#NAMINÉ，post-kh3.

[necrosin]

a corpse of a place / a ghost of a girl —— there is no certainty nor reason nor certain reason, she is simply here and present and cast in golden light that feels too warm against her skin, like sunlight filtering through paper-thin white curtains, like sunlight peaking through dusty window panes, as if she were fading —— away ——

the wall is high and not so high, after all, easily reachable yet so very far. the woods are safe, now, no nobodies to linger and lurk in its shadows. they are simply dark and cool and seemingly endless but a lighthearted schoolboy and his companions could wander through them / even the ghost-girl could traverse them well enough. there is no reason why she remains within ( or rather, atop ) the towering walls of twilight town except that —— except that ——

difficult to conceptualize. difficult to put to thought. difficult to perceive wholly and fully. this, or you?

she : who is nothing and shall become nothing and will always be ——

circular thoughts. tangential thoughts. there is that rotting roof and those creaking walls and she can imagine it with ease, how the third step always whined, how the doors could do nothing but shriek. that room / her sham of a room / pure white and covered and papered in shattered fragments that she had pieced together, bit by bit. that room, that place, where the pitiable non-hero ( but he had been, but he is, he's just —— ) sat before her and who she told, voice soft and carrying and trying to be gentle, that he was never supposed to exist.

unkind words / she had tried / but had she, truly? always, always she had been guiding him towards oblivion, towards a lack of existence separate from the lightened hero trapped in the dark / she had not hesitated for all that, to her, @heartinhands seemed like a falling star. ephemeral, entrancing, never meant to last, but deep inside there had been that quiet hope : that he would carry on, still.

that he would : appear, real and whole and individual, as if out of nowhere at all. as if she had pulled him from memories and made him real once more, as if by mere thought she could bring him forth, as if she had been hoping and lonely and WHEN HAD SHE NOT BEEN LONLEY, AFTER ALL?

it takes a moment to register. and then another. warmth around her shoulders, a steadiness near her / against her / a touch that makes her shoulders tighten for all of a moment / a presence that registers as NON-THREATENING with such immediacy that for a moment she finds herself confused with the instinct. as if pulled out of her memories, ❝ —— roxas, ❞ surprise lilts her tone. she feels somehow caught, something twisting in her chest, strange and ill-shapen and odd. she hadn't expected / hadn't known to foresee / but then : roxas loves twilight town, doesn't he?

she wonders what he's thinking about, to touch her so casually, to look over the towering walls of twilight town and over and over and over to that haunted place. haunted, still, because while the wraith no longer wandered those halls, there were still ghosts that lingered in every corner. every room. every last place they had touched.

for a moment, she doesn't know what to say. can't offer heartening words, eternally incapable of such a paradoxical thing. she wonders if roxas recalls what she does with such clarity. supposes that he does, surely / but he's too kind to her to hold it against her, isn't he? he's bright in her vision / everyone is / a falling star in the dead of night. ❝ i was thinking... ❞ she looks back to that barely visible roof and wonders over physicality and existence.

roxas existed, and it had been mournfully wondrous to see, and she —— had not, had NOT, had not in any sense of the word and he had been —— a falling star —— and NOW there is his arm and there is him and there is her / a ghost / and a house full of ghosts, weeping and screaming in sorrow.

a ghost of a place / a corpse of a girl.

❝ that... even though you weren't meant to exist, ❞ can a ghost learn kindness? is it still unkind, to repeat those words? WHY WOULD YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT... EVEN IF IT WAS TRUE? a star, a world, a meteor falling and burning. roxas, roxas, who looks at her with a face that is a mirror / isn't a mirror / who looks at her and is that something pensive, on his face?

everything would be easier, would everyone just hate her.

❝ ... i'm happy you exist, ❞ can something such as happiness exist within her? ( yes / no / certainly ... not : but hadn't it been happiness when he had come for her, when the hero had come for her? ) his arm is warm against her shoulders / and it's a wonder he can touch her / can reach her / that there's anything to touch at all, and he's so —— perhaps a falling star cannot encompass it all. perhaps it is more apt to say that he is simply a boy who wants to exist. WHO DOES EXIST.

and isn't that more profound than a falling star?

❝ i'm... happy to have met you. ❞

[ wrap ]  –  for the sender’s muse to casually wrap their arms around the receiver’s neck and lean on their shoulder from behind.

[blimpcat]

[08.28.20]

[kitkat-the-muffin]

Ever think about how Ephemer and Naminé changed the Book of Prophecies?

Think about it: while X and X Back Cover imply the book ends with the Keyblade War, they never specify WHICH Keyblade War, simply that “darkness prevails and light expires.” Maleficent even implies in Re:Coded that the Book of Prophecies still has some use to her, meaning it’s predictions have not all been fulfilled yet

The Cloaked Figure from Dark Road implies that they’ve read the Book of Prophecies, which is why they try to raise Xehanort into the Child of Destiny. Ephemer was the last person to wield the book, and Ephemer becomes the founder of Scala Ad Caelum, where Brain is found by Sigurd who seems to have also read the book, meaning it’s still somewhere in Scala

I believe the Cloaked Figure, who happens to be the reincarnation of the Player from Union X, to also be the Player from Missing Link, which takes place in Scala Ad Caelum at the same time that Brain and Sigurd are there. This is how they could have found access to the book, as well as why they took Xehanort from Scala to raise him on Destiny Islands

I also believe Sora to be the Player’s third reincarnation, but that’s another post. My point is that Sora is the true Child of Destiny that the Book of Prophecies claimed had the power to win the Keyblade War, but Xehanort believes himself to be the Child of Destiny to win in his own favor. The thing is, he DOES win, darkness DOES prevail and light DOES expire

And then Sora finds Naminé in The Final World, and he asks her for help, and she does. She finds Lingering Will and she sends him their way. As Sora collects the hearts of his friends and takes them all back through time, Naminé, from within Kairi, joins him, and from the past she is able to connect to Terra and summon Lingering Will

Lingering Will’s presence is what stops Terranort, saving Ventus and Axel (and also Donald lol). Then, as the demon tide returns to take everyone out again, Ephemer suddenly appears and decides to send aid to the true Child of Destiny, his best friend the Player, and that’s freakin beautiful

This post got more wordy than I intended but my point is that the efforts of Ephemer and Naminé are what changed the course of history, and that’s so freakin cool

[masteraqua]

i put xion inside the centrifuge in my head to see what would happen :)

here's what i've got

i've long been enamored with the idea of xion looking like a patchwork of different people, and i chose to represent that idea through vitiligo here

she takes up athletics post kh3 because she needs routine and likes being part of a team, and this option is healthier than being in a cult

she has purple highlights in her hair! naminé helped her :)

she and pence like to talk about coding and hacker culture. they have a lot of nerdy in-jokes that no one gets

she has a running bet with hayner that if he can land a single hit on her, she has to buy him ice cream. so far the score is 12/0, but he hasn't given up yet

she and olette are the only morning people in the group so they meet up for breakfast at the café regularly

she still makes time to see just axel and roxas, but they had to find a new place to hang out since word got out about how easy it is to sneak into the clocktower. thankfully, twilight town has no shortage of good views

[xekutozoren]

Dumb Doodlepad

idk, ish pretty random ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Some ideas I had in an AU where KH3 wasn't a mess, Sora didn't disappear, and our heroes go on missions in their local team headed by Master Aqua. Lea slept in and Naminé is fixing something behind the scenes. That's the excuse I'm going with for them not being in the group shot. - 3- And Sephiroth's there. Bc this is the Aquaroth AU keke

I had originally planned to do fully coloured pieces for all of these but just lost motivation along the way and wasn't really enjoying it. But I also didn't want to just let them sit there so this is what you get.

This is Kairi admiring byootiful and graceful Master Aqua. Aqua deserves more in-verse recognition in general, the poor thing. Despite Kairi getting pretty much screwed over by the games, she was at least made out to be super important.

I don't know if anyone pointed this out but this was my first reaction to hearing Aqua's theme. I thought Square Enix was gonna do something cool and link the two characters somehow but they didn't even interact so... lost opportunity. Again. I also just realised Roxas is way too tall here. Ah well, he's standing on a rock or something, idk

And finally, the two coloured pieces. Why am I putting them at the very bottom where people are less likely to see if they don't expand the post, you ask? Well, frankly, I don't think it makes much of a difference given my low note counts. :P

Some Ven and Aqua appreciation! Because Ven loves his blueberry mamma and could stand to show it more. There's also very little artwork of the two together so I felt the need to do something about that. I'm imagining him being clingy to her here after she starts to get more attention.

Aaaand my favourite piece!

Xion being a sweetie and wanting to befriend Sephiroth after noticing he's a bit of a loner when Aqua's not present. Her two bodyguards are behind her being dorks.

Thank you for reading and viewing all the way to the end~ \(>w <)

Credits for MMD backgrounds:

edRevolutionnaire

Square Enix & Disney

Vianesta

Hallow

[strayheartless]

Maybe it’s cause I listen to a lot of apocalyptica. Maybe I should blame DDD, but I have this headcanon that Riku plays the Cello…

Don’t ask me give you evidence as to why.

I just, I dunno, I have this image of post CoM/ pre KH2 Riku relearning how to play an instrument he’s played since he was six whilst he’s wearing his blindfold. Just him, in the middle of a big empty room in the twilight town mansion, feeling out the notes and relying only on his ears and fingers to guide his muscles.

Perhaps he’d do it in the quiet moments when he has nothing to do but wait for DiZ to make some headway. Maybe Naminé sneaks into the room to watch him play, and he knows she’s there but he lets it be.

Maybe, after a while it’s his go to therapy when he feels like he’s going to scream or crawl out of his skin.

It’s something Ansem/Zehanort couldn’t do. Something that tied him to who he was. And in a way it became his focus.

Maybe Riku falls back on it while he’s searching for Sora after KH3. He’s so lost and worried and angry that he feels out of control, so he reaches for the blindfold -the one he shoved to the back of his draws and swore he’d never wear again- and wraps it around his eyes.

When he sits down to play, its like sinking into painless sleep after hours of agony. Just the low vibrations of the strings, as he plays out how he feels.

What comes out of the instrument is dark and a little bit broody, and afterwards he feels like an idiot for falling back on that melodramatic feeling to help him cope. But in the moment it helps him purge what he’s feeling so that he can continue the fight.

Maybe Kairi hears. Maybe Leon and the rest of the restoration committee hear it too.

Maybe it reverberates around the castle when he plays and let’s them all know that he needs support.

I dunno man, it’s such a melodramatic headcanon. It’s so emo, that I hate it, but also love it.

I just like the idea of it.

[greetings-inferiors]

I know it’s a weird ask but I really want to be able to fight Sora’s friends. I’d love in kh4 to have a limitcut type thing but with Riku, kairi, Donald, goofy, Roxas, etc. I just think it’d be really cool.

1.) Riku. I want the fully evolved form of the destiny islands Riku fight, have him have a dumb ass counter that he spams ever five seconds.

2.) Kairi. Let the girl rip and tear she deserves it. Her reckless teleporting to her keyblade noctis style is also sick as hell I’d love to fight it instead of alongside or as it.

3.) Donald and Goofy. Tag team. Donald zoning out Sora while goofy pressured him, and goofy protecting Donald while he charges up a massive spell. It’d be really cool.

4.) Roxas. The kh2 Roxas fight is one of my favourite in the series and I just want to see how they’ve both progressed.

5.) Axel. Okay so this is the main reason I’m making this post - I want to fight axel, it’s CRIMINAL that he doesn’t have his own theme yet. Every other character on here does, yet he’s stuck with sharing the 13th struggle. Why. Also him stance changing between his chakrams and his keyblade and the fire arena would be sick.

6.) Xion. Any excuse to hear vector to the heavens I’ll take. Also she has one of the best fights in all of kh3 so I want to fight her AGAIN. It’d be so cool if she dons her armour from days and becomes a giant fuckoff gundam as part of her dm too lmao

7.) Terra. We kinda got this in remind but it was terranort so I don’t count it. Also I think the lexaeus boss fight in kh2 is so cool and this is the closest we could ever get to it happening again lol

8.) Ventus. I just really want to see them fight. He’s so quick too I think it’d be Yozora and Xion levels of dancing with your opponent.

9.) Aqua. I want to not be able to make out her or Sora underneath the sheer mass of projectiles she’d release. I need her fight to be a bullet hell. Also she deserves to let off some steam after being trapped in hell for a decade.

10.) Naminé. Dear god please give her something to do. She’s literally done nothing since 2005. Kh3 forgot her so bad they had to make up a scene just to justify putting her on the boxart. I know that she technically has no offensive prowess since her only power is being able to change the memories of people related to Sora specifically, but please oh please just give her something else. Have her become a keyblade wielder. Have Donald teach her magic. Actually that’d be sick as hell, have the witch be incredibly strong at magic without needing a keyblade like everyone and their grandmother. Just please do something with her.

11.) Mickey. Let me beat up Michael. Let him go all out. See who deserves the title of king.

Extras:

Have “hard mode”s where you have Riku and Kairi, Mickey Donald and goofy, Roxas Axel and Xion, and Terra Ventus and Aqua pairing up. Who’d Naminé pair up with? Nomura knows.

Have Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie grouped up as a fight and it’s literally just them ripped straight from 7 rebirth to its synergy skills and everything.

Yozora rematch? Idk it might be too soon.

I would say to have union cross characters as fights but that’ll probably happen in kh4 anyway. At the very least the lost masters for sure.

[thegoldencapman]

Here is a rough design for post-KH3 Naminé for a personal Rewrite? AU? Divergence? Idk what the right term for it is lol…

I honestly just felt happy being able to sit down and make this thing, since sitting down and drawing can be hard for me. Funnily enough, its in the same universe as that Aqua drawing I made.

What a contrast huh?

Though it’s mostly a personal project that I do and keep for myself, i felt happy enough with this drawing to want to share it with yall.

Fashion is very unfamiliar territory for me, so I might tweak this as this lil thing progresses. Will I share the tweaks? Maybe, maybe not… idk…

[aitsuheart]

Hey sorry to bother you but I saw your recent post about Riku no longer smiling at Namine but changed to smile at Sora in a different scene. What scene are you referring to? I've never heard about the Riku and Sora smile talked about before and I'm interested to see what one 👀

no worries, I first heard it myself from some others

basically in kh3 epilogue when Naminé is made by the replica body, Riku goes to her to fulfill his promise to Repliku

he reaches out his hand and we see he is smiling.

in the re:mind update they changed the scene so he's no longer smiling.

Now later in the epilogue, Riku is seen staring off in the distance. The shot then cuts to Sora and Kairi.

in the re:mind version he is seen smiling at the distance instead and some people including myself think he's smiling at sora

[mirror-to-the-past]

Finished KH3 and Re:Mind- holy shitballs.

So *much* was happening throughout that climax, and so little of it was cohesive, and Re:Mind made it so a double narrative was taking place simultaneously alongside the base KH3 climax so yeah, it's going to be hard to discuss everything I probably would've wanted to while playing throughout those fateful final hours. I'm definitely going to accidentally skim over some details or questions I have, purely as a consequence of my head whirling.

The two biggest criminals here impacting my understanding of the plot are one- the aforementioned double narrative and two- the obfuscating nature of Sora's POV (like, the one that comes to the forefront of my mind at the moment was when he came out of the light tunnel with Kairi after resurrecting everyone via Power of Waking and looked off somewhere and appeared confused/surprised). Re:Mind explained what was going on in some suspicious moments where Sora looked like... haha I don't know how else to describe it except by saying he looked like he was dissociating? But yeah, that post light tunnel moment was not one of those so. 👀 Literally have no inkling what they might have been going with there- just a feeling of significance I can't shake. I got that a lot throughout the end of this playthrough. Pain.

The time travel in this game was one of the most bonkers usage of time travel I've seen in media, and I salute the writers for sticking to it and making their plot happen. I think my brain would've fried halfway through and I'd have cried at the keyboard. I am but a mortal stuck on a linear scale. This falls somewhat beyond me. I'll try my best to make heads or tails of it, though.

While the execution felt somewhat... sudden/rushed, I appreciated the follow-up on Sora's crumbling self esteem. 10/10 mini breakdown, you motivated Riku to such a degree that he got you spirited to the Final World- good job, lad. I know Naminé said that Kairi was the one keeping Sora tied to the Final World, but I had to wrap my mind around that statement, assuming its validity, because it felt a bit out of left field for me. I only mention this because after everything I saw (Riku's sacrifice shown twice, a good number of the star people who had very similar sounding sentiments to Riku [lemme tell you some of those stars were very telling], and I thought I was bullshiting on this one at first, but after rewatching the Final World's title card animation thingy, it ALSO looks a lot like a reflection of the composition of the Riku death scene), I felt a bit surprised that it was not said to have been Riku's contribution that kept Sora chained to the Final World- it would definitely have made sense given the context. However, Kairi's love and hope for Sora is definitely not to be dismissed, alongside Riku's love and belief in him, so upon thinking on it more, I see it as a "Riku saved and tethered Sora's heart to the Final World and Kairi helped Sora retain his form" kind of thing. And if you think about the presence of each character in Sora's life, their contributions under that lense would make sense:

Kairi is a symbol of home and memory, maintenance of stability. She would be the one to hold onto her memory of Sora- strong enough that he would maintain some level of physicality and semblance of mortal self, even in near death. Similarly to what Joshua said in DDD: "By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone- that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was someone to see them, connect with them." <- That fits pretty well with the situation.

Riku focuses more on new beginnings, and the casting away of things deemed as 'unnecessary' (body, home, companionship... debatablely happiness) for the sake of pursuing desires. It would match up with his history of possession and development where he learns relinquishing of control. Without Kairi's contribution, Sora would likely have just manifested as another faceless star person, as retaining Sora's heart would've been Riku's priority in that moment, regardless of what form he would take. (From moments before Riku's sacrifice- "We haven't lost them. They still have their hearts. But we have to protect them." Tie that into Riku's "Protect the things that matter" thing, and boom.)

So uh... go team! Sora may be determined to get himself killed, but with their powers combi- oh... (Looks at the ending)

Also I made sure the 111th Sora I grabbed was doing a funny little jig. I'm proud of me.

Here's a speculative blurb from a previous attempt at a KH3 climax post from earlier that ended up getting scrapped:

"Because of what Young Xehanort said (EN: the "It's already too late for you" line), now I'm wondering if Sora's being baited into an illusion where his friends are safe, because he couldn't handle a world where that wasn't the case, paralleling DDD ending. That, or Sora's just doomed himself by going to the Final World, using the power of waking a bunch and attempting to carry on, business as usual."

While I'm glad that it didn't turn out as bleak as the initial speculation, I do still wonder post ending if, given Xehanort's level of anticipation of his opponents' moves on a metaphysical level, he took advantage of Sora's insistence on breaking reality for his loved ones as a way to bait him and shove him out of the way forever, or if sending him to where it looks like Sora ended up was somehow more advantageous for his ambitions in the long run. And let it be known I predicted my boy was going to sorta-die due to his everything-ex-machina. I cracked jokes about it to cope throughout the entire finale.

Examples:

"Boy Riku, the air that I'm breathing in the Keyblade Graveyard sure is stuffy, but I feel immensely grateful for it for some reason. *coughs forebodingly*"

"Y'know Kairi, I think I'm down to reminisce with you for once. I just feel like I should really look at where life's taken me so far. Oh, no particular reason. Lovely weather today."

On a less upsetting note-

ROXASSS

XIONNN

YYEAHHHH BABEYY 😎😎😎

Literally lost my MIND when Roxas showed up. The hype I felt was immeasurable, and my day was made. The "Other Promise" rendition during the fight was sick, and Re:Mind did the Org. trio even more justice with their attacks. When Xion started crying post fight I was just like... same, babygirl. It was just a lot, and I'm so happy Roxas was yoinked back into existence.

Still extremely intrigued about all of the unknowns in the Org. XIII lore. You can't just take away all the cool guys again and not tell me anything new about them (Marluxia, Larxene, Demyx, Luxord). Especially after Xemnas previously made a big deal literally about how mysterious they all were. Dick. >:0

Very curious about when and how Luxord's wild card will come into play, considering it didn't get mentioned during Re:Mind, as I assumed it might in order to help Sora fix Kairi or perhaps get Sora out of his mess. KH4, maybe? 👀

Also XIGBAR MVP ONCE MORE LFG. OR SHALL I SAY, LUXU?? I really should've put two and two together for that one, because of how all-knowing Xigbar seemed to be at all times, but I wasn't particularly focused on figuring out Luxu's identity, so that's on me. Curious about how he summoned the Foretellers. Thought they were dead, for some reason, but I suppose there was no reason to assume so if Luxu was able to survive that long as well. Wonder what they've been up to? Ava noped out- wisest thing anyone has done this entire franchise, lol. I would assume the Book of Prophecies was inside the box, but as seen by the Union X stuff, Mr. Master was still enjoying prophetic light reading after he sent Luxu away, so all one can assume is that it's parts of the Book of Prophecies hidden away from everyone or perhaps another significant book altogether. We'll seeeee. *explodes*

Speaking of the Union X stuff, loved that moment where Ephemer phased into Sora's reality to stir the lingering wills of the deceased Keyblade wielders into action. I just felt so happy for what I assume were real players who are now forever immortalized in the game as people who come to your side to help you beat the tough baddie, y'know? I got a bit emotional- it reminded me of NieR:Automata. If you know, you know.

Riku and Xehanort's Heartless have finally finished their strange drawn out mentorship/insecurity demon/invasive clingy ex dynamic. I chuckled a little bit at Riku saying "I think I'll miss you." Oh dear, lol.

I love that one scene where all the Guardians of light minus Kairi and Sora were fighting in an Avenger-esque huddle in the sky, and they occasionally chatted with each other. Ventus complimenting Roxas made my heart warm. It's the little things!

Scala ad Caelum is so pretty! And fun to say, haha! It reminds me a lot of a The Mist/Sharlayan city lovechild from FFXIV. Very Mediterranean, bleached white coastal prettiness. Would live there- 10/10. Also, I appreciate the consistency of people's hearts manifesting physically as their homeland. You had Sora's heart in DDD as the island the kids played at in Destiny Islands, and now Xehanort where he was raised and trained (he felt more personal connection to it than say, Destiny Islands, where he seemed to have also spent part of his life). It's sweet, and a bit sad, as both have grown so estranged from their homelands.

The way I SCREAMED when I got to play as Kairi. So sad how she's been thrown into such a disastrous fray so suddenly after becoming a Keyblade wielder, her and Axel/Lea (I don't care about Merlin's time stopping magic man, I Know they needed more time) and suffered the most for it. She was really getting the Sora treatment of being talked down to by the villains (kudos to Axel/Lea, I love him so much for calling Kairi his trump card, they make me so happy), and being seen as easy pickings. It's so good that Sora was in her corner to help her, because like damn. Girlie went through it. And then she comes out the other end only for her best friend who risked life and limb for her to fucking DIE as a result of how hard he tried to make sure she was safe despite the universe working against her (gj for Sora finally stepping up as a Kairi bodyguard this game, by the way. About time 🙄 [I am light-heartedly referencing my own inside joke].)? DAMN. SHE'S PROBABLY GOING THROUGH IT EVEN MORE. Survivor's guilt, anyone? But yeah, anyway, her going "please work!" when fighting Xehanort was so sad... you're doing great, Kairi! Don't let anyone tell you different! Loved the "One Heart" attack her and Sora had! It was so pretty, and they're absolutely my little angels- they deserve the wings! Love how they're both like... the connection pieces between everyone, y'know? I love Kairi's attack pattern of her initial swipe being a long ranged hit that then zaps her to the target- thought that was great design! It was on par with Aqua's gameplay in this game, for me, and I admittedly like the feel of it a little more than Roxas' and Riku's. Side note- was Riku's AI as a party member just wack for me, or does he not have healing moves/items this game? I only ask because I remember how he was like 🫰 On It whenever Sora's health would drop a smidgen in KH2, but here he was like "I saved you in cutscene, if you die now, you die, fam."

That part in Re:Mind where Mickey becomes playable and gets a whole Price of Freedom last stand moment had me in tears, I was laughing so hard from the melodrama of it all. But also the music was genuinely beautiful. It's just... 😂 I'm sorry I loved it so much. I love these games, they're so ridiculous. If someone likes Kingdom Hearts, I can't help but assume they also have a brilliant sense of humor, as well.

Love how every day, Kingdom Hearts becomes more and more Doctor Who. That one battle line from Young Xehanort, the fanatical time traveling icon himself, where he stops time and says "Don't Blink" made me smile.

I really liked that one Vanitas line to Sora- "And I do stand by your side. I'm the shadow that you cast. How much closer could I be?" I am reminded that the main reason I love antagonistic characters is due to their cryptic and occasionally poetic speech patterns.

Speaking of antagonistic characters who are NOT poetic- Master of Masters my GUY! I am consistently delighted to see this guy on screen, he's so loveable- I don't care about his war crimes. Thought it was hilarious how he said "So you're saying the weak feel the need to justify their actions to maintain a sense of self." And it completely goes over Xehanort's head how hard he's justifying his intended actions in that scene. When a guy like the Master of Masters, who seems to pride himself on low involvement passively mentions your strong willed ideologies, I'd get the idea he's silently judging you in his head. "There's no class, really! What happened to letting human nature take its course? Kids these days just can't wait for things to fall into place over the course of millennia anymore." *Cracks open a cold one in the Keyblade Graveyard*

Oh also, Xehanort and Gaius van Baelsar from FFXIV are the same individual in goals and personality and that is immensely hilarious to me. They both have a propensity of taking in orphans that then go through psychological and physical trauma for his agenda, too. You don't understand him, guys! The weak were being propelled into a misguided agenda that controlled the masses, and SOMEONE needed to step up and be the voice of action that would allow the motherland- *ahem* Keyblade Wielders and the worlds to return to their true glory! All these teenagers and twenty-somethings raving to him about friendship and light are too sensitive- they'll give Keyblades to anyone nowadays, and he hates this new woke Keyblade society! Next time, on the Xehanort podcast-

As you can see, at this point in the post my sanity dwindles evermore. So, I'll finish by going over the last major thing that made me spiritually foam at the mouth a little bit:

SECRET ENDING CUTSCENE WAS SO WELL COMPOSED HOLY SHIT. Every single frame was desktop worthy. The LIGHTING. I also like how it looks more Final Fantasy, admittedly. The other style they had in the fancy cutscenes looked a little off-putting with everyone's porcelain doll eyes. But this one? MWAH. BELLISIMO.

The MUSIC. The COLORS. The red/blue thing Sora and Riku kept locking onto while they were gaining their bearings and trying to find each other? The warm/cool tones between each of the boys' sides, both still within an urban setting? The dynamic camera movement that started as slow, unfocused, lingering shots to reflect Sora's (especially) and Riku's disorientation of their new surroundings, all before switching to sudden, sweeping shots over the cityscape as the realization of their circumstances crashes down upon them? Them walking into each other's shots while looking around, showing how they're searching for each other even subconsciously? OH, OH, AND THE RED/BLUE THING CARRIED OVER FOR THE DEFINITELY NOT PLOT RELEVANT (it's not like the game drew attention to how he looks like Sora [I don't see it but whatever] and Riku, and this series has never made character designs plot relevant ever) HETEROCHROMIA IN THE VIDEO GAME GUY TOO, AND YEAH, HE'S THERE LMAO?? Literally did not have "the spoof Riku-esque character from the damn Toy Story World is important and potentially the MCs' secret lovechild" on my Bingo card, but I'm adaptable. I hope that once he and Riku meet there's a Spiderman meme moment. I also hope Sora's like "What? How am I talking to you? You're from a video game!" And Yozora is like "You also are from a video game" and we finally shatter this paltry meta narrative barrier we've been poking at once and for all. Give me more chaos, I must feed.

I was extremely confused as to why Riku was in the same place as Sora, and was like "maybe it's another DDD parallel world separating them from each other" thing, but still, how did he get there in the first place? But then I laughed as I envisioned the natural, sensible progression of this situation in a hypothetical post-Sora disappearance cutscene where everyone stares on, shocked, and Kairi wobbles down the Paopu tree, sobbing, to everyone else on the beach.

Kairi: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he said he didn't have much time left, but he was happy to spend it with everyone, and he's happy I'm safe and- *sniff* and- I should've asked him something that could help us go after him and-"

Riku: "Don't worry, Kairi. I'll handle this."

Aqua: "Riku, we don't even know where to start, we need to assess the situation!"

Axel: "Aaaand, he's walking away."

Ventus: "What do you think he's planning on doing?"

Terra: "It's Riku. He's a man with a plan. He'll do what he has to to... uhm."

Axel: "Aaaand, he's walking into the ocean."

Kairi: "RIKU, NO-"

Naminé: "RIKU, YOU CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN-"

And from where I left off before getting mercilessly slaughtered by my first Data fight, it's now been a whole year of Absent Sora. Damn. One squad's in hell, Kairi might be in another coma, and Riku's probably gonna take up blindfolds again at this rate. What no Sora does to a mf part 2.

Riku: "We NeEd to BeLieVe in HiM. HiS hEaRt aNd HiS miNd aRe MaDe uP." *Puts his face in his hands* *Silently sobs*

[necrosin]

her hair's become too long, her skin too tight, her body too —— she thinks that, once upon a time, they had looked THE SAME, mirror images, and it's strange and nonsensical that they didn't, anymore, they were no longer a matched set, similar but with purposeful changes and adjustments and alterations here and there and everywhere and it's —— naminé isn't —— IT'S ——

she watches kairi. a familiar statement. a familiar phrase. a familiar —— hasn't she always? hasn't she, eternally? hasn't she since —— since the very start since —— since the witch was shed from her heart, an unnecessary appendage, since the shining hero followed her distorted call, and all the while ——

the pure princess. she of light. a star in the darkness. always, since the start, even when she —— WHEN THERE WAS NOTHING BUT JEALOUSY AND RESENTMENT THREATENING TO TURN TO HATRED IN REGARDS TO HER ——

the ocean yearns. it whispers. it demands and she —— the sound of a wave. what is a wave to the ocean? all at once she wants to hide, to disappear, to turn to foam and be carried away to sea ( she's always been afraid of the ocean, hasn't she? ) but they are linked absolutely and inexorably and she —— she LOVES... ?? something stirs / fragile as bird bones / fragile as memories. ❝ @thalxssas, do you... need help? ❞ how funny : the ghost, asking the princess if she needs help.

[phoenix-downer]

KH3 Retrospective

I can’t believe it’s been four years already since KH3 came out. It both feels like it came out ages ago and just last month. Above was the very first screenshot I took as I started my playthrough. I was so awed by how good the textures for the stained glass on the Station of Awakening looked. 

Something I did while I was playing KH3 was create a little Google doc of my first reactions/impressions (as well as spamming the screenshot button lol). Here was from the first page: 

New version of Dearly Beloved is gorgeous - sounds similar to DDD version a little

Sora’s opening line is so good - Kairi is his home

Opening - Kairi and Sora’s chess pieces by each other

Kairi’s piece is the paopu piece

Riku looks gorgeous

Everyone looks beautiful

The door opening to save everyone there at the end

Seven hearts to save

Sora’s holding Xehanort’s piece at the end - checkmate?

Station of Awakening is GORGEOUS - looks like actual stained glass now

Showing Sora’s memories

Wisdom, vitality, balance - which one?!

I chose balance (yay SDG!)

Guardian, Warrior, Mystic

I chose Guardian (yay Namine!)

Tidal wave, then Sora ended up in cloud world

Destati sounds awesome

Sora’s opening lines are so good

Mysterious Tower music sounds so good

Cable Town looked gorgeous - Land of Departure?

Sora’s theme sounds kickass

Ending scenes from 0.2 played again to catch you up to speed on SDG

Next year for the fifth anniversary I want to share more of the document, perhaps in a more organized fashion (I also had a reaction document for ReMind and Melody of Memory that I might share excerpts from in the future). It’s just such a neat little time capsule of my immediate first reactions to everything, and while I had to use the pause button a lot, it’s fun to look back on what I was thinking in the moment before my later thoughts/perceptions took over. Definitely worth the time it took to record everything. 

For KH4 I want to continue the trend, as it also makes for a fun way to share the first playthrough experience with my friends and it makes it easier to write analysis posts later on.

Summarizing my thoughts now on KH3: 

The good: Beautiful graphics, world environments were a huge upgrade, the music was amazing, the humor in the Disney worlds was really good, Olympus Coliseum, Kingdom of Corona (the dancing minigame!), The Caribbean, San Fransokyo, Wayfinder Trio Reunion, Xion’s return, Roxas’s return, all the heartfelt Sora and Kairi moments, Young Xehanort, the Keyblade transformations, having more than two people in your party at a time now, the Luxu reveal.

The bad: No true midpoint to the game, no FF characters, the climax was rushed, wish Naminé was more involved, the way Kairi got “killed” was super bleh, and I’m still not a fan of the original ending (the secret ending excluding Kairi also made me ehhhhhh). 

And this leads me into another part of the document. When I consume a piece of media, I like to think about what worked well and why. It’s just really fun to celebrate good writing and learn from it, you know? Hence all the translation/analysis posts I’ve done of certain scenes from KH3. I also like to figure out how I would “fix” anything that didn’t land for me because it’s also a good learning experience, and at the end of my initial thoughts document, I actually included a list of things I thought would improve the writing of KH3. Of course, this is all based on my own personal feelings/interpretations, and as it stands, ReMind fixed a number of them anyway. But I thought I’d share my initial “fixes” in bold and then my thoughts about them now. 

Writing Changes:

Have Sora think about Kairi a la KH2 - Flynn/Rapunzel, Will/Elizabeth… - this isn’t really going to be changed at this point for obvious reasons, but I missed the little moments where Sora was thinking of Kairi in KH2 (like when Will and Elizabeth hugged, when he saw Jack and Sally dancing, etc.) and thought those would have strengthened the romantic plotline of KH3.

Sora’s reunion with Riku was anticlimactic - ditto, not gonna be updated at this point, but I remember thinking oh that’s it lol when technically we hadn’t seen them onscreen together since 2012 (trailers notwithstanding). In universe it makes sense though because it hasn’t been that long since they’ve seen each other. Plus, I assume their reunion in KH4 will be good, so I’m looking forward to that. 

Sora’s reunion with Kairi was also anticlimactic - see above, not gonna get changed at this point, but I wish they’d gotten a moment together before the big group meetup or at least him reacting to seeing her again. We hadn’t seen them talk directly since Blank Points I think? (trailers notwithstanding). So yeah I was a little disappointed there wasn’t more to their reunion, and again I think a little moment or brief scene that could’ve built up to the paopu fruit more. And at this point in the game I definitely got the feeling that Nomura was rushing to finish before deadlines hit + the burnout was setting in and he couldn’t spare any time to extras like this, just the core scenes that had to be there (group meetup, Aqua and Ven convo about Terra, Riku and Repliku scene, Kairi and Sora paopu sharing scene). He might have also had to do a bunch of last minute rewrites, who knows.

Have Kairi actually send her letter to Sora - I assume this will happen at a later date, looking back now it feels like foreshadowing, so I’m not sure why I complained about this lol. I do think at some point Sora will read the letter because why go to all that trouble of showing Kairi writing it + having her read it to the audience if it won’t be significant down the line? The focus on Sora’s smile makes me think he might get the letter when he’s feeling really down and needs to be cheered up, but we’ll see.

Have Sora have some way of contacting her like he can contact Riku - Yeah idk Square acts allergic sometimes to the love interests contacting the main character (see FFXV...), and in universe she was training with Merlin and Axel in a place where time flowed differently etc. so I get why she didn’t. Again I was just thinking of ways the paopu scene could’ve been built up to more effectively within KH3 itself (obviously the paopu scene has been foreshadowed since KH1 so that wasn’t my issue, more that I wanted more buildup within KH3 that built on the buildup we saw in KH1 and KH2 and Blank Points).

Keep Kairi getting killed… but have it be because she was protecting Sora of her own free volition - Yeah I’m still not happy about how this was handled. ReMind helped make this more tolerable because she did get to fight Xehanort by Sora’s side, but I still think her “death” could’ve been handled a lot better. And that’s all I’ll say about that lol, it’s a topic that’s been discussed to death at this point.

Go into more depth about what YX said - I think this was about all of Young Xehanort’s cryptic foreshadowing to Sora, I honestly can’t remember lol. But I do think, now that I’ve replayed the game, the foreshadowing works well, so I think this was more of an initial reaction on my part. 

Show Sora going to rescue her - This was one of my biggest issues with how KH3 originally ended, and I remember feeling robbed that we didn’t get to see Sora’s rescue mission of Kairi, but little did I know what Nomura had in store lol. ReMind more than fixed this, and I will be forever grateful to it and to Nomura for knowing how important this was and making sure it was added to the story. ReMind elevated KH3 so much for me, and looking back, I really do think Nomura was making the best of a bad situation (engine switch a year into development, tight deadlines, Disney being strict, serious burnout, sky high expectations...) with vanilla KH3, and I hope he gets the development time he needs to tell the story he wants to tell with KH4. I just remember reading some of his interviews post-KH3 and you could tell how exhausted and burnt out he was, and I really hope he doesn’t go through that again. 

End things on a less gutpunch of an ending - I know some people loved KH3′s ending so this is subjective, but I did not lol. Thankfully, ReMind fixed this and made the ending more bittersweet now that we’ve seen Sora rescuing Kairi. It feels much better knowing he got those moments with her traveling the worlds before he disappeared. 

Roxas and Sora barely interacted - ReMind fixed this too (noticing a pattern here?) I was really happy with the additional screentime they got in ReMind together  because honestly, their relationship is one of my favorites in the entire series.

Sora still hasn’t thanked Namine - I assume this will happen at a later date, I just remember thinking poor Naminé hadn’t gotten thanked yet. But I do think Nomura has something specific in mind for this scene and we will see it at some future date. So less of a “this should’ve been in KH3″ thing and more “oh bummer I’ll have to wait a while yet to see this.” 

Xehanort got off easy - I think this whole plot point was a victim of the rushed pacing that impacted both the climax and ending of KH3. I remember thinking to myself that Xehanort should not have gotten to die and go to Keyblade Heaven with Eraqus in the same game where he “killed” the protagonist’s girlfriend (which resulted in the protagonist’s “death”) especially not so soon after it happened. But in a way it’s also kind of realistic? The bad guy doesn’t always get what he deserves in real life, so I can see why Nomura took this angle here (though I would argue that in stories you can show good triumphing over evil and in fact people tend to want that more than realism due to the escapist nature of fiction). Then again, I’m kind of biased because I’m not a fan in general of turning Xehanort from a main villain to a misunderstood guy with an angsty backstory who was manipulated by the True Big Bad. I get the feeling we haven’t seen the last of him given that art of his younger self with an umbrella that came out for Dark Road’s ending, so I’m bracing myself for him to show up in Quadratum and team up with Sora, and meh, I just wish the series would move past him at this point, you know?

Destiny Trio still not a trio :( - fix that - I do hope that we get more Destiny Trio interactions in KH4, but looking back, I kinda get why there wasn’t a whole lot of them in KH3. The focus was more on Sora and Kairi’s relationship since that played such a key role in the climax and ending of the story, and there will be time in the future for the three to interact more. Nomura had that quote about how KH3 would feature relationships changing etc., and we did see that with the focus more on Sora and Kairi’s relationship (plus Melody of Memory gave us some Riku and Kairi interactions, and KH4 is probably gonna feature some good Sora and Riku interactions given how they’ll probably reunite before Sora and Kairi do. And then Kairi and Sora’s reunion will be important given how they were separated, and I imagine there will be at least one meaningful scene of the three of them together). 

Have Kairi fight back while she’s being taken - in her defense, it was very realistic for a short, petite fifteen-year old girl to have trouble fighting back against a grown ass man who 1) towers over her and most of the rest of the cast, and 2) is wrenching her arm back in a way that meant she’d likely dislocate her own arm if she tried to fight back. I just still wish this entire plot point had been handled differently, but it’s in the past now, not much more to be said about it.

Roxas and Xion were freed maybe when Sora “died”? - I think I had this on there because I thought the story would’ve benefited from the rescues being spread out more, giving time to focus on each one and allowing some longer soft/quiet moments with the character reunions. 

Anyway, thanks for reading all this. It was interesting going back and looking at my initial reactions to KH3 and how my thoughts and feelings have changed over time. I think the big factors in the shift are that ReMind really added so much to the story and fixed most of my major issues with it, and I have a better picture now of all the stressors Nomura had to deal with to get the game out the door. Honestly it’s probably a small miracle the vanilla game turned out as well as it did given all the factors he was working against, and for that I have a lot of respect for him. And it was clear he was aware of the issues, you know? Otherwise he wouldn’t have released ReMind. He wanted KH3 to be good and he wanted to make the fans happy, so he did what he could to improve on the base game. And there are some truly fantastic moments in the base game and ReMind alike that I loved analyzing every single piece of. 

How about you guys? How have your thoughts/feelings towards KH3 changed over time if at all? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[theskylarkin]

KH4 Challenge Day 3

Day 3: Two characters you want to see a friendship form/get stronger

Lauriam and Ventus

This was Lauriam and Ventus’ last canonical interaction (where both of them were conscious anyway) in KHUX. Once they both get their memories of that era back, I want to see them meet up again post KH3 and bond over how they’ve changed/what they’ve learned about darkness, hearts, and such since the UX days.

Both characters have undergone significant changes since then but Ventus doesn’t have a problem becoming friends with Lea again after ten plus years, so he probably would accept a non-Norted Lauriam quickly. Judging by the way Marluxia and Larxene have instinctively stuck together due to their shared experiences, I can see their human forms wanting to stay with the only other UX transplant (besides Skuld if she’s Subject X) while Aqua and Terra look on in confusion.

(I’m also imagining a scene where Ventus has to convince an understandably skeptical Naminé that Lauriam and Elrena aren’t anything like their Nobody counterparts, really!)

[rokunamixi]

so much potential for touch starved rokunamixi

like the Organization was not a good environment for basically anything so Roxas and Xion never really learned how to be casual about showing affection and Naminé also didn’t have people she could be affectionate with

anyway post-kh3 they find out how to voice their touched starved feelings. Xion’s all about holding hands (based on the part from the manga where she says holding Roxas’s keyblade is like holding his hand). Roxas is a hugger he’s gotta keep people close in case they disappear again. Naminé’s a little more reserved at first but she finds out she loves the head lean on the shoulder and forehead touches. also pinkie holds. small but meaningful gestures

also cuddle piles. the person in the middle is super snug but loses feeling in their limbs

[hollowwhisperings]

Star Symbolism in KH

Kairi

was a literal shooting star (arrived to Destiny Islands via meteor shower).

was possibly the SAME 'star' that Riku & Sora swore oaths/wishes to each other on (as in Necklace Theory)

her face replaces the central paopu fruit of Sora's first Heart Station, when comparing Sora's DDD station with the one Ven enters in BBS.

in Sora's Heart Station, the paopu fruit/star/Kairi is the central icon... and is directly between Riku (formerly a sailboat) and the Sleeping Sora's face.

as one of the Seven Lights/Princesses of Heart, Kairi is the KH equivalent of a solar system's sun.

is depicted as 'starcrossed' with Sora in their childhood cave drawings of each other, a scene they recreate IRL in KH3 with two paopu fruit (that neither of them actually eat??).

has her first KH1 'reunion' with Sora in Neverland, located via Second Star On The Right (etc). in KH1, Kairi is narratively equated with Wendy (& Riku with Tinkerbell).

when the mural in Traverse Town's 'Secret Waterway' [are these sewers plz say they aren't merlin why is your house here] changes from depicting [a sun?] to a 'Moon' (i cannot find any screenshots of this mural for the life of me but, across the KH series overall, Riku Is The Sun/Light to Sora's Moon & the mural change happens between visits to Hollow Bastion and Riku). since Kairi remains, unchanged, and immediately gives Sora the [Promise Charm] keychain BY THIS MURAL, Kairi can again be interpreted as a 'star'.

Kairi's promise charm is made of five thalassa shells knotted/sewn together to form a star: it symbolises good luck and safe voyages for sea farers (who traditionally use stars to navigate by).

her [Promise Charm] keychain allows Sora to form the Oathkeeper keyblade, which looks like this in KH1:

in Sora's KH1 Dive to Heart, the "free" Princesses of Heart (Kairi, Jasmine, & Alice) share a Heart Station. They are depicted as three crowned silhouettes: one with a radiant sun (Jasmine?), another with a moon & stars in a cracked sky (???), a third with... what could be a hand? idek, have a pic:

(i would guess that Kairi is either the one held? in a hand OR the one with a moon & fractured, starry sky: Jasmine has Aladdin & comes from a hot world, thus Sun; Alice kind of only works with the "hand" holding her, playing into her being in imminent danger & her Looking Glass role as pawn-that-becomes-queen. KH3 frequently uses pawn imagery for Kairi AND Sora, both becoming 'Alices' in that game... nope, Kairi's probs the one with a moon & two stars: the silhouette is uses to imply Wendy & thus Kairi. the tendrils look like vines in the top image so that's likely a callforward to the Garden Maze in Wonderland)

Riku, as The Light, is replaced or halo'd by The Sun throughout the series: the opening cutscene of KH1 has Sora blinded by Riku before they sink into the ocean... Kairi means 'sea', btw. Kairi's primary role in KH thus far has been that of a Shiny & Distracting Star that draws attention away from Riku, The Sun.

in That Tunnel Scene in KH3, where Sora follows Riku's Light, Sora & Kairi easily become two 'stars' crossing in the night. Kairi's association with Neverland makes instances of her with Two Stars possibly Significant.

Sora means 'sky' (& void). One of the "Arc Phrases" in KH is "One Sky, One Destiny": Sora is the sky, Riku is the Sun, Kairi is a Star, Ventus is the wind... you see where I'm going with this.

Kairi, post Melody of Memory, will be studying with Master Aqua... and thus Ventus. Both Kairi & Ventus have been "falling/shooting stars" from Sora's POV (Kairi & Ven also just have A Lot in common: amnesia, mysterious pasts filled with Lore, mad scientists experimenting on them, getting kidnapped as bait, getting kidnapped for their 'pure' hearts, strong associations with childhood, staying in Sora's Heart Hotel... uh, maybe they should have their own list). Ven & Kairi would be 'Two Stars' studying under a 'Moon' (Aqua).

Naminé, Kairi's Nobody, is also associated with stars: paopu fruit, wishes, promises, lucky charms, childhood, magic, etc.

if i've missed any "Kairi Is A Star" moments in KH, do add them in reblogs. there's bound to be a star reference in the KH soundtrack. Kairi's association with 'promises' is referenced in Chikai (mostly as a Dig from Riku's POV of the Paopu Scene in KH3), for example. i'm also curious as to where else Ven is associated with Stars (& if Stitch has any Kairi connections beyond his whole "E-Stitch Go Home" thing).

[starlightwayfinder]

Are there any fics you'd love to write but just haven't had time to yet? (Or characters you'd love to write about but haven't had the chance?)

On a slightly different note: I also really loved your Thor comic, and I didn't know if you had like...any additional thoughts on it you'd like to share, haha.

My writer’s block has been… bad (but not for lack of trying on my part!)

I wrote 3000 words of a Terra fic, but something was off and I never quite figured it out. It’s still a premise I might come back to eventually, so I won’t give too much away, but I will say it involves him meeting Ansem the Wise. (And now I’m wondering if I could find a way to work Tron into the story too..hmm)

I also have a (mostly-finished) fic about Naminé and Roxas spending time with Hayner, Pence, and Olette post-KH3, but I honestly forgot about it until now..oops. 

I want to write another Halloween story this year, but the inspiration hasn’t hit me yet. We’ll see.

(I hope whatever possessed me after Dark Road’s finale comes back when ML comes out, haha. I’d love to be writing lots of short stories again!)

Yes!! Thor may have started as a joke character, but I have so many thoughts about him and that comic.

Like the Master says, Thor’s existence doesn’t change things too much. He tries to help Baldr after learning Hoder died, but doesn’t understand enough to stop him in time. His death doesn’t change much either, since Baldr fails to take thirteen lives either way. So really there’s just… one more person now. It’s not something the Master has to interfere with, but it’s enough to pique his curiosity. 

As people pointed out, the comic was pretty “meta”. I wouldn’t say the Master knows about us specifically, but he’s figured out that ‘fictional’ and ‘real’ worlds impact each other. Fictional things create emotions in real people, real people create emotions in fictional people. But no one seriously considers that impact, or the consequences of it. (And of course, everyone likes to think their side is the “real” one… In this scenario, it’s relative.)

I also have some random headcanons about Thor:

He sits in the front row next to Hermod, diagonal from Baldr (who would’ve liked to sit next to him, but never found a way to ask.) 

He got Keyblade armor along with the others before departing. His is gold and orange.

Since they were told to go in groups of three, there were some jokes about leaving Eraqus behind. (Eraqus gets very distressed thinking they’re going to go to the outside worlds without him!)

Interestingly, Thor is the only character who never teases Eraqus. It’s a nod to his  kind nature.

Thor and Eraqus are typically the cheeriest characters. When you pick Thor as a party member, the story has a slightly different vibe. 

He’s well liked by all of the other students: Studious enough to get along with Hermod and Urd, but playful enough to be friends with Eraqus and Vor. (And sensitive enough that Baldr and Xehanort don’t mind spending time with him either.) 

Everyone expects the heir is most likely going to be Vidar, Thor, or Eraqus.

The upper classmen try to recruit him, but like Urd, he refuses.

As far as everyone knows (Thor included), he’s been there the whole time. Occasionally Xehanort gets a slightly “off” feeling around him, but it disappears like deja vu and he never thinks much of it.