#what if vanitas went into vens heart and ended up fighting himself but not quite himself

[soaring-aurora]

Vanitas vs. "Darkness"

#kingdom hearts #kh3 remind #kh3 remind spoilers #kh3 data greeting #ventus #ven #vanitas #dark inferno #??? #what if vanitas went into vens heart and ended up fighting himself but not quite himself

[drazavonia]

She will no longer "Embrace Destiny"

Destiny is more often that not a goal or fate one's life is chained to. If destiny is a force of the universe, no one can "control" destiny so to speak. However someone of a higher power, domain or "providence" can change the destiny of one with lesser power, control and/or knowledge (of their own destiny).

Kairi was only four years old when Apprentice Xehanort took her, experimented on her and shipped her off of her world for two purposes apparently:

1) For her "Heart of Pure Light" to resonate with the "key bearer" and lead Xehanort to them.

2) As of Melody of Memory, apparently Apprentice Xehanort also wanted Kairi to arrive in a world of neither light or darkness which could possibly be The Final World. Ironically, this would mean he was successful on both accounts by the end of this game.

However, it's clear up above Kairi is upset and that line of "You're the one who keeps messing with my fate" implies much like how Aqua finally figured out in Kh3/Remind that Xehanort possessed Terra, Kairi will finally find out how and why she was ripped away from her grandma and home of Radiant Garden. Not only that, but it shows us she never really had a choice in how her fate was twisted and manipulated to whichever way the Xehanorts needed at the time:

- Apprentice Xehanort shipping Kairi off to Sora and Riku

- Ansem SOD/Riku sacrificing Destiny Islands causing Kairi's heart to take refuge in Sora's heart.

-Xemnas and Xehanort taking Kairi to crystalize her heart to use as a final gambit to open Kingdom Hearts.

The next lines "If it weren't for you Sora and everyone would be safe...I won't let you walk away" indicate for Sora, her friends and herself, she will no longer allow anyone control over her destiny. She has the strength and determination now to make her own destiny and fight against anyone who messes with her fate again.

This is the reason I can see Kairi getting a new keyblade.

A lot of the main characters' keyblades are symbolic of their hearts and roles within the series, as well as how they've grown and evolved over the course of their journeys.

The most obvious case being Riku.

Riku

Kingdom Key> Soul Eater

The Kingdom Key was originally meant for Riku, as he was the keyblade's chosen. But when he chose to give in to the darkness the keyblade went to Sora instead, and of course Soul Eater was a weapon of darkness given to him by Maleficent to signify his alignment with her.

Soul Eater> Way to Dawn

It's in the name.

But seriously Way to Dawn is a perfect symbol of Riku's journey of acceptance of his darkness and redemption from kh1 to kh2. The keychain is the dark heart on his "Dark Riku" form which signified his complete fall to darkness. But from the keychain upwards we see the "Gazing Eye" encircled by an angel wing and demon wing, symbolizing Riku's decision against alignment with light or darkness. Afterwards majority of the blade is the demon wing from Soul Eater largely because Riku's role within kh2 is him working from the shadows undercover as Ansem and doing his best to distance himself from his friends who walk the path of light. However at the very end, an angel wing meets the large demon wing which is symbolic of us teaming up with Riku finally, as he showcases his mastery of light and darkness alongside Sora and friends.

Way to Dawn> Braveheart

In DDD, Riku materializes Soul Eater and questions his worthiness as a keyblade wielder. He still has doubts but still continues to hold on to his true motivations being to protect Sora. Riku accepts that he can use the power of darkness while standing firmly on the side of light to protect his friends. He no longer needs to find or follow the way to dawn, because by the end of DDD came the Dawn of Riku, a Keyblade Master and Guardian of Light.

And "Braveheart" is pretty simple. Riku found the strength to protect what matters, and it's perfectly symbolized by Riku's sacrifice for Sora.

"I'm ready now, I'm in control now."

Terra and Aqua (technically Ven as well) have never left home by the beginning of BBS and throughout the game they experience trials and tribulations that challenge their friendship and we see by their Keyblades at the end the results of these trials.

Terra

Earthshaker> Ends of the Earth

Strong and powerful, after hearing Riku's motivation for strength being his friends he bestowed upon him the keyblade which reignited his devotion to his friends. This is also symbolized with Lingering Will, as that's the keyblade he's left with. He'll go to the ends of the earth to save his friends and right his wrongs.

Ends of the Earth> Chaos Ripper

Terra's devotion to protect his friends turns into rage against Xehanort for killing Eraqus, taking his home and manipulating him. Allowing darkness to further consume his heart.

Aqua

Rainfell> Stormfall

Aqua's journey mostly consist with things happening around her and to her friends. Aqua being the only master of the three and worried for their safety, Aqua does her best to assume responsibility and watch over them. Much like rain, it was a light and simple task. But Xehanort's manipulations and temptations with both Terra and Ven, increased Aqua's worry and need to have control over her friends to keep them out of danger. Unfortunately certain seeds had already been planted amongst them, causing Aqua's worry and concern to come off as patronizing and distrustful of her friends. This weakened the trust in the bonds they share making her job to protect them even more difficult and adding to the weight of responsibility she carries.

Stormfall> Brightcrest

Terra and Ventus have both lost their hearts to darkness. With Venuts sleeping in Castle Oblivion and Terra taken over by Xehanort, Aqua was their only chance of ever coming back. She was the only one who knew how to find Ventus and the only one left to defeat Xehanort once and for all. She stood tall and was willing to risk it all for her friends, she was their "light in the darkness".

Ventus

Wayward Wind + Lost Memory

Ventus' keyblade is the only one that doesn't evolve or change throughout the game. Instead Lost Memory is gained when Vanitas forces Ventus to remember how he came to be. Ventus gains a newfound acceptance for his fate with this knowledge and only cares if his friends are safe.

Axel/Lea (Dark Rescue)

Flame Liberator

Axel betrayed the organization. Axel did everything he could to keep Roxas and Xion unaware of the truth so they could live in blissful ignorance (or be happy). He saved Sora at the last minute in DDD and made it his mission in KH3 to get Roxas back. He even declared to Saix that he would bring him home as well. His keyblade represents his determination to save and free his friends from a cruel fate.

Destiny's Embrace also tells a story for Kairi, but much like how she got it, the symbolism isn't representative of her personal journey.

- The keychain of Destiny's Embrace is funny enough, a popular fruit. When two people share paopu fruits, their destinies become intertwined.

- The chain, unlike many others is a red thread in knots, most likely representative of the Red String of Destiny. The "Destiny Knot" (pokemon references ftw) is what ties two people together romantically or what ties two destinies together.

- The hilt of the keyblade is the King chess piece. The king in this case referring to Sora (Crown, Throne, Holds his keyblade like King Arthur in artwork). To me this is symbolic of how Kairi has literally held Sora's fate or destiny in her hands at certain points in the series.

• In kh1, Kairi reverts Sora back from a heartless/the darkness after sacrificing himself to restore her heart.

• In khcom, in order for Sora to regain his memories, he has to focus on his "light in the darkness".

• In kh2, it's not until after reading Kairi's letter to him that the Door to Light opens the way for Sora and Riku to return to Destiny Islands in the realm of light.

• In kh3, it's Kairi's light that keeps Sora from fading away within the demon tide and holds him together so he can save the other guardians.

- Surrounding the grip is a heart with half of it having a sea/ocean/wave aesthetic. It could be representative of Kairi's heart and the heart of her nobody counterpart Namine, whose name means wave.

- Half of the heart with the vine extending down the blade is identical to the keychains of Sora's Ultima Weapons in kh1,2,DDD,3.

The crown connects to the heart which belongs to both Kairi and Namine which makes sense because Sora and Kairi together created Namine.

- I'm not sure what the blade symbolizes aside from maybe fire because of her entanglement with Axel (doubt) or more likely the fires of Kairi's determination to improve, so she can stand by Sora and Riku.

- The flowers at the end with "logo" heart of course represents Radiant Garden. I think Nomura always planned to explore Kairi's past at some point especially with how connected it is to Union X, and that Kairi as well her grandma would be the bridge connecting the past and the present.

However, because of kh3 and most likely M.O.M, I think Kairi will quite literally be freed from "Destiny's Embrace", both Xehanort and the keyblade.

Like I said before, a lot of the symbolism for Destiny's Embrace is externally based. Mostly because Kairi never gets the chance to shine nor do we get to see what's going on inside of her head. Some of this is also because of Kairi's reluctance to bring up her past trauma when asked about it.

• Sora is gone, no need to be a plot device/motivation for him. Instead it's the other way around.

• Namine is her own person now.

• Melody of Memory will finally tackle and resolve Kairi's past.

Everything Destiny's Embrace represents will be resolved by the end of Melody of Memory. So just like how Riku completed his Darkness character arc by the end of DDD and got Way to Dawn replaced by Braveheart as a symbol of his newfound growth, either by the end of M.O.M or in KH4 Kairi will be rid off all of the things holding her character back from truly growing on a narrative and meta level and the keyblade that symbolizes all of those things:

Destiny's Embrace

*This is the other part of the Melody of Memory sticker post.

(Credit to Hartmann-lionhart for their Destiny's Embrace/Ultima Weapon Analysis)

#kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts 3 #kingdom hearts 3 remind #kh kairi #kh3 kairi #kairi kingdom hearts #kairi #sora #sora kh #namine #namine kh #riku #terra #aqua #axel #lea #ventus

[kessielrg]

[DA+KH] Let Down Your Guard for Me (Just This Once)

Summary: An unofficial part of @chibi-mushroom‘s Dragon Age AU for the Kingdom Hearts series, in which Ventus invites Sabrina somewhere special for one-on-one sparring practice. Inspired by something that happened in chapter 36 of Dragon Age: Wayfinder.

Rating: K+ (because DesireDemon!Vanitas is a very angry critic)

Word count: 3,862 words

If you liked this story, please reblog!

---

The conspicuous sounds of Ventus grunting is what initially caught Sabrina’s attention. How she was able to hear it when he ended up being on the other end of Redcliffe Castle was beyond her. She was quite disappointed to find that he was in the training room. Training sword in hand, he was giving some potshots at a straw filled dummy. The bard, curious to see how long it would take for him to notice her, simply laid against the entryway in amusement.

He didn't take as long to notice her as she first assumed, however. His reaction at her being there was just as great in the meantime. Ven had caught her out of the corner of his eye. At first, he just as easily dismissed the intruder, since they were just staying at the door. It was when he noticed the light purple cotton blouse that he ceased his movements. He had turned completely around before finding himself shocked at Sabrina's presence.

“Sabri-” Ven exclaimed, his voice reaching a pitch so high that his voice cracked. He quickly covered it with a cough before trying again. “Sabrina. What are you doing here?”

“In the castle or in the room?” she replied with a wicked grin. “Because that first one shouldn't be a surprise. I sleep with you.”

The young man let out a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. Beads of sweat reminded him of just how hard he had made himself work. Did he look like he had given himself an intense workout? Oh Maker, how much did he stink? Would Sabrina even notice? She didn't seem to act like it was noticeable at the moment. Instead, the bard casually strode into the room and almost to his side. His face started to heat up the closer she was. Whether it was from embarrassment or being flustered was a little beyond him at the moment.

“Let me see your sword.” she requested, holding her hand out to him. Admittedly, Ven had to do a double take. His confusion immediately made her groan in disgust. She amended her previous statement with an annoyed, “The sword in your hand, you moron. The training sword.”

“Oh!” Ven realized -just as easily feeling dumb for his initial thought- before giving the sword to her.

Sabrina gave one last judgmental raise of her eyebrow being looking over the training sword more carefully. She held the wooden sword with both hands, occasionally taking a few test swings out of amusement. Ven simply watched as she let out a small hum of interest. In a thoughtful tone, she mused, “You've always held your swords in reverse.”

Confused, Ven asked, “What makes you say that?”

Sabrina moved closer to him again, holding the sword up so they could better examine its craftsmanship.

“Your practice sword has a special guard.” she informed him. She even bothered to run a finger along said guard to help him see it. “It's better designed to block incoming blows.”

After saying this, she picked up Ven's hand so he could take the sword back. Although the sword was back into Ven's possession, the two did not step away from each other. The air had become a bit heavier as they lingered there. Ven, for one, wanted to say something but didn't know what. Why was carrying on a conversation so hard? He never had this problem when he and Terra would seek trouble together. All they had to do was mention sparring each other, and they'd grab the training swords to head out to...

“I want to take you somewhere.” the young man blurted.

Sabrina looked at him. Her fingers instinctively going for her rabbit shaped mask- even present when she wasn't wearing it on her face, it clipped to a string that she tied around her waist. Ven immediately stopped her by placing his hand on hers. The bard flinched slightly at the unexpected touch, but didn't move him. Instead, she looked up at him with a certain darkness in her eyes.

Ven unintentionally gulped before quickly telling her, “You won't need your mask where we're going. Promise.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, but in seeing his honesty, she relented.

“Fine.” she agreed. “But at least let me put it in my room.”

Ven quickly gave her an eager nod. “Meet me at the back gates.”

“The back gates?” she repeated. “I… Whatever. Fine. I’ll meet you at the back gates in 10 minutes.”

“You won't regret it, I promise!” Ven eagerly told her, almost taking her hand. He was impressed by his own refrain, actually.

Sabrina still looked him over- as if she still needed some reason to bail out of the situation. They both knew she couldn't find a good excuse for this, though. When she finally turned to go put her mask away, Ven's heart was already pounding in his chest. Even if they were just going to get sweaty all over again, ten minutes was enough time to take a quick bath. Right?

. . .

It was always suspicious when Vanitas was silent for long periods of time. Even more so when Ventus's heart fluttered at the thought of Sabrina's presence. Today the desire demon was quiet- not that Ven was going to ruin that quiet. He needed all of his thoughts to belong to himself. Taking Sabrina to this spot was as important as remembering which spoon to use during a formal dinner. Maybe the demon knew this was important, so he was minding his own business for once? Didn't seem right, but Ven wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Where are we even going?” Sabrina asked. She had arrived at exactly the ten minute mark. Of course she would.

“Do you trust me?” Ven just as easily questioned, offering his hand out to her. He was answered with a skeptic raise of her eyebrow.

“For now.” she replied as she took his hand. The young man held her hand tight as he started to lead them away from the castle.

Ven held a brisk pace as he lead them around the town and to a wooded area. The sounds of the town disappeared the further they went, and eventually the sounds of gentle waves hitting the shore became more prominent. Ven let go of Sabrina's hand when the woods finally dispersed to a small beach facing Lake Calenhad. A small chill coming off the lake sent goosebumps up Ven's skin. He turned back to Sabrina to take careful notice of her expression. She didn't look very impressed- her eyes drifting to the sand, taking note that it was clear of driftwood.

“Terra and I used to come here when we were younger.” Ventus then explained. He moved closer to where the sand met the lake water just to subtly guide Sabrina out of the woods some more. “He found it one day after getting mad at Dad. After awhile, it became a place where we would spar each other for fun. I was… I was wondering if we could spar too...”

“Did you bring another practice sword, then?”

It was the bluntness of her question that caught Ven off guard. “H-huh?” he fumbled, looking back at her with an almost fearful expression.

“Figures.” she grumbled with a roll of her eyes. Placing a hand on her hip, Sabrina looked over the area before tilting her head at something. Ven wasn't quite paying attention. He was absently rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Really didn't think that through, huh?” he mused to himself. “We should head back.”

“No,” Sabrina then all but snapped at him. “Just give me a minute.”

At this, Ven looked up. Sabrina had already ventured by the trees bordering the area, apparently looking for something. The mage gave her a curious look as she went over some fallen limbs and branches.

“Here,” she noted before bending down to pick up a branch almost as long as her body and half the width of her arm. “This will do for now.”

“You mean you do want to spar with me?”

“We're already out here, aren't we?” came the callous reply. “Might as well make it productive.”

Ven watched as she knocked some excess dirt off, and even stripped the bark in certain places. For a moment, he wondered if he had ever seen her wield different weapons before. Let alone something like a sword, or fighting staff as she was going to treat this branch.

“I thought you used knives?” he wondered.

Sabrina just let out a little hum as she tested the staff in her hands. “A bard is trained in many things.” she claimed. “Like various weapons, seduction, potions, and-”

Sabrina got cut off when Ven attempted to attack her with his wooden sword. Her reaction time was just skilled enough that she blocked it with the staff. Just barely.

“And how not to gloat when the enemy is also armed?” Ven teased, pressing up against her a bit more just to playfully grin at her.

Sabrina's momentary look of bewilderment became a boastful smirk. “Something like that.” she agreed as she pushed him off. Ven let out a small laugh as he moved away from her a bit. They needed a better area for their practice-  the main beach would have the space.

They were both incredibly confident as they got ready. Ven casually spun his sword with a single hand, his heart almost pounding in his ears as the grin on his face got wider. His cheeks were going to hurt later, and he didn't care one ounce. Sabrina stood tall as she adjusted herself for the fight. (And yes, he did notice that her foot was pointed when she brought one leg around to adjust her stance- assuming that little movement wasn't just to distract him.) She held her makeshift staff with enough certainty, you almost would have assumed that it was her weapon of choice. Sabrina was not a mage, though, and she certainly didn't plan on using it to channel magic.

“Whose count do we start on?” Ven asked. He couldn't even hide the excitement in his voice at the question. Something Sabrina countered with a firm smirk of her own.

“Mine.” she decided before lunging at him. Ven suspected as much, and was easily able to get out of the way. A laugh erupted from his lips as they continued to fight. Nothing else mattered at the moment- just him, her, and the sound of their wooden weapons knocking against each other.

. . .

Aqua needed an excuse to leave the castle for a moment. She had no sense of envy for the arl and arlessa- politics had never been the Hero of Ferelden's strong point. At least she was able to leave if the hustle and bustle served to be too much. Or, even use the distraction of finding Ven, who was no longer in the training room and apparently not even in the castle anymore either. He had a meeting to go to soon, and his random disappearance would probably be a cause for concern.

She wasn't going to lie about it, but Aqua had been worried at first. It wasn't until she realized that someone else hadn't been seen in the castle for awhile that she gained a certain hunch. A small trip to the training room helped support the theory. Now it was only a matter of where they went. It came to Aqua with a sudden realization- one that she was just as easily embarrassed about. Thinking on it more, it seemed only natural that he would take her there. After all, Terra had done the same with Aqua not too long ago.

“Have you seen Ven?” Aqua heard Terra ask her just as she was about to leave the castle. The Hero of Ferelden stopped just to look at her boyfriend.

“I was just about to go get him.” she affirmed. “Would you like to join me? I'm not quite familiar with the path yet.”

Terra raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask where she thought Ven was. Considering she made it seem like he would know where they were going anyway, he instead gave her a solemn nod of his head. Aqua beamed in satisfaction and gestured for them to walk together.

The woods had become more dense since the Fifth Blight. The canopy of the trees almost blocking out the sunlight as they moved away from the village. Sticks and small branches that had fallen out of the trees had also covered the ground- not quite big enough to be kindling, but too small to be used for much else than potential bird's nest supplies. It didn't take long for the duo to hear the sounds of some fight up ahead. From the sound of it, it seemed like wooden weapon against wooden weapon as the two duelists made snappy remarks at the other. Terra and Aqua recognized both voices at the same time.

“Not a bad parry.”

“I can do better. Watch this!”

“Oh, so close. So very, very close- yet so very far, far away.”

“Hmph. Maybe we should call a draw. You're not even trying.”

“Giving up already? It's not my fault you're easy to read, sweetie.”

Hearing them made Terra walk faster. He stopped when he and Aqua were close enough to see the other duo, but far enough away that they could still hide behind several trees. Aqua put a hand on him to guide him over a bit. She already knew he wasn't going to like this, so at the very least she could try to keep him out of sight for a bit longer.

“What is he doing here with her?” Terra questioned. His expression was darkening as his gaze locked onto Ventus and Sabrina. Most of it was targeted at the latter.

“For the same reason you brought me here, I'd guess.” Aqua calmly replied, even putting her hands behind her back. “He's getting her to open up. We can't interrupt them now, or they may never have this opportunity again.”

Terra looked at Aqua like she had gained another head.

“This is ridiculous.” he asserted. “Ven has other things he needs to-”

Terra was cut off when Aqua grabbed him by the collar, forcing the two of them to stand fairly close to each other. A mocking grin was etched on her lips as she told him, “Nobody interrupted us.”

Terra's face immediately lit up in a deep scarlet. He took several steps away from Aqua while refusing to look at her.

“I'll find Tidus and tell him that Ven is busy.” he grumbled under his breath. Aqua only smiled.

“Yes you will.” she agreed. Terra gave her a stiff nod before leaving. She laughed at him before turning her attention back to Ventus and Sabrina.

It was apparent that Ven was not used to fighting with a sword after so long. Sure, you could tell that he had fought with one in the past, but it was not at a level able to defend him in an actual battle. However, as Aqua observed with a tilt of her head, Sabrina was not showing the best of confidences with her two handed staff either. Of course, she had always been a more offense fighter than defense. There were small moments where Sabrina tried to be direct, only for her to leave an opening for Ven to exploit. It was equal to the times when Ven tried to prepare a spell, but remembered that he wouldn't use them- a small moment of hesitation that lead to a great advantage.

But it was their smiles that had Aqua's full attention. She couldn't see them well from here, however she could almost hear it in their voices as they bantered back and forth. Hearing Ven enjoy himself wasn't much different than usual. Hearing Sabrina with genuine amusement in her voice had been the more shocking discovery. It was in thinking that Ven was lucky enough to see this side of Sabrina, Aqua decided to quietly make her leave. She did make note of the sun's position, wondering how long it would take for the two to come back to the castle. The smile on her face wouldn't leave, no matter how hard she tried. It was great seeing the odd couple be so happy.

. . .

They never knew that they had gained onlookers for a few minutes. Even after Terra and Aqua left, Sabrina and Ven kept going at each other. Their faces were flushed from exertion, and their breaths came out heavy and shallow. But they kept going. Neither one wanting to give up the high they had in this form of intimacy. They weren't even keeping track of what they were saying to each other either. Words spilled out of their mouths that could have been flirting, or insults, or appreciation, and they would have forgotten their meanings almost instantly.

Their draw came without warning. It only took one last block that made the two pause. Ven's focus had immediately gone to Sabrina's eyes. Almost half lidded from her own exhaustion, they were trained to where his sword met her staff. If she was looking at anything else (anything lower), then the future arl had no way of knowing. He took a very careful step forward, bringing them almost chest to chest, and leading Sabrina to look up at him.

He almost kissed her, right then and there. As if he truly needed a reminder of how much he loved her.

“We work well together.” he managed to husk out. Sabrina simply looked at him. A certain sense of vulnerability and mutual attraction coming through that he'd only seen on her in the dark. It was even more beautiful in the day. Amazing, even.

“We do.” she agreed, not quite aware of her saying it.

But after this declaration, the tone started to become more somber. The weight of what they really meant coming down on them like a heavy fog. The gaze they soon gave each other measured an equal heartbreak. Ven moved forward just a bit more, closing the distance between their lips. Sabrina reacted by tilted her head up a bit, but didn't move much further than what they were.

“Please stay with us.” Ven then whispered.

“I… I don't know if I can.” she said. Her voice even more timid than his. “I only stayed as long as I did the first time because...” She trailed off, looking away from him as she took a few steps back. The corners of her mouth turned into a distressed frown. Ven only watched her- too afraid that any wrong movement would make her turn away. Her conflict on the situation was obvious. She couldn't easily find a way out of the situation- she felt trapped.

“This was a mistake.” Sabrina decided with a shake of her head. She immediately dropped the staff, turning away to leave. Ven was caught shaking his own head as well.

“N-no, wait!” he called out, not expecting it to work.

To his surprise, it did. Not knowing how much longer he had before she left for good, Ventus quickly tried to give her a speech from the heart.

“Sabrina, I love you. I love you so much that I don't even know how to express it. I don't know… I don't know how to say it so you know it too. So that you're sure that I'm telling the truth. And you know I can't just go reverse psychology on you because you'd still take it at face value. What do I need to do, Sabrina? What do I need to do to make sure you know that I love you?”

That was when Sabrina turned her body back toward him. She still refused to look him in the eye. She wanted to say something, but all words seemed to fail her. Instead, she just looked up at him with an expression so vulnerable that no other person would be able to see later. That was when he understood. Maybe not everything, but enough.

Ven used his hand to cup the side of her face, his thumb gently outlining her cheek. Sabrina cautiously leaned in to the embrace, placing one of her hands at his wrist. She didn't attempt to remove his hand- she didn't want to.

“I love you,” Ven once more said, almost afraid to say it, as he pulled them in for a small kiss.

The kiss had been bittersweet. At the same time, it bore a lot more affection than when they were actually heated. Pulling away had been the hardest thing to do.

“I'd rather you become an arl than Grey Warden.” Sabrina softly admitted. “But if you take on a political spouse, they have to fit my criteria before you ever dream of putting a ring on their finger. Got it?”

“I wouldn't have it any other way.” Ven smiled. Sabrina only offered a stiff nod. Her usual attitude was slowly returning- he could tell by the way she held herself. Her chest was lifting, her back a bit straighter, and any vulnerability was taken away to a hard callousness.

“I plan on staying in Ferelden until I receive word from Orlais. But I don't want to stay sitting at the castle. I need something to do.”

“You were still looking for things of your mother's, right?” Ven offered. A hand reaching behind his neck to absently rub it. “Maybe I can scout around for you. If there's a lead, we could go together to find it?”

In one last show of true emotion, Sabrina's eyes widened before her signature scowl came into play.

“I wouldn't mind that.” she agreed. The corner of her mouth twitched before adding, “Thank you.”

Ven offered her a small smile. She took it as a sign to leave. Her head was once more cast down as she went back through the trees.

'3 stars.'

Hearing the demon's voice in his head after so long nearly gave Ven a jolt.

'What?' the young man mentally replied, starting the trek back to the castle as well.

'I give this episode 3 stars. Good tension, but not a lot of build up between points. What even was that resolution? Did the writers not know how to end the story?'

'You do know that I have no idea what you're talking about, don’t you?'

'You're not the one that needs to.' Vanitas huffed. 'Could you guys do that thing were you take a bath and end up in bed after? I like that. I need it after this mess. You two really need to learn to start fucking it out when the tension's high, not bait switching it with pity. Sure, it gives Wabi-Sabi some development, but it train wrecks the whole mood. How hard is it just to get your shit together?'

Ventus couldn't help but roll his eyes. Nice to know that someone had faith in their relationship.

#dragon age #dragon age au #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts au #writers on tumblr #ventus #kh ventus #kh ven #kh oc #kingdom hearts oc #oneshot #venxoc #ventusxoc #aqua #kh aqua #terra #kh terra #vanitas #kh vanitas #love confession

[revengerevisited]

I wanna do something a little fun and just share some of the KH fanfic ideas I’ve had for a while, which are mostly about Vanitas because of course they are. XD But yeah, here are my ideas:

1. A Shadow of Two - a sequel to A Heart and a Half, kinda a fix-it for KH3 but not really since it’s an AU to begin with. Vanitas Aqua and Ventus would be the main trio, but Sora Riku and Kairi are also POV characters, with each of them having their own trio and goals: Sora (with Donald and Goofy) looking for a way to revive Roxas while struggling with his own inner darkness, Kairi training with Axel and getting help from Ienzo in discovering her past, Riku Mickey and an unrevealed character on a secret Realm of Darkness mission and also finding a way to revive Naminé, and Vanitas Aqua and Ventus searching for the new Princesses of Heart while dealing with their own problems: Vanitas still dealing with his trauma while adjusting to normal society, Aqua dealing with something I can’t reveal yet, and Ventus... honestly I don’t know what to do with Ventus. The most obvious answer would be recovering his lost memories, but... well, introducing an egregiously convoluted backstory wherein Ventus and/or Vanitas might be a murderer isn’t exactly appealing to me, to say the least. I really wish Ven’s backstory could’ve been something I was allowed to make up myself. Other than that, the story would generally follow KH3 but with way more Disney worlds and hopefully fewer plot holes. ;P

2. Broken Hearts (Take Time to Mend) - a post-KH3 fic that ignores Re:Mind and the time-traveling Vanitas retcon. This fic is about the REAL Vanitas who was in KH3 and resurrected via scream energy who has returned once again, this time in the Land of Departure but is too weak to leave and is quickly discovered by the Wayfinder Trio. Tensions are high but he’s ultimately allowed to stay, with the focus of the story being on the four of them helping each other recover from their respective traumas: Vanitas’s years of abuse by Xehanort, Terra’s decade of possession by Xehanort (which according to the post-Re:Mind character files was a lot more traumatic than I’d realized), Aqua’s decade spent in the Realm of Darkness and subsequent corruption by darkness, and Ven’s... almost being killed by Eraqus, I guess. While pretty bad, that’s probably not as traumatizing as years of torture and torment, and the more obvious trauma to use would be Ventus committing/witnessing Strelitzia’s murder, but as I’ve established I just really don’t want to deal with KHUX at all. Anyway, this could work as a gen fic but since I love Vanqua so much I might as well make it one, maybe throw a little Terrella in there too 'cause why not.

3. This fic idea focuses on the aftermath of KH3, NOT Re:Mind, where Riku Kairi and Naminé are trying to adjust back to a normal life at Destiny Islands while also dealing with their grief over Sora’s disappearance. Kairi deals with blaming herself for Sora’s ‘death’, Naminé deals with being adopted as Kairi’s sister and learning how to be a normal person, and Riku deals with his growing feelings for Naminé, but the real star of the show is... Sora’s mom! Oh and Vanitas too, of course. Sora’s mom (who really needs a name) has finally been told about everything that’s happened these past two-ish years, and a month after Sora’s disappearance she finds a comatose Vanitas washed up on the beach. She assumes it’s Sora, although Riku and Kairi are quick to correct her. Despite their warnings, Sora’s mom nurses Vanitas back to health and basically adopts him, although he isn’t exactly happy with the situation. Still weak and recovering, Vanitas is unable to leave, and Sora’s mom won’t stop in her efforts to help him adjust to a normal life. This one could be merged into Broken Hearts, since I could imagine Riku informing the Wayfinder Trio about Vanitas’s return and an angry and distrustful post-KH3 Aqua wouldn’t want to let him out of her sight, but it might be better to keep them as separate fics seeing as they’re set in two different locations.

4. My next idea hinges on my theory of what the next KH game could’ve been like... or at least before Re:Mind pretty much shot it down. My theory was that Vanitas, the real Vanitas not the time-traveler, was still inside Sora’s heart and therefore went along with him to TWEWY. I haven’t played TWEWY but I know that Sora would need a partner to defeat the Noise, and what better partner than a former enemy? This would be similar to A Heart and a Half but instead of romance it’s a sibling team-up with them trying to escape Shibuya. This fic could also be combined with the previous idea as well... Maybe Sora allows Vanitas to win the Reaper’s Game and he ends up on Destiny Islands unable to remember what happened in TWEWY. Vanitas would be the key to getting Sora back but only if Naminé can unlock his lost memories. My only problem is that I would have to erase all that character development Vanitas gained with Sora to reset him back to have character development with the Destiny Islands characters instead, at least until he regains all his memories.

5. A different Vanitas and Sora team-up fic. Once again this is the real Vanitas who used scream energy to revive himself, but that made his heart rather unstable. He tries to fight Sora Donald and Goofy in Monstropolis but is too weak and sick and loses. Upon discovering that Vanitas looks just like him, Sora decides to take him back to Yen Sid for healing and answers. But Vanitas’s negativity is too much for the Gummiship to handle and it ends up stalling. Sora Donald and Goofy slowly nurse a very reluctant Vanitas back to health with the power of friendship, which would reduce the amount of negativity so the Gummiship can fly again. Vanitas and the trio travel to a few different Disney worlds and eventually rescue Aqua and Ven. I don’t know what would happen after that though, since I don’t want to just rehash exactly what happened in the Keyblade Graveyard.

6. A pre-BBS Vanqua AU. Only a few months after being created, Vanitas runs away from Xehanort to the Land of Departure, hoping to merge with Ven early. Unfortunately for him Ven is still in a coma, so Vanitas tries to merge with Aqua instead. This doesn’t quite work, but does end up linking their hearts in such a way that neither can go too far away from each other without feeling sick or even dying. Now stuck at the Land of departure, Vanitas is found by Xehanort who is enraged that Vanitas has basically ruined all his plans. Fearing for his life, Vanitas convinces Xehanort that the plan can still be salvaged: Vanitas will become Eraqus’s apprentice under the guise of Ven’s ‘brother’ and is tasked with encouraging Terra’s darkness while making sure Ventus and/or Aqua are trained to their fullest, depending on which one would be better to merge with. Xehanort, not wanting to start this entire endeavor over, agrees to the plan and introduces Vanitas to Eraqus and the others. Since Vanitas is now wearing normal clothing, Aqua has no idea that he is the masked boy who attacked her earlier, but feels strangely drawn to him due to their connected hearts. The rest of the fic would basically be about the four apprentices’ life at the Land of Departure, with Vanitas struggling with his loyalty to Xehanort vs his slowly burgeoning friendship with Terra Ven and Aqua, all while trying not to blow his cover with the Unversed.

I also have a few smaller ideas that I haven’t really thought through yet or might work better as oneshots or fanart: 1. A Lion King Vanqua AU with lion Aqua and black leopard Vanitas, Terra Eraqus and Xehanort also as lions, Ven as a regular leopard, and Braig as a hyena. 2. A KH1 retelling/reimagining with Vanitas reincarnated as Sora’s younger brother. 3. A Nier Automata AU with resistance android Terra, scanner Ventus, attacker Aqua, and Vanitas as a scanner with executioner chips installed by Xehanort sent to infiltrate Yorha. 4. A post-KH3 fic dealing with Sora’s restlessness after attempting to return to a normal life on Destiny Islands, feeling like he doesn’t belong after everything he’s been through. 5. Something about Aqua taking care of Ven when he first arrives at the Land of Departure, possibly Venqua. 6. A Vanqua-ish KH3 fic with Vanitas kidnapping Aqua to be used as a Guardian or Seeker back-up for Org13, but he eventually befriends her and lets her go. 7. And finally, a Namiku fic set between CoM and KH2. I kinda feel like this should be part of the A Heart and a Half ‘canon’, but I’m not actually sure whether it should be its own fic or just flashback scenes in A Shadow of Two.

You’ll notice that I really love stories about villain redemption, abuse/mental illness recovery, and former enemies becoming friends/lovers, which is why I’ve grown so disappointed with mainstream works nowadays rarely exploring those topics (at least not that I’ve seen). I guess that’s where that old saying comes in, “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself”. But yeah, that’s just a quick list of my KH fic ideas so far!

[nadziejastar]

I think it was TOTALLY bastardized. Like, to the point where it was a joke. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. The fact that a large portion of people didn’t even know what the power of waking was after they beat KH3, shows how poorly it was handled. This had a devastating effect on the story because unlocking and using the power of waking was the foundation of each character’s arc. The characters are all Guardians of Light, but it didn’t really seem to mean very much in KH3. Therefore, they had most of their important character development taken away from them. 

The power of waking was supposed to be the most important aspect of the plot. I suspect there are two major reasons that the power of waking was ruined. The first reason is that after KH0.5 was cancelled, it was very hard to incorporate. Ansem’s research was supposed to be a major focus of KH0.5. The second reason is that from a gameplay perspective, it is unconventional. Nomura said that he wasn’t even allowed to have each of the characters fight their OWN boss fights at the Keyblade Graveyard because that would be “too much story”. He had to keep it to the minimum necessary to move Sora forward. So, the demands of AAA gaming seem to be a big factor in why we weren’t allowed many “dive into the heart” segments.

Sora

Kairi’s Grandma: The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived, in the hearts of children.

Sora was supposed to be the key. He’d use the power of waking on everybody at the end, because he was special. He has the pure heart of a child and the ability to easily connect with the hearts of others. He still rescues everyone when their hearts are captured by the Lich, but we probably were supposed to get a lot more story segments of him diving into each character’s heart one by one, and bringing them back. Sora’s relationship with them would receive individual attention.

Ansem the Wise: Surely we remember as children the way our hearts made everything seem so shiny, and perfect. Sora has a heart like that--uncorrupted, willing to see the good before the bad. When he sees the heart in something, it then becomes real. When a connection seems broken, he may have the power to mend it.

Sora actually did use the power of waking; he collected the fragments of someone and put them back together. But he uses this power on...himself? Um, it made no sense for him to be collecting the pieces of himself. The whole point of the power of waking is that when you are fractured, someone else has to help you return to the Realm of Light. I obviously can’t know this for sure, but I suspect that Nomura wasn’t allowed to have you play as anyone else during this segment. Just like at the Keyblade Graveyard, he had to keep everything to the minimum necessary to move the plot forward. Cutting the story up like this made it so that nothing really made sense.

Kairi

Sora: I was lost in the darkness. I couldn’t find my way. As I stumbled through the dark, I started forgetting things—my friends, who I was. The darkness almost swallowed me. But then I heard a voice—your voice. You brought me back.

Kairi: I didn’t want to just forget about you, Sora. I couldn’t.

Sora: That’s it! Our hearts are connected. And the light from our hearts broke through the darkness. I saw that light. I think that’s what saved me. No matter how deep the darkness, a light shines within. I guess it’s more than just a fairy tale.

Kairi was Sora’s light within the darkness, both in KH1 and CoM. I am quite confident that we were actually supposed to play as KAIRI while collecting the fragments of Sora in the Final World. And it was supposed to happen after Terra and Isa were defeated. There was no need to have time rewind. The Demon Tide doesn’t kill you. 

I mean, all it did to Riku physically was give him a stylish haircut. No, it exists to usher your heart to the deepest abyss. Kairi’s arc was set up so she could finally NOT be the damsel in distress. She is a natural at using the power of waking because she’s a Princess of Heart. She’s the only one Sora didn’t need to rescue. That should have been how her arc ended. Not with getting kidnapped and killed...

Riku and Mickey

Mickey: Listen, Riku. Just because darkness holds you, don't let go of who you are. You've got to fight the darkness inside you! It won't be easy to do, I know. But please don't forget. Even in the darkest darkness, there's always a little bit of light.

Riku: Light within darkness...

Mickey: You and I have seen it. The far welcoming light inside the door to darkness... The light of Kingdom Hearts---it will show you the way. Please don't give up. Believe in the light. That's a request from my heart.

Riku: Okay... I'll do my best.

Mickey: Trust me. I'll try to find a way to reach you. I'll get there, I promise.

I am sure that Riku and Mickey were supposed to use the power of waking on each other. Early on when they first arrive in the Realm of Darkness, Riku is swallowed up by the Demon Tide, and he was knocked unconscious. Well, getting swallowed up by the Demon Tide should do a LOT more to a person than that. At the Keyblade Graveyard, Aqua was terrified of the Demon Tide. She lost the will to fight when she saw it. It traumatized her that badly. 

Riku: There's no point in doing this if I can't do it on my own. But I do need a favor. If Ansem is the victor, he's going to enslave me. If that happens, use your powers to destr---

Mickey: O'course! I'll be right there to save ya!

Riku: Huh? No that's not it. I want you to destr---

Mickey: No way! No matter what happens, I'm gonna be right there to help ya. I promise ya that. Unless...you don't believe I'll come through for ya...

Riku: I choose to believe in you---always, Your Majesty.

Mickey: And I in you. You're not gonna lose, I know it.

Riku should have gotten a lot more than a new haircut after that ordeal. I bet that Mickey was supposed to use the power of waking on Riku after he was swallowed up by the Demon Tide. This should have been when Riku finished his arc with “Ansem”. After all, Riku gets a new Keyblade afterwards, one without the gazing eye on it. 

Mickey: Your darkness belongs to you. Just the same way your light does. Up till now, I thought darkness was something that should never exist. Then I spent time with you and changed my mind. The road you chose---I didn't know. Light and dark, back to back. With you, I think they might meet in a way nobody's seen before. Wonder where that road leads. I'd like to see myself.

Riku: Hm?

Mickey: I'd like to walk the road with ya.

Mickey was randomly knocked unconscious during the battle with Anti-Aqua. He carried a lot of personal guilt over her fate. I think that would have been Riku’s turn to use the power of waking on Mickey.

Ventus/Roxas

Eraqus: Forgive me…but you must exist no more.

Nomura originally said Roxas was born with Ventus’s heart. So, he would be very difficult to wake up because he’s gone through his worst nightmare multiple times. His heart almost collapsed, and he lost all his memories. Sora gave him a second chance, then Eraqus, Terra, and Aqua helped him recover. But then he was told he was a weapon that wasn’t supposed to exist. He would rather sacrifice himself than lose Terra or Aqua, so he accepts his fate to disappear. He loses everything, then goes back to sleep inside of Sora. When Sora became a Heartless, Ventus became separated from him and he was found by Xemnas. He became Roxas.

Roxas: I mean, when I think of losing you and Xion, or my memories of you...to forget what it’s like to be with my friends… it is scary.

Roxas has no memories of his past, but becomes close to Axel and Xion. But he’s a Nobody who is constantly told that he’s not supposed to exist. His greatest fear was losing his friends or forgetting about them. Xion disappears and he forgets her, and he loses his trust that Axel was ever his friend in the first place. Then Riku defeats him, he has all of his memories wiped, and is put into the data Twilight Town. There he becomes close to Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

Naminé: You…you were never supposed to exist, Roxas.

Roxas: What…? How could you even say such a thing…even if it were true?

Naminé: I’m sorry. I guess some things really are better left unsaid.

Then he’s told he was never supposed to exist, so he’ll never get to see those friends again. They were just fake anyways. He has to disappear so Sora can live. The third time is just too much for him and that’s when he went to the Realm of Sleep and didn’t want to come back. He endured a lot before he reached his absolute breaking point. At that point, he would be far too fractured to be brought back like before, where Terra and Axel just needed to reach out and show him friendship. Xemnas thought his heart might awaken when Axel sacrificed himself for Sora. But even that wasn’t enough. There’s no reason he should have returned as easily as he did in KH3. 

Terra and Aqua

Terra: Yep, hard to believe there are so many worlds out there besides our own. The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns.

Ven: What? I don't get it.

Terra: In other words, they're just like you, Ven.

The Wayfinder Trio was obviously supposed to use the power of waking on each other. Sora was supposed to awaken the sleeping memories inside of him. Since he would have access to Ven’s memories and feelings, he’d be able to use the power of waking to rescue Aqua. When Aqua was revived, they went to wake Ventus. Vanitas arrives and there’s a boss fight. Whaddya know, Aqua gets randomly knocked unconscious. This is right after she says she doesn’t want to be seen as weak, too. This is no doubt when she was supposed to use the power of waking on Ventus. 

Yen Sid: I will tell you what your friend needs right now. It is not your protection. He needs you to believe. You see, Ventus's heart hangs in the balance. It sleeps in the place between light and darkness. From all I can perceive, that means he will be looking for a friend--one who believes in him, to show him the way home. Just as long as you love him...then Ventus will be able to find you when he wakes. He can follow that love back to where he belongs--the realm of light.

Just as Vanitas was going to stab Aqua like he almost did in BBS, Ventus intervenes. That was the right stimulus to awaken his heart. Hayner, Pence, and Olette may have helped, too. They would get their memories of Roxas back, and them believing would contribute to Ventus being led back to the Realm of Light. Then of course, Ventus would be the one to use the power of waking on Terra. Ven was randomly knocked unconscious at the Keyblade Graveyard. Well, I doubt that was a coincidence. He was supposed to be inside of Terra’s heart, where he’d find him in the darkness. Terra was crying when he said Ven found him. I’m sure the search for Terra’s heart was going to be a lot more in-depth than what we saw, which was very rushed. Lea and Isa’s subplot with the power of waking was so horrendous, it needs it own post. So that will be Part 2.

#kingdom hearts #kh meta #kh #kh3 #kh sora #kh riku #kh kairi #kh terra #kh mickey #kh aqua #kh ventus

[moonlights-shadow-warrior]

Who Killed Strelitzia?

Ava, Ven, Skuld, and Darkness. The four mostly likely to have killed Strelitzia based on the information we have now. The fandom seems to lean more towards the former two, while I believe it was one of the later two

First, to go over what we know

It’s recommended to use x2 speed for videos

Strelitzia's Chirithy spotted Player and Skuld walking into the house to meet with Gula (x)(x) and immediately ran to get their wielder (x), to the confusion of Elrena's Chirithy (x). While Player and Skuld were in the house, Ava's and Luxu's keyblades clashed (x) and the clock tower tolled, starting the war. This prompted Gula to tell them to head back as their "Union Leaders will probably call for an assembly", at which point Player and Skuld split up, the latter saying she was "going to go join the other Dandelions" (x)

Not long after, Strelitzia arrived at what at first seemed like an empty house (x). As the two are getting ready to leave, Strelitzia is stabbed. Her Chirithy asks "Why...?" and on the zoom out the killer has disappeared. Then you get Strelitzia's last wish as she walks to the doorway and then she dies.

I'll go down the list, giving for and against arguments for each character

Ava

For:

Knew that Strelitzia was chosen as a Union Leader. And--as far as we know--her, MoM, and Luxu were the only ones who knew. MoM and Luxu taking out a chosen wielder and inserting someone different, going against what was supposed to happen doesn't seem likely. Not unless Strelitzia wasn't supposed to be a Union Leader, which also doesn't seem likely

Has the ability to create illusions (x). Would give an explanation as to why the killer was shrouded in darkness, and possibly even giving her the ability to appear in two places at once. There is also a theory that Ava became Darkness, being able to do so because of this ability

Her wording when she gave Brain his role and the BoP seems odd and rather suspicious (x)(x). General consensus as of now is that she either gave Brain the BoP when she wasn't supposed to or straight up inserted him into the Union Leaders when he wasn't picked by MoM. This is supported by Luxu saying in Secret Report 11 "One of the Five is an impostor, someone the Master did not choose. They represent a virus in the program he so carefully wrote. The virus has begun a strange undertaking: a reckless plot to allow the Five to escape into another worldline" (x). In addition, Brain calls himself a virus (x) and is possibly named after the first computer virus (x)

Chirithy's "Why...?" possibly implies that they knew the killer. And as far as we know, the only suspects Chirithy had previously met or seen was Ava and Skuld. Chirithy has also probably met Lauriam before, but based on Lauriam's inner thoughts on his search to find Strelitzia as denoted by the parentheses (x)(x) he didn't know what had happened to her, much less that she'd been killed

She didn't notice Strelitzia wasn't with the Dandelions. While we don't know just how many Dandelions escaped the war, you'd think Ava would keep an eye out to make sure all the future Union Leaders were accounted for before taking them to the new world. However, Lauriam didn't notice Strelitzia wasn't there either so maybe there were too many to keep track of who all showed up (added 11 Dec 2019)

Against:

Brain was given his role as a Union Leader and the BoP 4 years ago (x). How long they've been in the simulation is unknown, but based on Ephemer's conversation with the player (x) it's been a while. However, with everyone being able to recall events that happened before the war with relative ease, I'd say it hasn't been years since the war. I'd venture a guess to say it's been months, maybe a year at most. In addition, given that Ava didn't say that the war would be happening soon unlike all the other times we've seen her tell the other chosen, he was probably one of, if not the first to be given his new role

She was fighting Luxu shortly before Strelitzia was killed (x)(x)(x)(x)(x). We don't know how long the fight lasted, but unless she was able to create an illusion or the fight ended extremely quickly, she wouldn't have been able to find Strelitzia and kill her in that time

The Dandelions were to meet up after the bells. Skuld said she was going to meet up with the other Dandelions (x), at which point Ava would send them to the outside world (x). So Ava would have had to given the role of Union Leader to a Dandelion that she had either pulled aside from where they were meeting or found them before they had met up with everyone. We don't know how quickly the Dandelions were sent off, but it had to have been in the span of the few days (x) between the bells and the war. However, Elrena's Chirithy says the new Union Leaders were introduced shortly after (x) Strelitzia's Chirithy ran off to find her

She gave Strelitzia her role what was probably only a day before she was killed. Ava says that the it wouldn't be long before the world ends (x) which immediately cuts away to Strelitzia in her room thinking about her being a Union Leader and what's going to happen. Upon her realizing that Player isn't a Dandelion she debates going out to find them (x) before saying she'll wait in Fountain Square for them early tomorrow (x) which is where Chirithy finds her and tells her that she spotted Player (x). This leads to her going to the house in which she dies. So unless during the cut away days pass or she waited at Fountain Square for multiple days, Strelitzia was killed the day after she received the book

Brain was given his book first, then Ephemer, then Strelitzia. As stated above, Brain was given his role 4 years ago. Ephemer was sent not long before the war to prepare everything as Ava would be sending the dandelions "soon" (x) and that there wasn't "much time left" (x), and Strelitzia what was mostly likely only a day before. Meaning Strelitzia could have very well been the last of them to receive the book, so why would she kill her when she only just informed her of her role? Unless what Luxu said really shook her to her core and she quickly tried to make a last minute change

Only one (1) member of the Union Leaders was someone MoM didn't choose, as stated in Secret Report 11. This means that if it is to be believe that Brain wasn't a chosen Union Leader, then whoever killed Strelitzia was meant to have been a Union Leader in the first place. So if Ava was trying to change things, why would she pick the person chosen by MoM that she had previously skipped over for the role of Union Leader?

Ven

For:

He was very young. Ven was ~16 (x) during BBS, and had been living with Master Eraqus, Terra, and Aqua for 4 years, making him ~12 when he trained under Xehanort. Which means that he was 12 or younger during his time as a Union Leader and selected my MoM when he was 8 or younger due to at least 4 years passing (x). Which means at the time MoM chose what was essentially a 2nd or 3rd grader to lead the others in 4 years time. So either MoM was being extra chaotic, or he never actually chose Ven

Xehanort was able to create Vanitas from his Darkness. We've never seen this tempted again, so it's unknown if it's possible to do this with everyone that has darkness in their hearts, or if Ventus had more darkness than what could be considered normal which was then used to give birth to Vanitas

He said he'd barely spoken to Ava (x). And based on previous interactions Ava's had when telling the new Union Leaders their roles (x)(x), she tends to talk a lot

His Keyblade. Claims he's not particularly good at anything and never at the top of the rankings (x), yet has a fully leveled Missing Ache (x). Not only is this Keyblade the fourth to last one you get when playing (x), it's also a Dark Speed Keyblade (x)

Against:

Only one of the new Union Leaders was an impostor. So unless Brain was chosen by MoM, Ventus was meant to be a leader in the first place which takes out the first and last points of For

As far as we know, he didn't know Strelitzia had the book

Skuld

For:

The new Union Leaders weren't supposed to come in contact with one another (x). While we don't know if that meant meeting each other knowing they were to be Union Leaders or meeting each other in general, we don't know. But Skuld had a feeling Ephemer would be there (x) which seems to go against what Ava wanted. In addition, this isn't outright confirmed by Ava, rather Brain speculating and Ava saying he's "always been a bright one"

Ephemer talked to her about the end of the world (x). Ephemer showed up in her dream (x), and even though she said he told her nothing except to meet up with Player and go with them, her story quickly changes. We don't actually know how much Ephemer told her either

Ava told her that she had chosen Ephemer to replace her and lead the Dandelions (x). This means that Skuld knew about Ephemer, which again contradicts the first point. In addition, while Ava talked about a war with the Dandelions, she never talked about others replacing her (x), possibly allowing Skuld and only Skuld to infer that there would be someone to replace each of the Union Leaders who had to take part in the war

She split up with Player right before Strelitzia was killed (x). We don't see her again after that until she and Ephemer go to get Player, so it's unknown if she went straight to where the other Dandelions were gathered or not

She's been compared to Ava quite a few times (x)(x)(x). So if you believe Ava might have killed Strelitzia then Skuld, who is quite similar, could have gone through with it as well

Her eyes. Yes, I'm using the fact that Skuld has golden brown eyes as a point because the only characters we've seen with eyes that aren't blue, purple, green, teal, or silver is Skuld and those possessed by Darkness. Even the reoccurring Dandelions seem to have one of the above eye colors. The only exception may be Brain and that's 'cause I can't tell what colors his eyes are since it's so dark

Again, Chirithy's "Why...?" possibly implies that they knew the killer. And they had previously seen Skuld going into that building with Player

Against:

To the first point of For, Lauriam and Strelitzia obviously knew each other being siblings. Lauriam claimed to have not seen her much after he convinced her to join the Dandelions (x) sometimes within the two years before her death (x), but that doesn't change the fact that they met beforehand. So unless Ava didn't know (which seems unlikely), the new Union Leaders were allowed to meet and know each other as long as they didn't know about the other being chosen.

Again, only one of the new Union Leaders was an impostor. Either Ava messed up big time when telling Skuld about Ephemer, Brain was chosen by MoM, or Ava decided after meeting her that Skuld wouldn't be included in the Union Leaders

As far as we know, she didn't know Strelitzia had the book

Darkness

For:

It's Darkness. Taking on the name of what they're fighting and helping Maleficient is all kinds of shady

The book could have been given to another. Just because Strelitzia was killed by someone, doesn't mean that person was the one to become the new Union Leader in her place. The killer could have easily passed the role onto another

We don't know anything about them. As with the Ava is Darkness Theory, Darkness could actually be anybody. We don't know their abilities, we don't know if that black blob is their true form or not, we don't know their motives. All we know is that they have knowledge of the future, know MoM's plans, and know how to travel forward in time (x)(x). Because of this they could even be someone already on this list

Against:

As far as we know, they didn't know Strelitzia had the book. This is excluding the Ava is Darkness Theory

And now for some honorable mentions I've seen

Lauriam - almost completely cleared of suspicion

Brain - almost completely cleared of suspicion

Strelitzia's Chirithy - doubted Strelitzia and would've been able to inform other's about her role

Gula - in the house where Strelitzia was killed

Luxu - could've known she was to be a Union Leader

MoM - would've known she was to be a Union Leader

Luxord's Somebody - there are claims that he's Darkness, plus we haven't seen him yet

Demyx's Somebody - there are claims that he's MoM, plus we haven't seen him yet

While going over this I did notice that some of the new Union Leaders are similar to the old ones and maybe MoM just picked those that could take over in both role and personality. Ava = Skuld (obviously) and Strelitzia = Invi with the whole watching thing. Kinda falls apart after that though with Aced, as grumpy as he can be

Obviously I'm biased but really I don't care too much on who it was; I just want this game of Clue to be over and to find out who killed my precious baby angel. Just think of all the possibilities for art and fics and photoshoots

Let me know if there are any tags I should add, if I missed anything, if any of the links or information are incorrect, if there are any typos, and feel free to comment any ideas or theories.

Crossposted from Pillowfort

#kingdom hearts #kh #khux #kingdom hearts union x #kingdom hearts theory #kh theory #khux theory #traitor ava theory #traitor ventus theory #traitor ven theory #traitor skuld theory #ava #ventus #skuld #strelitzia #kh darkness #who killed strelitzia #it speaks

[party-of-rpg-muses]

Mun Plays Kingdom Hearts 3

............. I finished Kingdom Hearts 3... For those who may be confused, I’m not upset or disappointed. If anything... I’m surprised. Speechless.

Continuing where I left off, I took the Leviathan and sailed to Shipwreck Cove, but found myself getting intercepted by Luxord and his army of Heartlesses. For the first time, I made use of the water wall, which I had completely forgotten about and it really saved me a few times. I just barely managed to beat Luxord with only a sliver of health.

Also, one thing I forgot to mention in my last post, I thought game was going to follow the whole Never say “Die” rule. In Monsteropolis, you can hear Randal saying “Why won’t you just fail already” and in The Caribbean, Jack says “Four of you tried to annihilate me.” when the line in the movie was “Half of you tried to kill me.” So I thought they were going out of their way to not have characters say “die” or “kill” or “death”. But when Jack was traded for Will, Elizabeth did use the word “die”. I just wanted to mention that.

Now, at Shipwreck Cove, I fought against the Kraken, saving the Black Pearl from both it and the Flying Dutchman, allowing me to use the water all even more to protect myself. The fight against Davy Jones was honestly rather difficult, if mostly because of the Kraken, but I managed to win. Not only that, but I won with STYLE!

I was interested in the fact that they didn’t show Davy Jones’ heart, but I understood why they couldn’t show it. Even then, you could just faintly heart his heart beating inside the chest. I was surprised to see them keeping Will dying and even Davy Jones dying as he fell overboard. A little disappointed they didn’t include the marriage between Will and Elizabeth. I also couldn’t help but notice that Sora basically had a hand in killing a normal human being and not a Heartless or Nobody.

After that was San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6. Brief mention: Didn’t care all that much for BH6. Didn’t hate it, but found it kinda average. I’ll say this, I had tons of fun exploring the city and I was able to practice Flowmotion and get used to using it in battle. Funny thing, while out on the town with the others, I forgot the chest that held a map of the area. Like, I saw the chest and planned on getting it after taking care of the Heartless, but completely forgot about it once I was directed to the top of a nearby building, so when I had to track down the Micro-bots, I had to backtrack my steps to find that chest. But other than that, nothing was really major. I know many people would be super happy to have the original Baymax back, but I didn’t really care.

But one thing that was of interest was seeing Possessed Riku from KH1. I’ll admit, I was actually confused about how he was there, but that’s kinda par for the course with a Kingdom Hearts game.

With that done, I went to the Realm of Darkness, YAY! I had the biggest grin on my face when the best character Aqua showed up, even if she was Norted. And I still had that grin while fighting the Demon Tower as Riku. It wasn’t hard, but it did kinda take a while. Then I got to play as Sora to fight my wife Aquanort. Honestly, she was quite difficult, what with her tendency to attack while offscreen and combo Sora for some good damage. But as time passed, I started to figure her out. But I managed to beat her. I want to bring up my theory again and as it turned out, my theory was half-right.

I couldn’t help but shed a tear when Aqua realized she was finally free from the Realm of Darkness, but I couldn’t help but wonder how she lost her Keyblade, but I think they might have been explained in a previous game that I didn’t play, but whatever. I also grinned when I saw Aqua return Castle Oblivion back to the Land of Departure. I grinned even more when I saw how beautiful the inside was, especially when compared to what little was shown in BbS. It feels much bigger than in that game and even more regal.

And I was SO excited to play as Aqua after so long and I was able to take to playing her almost instantly. And I LOVED the new animation for Spellweaver; the way she pirouettes and performs like a graceful ballerina is beyond graceful! Fighting Vanitas wasn’t too difficult, since he pretty much acted the same way as in BbS. I managed to beat him and I was SO happy to see Ventus finally wake up! And the way Aqua and Ven treated each other was adorable, much like an older sister and younger brother. I do wish Ven and Sora could connect a bit more, but I guess there were more pressing matters.

And in the cutscene after, I enjoyed Aqua remembering Kairi and Sora from when they were kids. Of course Sora and Kairi wouldn’t remember meeting her, since they were only children and it was a long time ago. And yay! Axel/Lea and Ventus still remembered each other and they’re still close friends!

After that, I went straight to the Keyblade Graveyard. My blood was pumping during that massive battle against the Heartless and Nobodies, which I called the Battle of A Million Heartless and Nobodies. It was tons of fun laying waste to countless enemies one after the other and once it was done, I continued onward.

While I was happy to see Terra, I instantly knew things weren’t right. Why would Terra just suddenly be there and unpossessed? What followed was the gang getting destroyed one by one while Sora was left in despair as the Demon Tide claimed him. I enjoyed seeing the Chirithy (I don’t know much about the other games, but I know he belongs to Ventus, so there’s that.) It was fun collecting all the different Soras and interesting seeing other people who found themselves in the Final World, clinging on the something in the real world. And going through all the other previous worlds was kinda fun, but the Lich quickly became a pain, what with his Aero magic and leaving behind afterimages that Sora sometimes focuses on, leaving me unable to get away in time. But I managed to get them all. Still confused as to how everyone was seemingly warped back in time to before Terranort and the Demon Tide attacked.

But this time, I was excited to see the Lingering Will return and protect Aqua and Ven. And even pull off these insane moves with its Keyblade that I had no idea it could do. I didn’t fight it in KH2, so yeah... And as for the Demon Tide fight, I was doing... decently until later in the fight. I got combo’d so badly, not even the Kupo Coin could help me and I got a game over. When I tried again, I learned I could damage the core while the tornado is spinning, just not when it turns orange. I eventually managed to win, which then brought one of the coolest moments in the game up!

The Keyblades of the fallen warriors came to Sora’s aid to help him against the swarm of darkness. And not the Keyblades of any fallen warriors, but the people who actually played Kingdom Hearts χ! There were so many names and so many Keyblades being used! And I want to say this; for those who lost their lives in the Keyblade War, I thank you. Your hearts may now rest and be at peace. Light shall prevail.

After that, found myself in Xehanort’s maze, deciding to help Riku against Young Riku, Ansem, and Xigbar. By accident, I focused on Ansem until he ran away, leaving only Young Riku and Xigbar. I focused on Xigbar, since he was always a bit of a pain; both in KH2 and BbS. But thanks to Sora’s amazing aerial combat skills, he wasn’t all that difficult. Young Riku, however, was a bit harder and rather aggressive. But I managed to win. After that, I helped Mickey out against Xemnas, Larxene, Luxord, and Marluxia. I ended up targeting Larxene, but after a few hits, Xemnas left the battle and Luxord captured Mickey, so I focused on Luxord and defeated him first before turning my attention toward Larxene. Once she fell, Marluxia was next.

Later, I decided to help Kairi and Axel with Saïx and a mysterious hooded figure. I focused on Saïx until his Berserk meter filled up, triggering another cutscene. Xemnas managed to defeat Axel (and somehow(?) took his Keyblade away) before having the hooded figure attempt to kill him. I had my guess, but I was so happy to see I was right! Xion is a vessel! Sure, she hasn’t been Norted with the orange eyes and white hair, but she was one of Xehanort’s Organization XIII. I was even happier to see her come around. And happier still with Roxas suddenly appeared to help his friends while Kairi was kidnapped. With Xion and Roxas, I was able to defeat Saïx almost easily. I then went to help Aqua and Ven against Vanitas and Terranort. I focused on Vanitas because he’s kind of a massive jerk and I wanted to see how Sora would react to seeing Vanitas’ face. It was nice to see Ven act so mature towards Vanitas and I was expecting him to accept Vanitas as a part of himself and absorb him back into his body. But honestly, this is fine too.

After Vanitas, I focused Terranort. I was really struggling when he brought the Guardian out and I couldn’t seem to do anything. No way to damage it and no way to avoid it, but I managed to survive. Terranort fell shortly thereafter, since he also got caught in the crossfire against Vanitas. I was surprised to see the Guardian resist Terranort, only to find that the Heartless in question was Terra himself, successfully driving Xehanort’s heart out of his body and reclaiming it as his own.

I then turned my attention to the Xehanorts. I focused on Young Xehanort, managing to defeat him despite having to also deal with Ansem and Xemnas. Once Young Xehanort was defeated, I felled Ansem, followed by Xemnas. My heart stopped when Master Xehanort up and killed Kairi and my jaw dropped when I saw the old man actually stop ULTIMA, AKA THE ULTIMATE MAGIC SPELL with Stopza!

I went into Xehanort’s heart (I think) and entered Scala ad Caelum. I struggled heavily against the masked enemies. Even Rage Mode could only help so much and I eventually got a game over. When I tried again, I wised up to some of their tricks and eventually managed to beat them.

Next cama Armored Xehanort... I barely knew what I was doing during the first phase, struggling to find my footing, but managed to beat the first phase, even making use of Flowmotion attacks. In the second phase, underwater, I was more cautious, since I was out of items. I also bought an Elixir earlier on to use in a desperate situation. I used it during that phase, so... yeah. At times, I would just run away and try to survive until Donald was either revived and healed Sora or my MP was filled again so I could use Curaga. I eventually managed to win as the third phase started.

Almost instantly, I was blindsided and instantly defeated, since I didn’t have time to heal. Now, during the entire fight, I feared that if I died, I would have to go through the whole fight again, but thankfully, I was just sent back to the start of the third phase. I managed to deal good damage and ALMOST WON but thanks to some bad luck, I lost... Rage Mode helped me out a bit. And for the third attempt, I FINALLY managed to win!

Then came the battle against Master Xehanort himself! Honestly, it was much more managable compared to the others and nowhere near as stressful. I did quite well until he summoned Kingdom Hearts, making for a great backdrop. I still fought against him quite well until he took Sora’s light, forcing him into Rage Mode. I wasn’t expecting it, so it took me a while to recover, but when I did, I managed to take back Sora’s light... and found myself in a grey area with the Organization XIII chairs surrounding the area. I was assaulted by hooded figures with weapons of the Organization XIII and barely managed to even gain a footing, let alone heal. And there were the massive lasers. But I managed to heal and hold my own until returning back to the battlefield.

Once the battle restarted, I returned to fighting Xehanort, eventually getting him down to trigger the ending. But he easily deflected Sora’s Ray of Light and countered with his “Ray of Darkness”. And during the struggle, I couldn’t help but notice a different version of Dearly Beloved. This truly was something major! And thanks to the power of friendship, Xehanort was defeated!

And with that, I BEAT THE GAME!!! I watched the ending cutscenes, Xehanort and Eraqus becoming friends again as their hearts pass on. And I liked how Xehanort acted at the end too. I was hoping that Sora could finally return home to see his mom after so many years, but with Kairi missing, Sora went on a journey by himself to search for her while everyone else went back home. AND Naminé is back too! During the absolute final cutscene before the credits, I thought that Sora had found Kairi and they were returning to greet everyone, but it seems Sora was gone somewhere, leaving Kairi alone, despite being with her friends.

And for the after-credits scene? Well... I won’t say~ But I’ll say this, my jaw dropped, since it revealed MASSIVE things! Some characters will be returning, but I won’t say who. I’ll also say this; the end of the beginning and the beginning brings about the end.

I look forward to the next game! Also, my total game time? 25 hours. Yes, if given enough time, I could start and finish the game in a single day, with an extra hour. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed that there were only 2 returning worlds: Pirates of the Caribbeans and Hercules. Sure, the new worlds are great, but still. And the number of worlds overall is disappointing. So few Disney worlds and all of the worlds don’t give much. Winnie the Pooh can easily be finished in a few minutes while the Disney worlds take about an hour or two to finish. But I guess they wanted to focus a bit more on story and wrapping things up. Still, the game felt short overall. I also hope that Final Fantasy characters make a return in a later game. I’m still bothered by the fact that they removed Final Fantasy characters, who have been present in every KH game since the first, 17 years ago! Again, oh well. Overall, I had fun playing the game and really enjoyed KH3!

#Kingdom Hearts 3 #Kingdom Hearts 3 spoilers #outofexp #really long post

[nadziejastar]

Terra: I just-- When I really need you, Ven, I know you'll be there.

Ven: Well, why wouldn't I? You're my friend.

Terra: Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Ven.

Yeah, Terra’s reunion certainly fared a lot better than Lea and Isa’s. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t a travesty, lol. One of my sisters said it was her favorite part, and we both got a bit teary. She never liked Terra that much, but changed her mind with his reunion scene. Personally, I loved Terra the moment I saw him escort Cinderella to the ball and he bowed to her, like a gentleman. When BBS was first announced, I didn’t expect to like Terra that much. I thought he was going to be very serious and stiff. But I found him so adorable. Like when he called Merlin “Your Elderness”. That was so cute. I mean, he was trying to be respectful.

I thought it was kinda silly that Terranort was actually fighting with those chains, like they were just a physical weapon. I’m pretty sure those chains were supposed to be metaphysical “chains of memory”, lol. Sora may not have had a place in that fight, and we didn’t get to see Ventus use the power of waking, but at least all of the most important themes were kept intact. It didn’t build suspense for something and then totally change directions at the last minute, like with Lea. And Terra actually had a moment of glory to save his best friends.

Terra: There's darkness within me... So what does that matter? I know I'm strong enough to hold it back.

Terra’s Keyblade was called “Ends of the Earth”. He wanted to return to the land he battled Xehanort to set things right. He’d go to any lengths for his friends. Terra was earth-based. His Heartless was the Guardian. The main theme of Terra as a Guardian of Light was “strength”. He was trying to hold back the darkness in him by getting stronger physically. 

Terra: I'm not afraid of what the darkness holds now. Even if you do wrest control of my heart from me--even if you cast me into the deepest, darkest abyss--you'll never sway me from the one cause that pushes me to keep on fighting. Whatever the cost, I'm ready to pay it.

Each Disney world he went to contributed to this theme. Once he started to listen to his heart, he realized that he was gaining power at the expense of his friendships. That was actually causing his heart to become weaker, and fueling his darkness. 

Terra: Funny... This whole time I've been telling myself I want to be stronger, more independent... But the second I let my heart do the talking... I find out how little I really know myself. And how much I miss them.

It was Ven reminding him of his promise that awakened Terra’s heart at the Keyblade Graveyard. I think it was important that Ventus was the one to save Terra because it was a role reversal. 

Terra: Relax, Ven. We're here and we're gonna take care of you.

Ven: I may have to fight Vanitas after all. If I do, guys... I want you to--

Terra: The three of us can never be torn apart, all right? I'll always find a way.

Terra never wanted to admit it, but he needed to feel taken care of too. I don’t talk about this enough, but I truly love Terra, and not being able to see the story of how he became an apprentice really disappointed me. I think that since Terra was the main personality at the beginning, it affected Ansem the Wise’s decision to try and restore his memory. Terra would have been completely sincere and genuine, wanting to remember his past. Then the Xehanort side woke up. It’s not surprising why Ansem felt such betrayal. I can easily imagine him becoming very close to Terra, because he’s so sincere and innocent. Then he changed into a completely different person. I really wish we could have seen that. 

Terra: Strength for what?

Riku: To protect the things that matter. You know, like my friends.

Ansem/Terra was a wasted opportunity. So was Riku/Terra. Riku helped Terra see that strength is about protecting those you love. He was the one who gave Riku his Keyblade. They had a very important relationship. Unfortunately, the relationship between Terra and Riku also got completely ignored in KH3. It was a huge disappointment for me, because that was actually one of the things I was excited about the most. I wasn’t even quite sure if Riku was aware that the missing Keyblade wielder they were looking for was the same guy who gave him the Keybalde as a kid. You think he would have told Mickey that he met Terra, but nope. They didn’t have time for Riku and Terra to exchange a single word. God, I was so pissed.

Terra: Yep, hard to believe there are so many worlds out there besides our own. The light is their hearts, and it's shining down on us like a million lanterns.

Ven: What? I don't get it.

Terra: In other words, they're just like you, Ven.

But at the very least, the scene of Terra’s reunion with his friends seemed to be left mostly intact from how it was originally envisioned. TAV came full circle. They spent the last night together under the light of the stars, which is what their wayfinders were shaped like. Terra’s friends were always lighting his way back, just like the stars. His reunion was one of the highlights of KH3 for me. There was a feeling of sincerity there that was totally absent from Lea and Isa’s awful reunion. 

Xehanort: Oh? So that's how it is, is it? Someone else has set foot in your heart. Eraqus, you sly fox...

I know a lot of people were put off by Eraqus telling Terra to take care of Ventus and Aqua. I understand why. But I feel like we were probably supposed to get a lot more development to Eraqus being inside Terra’s heart. Eraqus and Terra’s final scene just depressed the shit out of me because the last scene they had together was Terra helping Xehanort kill him. I still got the feeling that Terra hadn’t forgiven himself and his relationship with Eraqus was damaged. He acted more happy to see Xehanort than Terra, so it made me sad.

Lingering Will: That’s it. Your power. That’s what I felt within you. The power that connects to Aqua. And to Ven’s heart.

Terra: Where am I...?

Naminé: In your memories. Traces of you were lost, so I found you through memories belonging to those you’ve met in the past.

Terra: Who are you?

Naminé: I’m Naminé. It’s nice to meet you. I’m a witch who can control people’s memories.

Terra: A witch?

Naminé: Right now, you’re bound to two memories. One belongs to an unspeakable darkness---

I was also a little confused by Terra telling Ventus that he “found him”. I didn’t remember Ven ever specifically promising Terra that he’d find him. Sadly, I get the feeling that this promise was something we were supposed to see in BBSV2. Terra was very emotional when he said this. When Ven said he kept his promise, I also think that was referring to this other promise. And Ven was crying, too. 

Terra: ...Master Xehanort.

Naminé: Your heart will soon encounter a familiar light. You must make sure she isn’t lost to the darkness. You must guide her.

Terra: Her? You mean Aqua? I’m not sure what I can do to help, not like this.

Naminé: You must fight, Terra, like the others. You mustn’t let your heart melt into darkness; follow your true memories, and you’ll reach the light. She’s headed there too---to the same place. You must believe in your promise, just as she continues to believe in you.

Terra: Aqua, Ven. One day I’ll---I’ve never forgotten our promise. Never. I will keep fighting.

I think it must have been a promise made when Terra was already lost in darkness, unlike the original one in Radiant Garden. I feel like there was supposed to be a more fleshed out subplot with the Lingering Will and Terra being able to communicate with both Aqua and Ven’s hearts, which is why Nomura felt compelled to show off this one scene of dialogue at an orchestra of all places. He originally said BBSV2 would tell the story of not just Aqua, but all three. And that lack of build up did make the reunion less impactful than it should have been.

#kingdom hearts #kh meta #kh #kh3 #kh terra

[nadziejastar]

The organization members death were underwhelming. Your thoughts on their deaths???

Yeah, I have to agree. I take it you mean the Organization members in KH3. The True Organization was so underwhelming.

Master Xehanort—The game never properly explained his motivations, so I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about his death. He had a very abrupt “redemption” where he and Eraqus were all buddy-buddy again, which came out of nowhere. I had no idea what was even going on in his boss fight. What were those black-clad figures fighting with him? How did Sora know he needed to trap him using a portal? Nothing was explained. In theory I liked kid Xehanort’s reunion with kid Eraqus. But it didn’t have enough impact because there was nothing building up to it, other than a single scene of them playing chess.

Xemnas—I liked his final words before disappearing, but it felt like they came out of nowhere. There was no evidence Xemnas ever felt that way. Why was he so lonely? It seems like he was supposed to be seen as tragic, but again, there was nothing leading up to it. I felt like we got robbed. We never learned why he couldn’t use the Keyblade. Also I was very disappointed that we never saw Aqua or Ventus react when they learned that Terra was possessed and that his Heartless and Nobody were the ones that were causing all the chaos in the world.

Young Xehanort—This guy was super important to the plot. He was the one who was traveling through time recruiting everyone. Supposedly he was tracking people using the Recusant’s Sigil. He was tracking Sora in KH3D, and the Ultimania said he had his eye on Isa for a long time. Unsurprisingly Young Xehanort is the one who retrieved Isa in KH3D. But he didn’t feel all that important, really. His time travel ability was left mostly unexplained. His death was completely forgettable. We never even learned why he was the Mysterious Figure in BBS.

Ansem Seeker of Darkness—Again, another resolution that felt like it was supposed to have way more building up to it. Why did Riku say he’d miss him? That truly came out of nowhere and surprised me. At first I thought it was Nomura breaking the fourth wall. He said in an interview that he was sad that certain characters would never be appearing again, and he did really like Xehanort. But I did notice that ASoD’s characterization was strange in KH3. Perhaps Riku was meant to be referring to the Terra part of him. After all, the relationship between Xehanort and Terra, and how those two personalities were split was supposed to be important to the cancelled game. And Riku recognized Terra at the end of KH3D.

Vanitas—I got the impression that Vanitas was supposed to be a lot more important to the plot than he really was. He felt so useless in the grand scheme of things. I thought he’d have a lot more to do with Sora, too .Also, in KH3D, he didn’t have a physical form. Sora saw him with Young Xehanort, but he was simply reacting to Ventus’s heart. I think Vanitas was supposed to have a lot more plot involvement, like with Xemnas’s search for the Chamber of Waking. And after Ventus went back to Sora, maybe Vanitas could feel what Sora felt.

He was also Ven’s dark half, which should have been more significant. I always thought Ven would have to go through some kind of character development where he reintegrated Vanitas back into him at the end. But Vanitas just…disappeared. Also, the fact that he looked like Sora was not treated like it was a big deal. Sora was just like, “Oh that’s weird.” Kinda like Roxas and Ventus or Kairi and Xion. It was just…never commented on. I was amused by the fact that Vanitas didn’t suddenly do a 180 after he was defeated. But he still didn’t leave a significant impression on me in KH3.

Riku—When I first learned that Riku was a Seeker of Darkness, I thought it had the potential to create some awesome story moments. But his defeat was ridiculous. I expected Riku to have some kind of clash with his dark half, where he’d get character development confronting his inner weakness. In KH3D, there was a lot of hints that his struggle with the darkness was not over.

When I first played KH3D a long time ago, I was actually annoyed because I thought they were dragging out Riku’s struggle instead of just accepting he was a good guy. But I think I kinda see where they were going. Riku did need closure on what happened to him in KH1. Sadly, he didn’t get that. Instead, the boss battle with his dark self was treated as this weird Riku/Naminé shipping thing, which really caught me off guard. I had NO idea what was going on with the weird Spirit Riku. That just made no sense and I really wondered what the hell Nomura was smoking when he wrote those scenes. In hindsight, I just see it as a contrived excuse to bring Naminé back. But when I first played KH3, Riku Replica’s death really left me scratching my head.

Marluxia—I couldn’t really feel anything for Marluxia’s defeat because I had no idea why he was even there. He received almost no backstory. So even in KH3, to me he was little more than “the flower dude”. I was aware that he was in KHUX, but I had no idea that game was going to be so important when I played KH3. Silly me, I was under the impression that the HD remasters were made to give players everything they needed to prepare for KH3.

KHUX was included in the form of a movie. And I mistakenly thought that movie was created to give players all the info they needed from KHUX that was relevant in KH3. But that really wasn’t the case. Apparently, I was supposed to know all about who Strelitzia and Skuld were, which I did not. When speaking to the Nameless Star, I admit I didn’t have a clue who it was and I had a hard time caring, since they had absolutely nothing to do with THIS plot arc.

Larxene—Larxene was the same as Marluxia for me. She was little more than “the bitchy chick”. I was looking forward to learning more about her and Marluxia, but that didn’t happen. Apparently she was just tagging along with him? That’s why she was a Seeker of Darkness? I thought that was lame. I read on the wiki that she had a sister or something.

But you see, if those types of things were supposed to be relevant, why was none of it included in the HD collections? That was baffling. In KH CoM, Marluxia and Larxene wanted Sora so they could use the Keyblade for something. They both seemed pretty amoral. In KH3, they made Marluxia seem like Isa or something, where he lost his heart, was possessed the whole time, and needed to be saved. Then he would be absolved of all his sins. But unlike with Saïx, that was never really hinted at? I never got that sense from Marluxia.

Luxord—Again, why is this person here? How did he become a Seeker of Darkness? Who is he? What was his life as a human like? I had a really hard time caring about his boss fight because he felt like he was just included for nostalgia. Same with Marluxia and Larxene. They just needed a few familiar faces to fill out the ranks. I’m sure that there was originally supposed to be a good reason he was a Seeker of Darkness, but they obviously had no time to get into that. I like Luxord. I think he’s really cool and gentlemanly. But we still know nothing about him.

Xigbar—His “death” was also lame. The moment he jumped off the ledge was made to seem all dramatic and final. And you know, I would have really liked if it was left like that. Xigbar committing suicide truly was the perfect ending for him. But surprise! It was all revealed to be a ruse. Why did he have to pretend to kill himself? Wasn’t he supposed to be a Nobody? Why didn’t he vanish after his defeat like all the other Nobodies did? Made no sense.

Saïx—Well, it’s no secret that I hated his “death” and everything else about his characterization in KH3. His whole subplot was USELESS. The whole point of his story was so Lea would have someone to rescue, so his training as a Keyblade wielder paid off. Terra, Aqua, and Ven had each other to go home with. Sora, Riku, and Kairi had each other to go home with. Donald, Goofy, and Mickey had each other to go home with. Isa was Lea’s person to bring home. Lea’s home is NOT Twilight Town. And he’s not going to be hanging out with Roxas and Xion all day.

Lea was supposed to bring Isa back. That means taking the initiative, like he did in KH3D. It was heavily implied that he needed to be saved. Even on the clock tower, Lea said he was dragging him home. Isa was the original person Lea promised to bring back. But…he did nothing of the sort. Lea didn’t bring Isa back OR drag him home. Saïx came to the good side on his own after having a random change of heart for no discernible reason. Lea forgot all about him until he randomly showed up on the clock tower. He wasn’t concerned with bringing him home. His relationship with Lea and his boss fight were treated with almost no seriousness whatsoever. Instead of a fight to the death, Lea casually said he’d clobber him tomorrow, like they were going to have a boxing match or something.

Then he had a “redemption” that was so lazy and poorly planned, it had to happen off-screen. Isa was never meant to have a redemption, so one had to be shoe-horned in, using the secret reports of all things. Obviously Isa was a very low priority in KH3. It also made no sense. If he wanted to atone, why did he become a Seeker of Darkness? Could he not bring back Roxas and Xion AFTER Xehanort was defeated? They weren’t Guardians of Light, so they weren’t needed in the final battle. They didn’t need to come back anyway, but still. It was just done for fanservice. And apparently he fought Lea in the final battle because he was too stubborn and embarrassed to admit that he wanted to “atone”. It was all an act. Everything about Saïx was a total waste of screentime IMO. I’ve never seen a work of fiction give a character such a transparently ill-fitting and contradictory backstory in my entire life. I’m not even being hyperbolic, either.