#if this god thing's important...they need to mention it when hikaru is still relevant

[yuseirra]

Aratate Shrine is dedicated to the two kami deities, Ame no Uzume no Mikoto and Sarutahiko no Mikoto, and celebrates their marriage to each other. Ame no Uzume is known as a deity of song, dance, and the performing arts. Sarutahiko is known as a deity of guidance in travel and education, among other things. Together, they are kami deities of matrimonial happiness and fulfilled wishes.

The nature of this shrine draws followers with creative aspirations, including some well-known actors and actresses. Many who seek guidance in their careers or love life come here to pray and consult the priest.

So this is the description of the Aratate Shrine that makes an appearance in the story(that everyone goes to pray, it's going to be there in anime S2 soon too!)

Oh.. Okay?? Okay?? Didn't Kamiki mention about wishes when he talked to Ruby and Aqua??(147,153?) About fulfilling them?? Didn't he congratulate Aqua about it? What's with him?? Is he really some sort of god? Actually, I'm pretty positive about the entire Hoshino family being "gods who don't realize they are gods"..(144)They really have to start discussing what they're going to do about those random ideas about gods they've been throwing out there. It's about time, it's the final arc!!

If the guy is about "guidance", it's going to be really bad if he gets corrupted. The songs imply someone being given a "flaw", isn't that about him? I had this thought going for awhile. I really hope they tackle this whole idea of gods being there soon if that's supposed to be important. And if so, saltwater could really have some purifying effects. Sarutahiko has to do with Misogi and I looked into a little bit, it does involve both salt and water. I'm half serious. It really may help him if he gets dunked into the sea then. Have him fall. He won't die. Rather, I feel he CAN'T die. Something is making him suffer but I feel it's also preventing him from death too. I feel like he would have followed Ai long ago if he didn't have any hope of meeting her or such.

[yo-namine]

Lots of KH3 talk under the cut. This post contains spoilers from the start of the game through the scenes just before Toy Box.

Oh my GOD, those first few notes of “Dearly Beloved.” I just sat and listened to it until the menu trailer started again. It sounds really… romantic? Somehow? I teared up a bit, ngl. 

That opening FMV was a thing of beauty. I'm so glad I didn't watch the full thing when it leaked because it really sets the tone for the game. I love the final shots of young Xehanort eyeing Sora's chess piece and Sora holding Xehanort's. It makes me wonder if this game is going to end with Sora keeping Xehanort's heart in his after all. Also, the part with the Seasalt and Wayfinder Trios standing in the dark and a door opens to the light and Utada Hikaru is chanting backwards (I think) gave me chills. 

I loved the intro tutorial; it was such a nice callback to KH1's opening. I chose the Trinity's "all for one" scene and then Naminé and Sora's pinkie-promise for my playthrough. I'm too scared to google to see if I'm remembering this correctly, but I think that meant I chose balance and the power of the guardian. While making my choices, I had a sick feeling that maybe this game would have multiple endings, and who you saved depended on what you chose during the tutorial. I'm pretty sure if just determines how you level up/when you get certain abilities like in previous games, but idk. 

The Kingdom Hearts II.9 title card was so fucking rude lmao. That paired with the intro to Olympus, with the narrator saying the planets had FINALLY aligned for this momentous occasion was hilarious. 

Herc talking about being with the one he loved was more important than being an all-powerful god… idk, it has me wondering how Sora’s story (where he’s constantly reminded how weak he is) is going to play out. 

Oh God, the DREAD that filled my heart when the game switched over to Riku in the Dark Realm. I was NOT emotionally prepared to see Aquanort, and I was so relieved when he and Mickey decided to leave. I do really like Riku and Mickey’s relationship in this game so far, though. I’m generally not a big fan of Mickey in this series (save for CoM), but so far, his interactions with Riku have felt really organic and genuine, and it makes him more likable. Also, their conversation about how much Riku’s grown over the past couple of years has me really, really concerned that he might die after all at the end of this game… I hope I’m wrong about that. 

The effect on Repliku’s voice inside the demon tide was really cool. I can’t wait to see how his storyline developes. 

Also, I like that you get to briefly play as Riku so early in the game just because it really emphasizes just how much weaker Sora has become. Like Riku's casting thundaga and curaga and warping across the battlefield, keeping up with a fucking demon tide like it's nothing; meanwhile, Sora's out here splashing level 1 water spells at little soldier heartless and hoping for the best. It's kind of like a nod to how Riku saw them both in KH1 when they reunited in Traverse Town, when he was patronizingly telling Sora that he'll take care of everything and that Sora shouldn’t worry his pretty little head. That said, all this talk about how weak and puny Sora is really makes me think they're priming him for a Terra-style storyline, and that's... worrisome. 

I may’ve teared up at the Twilight Town intro. The world is just SO beautiful. 

lmao @ “It hasn’t been that long.” I am seriously loving how self-aware the writing has been so far. In fact, the writing in general for this game has been surprisingly… good? For one thing, I’m honestly getting blown away by characters just casually referencing things from previous titles. And that’s not really something that should be all that impressive on its own, but I can’t help but be surprised because it’s not something that happened that much in past games. A lot of KH feels episodic, where characters will vaguely reference past events occasionally, but rarely does a character just straight-up say, “Hey, remember when we went here and did this and learned this? Let’s build on that.” And just that simple writing change is already doing this game’s story wonders. 

The dusks refer to Roxas as "our liege," and I love it. That was such a genuinely creepy and interesting way to introduce them in KH2. And I can’t get over the fact that Sora understands them.

Sora sounding so sincere when he says Roxas is a cool guy is just adorable. Like you know Roxas is probably in Sora's heart listening to all this and cringing, but he's also lowkey flattered, haha. 

I also like the scene where Sora resolves to bring Roxas back. He mentions that Herc said he would need something to fight for “with all his heart” (and sidenote: I LOVE how relevant the Disney worlds are in this game. They’re not just filler between story cutscenes; the worlds are actually important.), and he decides that saving Roxas is it. 

God, the sheer RELIEF I felt when Sora actually brought up Naminé living in Kairi's heart is indescribable. I was so, so sure Nomura would just forget that in favor of connecting Naminé only to Sora's heart, but I guess I was wrong. I hope he keeps surprising me like this. 

Not to harp on about this, but the dialogue in this game is seriously such a step up. A whole staircase up, actually. I had a bunch of lines I wanted to quote, but there are just too many. The script has so much life and charm to it, and so far I haven't noticed any awkward/stilted lines or forced comedy that was common in the other games. 

And the gameplay! I love it. It’s essentially 0.2′s system, which utilizes the best parts of KH2, BBS, and DDD. I'm always forgetting just how many options I have to take out mobs, lol. I should probably make a list.

Ienzo is so... nice? It's kind of weirding me out, tbh. I just expected him to have a little more edge to him, or to at least be a little condescending, but no. He's just your friendly neighborhood science guy. You think he's ever gonna bring up the fact that Lea murdered him a past life or nah? 

I did like Aeleus’s reintroduction, though, how he just side-eyed Ienzo talking to Sora and kept walking. 

I'm so easily overwhelmed by any mention of Kairi in this game, lmfao, like every time they mention her in passing the fucking room starts spinning a la Mr. Krabs meme. They actually remember her! And talk about her plot relevance! 

Kairi’s letter from the orchestra concert is in the game!!!! I wonder if Naminé’s conversation with Terra will make it in, too? I did really like that scene with Kairi and Lea/Axel in the forest. They’re not super best friends or anything, and you can still sense some awkwardness between them, but you can tell that Axel is genuinely trying to be kind to her, and that Kairi’s open to it. She’s at least comfortable enough around him to talk about her writing, which is something. I’ll admit that I’m still uneasy about Axel potentially only seeing Kairi as a Xion stand-in, but I think I’m willing to give this subplot a chance. I know Nomura’s writing is always a letdown when it comes to Kairi, but given how much stronger it’s been in this game… Would it be that stupid to hope for a decent character arc for her? Not even a good one lmao, just a decent one? I dunno. I’ll just keep playing and see how it goes.