection with Kirinmaru” and he hadn’t been deeply established yet. However, with the story setting returning to the modern era, the only existence that could become a key was him; thus, because we discussed how we wanted to depict him with that, he became the kind of character (that you see now) as a result. Kirinmaru is the type to seek his own strength rather than destroy humans, but Kirin-sensei’s way of thinking is more extreme and goes in the direction of “destroy demons”. In that sense, he’s an existence with a position that hasn’t been seen until now.

Hishida: Also, a clear difference between (him) and Kirinmaru is their knowledge. He himself has lived for around 500 years and has seen how mankind has behaved within that time. In the present, he studied human history and knows about the huge wars that have crossed over twice*. He has a vague understanding of what he needs to do to dominate the world from an intelligence perspective which is different from Kirinmaru who seeks only strength. However, their core of loving Rion is fundamentally the same. Rion is at the center of their thoughts, so they end up taking actions that turn their surroundings into hell.

(Translator’s Note: I think he’s referring to World War I and II)

Naka: The trait of (Kirin-sensei) deciding for himself that “Surely this is what Rion wants too” is the same as Kirinmaru, isn’t it?

Hishida: It’s completely the same. That’s why we depict a way that ensures that that part doesn’t blur or rather, we’ve (hopefully) been expressing that nothing good comes from that kind of overprotectiveness.

— Hosoya Yoshimasa-san, who plays Kirin, also plays as Kirinmaru, so what sort of acting directions did you give him?

Hishida: I told Hosoya-san to fundamentally do the same as he did in The First Chapter, indifferent and detached basically…… that’s how I had him play Kirin.

Naka: Sound Director Nagura (Yasushi)-san directed him in a way that allowed him to differentiate from Kirinmaru, but I think it was a lot of work for Hosoya-san. Afterall, we get to the final stage and Kirin-sensei suddenly shows all these different sides to him.

Hishida: He does talk a lot in the final stage.

The Story Heads into the Climax with Various Feelings Accumulated!

— Looking back on The Second Chapter, which scenes are you personally attached to?

Naka: For me, it was when Setsuna fully mastered the “Yukari no Tachikiri”. After entering The Second Chapter, there was a build up for the mastery of “Yukari no Tachikiri”, so I was glad that the goal was finally accomplished.

Hishida: My personal favorite was when Setsuna held Towa’s hand during Moroha’s reunion with Inuyasha and Kagome. She couldn’t hug her own parents due to circumstances that didn’t allow for a reunion, so it gave you a sense that Setsuna still had her older sister despite that. The impression of the image was simple, but I think it was a good scene.

Naka: You could feel an internal change within Setsuna in that moment.

Hishida: Before, she wouldn’t have cried at all…… I did a good job if I do say so myself (laughs). It’s there that Setsuna realizes that she “didn’t have any sentiment towards blood relatives”. Towa grew up surrounded by the Higurashi family in the modern era but if asked whether Setsuna grew up with the same kind of ample love, the answer would be no, not as much. That’s why I was truly glad that Towa was right beside Setsuna at that moment. The fact that Setsuna became able to hold Towa’s hand shows how much she’s grown. Even though the scene was short, it had a lot of meaning behind it.

Naka: At first, there had been a plot idea for Setsuna to not go to that place.

Hishida: At first, yes, but I wanted Towa and Setsuna to see the figure of Moroha reuniting with her parents no matter what. There was also the fact that it was there that I wanted them to clearly realize the thing that they did not yet have in their possession. In a way, it was a preface for the last (phase of the story).

— We are finally diving into the climax, but which character should we pay attention to?

Hishida: I’d say Riku.

Naka: As a character who’s facing Towa from the opposite side, Riku is in a good position. He’s trying to protect Towa while being in a state where if Kirinmaru dies, he will die as well. He also protects Rion because she’s always been important to him, but what will happen to him in the final part? That I think is a highlight.

Hishida: There’s also Kirin-sensei. From how he’s been depicted so far, Kirin-sensei seems like a good person, but he changes after reuniting with Rion.

Naka: He’s ultimately not a bad person though.

Hishida: Everyone in this work has their own (definition of) justice and believes that theirs is correct, which is troublesome (laughs).

— We’re also curious to see how the Yashahimes will act.

Hishida: In episode 41, “Akuru’s Pinwheel”, Rin did say “Please come back alive without fail!” “And then please allow me, along with Lord Sesshōmaru, to hug you both as tight as we can!”, so it’s a matter of whether that will be realized or not. That along with the aspect of “Will that Sesshōmaru really hug his daughters though!?”, is a point worth noting.

Naka: As a principle of this work, we think it isn’t right for the three (girls) to resolve things in a way that Inuyasha or Sesshōmaru could, so we’re making it in a way that “it’s because it’s those three that things were resolved like this”. That’s something the director has always been fixated on, so it would be great if (viewers) can think of a solution that is unique to the three (girls).

Hishida: To kill or to save. I think that will become key. Getting close to Rion is something Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru can’t do.

Naka: We want to end things in satisfying way so please look forward to it.

#The Right Arm and The Daughter’s Counterattack!

Kirinmaru In order to revive his beloved daughter, Kirinmaru planned to use Towa’s body as a vessel for Rion’s soul. However, Kirin, who was once his own right arm, snatches Rion and Kirinmaru in turn gets used by him.

#Unexpected Last Boss!?

Kirin Osamu Originally Kirinmaru’s right arm that had been thrown away into the “Bone Eater’s Well”. Though he is Towa’s middle school homeroom teacher, he secretly slays demons in the modern era. He tries to fulfill his ambition by using Rion.

#Will the Family Hug Happen!?

Sesshōmaru During his battle with Kirinmaru, Sesshōmaru sustained serious damage. Even though he escaped danger thanks to Towa’s Zanseiken, will a time ever come when he can spend peaceful days with Rin and his daughters, whom he has watched over……?

#What Of His Relationship with Towa

Riku An incarnation born from Kirinmaru’s horn. He falls in love with Towa and betrays Kirinmaru as a result. He was in a position of protecting Rion, but they were separated because of Kirin. Thus, he heads to save her alongside the Yashahimes.

We Asked Director Hishida and Naka P! #“Yashahime” Number 1 In Everything

Number 1 Tiniest and Cutest, Takechiyo & Shippō

“Having two mascot characters was more fun than I expected” (Naka P)

“That scene with Takechiyo was fun. It’s great that even after 20 years, the way Shippō is treated by others hasn’t changed one bit from before. (laughs)” (Hishida)

#Yashahime #Hanyou no Yashahime #Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon #translation

[violethowler]

Dark Enchantress

Following on from last week’s essay, I would like to talk about one character who has often been overlooked both in-universe and out. Someone who was a major character in the first game, but whose presence has diminished in the years since, even as subsequent games have subtly laid the groundwork for her return to prominence. 

I’m talking of course, about Maleficent. 

Because of the fact that she hasn’t been a major threat since the first game, many fans tend to overlook Maleficent in later Kingdom Hearts games and dismiss her as an unimportant distraction, or even an outright joke. Outside of Re:coded, her schemes have had no immediate impact on the overarching plot of any games, and she’s constantly overshadowed by bigger antagonists like Xehanort. 

However within the framework of the Heroine’s Journey, Maleficent fills a crucial role that has not yet been completed. To explain, I must first elaborate a bit more on the narrative archetype into which Sora and Rikus’ relationship falls: 

The character dynamic between the protagonist and their Animus in a Heroine’s Journey often follows what I have heard others informally label as a Dark Youth/Light Youth narrative[1]. There is no official name for this archetype, so I will be referring to it by the terms it was labeled as when I first learned of it. While the archetype is not exclusively used for romances, many Heroine’s Journey romances fit into this dynamic, as romantic Dark Youth/Light Youth stories tend to follow Beauty and the Beast, rivals-to-lovers, and enemies-to-lovers archetypes.

The Light Youth is most commonly the protagonist of a story, while the Dark Youth typically serves as a Shadow figure to the main character. While there have been rare instances where a Dark Youth is the protagonist of their own story, in most examples, the Dark Youth will be a deuteragonist to the Light Youth. The Dark Youth represents what their counterpart could have become had their circumstances been worse, and in a coming of age narrative they symbolize the more turbulent aspects of growing up. 

They typically begin the story as an anti-villain or tragic villain before transitioning to an anti hero or outright hero by the end, with their interactions with their light youth counterpart gradually driving them to change for the better. For all that various groups in fandom spaces will debate about whether or not a character “deserves” redemption, a well-written Dark Youth archetype is meant to teach younger audiences that no matter how many mistakes you make, it’s never too late to turn things around and do better.

Some examples of Light Youth/Dark Youth pairs include:

Belle & the Beast (Beauty & the Beast)

Aang & Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Rey & Kylo Ren (Star Wars: Episodes VII - IX) 

Lucy & Edmund Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe)

Allura & Lotor (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Kagome & Inuyasha (Inuyasha)

In many examples of this dynamic, the Dark Youth often spends a significant portion of the narrative under the spell of an Evil Sorcerer figure. Someone whose actions and influence create or maintain a rift between the Dark Youth and their counterpart. In order for the story to reach its climax, the Evil Sorcerer’s control over the Dark Youth must be overcome. This hold can be literal in the sense that they are physically holding the Dark Youth captive, or it can be metaphorical in the sense that their words and actions influence the Dark Youth psychologically. 

While the character that fills this role in the narrative isn’t required to be magical at all, one of the most common forms this archetype takes is the Wicked Witch (hence why I refer to it as the Evil Sorcerer). In Dark Youth/Light Youth stories that deal with themes that are relevant to real world experiences, they can often take the form of an abusive parental figure, like Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar or High Priestess Haggar in Voltron.

Thus, we come to Maleficent. Despite the fact that she hasn’t been a serious threat since the first game, her influence still lingers. She spent much of her screen time in the original game convincing Riku that Sora had abandoned him, driving him down the path to villainy. Despite working in every game since to redeem himself, her influence still casts a shadow over his interactions with Sora. While they reconciled during their reunion in Kingdom Hearts II, Sora and Riku did not meaningfully address the latter’s behavior during the first game. 

Sora’s views about “Riku” in Chain of Memories prior to the Replica reveal indicate that he believes Riku was not in control of his actions and was therefore blameless for what happened. But we as the audience know that despite being manipulated by Maleficent, Riku was in control of his actions. In order for the rift between the two to fully heal, they need to have a conversation where they talk about why Riku behaved the way he did and, in doing so, they must get to the heart of why Riku was so jealous of Sora.

As mentioned in my previous essay, the depiction of Riku and his bond with Sora across the series is consistent with how love interests in the Heroine’s Journey are portrayed. In addition to this narrative pattern, multiple textual parallels with canon Disney couples point towards Riku and Sora having romantic feelings for each other: 

In the first Kingdom Hearts, we have two prominent moments of one character calling out for another as the party flees the location of the world’s boss while it quakes around them: Aladdin calling out for Jasmine as the party flees the Cave of Wonders, and Sora calling out for Riku as the party flees Monstro’s stomach.

Kingdom Hearts II uses plot details involving Disney Princess romances to foreshadow Sora and Riku’s reunion in The World That Never Was.

Aladdin is avoiding Jasmine at the start of the first visit to Agrabah just like how Riku is avoiding Sora throughout the game as a whole. 

After being freed from Xaldin’s influence in the first visit to Beast’s Castle, the Beast is afraid to talk to Belle after how he behaved, just like how Riku didn’t want Sora to find him after how he acted in the first game. (Notably, we don’t get to see the Beast’s curse broken until *after* we’ve seen Riku no longer trapped in Ansem’s form)

Ariel is afraid that since she’s a mermaid and Eric is a human that he’ll reject her, just like how Riku didn’t want Sora to see that he’d taken on Ansem’s form. 

When Sora, Donald, and Goofy are separated from Rapunzel and Flynn in the Kingdom of Corona during Kingdom Hearts III, Goofy says that Rapunzel and Eugene will be fine as long as they’re together. The last time this phrasing was used in the series, Goofy was saying that about Sora and Riku. 

Kingdom Hearts III connects Riku’s sacrifice for Sora in the Keyblade Graveyard with Hercules diving into the River Styx to save Megara’s soul. (This is more clear in the original Japanese, as the localization translated the term taisetsu na hito [literal meaning: precious person] as “person I love most” for Hercules and “what matters” for Riku.)

In Jungian psychology, which the Heroine’s Journey is heavily influenced by, the Evil Sorcerer working to keep the romantic leads apart is symbolic of romantic/sexual interference. They represent cultural forces attempting to dictate what kind of romantic relationship is socially acceptable for people who share some aspect of the protagonist or Dark Youth’s identity. 

Maleficent got her hooks into Riku at the beginning of the series by convincing him that Sora didn’t value him or their bond. Since then, he’s gone to the opposite extreme. Instead of lashing out over his jealousy of not being the center of Sora’s attention, he bottles his feelings up. While some fans perceived his distance from Sora in recent games as him stepping back, it ‘s more accurate to say that he has resigned himself to the belief his feelings for Sora will forever be unrequited. This is best demonstrated in the Limit Cut DLC, where even after a year of multiple characters attempting to trace their connection to Sora with no results, the idea that his own bond with Sora could be important never crossed his mind until the Fairy Godmother said there was a clue in his dreams. And until Riku learns to let down his walls and admit to Sora how he feels, Maleficent will still have a hold over him. 

Despite the narrative setup for a romance between the two of them, they will not be able to get together until Riku has fully broken free of Maleficent’s influence. This is the reason why the “Healing the Wounded Masculine” stage of Murdock’s formula where the protagonist and the Animus mend the rift between them is placed very close to the end of the sequence. Freeing the Dark Youth from the Sorcerer’s influence represents their relationship with their Light counterpart triumphing over the societal forces that the Sorcerer archetype represents. Until that has been achieved, neither lead is emotionally or psychologically ready to begin a relationship.

So while Maleficent may not have been as significant a threat as she was in the beginning, she still plays a major role within the framework of Sora’s Journey, and she will continue to have a presence in the series until that role has been completed in full.

Sources:

[1] Death of a Dark Youth, Desecration of the Animus; December 20, 2018. https://www.teampurplelion.com/death-of-a-dark-youth/

#kingdom hearts and the heroine's journey #kingdom hearts meta #kingdom hearts analysis #kh maleficent #soriku

[rexelectus]

● – || @moralhymn​ sent:  1. What makes you the most emotional about your muse? / 7. If you could “borrow” one aspect of your muse and apply it to yourself or your own life, what would you borrow? / 17. Why do you think you connect to your muse?

munday questions || accepting 

Thank you for sending these in you precious peach! You are amazing and should have lots of great kisses and huggles! 

● – || What makes you emotional about your muse? What doesn’t make me emotional about Noctis Lucis Caelum? That should really be  the question. There are so many things that make me emotional about him. Since I got this question twice I’m going to talk about different things for each question. In this essay, I will discuss his relationship with Lunafreya. I refuse to write her out of Noctis’ story for the sake of having ships. I won’t do it. I’m going to spill some tea but I, personally, won’t follow a Noctis back {not from Iris or Cindy or any blog I run} if I see that Lunafreya is cast aside or rejected from someone’s portrayal for the sake of ships. While I understand how someone portrays their muse is their business, rejecting a major female character who is the basis of a muse’s personality and lifestyle for the sake of ships makes me annoyed. I’m really passionate about this, if you can’t tell. 

Lunafreya’s existence is a huge portion of Noctis’ story. It is not only a huge point in his story but also in his character development itself. From the minute he was born he was told that he is going to be married to her. They grew up as close friends. Even when they were separated, they stayed in contact. Long before Prompto she was his closest friend. Yes, they were/are to be married but they were friends first. I firmly believe that he loves her. A lot. Whether it is romantically or just as a close friend for me, personally, depends on the Lunafreya I am writing with. I instantly default to that he loves her as a close friend unless we’ve talked about it. As they grow up they write to each other practically daily. They share that connection, whether near or far. She is a huge part of his life. He does so many things throughout his life, throughout his journey, just with her in mind. He’s dedicated to her, not just because of his duty to the throne, but because they are friends/lovers.  He’s withdrawn as a person. He confides in her and she in him. While he was injured for a good portion of his life, Noctis only had Lunafreya. She got him to blossom and open up little by little. 

While Ignis and Gladio taught him how to follow his duty, Lunafreya taught him how to follow his heart. She taught him how to feel and listen to what his heart was wanting. Also, can we talk about how he looks at her? Noctis, whether as a child or as a young adult, looks at Lunafreya with so much love. He’s in awe of her. Of her strength. Of her passion. Of her beauty. Of her wisdom. Of her ability to lead. When he sees her speak in Altissia, you can tell that, in that moment, he recognizes that he wouldn’t have any one else by his side. That their destiny to be together is the right one. He realizes, while looking up at her through the crowd of thousands, just how lucky he is to call himself her King and how excited he is to marry her. 

Now, we get to get sad. He beats himself up when she dies. Yes, he’s partially still torn up about his father dying, but Noctis genuinely is devastated when she dies. “All I wanted was to save you.” He knew she was sick. All he wanted was to be there by her side and help her and instead he watched as Ardyn stabbed her and took her away from him. “I’m sorry .... I couldn’t be there for you.” Need I say more sad quotes? He loved her so much, whether as friends or lovers, that losing her after his father broke him. He didn’t get to say goodbye or to tell her how he felt about her. He didn’t get any of those things. He wasn’t able to save her or be there for her because someone took away that choice for him. Now, if we pretend video game canon doesn’t exist and the book does, Noctis does eventually get married to Lunafreya. They have children. They get the happily ever after that I firmly believe they both deserved. It’s really sweet and they have a very happy marriage.  While yes, they were an arranged marriage, he did love her. It’s not a loveless marriage. It’s one of faith, warmth, love, and strength. 

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. 

● – || If you could ‘borrow’ one aspect of your muse and apply it to yourself or your own life, what would you borrow? If I could ‘borrow’ one aspect of Noctis’ and apply it to myself. . . Honestly, his bravery and his adversity. No matter what comes his way he always faces it with everything he has. While he may be small in stature, he uses what his father, Ignis, and Gladio have raised him on in order to “walk tall” every day. He carries himself well and faces every challenge he is thrown with his entire being. He doesn’t give up easily and doesn’t let people walk all over him. As a whole, his ability to “walk talk” paired with his bravery and adversity is what I want to apply to my life. Just like Noctis does, I want to be able to keep moving forward and walking tall regardless of what life throws at me. 

● – || Why do you think you connect to your muse? I think I connect to Noctis for a laundry list of reasons. I think I connect to him because I love his story. I love the plot of his game and of his life. It’s really well developed and a beautiful story. Honestly? I love his personality. I love how he definitely walks in his father’s footsteps. He’s noble, courageous, brave, withdrawn, playful, wise, caring, passionate, strong. Frankly, I love that he is his father’s son. 

I connect most to Noctis with his desire to being understood. While I’m not as withdrawn as he is, I’m still pretty drawn into myself. For both Noctis and I it is hard to ask for help because we are always told to stand on our own two feet. All Noctis wants is for someone to listen to him. He wants someone who hears him out, who he can talk to about anything no matter what it is. Who makes him laugh -- genuinely laugh and smile for real -- who he can also go to about the serious things without the walls of it being because he’s the Prince. He wants someone who understands him genuinely as a person. 

While he can talk to the Luna, Ignis, and Gladio about those things, the person he can really fall on is Prompto. Yes, I know he can rely on Ignis and Gladio. Yes, I know he can really fall on Gladio {I refer to the ‘when you stop focusing I focus for you’ quote} because he’s his Shield. However, you can’t deny that his bond with Prompto is special just like Gladio’s with Iggy’s is special. No, I’m not talking about shipping. I’m just talking about friendship. All of the guys are close like brothers, don’t get me wrong. They’re all close and bonded until the end of time. Just in different ways. Prompto, though he’s not Ignis or Gladio’s number one choice for a friend for Noctis, is Noctis’ number one choice for himself. While Gladio and Ignis understand Noctis to a degree , Prompto understands Noctis through and through. He’s his best friend. Prompto makes Noctis laugh, is there for him when Noctis just needs a friend. Movie nights? Video games? Pizza by the lake? Prompto’s there. Gladio and Ignis understand Noctis from the point of him being their King. While all three of the guys are close to Noctis, Noctis knows that he can rely on Prompto who understands him as a person. 

Sappy Taea time. I have my own Prompto. Some of you know her, some of you don’t, but her name is Rissa aka @strictomiles​. While yes, she plays my main Shield/ GladNoct ship partner, she is also the Sora to my Riku {aka she’s @lightheartedwarrior and I’m @darkheartedprince}. In case you didn’t know, just like in the KH fandom, Rissa and I have matching URLS here too. Stricto Miles in Latin means ‘Drawn Knight’ and Avulsus Princeps in Latin means ‘Withdrawn Prince’. To quote my first promo on this blog, which was a dual promo for the two of us, “By the shadows you vowed to protect me, and by the light I vowed to lead you.” Just like Prompto with Noctis, all day any day if you ask who I’m talking to there’s a good chance the answer will be Rissa. Rissa and I met in a different fandom from Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy and instantly clicked. We can talk about anything and everything no matter what it is or when it is. Just like Prompto with Noctis we just get each other. We had no awkward friendship phase we instantly connected and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  And, just like Noctis with Prompto, Rissa is my best friend and I love her to the ends of the universe and back.

So, that’s why I connect to Noctis.

#moralhymn #● opened letters || answered #● words from the princess || ooc answered

[verumking]

YOZORA RP PLOTTING CHEAT-SHEET!

Want new-and-exciting plots for your character? Long to reach out to more of your followers, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! Fill out this form and give your RP partners both present and future all the of juicy jumping off points they need to help you get your characters acquainted.

Be sure to tag the players whose characters YOU want more cues to interact with, and repost, don’t reblog! Feel free to add or remove sections as you see fit. Template here.

tagged by: stolen from rosaguard because this is a hecking good meme tagging: anyone who wants to !

OOC info!

Mun name: Fallacy ! OOC contact: Feel free to DM me via Tumblr, or Discord if you have it ! 

who the heck is my muse anyway?

Yozora is the main protagonist of the fictional video game ‘Verum Rex’, as seen in the Toy Box world of Kingdom Hearts 3. He then made his debut in the Kingdom Hearts 3 secret ending, named after Yozora himself, as a canon character in the KH universe. We have seen all but two minutes of Yozora, and he currently does not have any speaking lines: thus this blog is solely built on my own headcanons and meta, including the universe in which he resides, Replica Earth. You can read more about Yozora’s world here. 

Born into poverty, Yozora had a bleak upbringing. In a bid to earn more coin, Yozora was sold off by his mother to a medical research group: who strived to ‘improve humanity’. This medical research group, was in fact, the robotics consortium known as Gigas Corporation: the company known for producing the Gigas robots that helped to construct Replica Earth. Under the covert trial ‘Project Night Sky’, the young Yozora was subject to gruesome experimentation... An operation that replaced his human heart, with the heart of a Gigas unit: an astral core, that harnessed the power of the stars. He was one of many children to undergo the procedure... and the only one to survive.  

A success to the scheme, Yozora was hailed the ‘Verum Rex’ (True King) of humanity: and was prophesied by Gigas Corporation to lead humanity to a new age. After discovering that Gigas Corp were murdering ‘lesser humans’-- those who could not sustain the power of the stars-- Yozora severed his ties. He fled the corporation, along with his two best friends, and the ‘Verum Regina’ whom was intended to rule beside him. His victory, however, was short lived: his queen was recaptured, and Gigas Corp were swiftly moving towards their next goal. Project Night Sky Phase 2. Declaring war against Gigas Corporation, Yozora vows to put an end to their tyranny, and to free the victims of their reign. 

Whether it be a side effect of the experimentation all those years ago, Yozora had recently begun to see the ‘Watchmen of Fate’-- ghostly spectres haunt his form-- along with the true identity of his home realm. Replica Earth was in fact a netherrealm: the graveyard of worlds, where lost souls would find solace... until their reincarnation. It would appear that Gigas Corp had discovered the truth of their world, and had ‘created’ Yozora in an effort to achieve immortality and divine rule over the multiverse. Yozora was more than just a king... he was the god of death. Whilst he had abandoned his regal title, it was only after discovering the volatility of the multiverse, that Yozora decides to save it.  To maintain the order of the universe, Yozora must uphold the cycle of reincarnation. Reaping souls... and leading them towards the light. 

things you should know:

Yozora is NOT the Master of Masters, Sora, Riku, Noctis or a fusion of any of these characters. A popular fan theory claims that Yozora is a future version of Sora/Riku/MoM, or is the Nobody of Noctis, but that is not the case here. He is his own entity.

My portrayal of Yozora is not exclusive to the Kingdom Hearts universe. Many make the assumption that Yozora is heavily tied to the Kingdom Hearts universe, but that’s not the case! Yozora’s kingdom is the ‘underworld’ of all worlds and universes: where all souls find purgatory before moving onto their next life. Yozora is extremely crossover friendly. 

what he’s been up to:

Main verse: From human, to cyborg, to king... Yozora had only recently acknowledged his wider role in the universe as the god of death. He is still learning about his divine purpose, and how Gigas Corporation are contributing to the destruction of the multiverse. Amid the ongoing war with Gigas Corporation, Yozora works in the shadows to uncover the truth of the universe before Gigas Corp.

where to find him:

Tokyo, Replica Earth:  One of the thirteen Arks of the Replica Earth space colony, this is Yozora’s home. Replica Tokyo also functions as the ‘Realm of Lost Souls’: where the deceased from other universes are brought to rest. A fugitive of Gigas Corporation, Yozora has multiple bases: one being the city’s ‘Underground’: a network of black markets nestled within Replica Earth’s subway system. 

Literally any realm: With the ability to cross dimensions, thanks to his astral crossbow, Yozora occasionally traverses up the celestial ladder in search of answers. However, the distance he can travel away from his home realm is limited, for he is tethered to the starlight harnessed directly from Replica Earth (and more specifically, the Verum Regina that remains in Gigas Corporation’s captivity). Should Yozora find a sustainable substitute-- a mortal with a strong hold of their fate (and thus, an affinity to the stars)-- Yozora will be able to forego returning to his home realm. 

current plans:

Take down Gigas Corporation: Yozora aims to put an end to Gigas Corporation’s tyranny. Through taking down Gigas Corp, Yozora will save all the new victims of Project Night Sky Phase 2, as well as rescue his significant other. 

Find the truth of the universe / his existence: Serving as the King of Death, Yozora traverses the multiverse reaping souls and sustaining the natural order of the cosmos. All in all, he is still trying to understand his purpose, and the intentions of the ‘Watchmen of Fate’ that haunt him. 

desired interactions:

Verum Rex muses / muses with Verum Rex verses!  As much as I loved building Yozora’s world, it’s twice as fun to build it with other roleplayers! Whether it be ‘canon’ Verum Rex muses, or existing muses with Verum Rex verses, I would love to involve you all in the little universe I’ve created for Yozora~ ;v;

Partners in crime: the Reapers of the galaxy!  Yozora has largely been working alone in guiding lost souls to his home realm... it would be amazing if he could recruit a whole team of reapers to help him sustain universal order. This is by no means a sinister role (though if your muses prefer violent death, Yozora won’t judge!) It would be similar in function to a roadtrip au, where the Reapers travel with Yozora and engage in all sorts of shenanigans. With Yozora being the king, the Reapers would also become his ‘knights’... and I hoping to build a ‘Knights of the Round Table’ with those that agree to help him ;v; 

+ many more interactions! this section will be updated over time, the more interactions I think of !

things that bother me:

Yozora being perceived as looking like Sora. I can accept Yozora being mistaken for Riku and Noctis... but not Sora. They are different heights, ages, and have completely different hairstyles/hair colours. That’s one piece of canon that I strongly reject. If it happens in a thread, Yozora will ignore it. 

Yozora being assumed to be Sora/Riku or their son. Thankfully it hasn’t happened yet, but please do not approach Yozora as if he’s Sora, Riku, their fusion, or their son. I can accept that he looks like Riku, but Yozora is his own entity. 

#⚔️ *:･ﾟ✧┆a heart’s relapse. ❪ queue ❫ #⚔️ *:･ﾟ✧┆realities wrought from an iron cast mind. ❪ plots ❫ #⚔️ *:･ﾟ✧┆anime edgelords… my ultimate weakness… ❪ ooc ❫

[playertsuna]

Silver Sky Chapter 4 [Part 3]

Chapter Four [2/3] | Chapter Five [1/2]

Fanfiction Master List | Silver Sky on AO3

A mirror verse to New Games Plus. [Still debating whether to post on ff.net.]

Summary: Instead of simply returning to the beginning with higher stats, Tsuna returns with all his powers levels and skills.

XXxxx Chapter Four xxxXX

As the last customer left the Midnight Shop, and the light faded from the entryway, wisps of mist flame faded from the shopkeeper and his workers. Instead of three people within the shop, only one person remained. Young and looking to be in his late twenties to early thirties, Kawahira walked up to the stairs to his office. It had been an interesting day for the shop and he couldn't help but think of the young teenager he had encountered after midnight.

Unlike the various other mafioso who claimed territory in Japan or even the Yakuza themselves who hunted in the darkness of the Japanese world, the young man in question was someone new.

Sitting at his low table, he went through the papers from earlier.

Written in small but neat writing, he looked over the profile of his newest customer. He had never heard of Phillia or any such group allied to them, but that might have been because it was new. Perhaps it was the combination of several smaller families or perhaps a new family from Cyprus or North America. He wasn't entirely too familiar with the underworld in those areas. They tend to die off much to often to be of any importance, and yet thinking back to the flames he felt, he couldn't help but wonder.

A Misty-Cloud was a rare flame combination, even rarer than sky flames or even to their counterpart Earth Flames.[1]

Most people in the underworld could train themselves to manifest a second or sometimes a third flame, but a true flame duo was rare. In the upper echelons of the mafia, there were only two he knew of. One was the Varia leader Xanxus and the second was his precursor, Vongola Secundo. Every other mafioso user who could use other types of flames was due to either training or flames fragmentation but never duality.

And then his guest appeared.

According to the files, his name was Tsukiya, and he was native to Japan, but Kawahira wasn't fooled. The name was obviously false. Although the young man appeared to have a touch of Asian blood, and his Japanese was fluent, his slight accent gave him away. Likely his first language was European, because even when speaking Japanese his words were tinted, every single 'r' pronounced perfectly. His age seemed to be about fifteen or sixteen, perhaps a few years younger or old, but not by much.

Shifting through the papers, and finding the page that detailed the family's holdings, Kawahira mulled over the information he had received.

Phillia was supposedly a medium family, with a sizable number of people, most likely formed from new flame actives, perhaps with a few veterans. According to the paperwork, Tsukiya was a right-hand man answering only to his Don. Something that was highly unusual. From what Kawahira had been able to sense, the young teenager had not Harmonized with any sky, in fact, if Kawahira hadn't been looking for flame bonds he would have missed it entirely.

Tsukiya was not harmonized to a sky. There were flame users harmonized to him.

The sheer impossibility of it all broke every single flame theory and accepted medium that Kawahira had known for hundreds of years.

The only flames capable of Harmonizing were sky flames. Earth Flames formed something similar known as gravitating with their own set of flames, but that was it. No other set of flames could connect in any other meaningful way without sky flames, so how this child managed to do that was a mystery.

Perhaps it had something to do with the type of duality the child had naturally, Kawahira pondered.

Strong enough mist flames could bring the imagination into reality, and if that was combined with the full power of propagation perhaps it might be enough to form a type of secondary bond with other flame users, but even this theory was flimsy at best.

Unless...

Could that child have sky flames? Perhaps as a tertiary flame?

It wasn't impossible, and it would explain how the young teenage managed to have harmonization bonds on his own, as well as why Kawahira could not immediately sense the presence of sky flames. A sky flame at the third level of flame attribute was easily overlooked and in most cases never surface. Yet it would explain a great deal of the mystery surrounding that child and how he had been able to bond with other flames.

Mulling it over Kawahira could tell the bonds were either ignored or unacknowledged. Either because of abuse or because the sky was hiding. Thinking back to his guest, and his actions in the shop Kawahira did not see an abused child. He saw a survivor. A cunning child.

If he had to guess, he would assume that the child knew and whether by accident or by design, had hid his sky flames. Perhaps that was the reason why he had dual flames. After he rejected his sky flames, his body had adapted and channeled his power into the only avenues it had left changing what could have been his secondary and tertiary into his primary flames.

It was hard to tell, but the fact the child was alone and unguarded in Asia, especially this close to the Chinese Triads was strange.

Even if the child only used his Cloudy Mist flames, in Asia, he had a target on his back. China, in particular, was desperate for Cloud flame users doing everything possible to obtain them. Cloud trafficking was a phenomenon that was growing ever more popular and lucrative in China as fewer and fewer users were born among the population. The reasons for which were unknown and hotly debated. Kawahira himself suspected it had something to do with the explosive death of the previous generation's Cloud Arcobaleno, but regardless, the fact was that clouds were not born and a lack of cloud even venturing into Asia had significantly reduced cloud flame user to trifling.[1]

So that left only one question.

Why had this child ventured here into the heart of Asia?

Shifting the pages, Kawahira summoned Wonomichi.

There was much work to be done.

XXxxxxXX

Author’s Notes:

[1] Kawahira can sense the mist flames coming off of Tsuna but assumes its part of his natural flames, especially because of the flame placement on Tsuna's body. Unlike normal mist illusions, instead of being a thin cover around his body, Tsuna's mist flame jewelry is directly emitting mist flames by inserting itself directly into Tsuna's body. Note: Tsuna has the only the vaguest idea of how this works.

[2] The Hibari Clan is the sole exception to much of what Kawahira is thinking mostly because of their ties to the Chinese Triad. Using this headcanon I suspect in Canon that if Hibari hadn't become a part of Vongola he might have been forced into serving the Triads. The only reason he wasn't had to do with Fon's influence and the rocky relationship between Japan and China.

Something that I kind of hinted/play within this chapter was that geography and history play a role in determining flame types as well as its impact on mafia cultures.

Tsuna can use flames from other attitudes, but he's never actually been treated as a flame user of them. For example, in the other timelines, whenever he has shown the ability to use other flames he was always met with a certain amount of awe and just general acknowledgment because he is a sky. Whereas normal members of the mafia have their entire futures determined simply by flame type if their skill is not high.

Generally, the set up for western mafia recruitment goes like this; Sky: (SSS Rare) Cloud (S Rare) Employment Depends Entirely on Skill and Influence; Mist/Sun/Storm/Lighting/Rain

Generally, the set up for eastern mafia recruitment goes like this; Cloud (SSSS Rare) Sky (Rare) Employment Depends Entirely on Skill and Influence: Storm/Mist/Rain/Lighting/Sun

Asia has long had problems finding, raising and maintaining clouds, that a whole new industry was created has to fill this need. Cloud trafficking has become extremely lucrative as a result, and families will literally sell their sons and daughters away for enormous sums. Because of this, most weaker clouds avoid Asia like the plague/join a family to maintain some semblance of freedom and protection.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, Tsuna never took off his mist ring, so he still looks like a long hair Riku (from Kingdom Heats).

Chapter Four [2/3] | Chapter Five [1/2]

Fanfiction Master List | Silver Sky on AO3

#silver sky #sawada tsunayoshi #khr #katekyo hitman reborn #vongola tenth generation #playertsuna #op tsuna #fanfiction

[zdbztumble]

“Reverse/Rebirth” revisited

I’ve mentioned a few times now that, in this look back at the Kingdom Hearts series, I’ve finally come to like Riku as a character. That’s in part due to seeing everything in context again several years after my last play-through, but another thing that helped put things into perspective was a LP by YouTube’s Frustrated Jacob. He worded Riku’s story in a way I could finally grasp: that Riku sees himself, and is treated, as mature and trustworthy, but ultimately proves himself to be selfish, insecure, and childish, while Sora is a more childlike underdog who ultimately proves to be mature, responsible, and heroic. Riku does, of course, redeem himself after realizing to what end he’s being used for, and with the context straight in my head, I could finally appreciate that story on an emotional level, instead of conceding its technical merits but remaining cold to Riku himself.

Given all that, I was curious to see if my opinion on Reverse/Rebirth would change after playing though it again. As it turns out, it did change - for the worse.

My issues with the gameplay remain. I just couldn’t enjoy the card-based battle system without having the option to customize. Besides taking a lot of the fun away, it made troubleshooting against challenging bosses (which, I’ll admit, there aren’t many) more hassle than it needed to be. Riku’s lack of magic or summon abilities is another thing that just makes for a less fun game. The limited number of sleights available in Dark Mode gave some little bit of variety, but I so rarely needed to use Dark Mode that it wasn’t worth dragging out battles to build up the meter.

Riku does pack a lot of power in his attacks - that was the reason I hardly ever needed Dark Mode. This makes much of the game a cakewalk, even compared to the later stages of CoM proper, but the difficulty spike in the boss battles with Zexion and Ansem are ridiculous. The decks you get against them are pathetic, and their abilities are overwhelming. Having a real challenge was a nice change of pace at first, but the disparity is too great.

And I still can’t get over the way this game’s “worlds” are structured. My memory of this game was that Riku got all the same world cards as Sora, in reverse order (except for the last three floors), which would at least make some sense, tying into the “reverse” of the title. But they aren’t strictly in reverse order; some of the Disney worlds aren’t even in the same set. And Riku wasn’t in most of those worlds. There shouldn’t be any memory cards of those places for him. The game does acknowledge this, in a sense, by leaving out any Disney characters from these worlds. But that’s another problem with R/R: nothing happens for most of it. If the Disney worlds in CoM didn’t tie in to the larger story except in a thematic sense, they at least had self-contained plots that gave you something to follow. Riku just wanders through rooms here, to no aim.

Like with CoM, there was a missed opportunity to give the Disney worlds more connection to the plot. Riku was in Monstro, Neverland, and Hollow Bastion, after all, and spent most of KH I in Maleficent’s thrall. Having him deal with the memories of that - of his actions, of his alliance with a confederation of Disney villains - would have provided story material and illustrated his dilemma more effectively than cutscene after cutscene with blather about the darkness (and yes, I know this series is notorious for this - but even by KH standards, the word “darkness” is abused to all hell in this game. I’m not sure how they could have avoided that, given what Riku’s story is here, but it was still excessive). At the very least, Maleficent should have been a recurring character in Riku’s memories. Wasting her as the start-up boss is still an unfathomable decision to me.

Really, the lack of content is enough to make one wonder if this story warranted its own title. To call it the “B side” to Sora’s story in CoM suggests more than it can provide. If it had been cut down to just those three Disney worlds Riku actually visited, with more story content for them and cleaner writing for the larger story, the ten hours the game took (compared to just under 40 for CoM proper) might have felt worth it, instead of rushed and empty. But at that length, I would’ve just presented it as a bonus mini-game to be unlocked after a certain level of completion, not as a B-story you get to play no matter what.

As with CoM, I have to take issue with the villains here. I’m convinced now that his battle in this game is the only reason anyone remembered Zexion well enough to justify giving him a backstory, because there’s nothing else to his character, or to Lexeaus. I may not have liked the villains of CoM, but I can concede that Axel, Vexen, and Larxene are memorable (and no, I didn’t forget Marluxia - he’s off the memorable list for a reason XP). These two are devoid of even one major identifiable personality trait (and I would note that Zexion’s backstory hasn’t solved this problem). I suppose Zexion staging an elaborate illusion of Sora to torment Riku rather than killing him outright might qualify as sadism - if it were played as such, and if Larxene hadn’t claimed that territory, so that whole sequence doesn’t have a lot of foundation. Though I will concede that, prior to the realizing it made no sense, I found the impersonation of Sora an effective story beat that fed well into Riku’s fears.

Of course, the ultimate antagonist in R/R isn’t anyone from the Organization, but the darkness still within Riku, and the trace that “Ansem” left on him. Whether this Ansem is meant to be the real deal, or some residual trace or memory, I was never quite clear, but in any event, the solution to the conflict turns out to be that Riku chooses neither to reject the darkness nor succumb to it, but to straddle the line between light and dark, a trait unique to himself in this series. That’s been criticized as an idea, but I don’t object to it in principle, the same way I don’t reject efforts to move Star Wars beyond a black-and-white conception of the Force. But in execution, there’s a lot wrong with it.

1. With hindsight, we can see that it was never really followed up on. Darkness = evil in the first KH game, and that’s been true for the games that have followed R/R. For this idea to really work, it would’ve needed follow-up that it never got.

2. That this idea comes to Riku from Namine of all people feels extremely abrupt. Granted, if I were writing a story about someone learning that light and dark sides to their soul could co-exist extrapolated into a fantasy setting, I would want the revelation to feel abrupt at first glance, with hindsight showing seeding throughout the story. That seeding isn’t here, and Namine is an awkward choice to deliver the message to Riku given that they have no connection prior to this point in the story.

3. Namine’s line about how “no power can defeat [Riku]” makes no sense to me. He’s defeated throughout these games by light and dark powers. A lot of the wording of the dialogue on this plot point just seems designed to try and make Riku seem more special and marked by destiny. Of course, this ignores the element of the first game where Riku appearing to be the person suited to a great destiny was part of the problem.

4. On that note - as has been pointed out to me by @themattress​, Riku declaring himself unafraid and accepting of the darkness, and using it to ends he found right, was what led him down the path to possession in the first game. Now, I do think there’s reason to doubt his bravado in that scene in KH I; his pretense at maturity and confidence both fall pretty quickly when his jealousy and paranoia of Sora set in. But it is true that Riku accepts, embraces, and abuses the darkness in KH I, and what fears he does have aren’t tied to that. I still wouldn’t say I object to R/R trying to twist that idea around in principle, but just as it needed more follow-up to work properly, it needed more set-up than this game provided to work properly.

In a way, though, the biggest fault with this plot point is that it doesn’t really impact Riku’s behavior all that much. I’ve seen some critiques that praise Riku’s development in this game over Sora’s, and I can’t say I understand that. You can like Sora’s story in CoM or not, but he experiences a lot and undergoes dramatic changes over the course of that story. Riku here is pretty static. While I’m now fully on-board with his arc in KH I, I’m afraid I still find him rather bland here.

To be honest, the best bit of story content in R/R IMO isn’t even concerned with Riku; it’s a cutscene that expands on Sora’s story. It’s the scene I wanted in that story, where Namine calls herself “the shadow of Kairi” and explains how her messing with Sora’s memories of Kairi can’t truly erase them. When the best story beat in the B-story is an expansion on the A-plot, you know you have trouble.

And then there are the things about R/R that are just weird - turning Riku and Zexion into bloodhounds comes to mind. Has that whole “scent” business ever really come up sense?

So, that’s where I stand with R/R now: it’s unimpressive fare and wasted potential. Playing through it again has actually forced me to give some new credit to Dream Drop Distance. I still consider that game a worse story, and more damaging to the series overall, but there are two points I must concede to it: 

1. It handled two player characters much better than CoM and R/R did. Whether they were any good or not, the game gave Sora and Riku each stories to follow in the Disney worlds, enough content to fill out a full game, and tied them together in such a way that one didn’t feel like the superfluous B-side to the other.

2. I thought DDD was where the retconning of Sora and Riku’s friendship began, but it was here in R/R, with Riku describing Sora as someone who “always did as he pleased” and setting up the idea of he, Riku, being the responsible one. Granted, he’s being rather jokey when he says this, but accusing Sora of being the lazy one while he does all the work just rubs me the wrong way. When I thought that DDD was the one to introduce this change, I could at least credit it that such a retcon helped explain their dynamic in that game. But now I just can’t understand why they went down this road. Everyone who played the first game spent the first few levels on Destiny Islands, working on the raft as Sora. And Riku complaining about anyone else “doing as they please” at this point in the series, when we’re only one game removed from him plotting to run away and never come home (embracing the power of darkness to do so) while Sora took on the responsibility of being the Keyblade Master without protest is really pushing it.

Well, that’s that. No need to revisit that game for a long time. Now, on to KH II - the one I’m most interested in replaying. Will it hold up as well as KH I did? Only time will tell...

#z's crits #kingdom hearts #reverse/rebirth #Riku #critique #commentary

[tries-to-translate-op8]

Story 1 - A new star has been born

Chapter 4/30 Our first mini live!

We returned to the lobby, where I told them about the problem that we had to face.

Me: ‘……..Someone sent a request for Op8♪ to perform a mini live.’

Hibiki: ‘Ehhhh!?’

Eisuke: ‘Isn’t that good news? This will be Op8♪’s first live, right?’

Me: ‘That’s right. We finally received an offer, and this is a good chance to increase Op8♪’s reputation. However, none of the units are able to perform, except for SHINE.’

I had tried contacting the other units, but I could not reach any of them. The only one who I did managed to contact was Harukaze, who rejected the offer as he was busy.

Yuuta: ‘Doesn’t that mean we’re the one’s who will be…..’

Riku: ‘We….we’ll be the ones performing for the live….’

Yasham: ‘That’s fine. Op8♪’s first gig will be also be SHINE’s first performance.’

Me: ‘However, the live is in one month’s time…even so, is everyone okay with accepting this gig?’

Hibiki: ‘O…Only one month?’

Itsuki: ‘It’s too short. I’m very busy, and I might not be able to make time for practice….’

Riku: ‘Uuuuu…..’

Eisuke: ‘Ah…..that’s problematic.’

Hibiki: ‘Even if it’s only a little…Ikki….is it possible to make some time for practice?’

Itsuki: ‘Eh…….’

Hibiki: ‘………Everyone. I want to perform for that live!’

Me: ‘Eh?’

Hibiki: ‘The opportunity for us to fulfil our dreams has finally arrived….and I don’t want to let it go to waste!’

Yasham: ‘…….That’s true. Be it an opportunity or a performance, it only lasts during that moment. It will be a waste to not grab that opportunity.’

Eisuke: ‘Itsuki, how about you?’

Itsuki: ‘……’

Yuuta: ‘We just have to be on the same skill level as Itsuki. Do your best, Riku-chan!’

Riku: ‘Y……yes….’

Itsuki: ‘…….Fine. I’ll try to make some arrangements to my schedule. However, I won’t be able to find the time to guide you guys along. You will have to practice on your own when I’m not around.’

Yuuta: ‘So, it’s been decided!’

Hibiki: ‘Since everyone’s come to an agreement, Director! Please let us take the job!’

(There are still many issues that have to be settled)

(However, it’s my job to deal with these issues)

Me: ‘Understood. Everyone, please do your best!’

Hibiki: ‘YES!!!!!! We’ll be performing for the mini live!!!’

(However, there are many things that have to be done)

(We need to improve the performance quality of the ensemble and come up with a practice schedule)

Me: ‘Everyone, for the sake of the mini live, what do you think about staying together in Op8♪ for the time being?’

Hibiki: ‘Eh?’

Me: ‘What I mean is….I want to turn Op8♪ into a dormitory so that you guys can live together. If everyone stays at the same place, it will be easier to find the time for combined practice.’

Itsuki: ‘…….true, staying together will indeed make it possible for us to have more time to practice together. Since there’s also a studio here, we will be able to concentrate on practicing right until before we sleep.’

Yuuta: ‘P….practicing right until before we sleep!?.....So harsh!’

Eisuke: ‘Well, if we live together we’ll be able to better understand each other. This is a good chance to build some team spirit!’

Yasham: ‘Isn’t that good? To be able to understand each other better. Looks like it will be enjoyable staying with SHINE.’

Hibiki: ‘That’s right! Being able to fall asleep together every night…..I’m getting pumped up!’

Yuuta: ‘It feels just like a school trip! Is everyone able to stay up late at night? Let’s spend the night eating snacks and talking about everyone’s love interests!’

Riku: ‘L….love?’

Itsuki: ‘If you spend that time on practice instead, you’ll be able to become a decent ensemble.’

Eisuke: ‘Well, that’s true.’

Yuuta: ‘…..tch…..’

Yasham: ‘Since I am calm and composed person, if I take the lead, there’ll be no problems. Just one question. Where is the dorm…..?’

Hibiki: ‘Ah, that’s right….’

Me: ‘This building shall be converted into the dormitory. Since there’s nothing in the upper floors, we can make use of that space.’

Yuuta: ‘That’s amazing! It’s really impressive how you can think so far ahead, Director!’

Eisuke: ‘You’re so reliable! I’m getting excited!’

Yasham: ‘Let’s be thankful that we have a dormitory to stay in.’

Riku: ‘It’s scary to move out of my house…..however, since everyone is okay with it…’

Itsuki: ‘If everyone’s fine with it, I’ll go with the flow. It will help me greatly as well if it’s a conducive environment.’

(Let’s see….I have to send an email to the other units about the plan to convert the building into a dormitory…..)

I glanced at the excited members of SHINE and adjusted my thoughts, bracing myself for the days to come.

(This is the beginning of Op8♪!)

Since Op8♪ is a new label with nothing to its name, I will have to build it up step by step. Whether the musicians under Op8♪ are able to succeed depends on me!

#Op8 #Op8 translations

[olivemeister]

@ anon who messaged me, i’m answering this in a text post so i can shove it under a readmore bc KH3 ENDGAME SPOILERS BELOW

i totally fucking agree. they shafted him hard with trying to make him sympathetic at the last second, and it totally fell flat because the narrative can’t decide whether or not dark means evil. sora and ven reached out to him and he just rejected them while the Sad Violin played, and it just isn’t clear if we’re meant to think vanitas is right or not.

was he right? was this supposed to be an expression that just like sora and ven chose to embody light, he chose to embody darkness? but ven literally just said that he didn’t decide to be light, that it was forced on him just as darkness was forced on vanitas, which though i agree with rang totally hollow because he did in fact decide to be a guardian of light in this game. xehanort is the one who decided to break them apart, ven is right about this and ven is right that it wasn’t what they asked for and that they don’t have to obey that and remain stagnant polarized beings, but him including light as something he didn’t have to “just” be was totally horseshit because he aligned himself with light alone.

was it supposed to actually be tragic and a statement that vanitas was a victim of circumstance so locked into his warped, sad thinking that he couldn’t accept that he didn’t have to be that way even at the very end? i don’t fucking know! he felt like a totally different character in this game.

they just could not decide what they were doing re: the morality of light and darkness unless you’re riku and it shows so much in this game. they want to act like vanitas chose to be darkness, simultaneously asking you to feel for him and believe that his motivations and desires were based in something more morally grey and tragic at the last minute while also sticking to their consistent portrayal of darkness as inherently evil and malevolent.

xehanort literally spouts some shit about how his retconned motivation was to save the world from darkness, even though his whole thing from bbs was that darkness was just another part of the world that should be accepted. so even the villain (suddenly) thinks darkness is a great evil that must be eradicated, but vanitas gets sad violin and no substance while claiming he chose to be the way he is and that he was totally in control of his own past. bullshit. it’s even worse in that repliku got an actual (compressed) redemption arc, though his heroic sacrifice/death was contrived and unnecessary.

they did vanitas dirty, just like they did riku dirty by erasing his personality and kicking him out of his own trio and long-term friendship in favor of hamfisted romance, just like they did xion dirty by having her suddenly back and on the bad guys’ side for no reason but to cause her and the fans emotional pain via having her fight her friends, and just like they did kairi dirty by pretending she was a character who could stand with the others before literally killing her for sora’s manpain.

it’s like they wanted to write a story where light and darkness were forces that needed to be balanced, but they just kept making darkness something that corrupts people and causes misery and violence while having light be unquestionably good and showing nothing wrong or bad about light. kh2 has this message of “darkness is just another part of the world and it’s not inherently good or evil, the only problem with it is the people who use it against others” and then they just ping-ponged around the concept from then onward.

pick one goddammit.

also what was with the voice acting in vanitas’ final scene he sounded like a fucking gremlin

#kh3 spoilers

[kirabook]

Axel/Lea Opinions no one asked for

Who is he?

Are they the same person? Yes, no doubt. Even if they aren’t, Lea is still taking responsibility for his actions as Axel

Personally, I was never the biggest fan of RAX, specifically the ‘friendship’ between Xion and Axel, because he just always seemed like a turd

As Axel, he took full advantage of the ‘no heart’ thing and was an ass to pretty much everyone

A morally grey character overall who did bad things and some occasional good things. His killing of the organization members is meh. At the time, they weren’t exactly on the good side and Sora has a higher kill tally anyway

What I like

Lea’s apologies. It all starts with acknowledgement that you did some bad stuff. Whether the other characters accept it or not is their decision and if the characters flat out said no, I actually can’t imagine Lea insisting that he be forgiven. If Kairi flat out rejected him, I think he’d stay away

That he came in to help Sora and crew. They woulda been in deep shit otherwise. This is part of his do some good things do some bad things situation

What I dislike

That he has a keyblade. Straight up stupid, but it’s whatever. I think his chakrams did the job well enough

Some org members didn’t seem to care about him murdering him. It’s pretty easy to explain this, they weren’t exactly good guys and although it sucked, they did get to return to their whole selves which was the intended goal. Still, woulda proffered something different in DDD as they were all chatting away. If Marluxia and Larxene reappear, I imagine they aren’t gonna be as friendly as the rest and that will be great

That he has a keyblade

I would have preferred instead of joining the crew directly that he stayed in the grey area as a satellite of some sort, much like the role Riku played in KH2 (except they aren’t trying to guess who he is, they know he sometimes helps out while keeping his distance) Too late now though

What I’m expecting

Kairi and Lea will be friends as much as Xion and Axel are friends, and in my mind, that’s just barely.

For them to entirely skip Kairi and Lea ‘becoming friends’ and leaving it to the canon concerts. (crossing my fingers for cutscenes or at least in depth notes/journal entries)

Since Lea is still not a main character really (and I hope it stays that way), I don’t expect him to have a character arc that expands multiple games. I expect a shortened version of Riku’s arc where Lea will go out of his way to help the crew (he’s already begun to, starting with his suicidal death to help Sora, continuing with rescuing Sora, and now we’ll have to wait and see what else). I don’t want to focus on Lea, I really don’t care about him THAT much. A condensed version of an arc similar to Riku’s is fine with me. In fact, I expect they’re going to do the same for Terra (though Terra is guilty of way less stuff, if you can call Terra guilty for anything at all other than being too trusting and giving into his emotions)

I would prefer they keep his current characterization of sticking to the corner of the room not quite integrated into the main crew. Not because I dislike him, but because it seems appropriate.

Other Notes:

In the end, whether Kairi becomes friends with him or not doesn’t matter to me in the grand scheme of things. The headcanons are really cool and stuff, but it can go either way. I don’t think the game is going to turn into a pity party for Lea because he’s... just not that important??? Or at least, I hope they don’t make him that important.

I want to know more about Kairi’s role in the next game, but I can’t imagine her story is going to be focused on whatever the hell Lea is doing. She’s there to get training with a guy she doesn’t really like too much (at first apparently), not to walk him through a 9 step program on how not to be a dick.

I think it’s stupid to imply Kairi is gushing over Lea now and totes feels soooooo bad for him that she immediately decided it’s no big deal. She wrote an entire letter to Sora expressing some of her skepticism despite Riku and Mickey telling her it was ok.

I hope whatever happened between Kairi and Lea in  training is expressed in game in some way (who knows at this point), but I also don’t care that much about Kairi and Lea’s relationship to begin with. If they’re not friends, great. If they are friends, great I guess.

I just dislike how people are writing off Kairi’s initial distrust and skepticism as ‘nothing’ or ‘not enough’. He kidnapped her. (he kidnapped multiple people in fact). He killed people. He’s a jerk. Kairi digging to discover his reasoning doesn’t mean she’s suddenly been thrust in a 50 Shades of Grey novel and is ready to take on any kind of abuse cause “Kyaaa! He’s so cool when he’s kidnapping me and being a jerk! All cause he wants to save his buddies!”

The more I think about it, the more I think she probably sees him as similar to Riku. You can deny that all you wish, but that parallel was established long before this new Kairi and Lea stuff came to light. (Note: parallel does not mean direct copy, Aqua = Sora/Riku is an example of parallels that are not copies). Surprisingly, she didn’t seem to think much of Riku messing shit up, but I’m pleased she did react to Lea and continued to express her discomfort with him.

In the end, Kairi is not going to end up being the odd one out of hating Lea while everyone else (including the people he murdered), are seemingly alright with having him around. It’s not a fault of Kairi’s character, it’s not a fault of a female character being trashed (since there would be no difference if it were a guy: See Riku and Mickey).

It’s Nomura trying to insert Lea/Axel fanservice in a place where he shouldn’t and that’s about it.

#kingdom hearts #axel #kairi #still wish Kairi would've been a third path in DDD #it makes sense #but I digress

[daylighteclipsed]

Okay, Elsa and Riku have a lot of parallels — everything from their emotional repression to their isolation in fear of hurting the ones they love to their goddamn color schemes and winter motifs — but this one’s probably my favorite. The doubt in their own goodness, and the choice — to trust themselves, forgive themselves, accept themselves and their unfavorable powers — ultimately being theirs to make. The people we love can support us, but it’s up to us to decide who we are and whether we have worth. It’s up to us to save ourselves.

I usually gravitate towards characters like this, who struggle with some inner darkness that’s frequently feared or misunderstood, and whose greatest challenge is accepting themselves. Elsa meant everything to me in high school when my mental health was at its absolute lowest. It’s why my heart lies with Riku in KH, and it’s why I have a soft spot for Terra. Maleficent uses similar language as Larxene here when trying to awaken the darkness in Terra. “Then, you will be free to be who you truly are.”

The fear that there is something inherently wrong or broken or bad inside of us and that we can’t turn it into something good. That who we “truly are” will never be accepted by others or is not a choice we get to make... Terra’s rejection of his darkness in BBS is how Xehanort enslaves his heart. In contrast, Riku’s acceptance of his darkness is what sets his heart free of Ansem/Xehanort — completely free in a way no one’s heart has ever been before, immune entirely to darkness.

Just let that sink in for a second. That in the however many millennia light and darkness have existed and been at war, in the years upon years of the darkness corrupting or stealing hearts, Riku is the first one (and only one as of now) to figure out how to “defeat” the darkness — which is to accept it. Years upon years upon years, and he is the first one ever to truly understand how light becomes darkness and how darkness becomes light and begin mastering this cosmic duality by accepting both inside of him… Because his heart is filled with so much love — having been loved by and loving Sora with all his heart... God. I love Riku.

#kingdom hearts #Riku #he has the BEST char arc in the series and i could weep #he’s amazing and I’m so proud of him #he’s going to revolutionize this fictional universe #god i hope.. you know one day we get to see him as a master ushering in a new era of light and dark #helping kids struggling like he used to find their own inner strength #even if it’s just an epilogue scene or smthin. i would literally cry