#lea and isa in bbs tbh

[solxr-flare]

||happy pride month!! I’m gonna yap about my muses different pride related things and what ships I like with them!! I’ll link this on my pinned post, too, so that anyone new will know if I’m willing to ship what with them. Just because a ship isn’t there doesn’t mean I’m not willing to test it (within reason). Also I’m open to ocs as long as they fit the sexualities ofc

Under the cut!

Keep in mind that although some of these characters aren’t asexual, that doesn’t mean I’ll write anything sexual with them. Steamy is probably the furthest I’ll go, if at all lol

Ortho Shroud (Human): Panromantic

I don’t really have many ships with him other than one of Kiki’s ocs, but tbh I’d be down for any freshman XDD

Ortho Shroud (Robot): Aro Ace

Yeah I’m not shipping the robot with anyone, case closed lol

Rielle Filosa: Pansexual

His canon ship is with Neige LeBlanche, but he’s a very romantic person!

I think he’s mostly only going to date people not from the coral sea, but I think he already made it to land and dated a human so that checked the box already lol

Silver Vanrouge: Pansexual

Silver x Sebek!

Silver x Kalim

Silver x Yuu

And anything else, if they can deal with him being eepy all the time

Azul Ashengrotto: Homosexual

Azul x Jamil

Azul x Idia

Azul x Riddle

Azul x Jade

Azul x Floyd

Squidette Ika: Sapphicromantic (Lesbian and Asexual)

she actually has no ships in her canon story, as her crush is straight, but I’d be down to ship as long as their female or female presenting!

Shelly Swordtip: Pansexual and Gender Fluid

Still no canon ships because I haven’t talked about it with my friends to much extent, but they’re here to have fun so I’m cool with anything lol

Marina Ida: Homosexual

MARINA AND PEARL!!!

Ventus: Homoromantic

Alright here’s where it gets weird. I refuse to ship him with Terra or Aqua, they’re adults and he’s not. Plain and simple. Anyone his age in bbs (ie Lea and Isa) are adults in KH3 and he’s not. Additionally, people his age in KH3 were tiny in bbs and I don’t ship that either, considering ven is chronologically an adult. And if we’re really going into that, Ven existed in the age of fairytales and is older than most the cast

so... yeah XDD

Sora: Panromantic

Sora x Riku

Sora x Kairi

Riku x Sora x Kairi

Young Xehanort: Homosexual

Xehanort x Eraqus

what can I say lmao

Verathandi: Homosexual

Her canon ship is with Shadowheart, but I’m really open

Rose (Pink): Panromantic

don’t exactly have much plans there, you’re free to reach out lol

Norman: Biromantic

Norman x Emma

Norman x Ray

Emma x Ray x Norman

Rindo Kanade: Panromantic

Rindo x Shoka

Rindo x Fret

all three lol

Aether: Pansexual

Aether and Xiao

Aether and Lyney

havent really thought about much else but I’m open to thoughts

Silver Wolf: Aro Ace

She doesn’t really seem the type for much else, maybe a qpr

Shiki Misaki: Bisexual

Shiki x Neku

Shiki x Eri

Melinoë: Pansexual

Melinoë and Moros

Melinoë and Nemisis

Melinoë and Icarus

[voidedgear]

anons hot take: vanitas should have worked with repliku and xion while in o13 (because evil destiny trio)

thoughts??

I've waffled a bit on how I should answer this... I'm still sick, and I recently replayed KH3 so I'll just be blunt and say that I completely disagree.

Mostly because I can't see an IC reason why Vanitas would be working with them, but I can see an IC reason as to why Vanitas would be working with Terranort. Recall that Vanitas is able to feel what Ventus feels, to a degree, and it was through this knowledge that Vanitas was able to tell Xehanort that "Terra is the key" if he wanted to get Ventus to leave home.

Vanitas spent four years alone in the Keyblade Graveyard, feeling Ventus warming up to Terra and Aqua. Ven adores Terra; he sees him as his family, his big brother. Also, notice that Terra is the only character in BBS that Vanitas never messes with. Terra never even SEES Vanitas up until the Keyblade Graveyard section.

We know that Vanitas, in BBS at least, is willing to go against Xehanort's orders when he feels like it. He almost kills Ven because he thinks he's too weak to fuse with him because they have Aqua as a backup plan. Even if Xehanort had told Vanitas to stay hands-off on Terra because he wanted Terra to be his new vessel, I can't see Vanitas caring enough to listen without some other incentive.

I feel like Vanitas is, on some level, very curious about Terra! He wants to know more about this guy who his other half loves so much. There's even cut dialogue from Re-Mind that shows Vanitas was intended to assist Terranort at some point.

Also, breaking up the BBS crew and the Days crew would have just been too messy tbh. Lea NEEDS to be there for Xion to break free from Xehanort's control and for Roxas to return, but he also needs to have that moment with Isa, too.

Likewise, Ven and Sora need to have their moment with Vanitas, and Ven needs to also be there with Aqua for Terra to break free.

The end of the game is pretty jam-packed, and putting those three together just because they look like the main trio is completely unnecessary because they have nothing to do with each other. Xion and Repliku are both replicas, but otherwise have never met and have very different experiences with being a replica. Meanwhile, Vanitas is one of the primordial Darknesses that just so happens to look like Sora because Sora helped out Ven when he was a newborn.

[flamereign]

WHAT VINES FIT YOUR CHARACTER? pick 5 vines that remind you of your character & tag your friends to do the same! 

judas no 

wish ryan was here 

when life gives you lemons 

what’s your name? ( part of a compilation but it’s the first vine that shows completely, you’ll know the one )

i’m a bad bitch you can’t kill me 

tagged by: @shellsheart tagging: whoever hasn’t done this yet

[nadziejastar]

Would you be so unshakably certain that Roxas and Ventus were supposed to be the same character if Roxas looked and sounded like Sora but was the same as the canon version in every other way? Same with Xion, if she looked and sounded like Sora but her story played out the same way would you be so certain that Kairi was always meant to somehow inherit her memories?

TBH, Roxas and Ventus felt like the same character to me for more reasons than just their appearance. Roxas doesn’t just look and sound like Ventus. He acts like him, too. It’s the whole character. Sora is an extremely cheerful, happy, and optimistic character who is always surrounded by friends. He doesn’t worry about things too much. Ventus was not like that. There was an underlying core of sadness and loneliness in him that was not present in Sora. He said he was always on his own and wished he had friends.

In BBS, that’s still his personality. Things fall apart between him and Terra and Aqua. He travels around the worlds just to make some new friends, and is jealous of Lea and Isa due to their closeness.

In Days, Roxas is just like that, too. All he wants is to have friends. 

Things fall apart and he’s jealous of Hayner’s group and how close they are. I was playing Melody of Memory recently. Sora’s theme song is so upbeat. And Ventus’s theme is so much like Roxas’s. Heartbreaking.

Xion was not just a girl who looked like Kairi. No, she looked and sounded AND acted just like Kairi (which makes sense because she was essentially a memory version of Kairi).

She was sweet, but had a slightly tomboyish personality---just like Kairi. She collected shells, liked watching the sunset. She was very self-sacrificing and was more mature than Roxas. Her connection to Kairi goes way beyond just appearance. She may have come from Sora, but her whole essence was meant to be like Kairi. They even had the same mannerisms. That’s why Lea felt so nostalgic hanging around her. He felt like he was still hanging around Xion when he was with Kairi. 

[jeredu]

Axel: You sure you’re okay? I can see your-

Saïx: It’s none of your concern.

(Implied XemSai in the background)

I have some Saïx headcanons to share with a load of screenshots to illustrate, but some of those images are from KH3 (no story spoilers, just some outfit spoilers mostly), so read at your own risk. Thanks to @crystallineabyss for the gonial angle info!

So.  Headcanon:  Saïx | Isa is AFAB/DFAB  

I’m not naive enough to think it would ever be confirmed, nor do I really think Nomura had a reason to do this deliberately, given Japan and Disney aren’t exactly huge proponents of positive LGBTQ representation. HOWEVER, I do think it’s possible that someone on the modeling team wanted to sneak rep in under the radar?  Allow me to explain:

I’m not saying this is canon. However, the basis for this HC is 100% based on demonstrable canon facts, and only enhanced by a few theories/assumptions. I’ve tried playing Devil’s Advocate against myself to DISPROVE this theory, but every attempt I’ve made to find inconsistencies in canon material has failed, and I’ve instead only uncovered more and more evidence.  

First and foremost is body type (hip alignment, weight distribution, etc). There is no denying that Saix (and Isa) have a very noticeable hourglass figure:

Evident in KH2, but consistent in all appearances, including Birth By Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3:

and

So that’s part of it- 

This in stark contrast to, say, Axel:

His whole upper body is honestly built more similarly to Kairi, Namine, and Xion. But he hides it well with those huge padded shoulders.

Notably, he’s the only one with a chest with a profile like this. 

I’ll compare his BBS model with Lea.  Please also note the faux sideburns, the baggy clothing, and the coat worn in a way to disguise a narrow waist and wide hips:

Notably, this is Saix in the foreground:

His shoulder/chest/bust is all very similar to kairi, but here’s another angle;

Lastly, let’s talk about gonial angle. Many thanks to @crystallineabyss for this info:

Saix's gonial angle indicates he very likely would've been afab whereas lea's is definitely amab

The gonial angle is something that is used to sex a body - mostly skeletal remains.  It's a trend that helps ascertain if someone was likely afab or amab in life An angle of under 120° is generally masculine, and one over 120° is feminine

I also want to mention that his nastiness to Xion in particular in Days could be some form of projecting internalized self hatred.  He also sees her as a literal doll, calls her ‘it’.  You get the idea.  That’s not proof, but it definitely supports rather than refutes this, given how poorly he handles his own negative feelings in general. 

Edit: @xigsai raised another good point; Saix sits with his legs crossed at the knee, which is often uncomfortable and uncommon for someone who is AMAB since uh. Things get squished. His sitting posture definitely stood out to a number of people I’ve spoken with as odd:

I could definitely dig up more examples but this honestly is plenty. The most baffling aspect is that nomura’s art also is in line with this theory, when i assumed he wouldn’t be the one pushing for this. It’s just ludicrous to think Japan circa 2005 would have deliberately pushed this agenda in a high profile, mainstream game. But the facts are what they are, and there’s too much evidence for it to be pure coincidence. It’s too consistent, ZERO inconsistencies, in fact. 

Again, this is not CANON because it has not been confirmed. But it is a reasonable HC given the facts presented.  Personally, I would love to have good, respectful representation. If one WAS going to do so- not with symbolism but just simply by inclusion, then Saix is a perfect example of how one WOULD do so.  If you didn’t know, AFAB = assigned female at birth. I’m saying Saix easily could be trans masc, and all evidence supports it, but it has not been confirmed and likely never will be. I love him either way, tbh. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

EDIT:  I have a few more images to add to this, just to illustrate the differences in body shapes- 

NOT TO SCALE-  Gummiphone images are NOT TO SCALE. Note that Saix’s coat  IS  unzipped, but like Larxene and Xion, the zipper hangs loosely enough that it appears closed, indicating that his HIPS are the widest diameter in contact with the coat (below his chest). 

and lastly, here’s the side by side of the BBS image I updated in the body of the post:

[square-enix-headcanons]

Lea, Even, Braig and Isa's reactions to meeting their own nobody forms? Maybe they travel back in time or something, idk

This is Kingdom Hearts, considering our 5 Xehanorts in one game, this is totally possible xD I’m gonna use Post-KH3 versions of the Somebodies (ignoring that we didn’t get a Post-KH3 Braig) and Days/CoM/KH2 versions of the Nobodies; if you want BBS Somebodies and/or KH3 versions of the Nobodies, too, just send in another ask ^^

Braig & Xigbar

Braig. Is. Pissed.

“You bastard! You stole my life! My body! Everyone!!”

He totally shoots at Xigbar (who doesn’t have much trouble blocking/dodging but this is about making a point!)

Xigbar, meanwhile, laughs and just tells Braig to calm down

(Yeah, as if)

At some point, Braig simply gets tired and stops for a moment

“So, up for a chat now?” (Xigbar looks ridiculously smug about not getting hit)

Since he can’t do much else, Braig grudgingly listens for a bit

... Then shoots right in the middle of Xigbar’s talk, hoping to catch him unawares

Xigbar blocks

At which point, Braig just. Leaves. Nope, if he can’t shoot Xigbar, he’s not dealing with this.

Even & Vexen

Even is... torn

Yes, he has done some horrible things as Vexen. No morals plus a lot of curiosity is... Dangerous

And yes, Even sometimes still feels like he should repent more for what he did

But on the other hand, Vexen was a brilliant scientist

(Wow Even ur so humble)

If they worked together, there’d be a lot they could do

Vexen thinks similarly tbh. While he knows this isn’t exactly the Even he used to be, it’s still him, kind of

So that is pretty much what they do. They start talking about new ideas - Even has some since he’s been around longer than Vexen, while Vexen has a way of thinking somewhat different from Even, taking the ideas to new directions

And then they decide to actually work on them together - provided that Vexen promises to listen when Even tells him to stop, to make sure it doesn’t get too immoral

Considering their characters, it’s kind of surprising how little bickering there is. Some, sure, but not as much as one might’ve expected

Isa & Saix

Looking at himself and seeing yellow eyes stare back is almost painful

He knows he won’t be able to ever forget what he did, but seeing his Nobody is like being reminder via a mace to the stomach

Saix, meanwhile, just looks Isa over

(Isa wonders if he seemed as cold to everyone as Saix now seems to himself)

“So we succeeded.”

Isa... Doesn’t feel like explaining the whole thing (Dying, becoming a Nobody again, betraying the new Organization, etc), so he just says yes

Isa is also very aware that his eyes are blue again, and lowkey worries how Saix will react to that

He didn’t notice the norting, but he’s aware that it severely influenced him back then

(Saix, meanwhile, notices that Isa has blue eyes and it would cause him to wonder about his own yellow eyes, if that didn’t get suppressed by the norting)

Honestly, there’s just a lot of silence as both of them try to figure out what to say

Lea & Axel

They start chatting almost instantly

Axel notices that the teardrop marks are gone, and asks about it

Lea says he “doesn’t need them anymore” now that he has his Heart back

(Lea you’re a liar if you mean you don’t cry anyway. Of course, if you just mean you’re fine with crying, you’re right)

Axel is impressed and basically just asks more questions - How’s Isa? Did Roxas and Xion get their Hearts back, too? The rest of the organization?

Lea happily answers them all, and also tells Axel about Ventus

Axel is genuinely happy about all that. So many good news!!

He then also asks about the girl, obviously hoping that hey, with all those happy news, they probably got her back, too!

But Lea has to explain that nope, not yet. But he promises Axel to keep looking, together with Isa

[integrumsol]

SHIPPING INFO

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSE SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER?:

Isa/Lea. I am very biased towards this ship, and I always welcome it - pre-established or not. That said, I’ll never force it on any Isa/Saix rpers who are not into the ship or just wants to like take it slow and see where things go. 

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO WRITE WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?:

I’m open to most things tbh. Angst, fluff, smut, AUs, dark shit.... give me. 

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?:

Depends on which version of Lea/Axel. Main verse Lea is around 28/29, and I wouldn’t go younger than 20 for him and probably not older than 40 or so. 

BBS Lea who is 15/16 I wouldn’t go for any characters more than a year or two older or younger. 

Axel can be anywhere from 16 to 26. For young Axel (16-19) same rules as for BBS Lea applies. For 20-26 same as main verse Lea with some exceptions (obviously 20-year-old Axel could still be shipped with someone who is like 18-19). 

No minor/adult stuff under any circumstances however. 

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?:

Yes, and no. I am selective in general when it comes to who I roleplay with. If I fundamentally disagree with someone’s portrayal of a character or I can’t see a way for them to interact with my muse I won’t follow them/rp with them. The same goes for ships, my OTP included. That being said, I will almost always be open to shipping with an Isa/Saix, lol. 

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NS/FW?:

Well, once one or both characters are getting turned-on and things are going a bit beyond a make-out session or whatever I would probably start considering it NSFW... depends though, since things might get interrupted or someone doesn’t want to go further, or whatever. I’m totally cool with fading to black and stuff as well if my rp partner doesn’t want to rp full on smut!

WHO ARE OTHER CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?:

Uhh.......... Demyx and Zexion/Ienzo are the ones I’ve actually considered aside from Isa. 

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?:

If you play Isa/Saix and we’re mutuals, no, lol. You can of course still do so, especially if you wanna plot something!! I do like to know if the other person wants them to have a pre-established thing or not. 

As for others... I operate on chemistry and how well the characters mesh. If attraction happens, even if it’s one-sided, that’s something that I have no problems with even if we’ve not decided on anything at first. If you want to plot something or want something pre-established, please do ask first! Especially if it’s a ship I’ve not mentioned as one I ship. 

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP?:

I love shipping, but it’s not the only thing I like to do rp-wise, far from it. Still, I always feel the most content when I have at least one person to ship with on a semi-regular basis.  

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?:

I mean I’m pretty obsessed with Isa/Lea lmao. 

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?:

Yep. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?:

Isa/Lea, again. 

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?:

Slide into my DMs. 👀 Also see “does one have to ask to ship with you?” above. 

TAGGED BY: stole it TAGGING: be gay do meme stealing crime

[ohhicas]

What's your take on how they all got their powers? Braig already had his warpy thing but that easily could have come from Luxu. The others didn't demonstrate anything in game (though they had admittedly little screen time as somebodies).

This one is hard to draw for ssdjlfe so TEXT IT IS

tbh, Magic is clearly just “A thing” in the world? Learned, sure, but it really looks like some are born with a bigger ability for it over others, so I assume it’s the same for like… what types they know more? Isa, Lea, Aeleus, Dilan, Ienzo etcetcetc were probably born with a magic affinity and just how they were raised/trained decided what paths they leaned for in it? Dilan’s always been able to cast aero-themed magic like it’s second nature, etc 

But then things get very ???? for like, exactly what everything else did to them, after becoming Nobodies. Their weapons clearly came with them, at least in Aeleus and Dilan’s case– they had them in BBS before the whole Nobody shit. So it’s not like Xehanort just threw some really sweet weapons at his new D&D party to win them over for good. But same time, Lea was just shown with those baby versions of his chakram instead of full spike hell so did he get thAT when he was smashed into Axel? I can’t fuckin imagine tiny Isa could wield that Claymore. I mean hell, Saix can barely control it, it mostly controls him. 

BUT THEN AXEL IS BACK TO LEA AND STILL MAYBE? HAS FIRE MAGIC, OR AT LEAST A LOT OF FIRE THEMED THINGS (KEYBLADE) NOW. I don’t know what these rules are anymore but I can’t stop giggling at the idea that everyone’s getting their weapons upgraded or brand new ones handed to them after introduction and Xehanort just like, panics

slaps his hands on his pockets

slaps his hands on Xigbar’s pocketsHands Luxord the deck of cards he found in there

This was a lot of words to basically just say I dunno, I assume all magic users were born with it to some degree and being Nobody’d really amped it the hell up. Some are better at elemental magic. Some are better at Blue Mage spells. Some can destroy you from the inside out by screwing with your head too much if he catches you dog-earring a book again, Braig.

[jothriku]

alex you can't sleep so im gonna ask you questions. do you have any akusai hcs?? 0: or more vanitas pls ;u;

sorry i ended up falling asleep before i saw this dude ;___;

hmmm akusai... i don’t really have very many tbh except that when lea ends up becoming a keyblade master, isa is so unbelievably proud of his husband that he almost cries & xion and roxas call him out on it but he pretends like he doesn’t know what they’re talking about lol

vani... i have so many hc’s for him that it’s kinda hard to just kinda... talk about one if u know what i mean asjdfhdj

um... well okay. the only reason why i count this as a hc is bc it’s never explicitly said in canon as far as i’m aware, but i think vanitas has a lot of insecurities about his face. not in a ‘i’m ugly and i hate my nose’ type of way, but more in a uh. ‘this isn’t my face, i’m wearing another person’s face and it makes my already fragile sense of self waver’ type of way.

i think that’s why he wears that mask so much. like. logically i know they kept his mask on for the majority of bbs bc they wanted a whole big twist reveal right?? and i guess something similar could be said about kh3, except it was more like they were building up towards sora’s reaction to seeing vanitas’ face. bc.. we, the audience, already knew how vanitas looks by that point.

but he still chooses to cover his face up right til the very last possible chance he can. in bbs, he willingly reveals his face to ventus, but only when his body is too weak to keep its form. and in kh3, he goes the entire game with his face covered, and sora is only able to see him bc the mask cracks.

i think, if he could’ve, vanitas would’ve kept his face hidden from sora for forever. before kh3, the only ppl who ever saw vanitas’ real face were xehanort and ventus, and ven never told sora about it (ofc xehanort didn’t either lol). if that mask hadn’t cracked in that moment and fell away to reveal half his face, vanitas could’ve passed on without sora knowing. (note: i realize in ddd, there’s that brief scene where sora sees vanitas with young xehanort & they call sora’s heart a prison, which... i could write a whole other essay about but i won’t lol. i’m not counting that scene as sora seeing vani tho bc sora had no idea wtf was happening or who either ymx or vani were. and when he recalls that memory when vanitas confronts him in monstropolis, sora seemingly doesn’t remember his face)

.....i really think part of vani’s resentment towards sora stems from their shared face. he never, ever really gets anything for himself. he thinks of himself as half of ventus, not his own person. the only reason why he can wield a keyblade is bc of ven. and he can’t even think of his face as his own.

it’s sad. vanitas makes me sad.

[tamgerines]

KH3 First Impression and Complete Thoughts

BACKGROUND: i've played kh1, com, kh2, bbs, 2.8, and a bit of khux. i've watched coded and 3d on yt, so i know the story relatively well. this is an impression of my first playthrough. i did my run on standard mode and watched the secret ending on yt. i mostly did this for story, so this will have my initial impressions based on my run that will not cover extra content like the phone mini games and cooking.  my opinions are subjected to change if i ever do any later playthroughs. pls, feel free to disagree w/ me.

!!! WARNING: THERE WILL BE A LOT OF STORY SPOILERS!!!

AUDIO: 

Music: utada is queen!!! that opening song!!! also i kept noticing how lit the songs are in each world esp frozen???  and aqua's. worth a replay just for the soundtrack alone.

Voice Acting: everyone sounded great for the most part. sora’s va have certainly improved and sounds less strained. his vanitas voice has suffered significantly though lolololol. i think i read that someone called it a wannabe dark knight voice? the organization sounded incredible, w/ my fav being xemnas, marluxia, and larxene. the disney and pixar va’s are incredible w/ my fav probably being randall in monster’s inc. 

some ppl did not get vas like xaldin and laxeaus. and phil in hercules. which were all very disappointing bc in the scenes that they were in, they would just stand around woodenly, and it’s very noticeable. 

VISUALS: 

mostly a+. environments are beautiful. water and frost textures are amazing!!! you can really feel that waterga and blizzaga. fur textures in monster's inc. could use some work. little details like the sails moving in potc rly make the worlds come alive. this could be a me prob, but environments in certain worlds make it very hard to see map markers, treasure chests, and disney emblems (which are supposed to be hard to find, but still). mostly in tangled.

strangely enough, this is the only game where i prefer in game graphics to cgi. it's already highly expressive and there's something creepy and uncanny about the cgi esp in the final fight. and it's mostly bc sora's thin chapped lips throughout the entire game suddenly becomes full.

DESIGNS: 

i don't love everyone's outfit or sora's outfit changes in this game besides toy story. this is something i alrdy knew going in, but i've always felt like the outfits in kh1 and 2 rly suited each of the character's personalities. and this is not just destiny trio but even chars like roxas, the twilight town kids and the hollow bastion crew. the move towards a uniformed look makes no sense to me like is it to unify the key bearers as one force against the organization? i could understand why destiny trio was wearing plaid but why the twilight town kids also? by the end of the game, almost everyone was wearing black and it's just boring to me. like there's a right way to do uniform while retaining characters' individual looks, and that's the wayfinder trio in bbs. in this game, not so much.

an aside, but i'm sort of disappointed in the hud moving to 3d too. the 2d portraits have always been part of kh so it's kinda a bum to see it go away.

i don't love the lvl designs but it might also be due to a narrative and pacing issue that i'll expand on. any case, vertical maps are a challenge to figure out. i don't consider myself bad at directions but there are so many moments, esp in hercules and tangled where i would be like where the heck do i go next (and i have the map) only for me to look up and find a shotlock teleport point (and this isn't so much a thing that heightens the difficulty but a time waster).

lvls and bosses in previous kh games have always been known for their gimmicks and mechanics, but in this game particularly i found it to be more tedious? and this mostly applies to frozen: who the fuck designed frozen? who the fuck thought it's a good lvl design to have sora climb a mountain, get kick off it twice, and climb it again as good lvl design? who?

all the disney bosses started blending together for me bc they're literally all giant monsters and rly easy. i think the mistake here is the fact that the disney worlds are put back to back whereas in kh1/2/bbs you have the interruption of original worlds and an actually playable important parts to the main story, in this game all the important storyline in radiant garden are locked in cutscenes interspersed throughout the game between finishing disney worlds.

a lot of ppl might disagree w this, but i miss the cinematic reaction commands and limit attacks. we still have them but i find them to be on a much smaller scale in the form of drive finishers and situation commands, but i find them to be less imaginative in kh3 in order to be less """"disruptive""" to the gameplay. i've always found cinematics charming in previous games as a way to show sora interacting with his party members during combat. little things like beast putting a hand on sora's shoulder, aladdin leaning on him, or riku bumping his fist have a way of making the friendships he forms feel organic. outside of link commands/ summons, in this game, he........just throws a lot of ppl around or is thrown around?

GAMEPLAY:

already sort of went through parts of it in the previous section, but overall combat was smooth. i love how mobile sora is in this game. the improvement to his running speed and addition of all the mobile skills like dodge roll, super slide, flow motion, blizzard skating, etc. makes combat feel fast paced and juking so easy.

magic is super improved on ever since 2.8 and feels satisfying to use esp bc i feel like ur given a lot more mp now and with the ability to save the last of your mana for cure, it feels like you're not always budgeting your magic.

underwater combat was smoother than i expected.

it's a mistake putting almost all the commands on the triangle button. there's so much options you can do in combat and you'd mean to activate one thing, but then an attraction flow comes out and you just want to die. it gets a bit easier as i went on and got more used to the controls, but in general, i still think it's a mistake to not to have an ability or something to disable certain features like in kh2 fm.

gummy ships continue to be a thing. why. i don’t like how i have to turn the camera myself now ;;;. 

i'm not a speedrunner or anything, so i can't say too much else about fighting. the physical combos to me did feel like he was spinning a bit too much tho.

STORY: oh, fucking boy.

i'm not mad, i'm not disappointed, and i'm not even surprised. i already knew that post bbs, kh has already departed far from the franchise i loved as a kid and still today, at least story wise. but let's walk through it.

Disney Worlds: the disney worlds was literally a retelling of their movies. and unlike in kh2 and bbs, where visits to disney worlds were split into two parts, with the first part following the disney story and the second part being heavily tied to the main kh story and thus having original content, the disney worlds in kh3 only get one long visit. and the integration of kh into disney was just done so poorly. remember how kh villains used to kidnap princesses? remember how they used to actually conspire to take disney characters' hearts and turn them dark? remember, you know, when they were still evil and actually interfered with the worlds? in almost every world in kh3, an org member just comes says vague menacing things to sora, calls him stupid, and then leaves. yeah. and oh, maleficent and pete looks for a black box only to not find it, and leaves. AND THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE REST OF THE GAME.

the pixar worlds + bh6 were the only ones with any actual new content and they feel so fresh. i esp loveeeeeeeed toy story omg. the script was so good, funny, and heartwarming. the pixar consultants should have helped kh all the way tbh.

like previous games, there's an attempt for each disney world to thematically tie into the main kh story. in this game, it was as heavy handed as ever, probably even more so. 

Original Worlds: onto the meat of kh, the main story was rushed up until the end. you have a slew of disney worlds, then bam, they slam you with all the human bosses and the important story stuff. 

the ‘awakening’ of roxas, xion, and ventus were very rushed. you literally have one moment they’re no there then two seconds of white screen and all of a sudden they’re there. 

there’s a shit ton of shoehorned character redemption arcs: vexen, demyx, saix, eraqus, xehanort, xemnas, ansem. all were done either offscreen or by some miracle, they reached an epiphany after sora beat his keyblade into their heads. 

the only death scene that i actually liked, that a lot of ppl complained about, was vanitas bc yes, although i thought his character had so much potential, it was at least a consistent and sympathetic death. bless him, born a villain die a villain. same with xemnas bc i loved his last speech. 

xehanort was a shitty villain through and through. no one understood his motivation; it’s like nomura took a page from thanos’ guide of how to write villains, gave him some stupid ass goal to have a keyblade war to restart the world, and then just have him...get everything he wanted? his estranged friend comes back in ghost form for whatever reason and is just like ok we’re cool man even tho u took my student and indirectly murdered me and then gets taken up to heart heaven, like O K. and like what’s the most frustrating is that it’s implied they’re keeping him as a villain??? bc fucking ymx is like ooohh imma just go back to my own time via time travel. it’s too late for u sora hurdur. 

and the younger members of the organization, the ones that we do know were in khux. we don’t get to know how they became nobodies and they don’t get a redemption??? really???  

you can tell they tried, TRIED, hard to give everyone closure. and they miserably failed to close plot points. they actually opened more. who the fuck is the unnamed girl in lea and isa’s storyline? why the fuck did you mention her if you were going to play the pronoun game and not name her??? what the fuck was in the black box??? why are they looking for it when no one know what’s in it??? why the fuck was repliku inside of riku the whole fucking time??? why have org members be norted if they can still have agency and choose to betray xehanort??? why the fuck was BOTH sora and riku in different worlds in the secret ending????? ? ? ? 

and tho i’m very glad that wayfinder and sea salt trios get their happy ending, the destiny trio had their characters assassinated. kairi was teased to become an independent character of her own and fight alongside sora, only to get shafted to become a damsel in distress, again, literally replaced by xion in one of the last battles, AND referred to as ‘motivation’ for sora by xehanort lol. sora, the guy who’s always going my friends are my power, ONLY grieves about losing kairi, accrediting all of his strength ONLY TO HER. riku, who spent the first game desperately trying to get kairi’s heart back, and who protected her from saix in the second, suddenly doesn’t give a shit about her and is just there as sora’s moral support. it’s so frustrating that nomura has the audacity to say that this series is primarily about friendship and then pull this shit lol. it’s transparent. 

CONCLUSION: 

i think for me, the quintessential kh trilogy has always been kh1, com, and kh2. as far as i’m concerned, the story should have ended there for destiny trio. and it’s like nomura said, how he feels more sympathetic towards villains now, i think nomura’s ideas have outgrown his main character. 

sora’s journey worked in 1, com, and 2 because he had an overarching goal to find kairi and riku and return home. not everyone has to understand heartless vs. nobodies or dark vs. light but at least, anyone can understand the desperation of saving your friends. when that framework is taken away, sora’s goals and motivations become unclear; he’s a kid and has little reason to be caught up in xehanort’s plans, the keyblade war, or the organization’s agendas. and his failure to grow with the increasing complexity of the plot, to investigate for himself the bigger picture or even come into a similar realization of his own darkness/ balance like riku, makes him unfit; he’s a reactionary character instead of an active one. that’s why this game, being experienced from his point of view, felt mostly like a catch up to speed for sora and a set up to nomura’s next big thing instead of a genuine ending.  i honestly don’t think nomura knows what to do with him and with kingdom hearts anymore. 

kh3 is a game wrapped in nostalgia and promised something bigger than it could fulfill. and aside from better graphics and improved gameplay, the story wasn’t worth the wait. 

[flamesilocks]

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻 repost,  don’t reblog !

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

FULL NAME.      Lea/Axel PRONUNCIATION.      LEE-yah (wtf is “Lee”)/ACK-suhl NICKNAME.       Flurry of Dancing Flames, Dark Rescue, Access, Flamesilocks, among others GENDER.         Leans sorta genderfluid in presentation but sticks to masculine pronouns. HEIGHT.      2 inches taller than Isa and the same height as Luxord, that’s about as specific as I get with it cuz I like to stick to established canon for his height regardless. AGE.    15 (BBS) / 25 (Days) / 27 (KH3). SPOKEN LANGUAGES.   Japanese, technically, but KH sort of acts like there’s a common tongue.

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOR.       Firetruck red EYE COLOR.        Jade BODY TYPE.        Ectomorph ACCENT.         Casual (with occasionally flowery or dramatic turns of phrase) VOICE.          Sort of high and drawling when he’s offhand and occasionally obnoxiously loud, dipping into smoky huskiness when he’s amused or threatened, and otherwise bright and sharp and sarcastic.  (I lean more Keiji Fujiwara than Quinton Flynn tbh.) DOMINANT HAND.         Ambidextrous POSTURE.        Sprawling and angular, tending to slouch and splay and take up space with broad gesticulations and smooth movements, but at times he’ll lock up with crossed arms and bent legs when he’s stressed or observing. TATTOOS.         Two black upside down tears on his cheeks as a Nobody. BIRTHMARKS.         Eh (still thinking about this) MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).       That freaking mane of hair, but also those snapdragon eyes.

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

PLACE OF BIRTH.        Radiant Garden HOMETOWN.        Radiant Garden BIRTH WEIGHT.        Pass BIRTH HEIGHT.         Pass MANNER OF BIRTH.      Unremarkable FIRST WORDS.         "Happy!” SIBLINGS.        None (though in some very au verses he’s got twin younger siblings and an older brother) PARENTS.    Unnamed father, unnamed mother (one day I’ll find their stupid monikers again) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.   Lea’s father was distant and weak-willed, and cared about Lea but spent all his energy attending to his wife.  Lea’s fondest memory of his father is throwing a frisbee around in the yard, but this pastime didn’t last, and as his father gradually shut him out, Lea pushed harder and acted out more.  Meanwhile his mother was manipulative, putting on a front of caring while quietly sucking the life out of everyone around her.  Lea didn’t catch on to her tricks until it was too late, and by then she’d at least taught him some things he could later put into practice as Axel.  Both of them made his house far less of a home and he didn’t fit into any of their molds for him, so he constantly ran away to Isa.  When he remembers his childhood, he remembers Isa’s room and their adventures together much more clearly than anything to do with his parents, who he does not miss and has not sought out after the fact.

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION.      Keybearer, primarily.  That’s where all the munny’s at.  But also part-time at an ice cream shop in Twilight Town. CURRENT RESIDENCE.       Twilight Town almost exclusively, but he occasionally stays in Radiant Garden. CLOSE FRIENDS.      Isa, Xion, Roxas, Subject X [Skuld, I mean, c’mon], and less close but still important are Sora, Riku, and Kairi (not necessarily in that order) RELATIONSHIP STATUS.      Eternal dumpster fire buddies with Isa. FINANCIAL STATUS.    His parents weren’t well off but weren’t especially hurting either, they just didn’t give him a lot of pocket money and he certainly wasn’t the best equipped student unless Isa lent him things.  So really he’s financially better off post-Organization. DRIVER’S LICENSE.   None and don’t let him drive CRIMINAL RECORD.    Let’s...uh, let’s see here.  First and also second degree murder, conspiracy to murder, at least one charge of kidnapping, just...several assault and battery charges, um, accessory to more murders, probably?  And of course multiple charges of too hot to live, that he’s super guilty of.

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.      Bisexual, but preferring more masculine partners ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.        Homoromantic PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.       Equal PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.       Equal leaning submissive LIBIDO.         Above average.  He’s a passionate person and at the right moment it doesn’t take much to get his motor running, and while he’s pushy with his affections, he’s too attentive and nervous of his partner’s boundaries to cross lines. TURN ONS.       Danger, being physically overwhelmed/restrained, games of cat and mouse, partners who rarely or only show vulnerability during intimacy, partners with understanding but limited or no experience, praise related to his beauty or skill, being powerfully desired (and dirty talk that communicates desire), being considered someone’s one and only, finding those things that will make his partner melt for him, teasing, begging (and being made to beg) TURN OFFS.      Dirty talk that devalues him or the experience of being with him, bullying or intensely personal teasing, excessive pain or restraint, selfish partners, having his jealousy exploited, exhibitionism, non-playful or genuinely uncomfortable punishment, (unhappy) tears, fear, naivete or a lack of understanding that actively puts his partner at risk LOVE LANGUAGE.   Quality time.  Lea seeks out people he loves and looks for ways to spend time with them and share experiences, and of course he feels most secure with those loved ones when he can see them on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly) at an agreed upon time and spot.  But the “where” and “what” is not nearly as important as the “who,” and Lea begins to feel like the relationship is lacking when that quality time dries up. RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.       Lea likes being someone’s one and only, so he takes it one at a time.  But apart from that (and depending on the verse) he can definitely have a slew of past lovers behind him as long as he accumulated those while he wasn’t already in a relationship or had broken off a relationship at the time that he acquired the new lover.  He always needs to curl around someone at the end of the day, but he needs to be able to trust his partner, and he can’t do that if they can’t trust him.

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.      My Oldest Friend by Andrew Belle, Aha! by Imogen Heap, First Train Home also by Imogen Heap,  Face My Fears by Utada Hikaru (i know shut UP IT FITS) HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.   Sleeping, magic and combat practice, theater, dancing MENTAL ILLNESSES.  PTSD, autistic spectrum, maybe certain others,,, PHYSICAL ILLNESSES.      None LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED.       Left probably PHOBIAS.   Horses None to speak of (though certain circumstances may cause him to develop a phobia of deep water) SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.    Appears high, but in actuality he’s very self-deprecating and projects a lot more confidence than he really feels. VULNERABILITIES.   Low self-esteem, secretive and manipulative, impulsive, selfish (mostly as a Nobody), bad planner, callous and violent when backed into a corner, much more focused on his own loved ones ahead of the common good

TAGGED BY:  @divinerxeclipsed TAGGING:  not sure who’s done it already and this one’s a p big time commitment, so uh, steal it

[divinerxeclipsed]

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻 repost,  don’t reblog !

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

FULL NAME.      Isa/Saix PRONUNCIATION.      EYE-zah/SIGH-icks  NICKNAME.       The Luna Diviner  GENDER.         Male-ish. He would call himself a man if asked but he doesn’t have any strong attachment to or concept of his gender as ‘male.’ HEIGHT.      5′6″ . AGE.    15 (BBS) / 25 (Days) / 27 (KH3). SPOKEN LANGUAGES.   Japanese (but obvs I’m writing in English).

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOR.       Powder blue EYE COLOR.        Originally greenish blue (kind of a teal), then gold as a Nort, then a blue a bit closer to green than previously BODY TYPE.        Endomorph ACCENT.         Formal VOICE.          Smooth, generally quiet but firm unless he’s angry, in which case his voice is booming. Not too deep but not too high DOMINANT HAND.         Right POSTURE.        Very stiff most of the time. He relaxes a bit after the Organization, but his standing posture is still very shoulders-back-and-chest-out. He tends to keep his chin tucked to guard his neck. When sitting, he’s generally inclined to lean forward. TATTOOS.         None BIRTHMARKS.         None MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).       Giant honking scar in the middle of his goddamn face, long luxurious blue hair.

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

PLACE OF BIRTH.        Radiant Garden HOMETOWN.        Radiant Garden BIRTH WEIGHT.        Average BIRTH HEIGHT.         Average MANNER OF BIRTH.      Rough. His mother had a hard time with him. Modern medical intervention made it easier than it could have otherwise been but it was still rough.  FIRST WORDS.         “No.” SIBLINGS.        None PARENTS.    Sabina (mother),  Albertus (actual father), ???? (Man Isa thought was his father, idk I haven’t thought enough about him to name him lol) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.    Isa came from a very high-class, very distant and cold family where there was very little affection but also very little conflict as long as everyone played their public roles properly. Isa’s parents have a frigid marriage of convenience for the sake of status and propriety (Isa is not aware of the fact that his mother’s husband is not actually his father). Feelings were generally not discussed. Lea was the only outlet Isa had for much affection; tolerating Isa’s running about with Lea was the concession allowed to him given Isa’s excellent grades and general visible success. Once Radiant Garden fell, Saix had very little ability to miss them, but might not have missed them much anyway. 

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION.      Odd jobs. After spending way too long as the middle manager in an evil cult, Isa these days mostly works with his hands, helping to build and restore the parts of Radiant Garden that still need help. He also helps cull Heartless for munny drops. CURRENT RESIDENCE.       He splits time between Radiant Garden and Twilight Town CLOSE FRIENDS.       Lea, Subject X in his youth, Roxas and Xion post-kh3  RELATIONSHIP STATUS.      Perpetual something with Lea. They will definitely get married eventually.   FINANCIAL STATUS.    He was wealthy as a child, as an adult he can easily make comfortable-living money fighting Heartless and he doesn’t look for much more than that.  DRIVER’S LICENSE.   None, he can however pilot a gummi ship. CRIMINAL RECORD.       OH BOY....Ex-Organization so he has plenty of skeletons in his closet, though he doesn’t have an official on-paper record past "Former Organization XIII Second in Command.”

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.      Demi-sexual to gray-ace ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.        Homoromantic but tbh Lea-romantic PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.       Equal PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.       Equal leaning dominant LIBIDO.         Very low. Outside the context of attraction to Lea specifically, he has zero libido. In the context of attraction to Lea and dependent on the verse, libido varies. TURN ON’S.       Lea being turned on, affection, danger also? Him and Lea narrowly avoiding disaster is definitely an aphrodisiac. Also his ears are weirdly sensitive. TURN OFF’S.      Not being Lea, disrespect, anything that seems even remotely like his partner isn’t into it, degradation or actual harshness LOVE LANGUAGE.   Acts of service. Isa is not good with expressing his feelings, he’s not big on touch and not huge on possessions, but he will stick his neck way out for people he cares about. He shows his affection by doing favors for people and anticipating their needs. RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.       EXTREMELY monogamous. 

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.      Cosmic Love, Florence and the Machine HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.   Reading, exercise,  but honestly he keeps himself busy finding work to do wherever he can find work to do. He doesn’t know how to relax.   MENTAL ILLNESSES.  Autistic spectrum, post traumatic stress disorder. PHYSICAL ILLNESSES.      None LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED.       Right PHOBIAS.   Canon-based Isa really doesn’t have any phobias. SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.    Historically really high (to a fault), but it’s taken a hit since that whole Xehanort thing. VULNERABILITIES.   Blinded by pride, emotionally distant and constipated, bad liar

TAGGED BY:  Stolen TAGGING:  @flamesilocks @nymphatragicae @divina-luna, anybody who wants to steal it

[nyalisa-landale]

HELP I JUST BEAT KINGDOM HEARTS 3 AND I CAN'T STOP SCREAMING

(beware spoilers. such spoilers. all of the spoilers. all of them.)

there's some stuff i'm pissed about, some stuff i'm still scratching my head over, AND THE POST-CREDITS SCENES. WHAT THE FUCK.

let's tackle these in order.

what i'm pissed about: kairi. KAIRI. FULL FUCKING STOP. things i wanted from kh3: ienzo, PLAYABLE KAIRI. i got one of those. I SURE AS FUCK DID NOT GET THE OTHER ONE. not only would it totally have been possible to play as kairi (since we got to play as both riku and aqua) but it could have been like. one fight????? I WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH THAT. but not only did we never get to play as kairi, kairi was like. a complete non-entity almost?????? like they just tossed her into a fucking fridge at the end and bowled it FUCKING SHIBUYA OR SOMETHING?????? (why is sora in shibuya. why. does the use of 104 indicate that this is twewy shibuya, or is it just Generic Fictional Shibuya????? I NEED ANSWERS)

lol order what order

anyway yeah, i'm really mad about that. but also... kairi was there in the ending? and sora was the one who wasn't really there? or something? DID THAT ALL GET DONE OFF-SCREEN AND I COMPLETELY DIDN'T REALISE IT UNTIL NOW????? totally possible. but then WHY IS SORA IN SHIBUYA UGHHHHHHHH i think i just confused myself, anyway i'm still mad i never got to play as kairi

and like, xion is back, yay, that's great (HOW IN THE FUCK WAS SHE ON THAT SIDE IN THE FIRST PLACE? I THOUGHT SORA HAD HER HEART) but then she just like. replaces kairi entirely. NAMINE COMES BACK AND I THOUGHT SHE WAS IN KAIRI'S HEART BUT KAIRI IS APPARENTLY FUCKING AWOL, HOW IN THE FUCK unless, again, we just completely glossed over sora chasing down and bringing back kairi 

what i'm scratching my head over: THE ENDING. like, the regular ending. xehanort fucked over ALL OF THESE PEOPLE, countless worlds are still trapped in darkness and all its inhabitants are dead, OVER A FUCKING GAME??????? sure it wasn't their weird not-chess game (chess doesn't work like that eraqus) but it basically... was their weird not-chess game. and eraqus was fucking dead???? sure just force-ghost your way back into the goddamn plot, nbd, nobody's gonna ask questions or be confused or anything AT ALL EVER

honestly, i had no idea what to expect from the endgame, or how this story would end, and... i'm not sure anyone expected that. honestly all of the bad guys in this were like... weirdly nice? i know sora's a nice person but like. we have to redeem ansem and xemnas and xehanort and like... what????? WHY?????? for a game that's all about light and dark there sure apparently wasn't any evil going on, like what the fuck. master xehanort was all like SUPER EVIL VILLAIN SETUP and then at the end he gets fucking anakin skywalkered or some shit, SERIOUSLY I DON'T MCFREAKING UNDERSTAND THIS

vexen got redeemed. i don't like it, but okay. saix got redeemed. that was kind of expected because axel.

ACTUALLY HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE SPEAKING OF AXEL AND SAIX: WHO THE FUCK WAS THE GIRL like i kind of assumed it was kairi because iirc ansem the wise did actually send her away from radiant garden so she kind of made sense to be the one but then NOTHING FUCKING GOT RESOLVED RE: KAIRI SO I HAVE NO GODDAMN CLUE but if it wasn't kairi (and it might not have been, since she was like 3 or something and lea and isa were like... ventus's age (sort of)) then who the hell was it?

SPEAKING OF VENTUS'S AGE i'm really happy that chirithy turned out to be his but WHY ARE WE NOT ADDRESSING THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM REGARDING THAT also hello ephemer out of nowhere i sure am glad that i watched back cover because otherwise i'd be CONFUSED AS HELL THAT YOU SHOWED UP FOR ONE WHOLE LINE

(also i thought that mechanic in the fight was really cool, also also i wonder how they generated the names that popped up; is it a static list or does the game pull from active players on the ux server or was it taken from players of the original version or like... what) 

in theory marluxia, larxene, and luxord all got redeemed but then they never showed up again and I AM TOTALLY OKAY WITH THAT although i am really curious as to what marluxia meant when he said he was remembering stuff, WAS IT UX STUFF?????? i know that asshole was a dandelion, was he remembering that

demyx is still wandering around as a fucking nobody and tbh i am DEFINITELY OKAY with us just like. never getting back to him ever. (i don't like him okay) also i'm still mad about him just HANGING AROUND IN THE FUCKING BACKGROUND while what should have been an emotional scene goes on (and also that scene was... really not all i'd hoped it would be, although it also could have been a lot worse)

and last but not least: THE FUCKING POST-CREDITS SCENES

1: XIGBAR WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKING FUCK oh my god i can't believe xigbar was fucking foreshadowing, after you fight him he says master xehanort was going to pass down his keyblade to him, and also that he is definitely 100% worthy of a keyblade AND THEN THAT FUCKING HAPPENED

and the fucking craziest part of it all is that if that had happened IT WAS HIS KEYBLADE ALL ALONG ANYWAY and also apparently this means that xigbar trained xehanort and eraqus?????? (also side note: how in the fuck are eraqus and xehanort actually the same age, like, i know eraqus looked quite a bit older here than he did in bbs - oddly enough since he's fucking dead and therefore hasn't aged since bbs - but even still and even allowing for like a ~5 year gap between the two of them MASTER XEHANORT LOOKS SO MUCH FUCKING OLDER i can only assume it's all the time travel and/or DARKNESS that did it but still how

(also: in the good timeline we would still have had leonard nimoy for kh3 and never have i ever missed him more keenly than the first time master xehanort opened his goddamn mouth in this game)

what's in the box xigbar WHAT'S IN THE BOX WHAT IS IN THE GODDAMN BOX, XIGBAR also you tell me right the fuck now where ava is TELL ME WHERE MY UNION LEADER IS, XIGBAR (answer: probably dead but also if there was supposed to be a traitor and she's the only one who doesn't show up does that mean she's the traitor? i mean i guess in theory her role of assembling and training the dandelions could be considered that way, since union alliances were forbidden, but that wasn't really a union alliance, and anyway i kind of assumed that the traitor would be, idk, something actually serious)

seriously. where is ava and WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK IS IN THE BOX.

2: WHAT DID I JUST WATCH WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS HAPPENING SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN just kidding no one can explain because NO ONE ELSE KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON, EITHER

are sora and riku in the same world? (it doesn't look like it) WHY IS SORA IN SHIBUYA????? i caught the verum rex bit with riku, it was... kind of obvious, but also WHY IS HE THERE WHAT IS GOING ON

like, at first i assumed sora was going to be waking up wherever he ended up after going after kairi, but then i was like "...wait is sora in the real world DID HE END UP IN OUR WORLD" and then FUCKING SHIBUYA but. sora being wherever he ended up after going after kairi doesn't explain why riku is wherever the fuck he is (insomnia???? DON'T THINK I DIDN'T NOTICE VERUM REX'S RESEMBLANCE TO FFXV, ARE WE DOING VS XIII FOR REAL?????) and why the fuck is riku in some random-ass place, who is the cloaked person (luxubar? the master of masters???? someone else entirely????????)

the xehanort saga is Over, and that's great, but like. i have way more questions than i had before i started playing this goddamn game

[ephemerofdreams]

1 and 2 !

1. OTP(s) for your muse? (Not listed in any particular order:)

- Ephelayer, aka Ephemer/OC (this was honestly the first ship I feel in love with while playing KHUX and doing RP with friends on Discord, so yes, I’m super duper up to trying out ships with Ephemer and keykid OCs!)- Skuld/Ephemer – platonically or romantically- Ventus/Ephemer – platonically or romantically

I’m also super duper open to trying out other ships beyond these ones! With the exception of those in my NOTP list I’ve got below.

2. NOTP(s) for your muse? (not listed in any particular order)

- Brain/Ephemer (I really only see them as friends, plus Brain’s one of the suspected killers of Strelezia soooooo nope on that)- Lauriam/Ephemer (the other suspected killer of Strelezia, PLUS after all he did as Marluxia and what time shenanigans would occur with him having left the Book of Prophecies… nah, pass on this ship)- Ephemer with any of these other Organization members: Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Larxene, Axel, Saix, Lexaeus, or Luxord. Same goes for their Somebody forms as well (with the exceptions of possibly BBS Teen!Lea or BBS Teen!Isa for an AU).- Xehanort/Ephemer (just so much nope on so many levels. I wouldn’t like it even with Young Xehanort TBH)- Poly ships in general; very few poly ships across my fandoms ever truly appeal to me, which includes with Ephemer at the moment.

[jadeazora]

Biggest Hopes for Kingdom Hearts 3

-Everyone gets a happy ending. Lea’s reunited with his friends (A freed/reformed Isa included, please. I just hope Lea and him can forgive each other, and rebuild their friendship. If Isa ends up dying, I expect them to forgive each other right as Isa fades.), they save the BBS trio, Sora,Kairi, and Riku get their peaceful ending as much as possible. All that sappy shit.

-Don’t pull something like ‘Oh, Xehanort has this failsafe magic trap to screw over whoever kills him on the off chance that occurs’ that sucks one of our protagonists into the Realm of Darkness or something like that. I have heard that this is just the last game in the Xehanort saga, but I swear I’ll die if we get some cliffhanger ending for the next game and have to wait another 5-16+ years for resolution.

-Organization XIII members that weren’t in 3D to show up. Either have them be members of the New O-XIII or perhaps have them take up residence in Twilight Town or maybe have them show up in a big damn heroes moment. (Like say Xigbar has Sora pinned and under fire, when all of a sudden we hear: 'Dance water dance!’ followed by Xigbar getting comically soaked and shocked. Then maybe have Marluxia and Luxord both attack him.)

-Speaking of the Organization, I want Even to get a scene with Lea. Kinda see if he takes his pseudo-death at the hands of Axel as well as Ienzo did. (I kinda think it would be darkly funny to see Even sprinting down the hall in a panic while Lea’s in hot pursuit and trying to apologize for the earlier immolation.)

-Kairi and Lea training montage. Consisting of her chasing him around with her Keyblade looking like she’s about to clobber him over the head with it, and him running away while frantically trying to apologize for kidnapping her. (Since she seemed none too thrilled that he would also be joining in with Keyblade training.)

-Possibly see an attempt at betrayal from Braig/Xigbar? Maybe try to take Master Xehanort’s Keyblade or something. ReCoded’s secret ending had him get a sort of hungry look in his eye when Young Xehanort brought it up, and he also mentioned he had his own plans, but we don’t know what those plans are. (And tbh, he seems the type.)

-may add more later.

[angel-with-a-pipette]

What do you think of the theory that Lea and Isa were human test subjects used by Ansem's apprentices? I like it because it puts faces on the victims of the experiments.

I'm pretty neutral towards it I guess. I personally always kind of imagined that the two of them just showed up in the castle at the wrong time and ended up being in the way of a raging Apprentice Xehanort, but I guess it's totally possible that for example Braig let them in finally and led them immediately to AX, Even and Ienzo...Idk I don't think a lot about it tbh. Especially since BBS introduced Ienzo as this little kid who according to KH2 is the driving force behind this whole scheme against Ansem and the experiments. It makes me feel quite uneasy and I wonder if KH3 will pick up on the original members of the Organization's story again or only focus on the 4 whose story is still unknown.