#aqua plays tears of the kingdom

[aquatxt]

so I finally got TotK yesterday, after having to go through a bit of trouble for it

it's pretty fun so far, but the game also reminded me that I'm dumb af sometimes

[sorrywh]

I don't want to scroll through the internet to look at reactions or discussions about anything in Doctor Who right now; I need a detox. I really need it. But for now, I'll say this:

In any work, if you see a character who wasn't there before in a particular episode or part of a franchise, and they occupy an important side character role, pay attention to what they show you and how they develop that character. Because this detail is not for nothing: no one will bother to develop a one-time character (like a tissue) for you just like that - they want you to get attached. And this is exactly what’s important – to hook you like a fish. The writer needs your emotional attachment to eventually play with your feelings and intentionally mess with your emotions. Or at least try. The goal is obvious, and I don't respect that. If your goal when writing something is merely to manipulate the emotions of your viewer/reader/player, then your work is worth nothing; it is as disposable as your character, whom you got rid of.

Xion in Kingdom Hearts is a textbook example. Kingdom Hearts doesn’t really bother with the development of character relationships very much – the trio of characters from Birth by Sleep only got one scene in the prologue that shows they are childhood friends (so poorly done that it could have been written in white text on a black background – they are childhood friends, their names are Terra, Ventus, Aqua, they train with Eraqus and take their exam tomorrow). Because their essence isn’t to be developed characters – they exist only for the villain Xehanort, to show how bad a villain he is, in case you didn’t get it from his goatee and bald head. The original trio showed their characters similarly, albeit in more detail and the execution was overral better. But 358/2 Days… no game in the franchise focused on the development of its characters’ relationships throughout the game as this game did. And, interestingly, it’s the only one where a character literally died, and their conflict revolved around this character. The development of Roxas and Xion’s relationship was central to the game, and Axel’s knowledge of who she was complicated the relationships within the trio. Why so much attention to this character? So you’d get attached to this character, and her death would be important to you as well as to the characters. At least that’s the intention. They want to influence their viewer; telling a story isn’t enough for them.

There is a donghua that got a reputation as a tear-jerker, and not for nothing – Link Click. In the first season, events were divided into cases. And the longest case lasted three episodes. No other story in that season, before or after, paid so much attention to the client’s life and past. Guess what happened at the end of that case? You're right, there was an earthquake, and all his close ones, except for the client, were dead. Especially much attention was paid to the death of the client’s mother. All this world-building of environment and character development was to make the viewer cry. Or the main victim of the whole season – Emma. Her death was at the center of attention twice. First, at the end of the first episode, and once more at the end of the season. And each time her death was preceded by a touching scene with her family and how much she missed them. The role of Emma in the second season was taken by Li Tianxi, a girl who lost her speech due to her mother’s request not to talk about her father beating her mother. She was also killed, and she spoke only at the end, the words taught to her by her brother, who made her “well-being” his life goal. All her character traits, all her development were aimed at her being killed to make the viewer feel sorry. Such utilitarian treatment of characters offends me because it turns out that the writer is not inventing living people only because characters should be developed to be their own personality, but to exchange this development to the viewer's emotions and tears.

The same thing happened with Doctor Who in this new episode. I like Rogue, he’s a good character. Even before his death, it was clear that nothing held him anymore after the death of the person he loved, and therefore his readiness to sacrifice himself at the end of the episode didn’t seem far-fetched, as it might in other similar cases. He is well depicted, he’s interesting, there is enough material to write a decent fanfic and build headcanons about his past and how he ended up like this. Big Finish will surely produce a box set or two with Jonathan Groff. Because there is potential, there is material, he is a formed character. Hence the question – why does he have so much detail? The reader of this post already knows the answer – to make the viewer sad. This, the author of this post suspects, is also why the Doctor's infatuation with Rogue is at the center of the narrative. There’s another "red flag" that was in this episode – the Doctor invited him to the TARDIS as his companion. Doctor Who has done this before. It did similar things with Victorian Clara. There also was a romantic subtext with the Doctor, also the Doctor invited her to the TARDIS, she also was an excellently developed character, superb companion material. The author of the post didn't even mention Astrid from “Voyage of the Damned.” Ominous, meaningful ellipsis…

What the author of this post wants to say with all this – don’t develop characters with the sole intention of eventually killing them off. Especially attaching them to any form of love story – a careful viewer will be wary. Especially in Doctor Who, where no love story with the Doctor ended well.

This will be an unpopular opinion but there is a Doctor Who episode where the secondary characters and the guest companion were well developed and didn’t even die!!! Which is wonderful. This episode is “The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood.” Nasreen is a fantastic character, and the entire supporting cast is well depicted. This example shows that what this post is about is possible and feasible. On this note, I conclude my essay.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1089 - Initial Thoughts

It has been months

We've had awesome side quests and painstaking breaks, but now we return to Egghead for the Egghead Island Arc. Though at this rate we may just need to rename this the 'Incidents Arc' considering it's one incident after the other.

Still, we miss our sillies, so let's not wait any longer

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release

Nami is savage for the cover page, 'no thanks I already saw the stars' XD

I didn't even notice Sanji in the window the first time around

To recap though before we get to the chapter; Luffy and Lucci are fighting S-Bear, Bonney is going through Kuma's memory bubble, Shaka and Pythagoras are dead, Usopp and Lilith are stoned by S-Snake, Franky is partly stoned and chasing after S-Snake, Nami, Brook, Edison and Sanji are fighting S-Shark, Jinbe and Stussy are in the weapons area, Robin, Chopper and Atlas are exploring the organ regrowth area, S-Hawk is pursuing weaker targets but is being pursued by Zoro and Kaku, and Vegapunk is in the prison with the kidnapped CP agents next to Shaka's dead body and York. Sentomaru is rounding up Mark IIIs against the remaining CP forces in the main island, while most of the navy are outside with Kizaru and Jay Garcia Saturn. All goods? Let's gooooooo!

Starting at Foosha with the headlines involving Garp

Oda once again repeating our thoughts pointing out that MIA does not equal dead

Even iconic mayor Woop Slap isn't worried

But jail for iconic mayor Woop Slap for accidentally yelling at Makino's baby

Does Makino's baby have a distinct laugh? TCB reads it as kya ha ha but that's mainly women or Dellinger and I doubt either are the daddy. Then again did we ever confirm that Makino's baby was even a boy?

They apparently recognize Luffy from the papers though, I wonder if there's something instinctual *nonchalantly pushes ShanksxMakino agenda*

Also Makino calling Luffy 'Big Bro Luffy' to her child because dammit she raised those boys too!

Final mention because I have to soak in every moment of happy Makino I can because she is lovely and I will not take any slander towards her

Dadan is tearful though, I mean Morgans has painted Luffy as a kidnapper and now Garp's MIA, she has gone through the ringer

Hold up is that Fake Nami?

Earthquakes and Tsunamis across all four blues, these poor civilians

Laboon!

Iceburg, Tilestone and Pepe Lulu too? Oh god Water Seven don't need another Aqua Laguna

Hina and Momonosuke are noticing it too

Oh this is because of Lulusia

Wow...what a hole...kinda feels familiar doesn't it?

Vegapunk's tech is based off of Ancient Kingdom tech, so what if the Mother Frame is the same? What if Enies Lobby was the original Lulusia

Oh and the Sea Level has risen 1m, that's not great

Oda's tackling Global Warming

The World Government just fucked up the entire planet, drowned and displaced several millions people, and wiped out an entire nation just to test a fancy superweapon

Beaches gone, so no Okamas can chase Sanji across it, Top Gun cadets can't play volleyball, the Seychelles gone!

And god damn if you flood Foosha and any harm comes to Makino there will be fisticuffs

Also I fear very much that the World Government will blame the Fish-Men for the flooding

Plus if Wano ever opens its borders that water level is gonna rise even more

The fleet at Egghead notice it too

'More than enough firepower to put a buster call to shame'

1 in five ships are warships (20 out of 100), 30K marines, 9 Vice Admirals and Kizaru

Some of the vice admirals look familiar; Doll of course but I'm pretty sure on her left is Doberman, the bottom right could be Strawberry, wouldn't rule out one of them being a Giant either

The latter still chatting with Sentomaru, feasting on oodles of noodles, despite on different sides, as Sentomaru reprimands attacking the sea beasts and for wanting to kill Vegapunk

Kizaru still is very much an 'orders are orders' guy, in spite of the brief panel of him hanging out with the two

It's true though that everything in this incident is a net loss to the WG, but they also confirm with Sentomaru that CP0 failed

Saturn is still here keeping his presence under wraps

He at least approves of Morgans' headline, while getting the true facts

Oda's back at it with the silly doodle faces and the map levels

The Navy are pretty in the dark though; they still think all the Punks are alive, and that they are using the Seraphim

10 Members so far *sighs longingly at Carrot4Nakama agenda, before sifting to ViviReturns2Nakama agenda*

Even had to do a doodle of Hattori the Pigeon

Concerned with them highlighting that the Dome is at 100% gotta watch the numbers

Saturn is weird though; he hears that the Egghead researchers and citizens are accounted for and he goes 'sink them' but he hears that Bonney is on the island and goes 'ah, we have no use for her, but she's just a little girl so leave her be' like dude what?

Someone's calling Marejois from Egghead

One of the Navy members reminding Kizaru that he can listen in on the call with the Black snail on his wrist that's been there since his debut

York has made the call, and naturally is annoyed why the WG intended to kill her too

I mean the Gorosei do have that loophole: they want Vegapunk dead and York is a Vegapunk, though York does point out that if they had any interest in the Void Century they wouldn't have sold the others out

After citing the Seraphim as the reason for her survival, conversation turns to the massive fleet

Ju Peter however goes into the goods; they wanna know if York can replicate the Mother Frame

Does that mean that it's a one-time thing or are we doing scorched Earth?

York can, it's requested by 'someone' likely Im, their workplace is in Egghead

York introduces the terms of the new deal; no touching the lab, and the celestial dragon deal is still on, but also one more thing: save her from Luffy

Ah the crew are all here!

York has been conversing under threat of blade

Nami's packing heat and gets it, Luffy's packing meat and gets nothing XD

Usopp - looking cool with the anime shades flash - and Franky are quite unstoned as well, plus Vegapunk and Bonney's here, and Lucci seething at the back

Strange though, no Kaku, no Stussy, no Lilith, no Edison, no Atlas, no Seraphim, also no Caribou but we never know where he is...guess the spread's not big enough for them but most egregiously NO ROBIN!?

Oda, sir, we need to talk about your breaks, we just came back from 5 weeks of breaks spread between 2 chapters and now another break? Thought the eye surgery was supposed to alleviate this

Well we got our sillies back: for one whole panel XD

It was a really good chapter still, but it's more one that makes me concerned for the rest of the world; we've got two gaping holes in the ocean that have fucked up the natural world, islands have sank, earthquakes and tsunamis are happening all across the world. I wonder if Aqua Laguna was caused by the hole that made Enies Lobby if this is what happened to it. I think what makes me most sad about it is that it cannot be undone, at least not in a way that won't further fuck something else up, the only caveat is that the quakes probably will affect the Red Line's structural integrity.

This does still feel like the calm before the storm, but it also seems that the game of Among Us has resolved off-screen, so I hope next chapter(s) we track back to that first before continuing with this Siege on Egghead. An important note is that Kizaru's been listening in on the conversation, so he has more context to go by.

Also, forgot to mention on posting, this is the first time the Straw Hats have interaction with the Gorosei, they know their voices now, they know their intentions, that's a big deal.

But yeah, another break kinda sucks given that we just came back from one, plus it means more waiting -_- the only plus side is that this final saga will last longer - though who really believed Oda when he said 5 years back in like 2021-22?

1090 is next though, and Oda likes round numbers so expectations are high.

[regalfairytaleacademy]

Charisse & Darling's surprise birthday gift

Two were born in August 19th, at the different kingdom; Magnolia and Melodie. Both living peacefully with family, but there's issues suffer through cause their personalities changed.

They learned a skill and became a talent; Darling learned traditional medicine under the tutelage of his parents, while Charisse learned to play the piano from his father.

Both have siblings. They always maintain a friendly relationship, although there has quarrel.

➽──────────────❥

Before the birthday coming, two were busily trained for their idol performance on next week. They gathered in the Nymfevilla dorm, so they can discuss better.

Charisse got the message from Lumiere. It texted, "Sis, next Saturday is your birthday. Our fathers decides to make a present for you, but they didn't share with me. What do you think they would give you? "

She was clueless before reply the message. Soon the chat sent a new message.

"Same. Might wait on your birthday to reveal." Lumiere respond before sent a "Good Night" emoji. It is a puppy sleeping on the bed.

Charisse saw it and said with a soft chuckle, "Lumi always is the cutest boy in the world, just like Daddy Simi. He is only person who send emojis on chat oftens. "

Darling overheard, and smiled, "Cherry, your brother definitely is a softie, like one of your daddy you mentioned."

Charisse chuckled like a tune. She asked in the interest, "Darlin, do you think what kind of birthday present your parents give?"

"Could be a dress. It is a Chinese traditional. " Darling casually answered. "Or a bag for collect herbs."

Darling, as the princess of Magnolia Kingdom, receives birthday presents every year, and each one is repeated over and over again, which she forgot everything that sealed at the store room.

Moreover, her parents least giving her presents, they only gave her a stationery and scent pouch since she was elementary student. They even not preparing a party for her, that they had been busy on the medical emergency.

➽──────────────❥

On the day of the last practice, the Impish Royals gathered in the dance studio. Jennifer told them that the show would open on August of 19th, which is two members' birthday.

The first time birthday girls think this day their friends will celebrate it. They were a little excited for that day arrive.

During training, they planned songs for the show, which is what Lizzie suggested. They dance to the choreography on the video. Finally on the day, the performance filled with audiences and their friends from other schools were invited to the show.

➽──────────────❥

The show ended later, they back to dorms.

At the room, Charisse saw a white box adorned blue-and-green gradient ribbon on the desk, same as Darling got the box with aqua green ribbon. They opened, then amazed at the present. Inside is a dress and hair ornaments.

➽──────────────❥

Charisse found the card under the dress. She slowly read.

Happy birthday, Cherry!

This dress is our idea for you as a perfect gift. We have been design it for several days. We give a hope and wish to you, since you are our little star.

Soon the group chat appears with a lot of messages. Her relatives greeted her for a good blessing. She felt lucky to have best family for life.

➽──────────────❥

Darling got a few of letters under the box. Some are written by grown-ups. She opened the letter that her parents sent.

Lillie,

Happy birthday. Sorry for not celebrate with you all those years. This dress is you been dreaming of since childhood. We make this together with full of love we haven't given for you.

She shredding with a happy tears emotionally after read all letters. Feel a happiness from her family and missed them so much. She can feel her parents' love always stay inside.

[dragonsruby]

Munday Thing!

Tag nine people you want to get to know better

First band: Rammstein. I would make my stuffed animals headband to Sonne and Mutter. That band taught me to count to ten in German around the same time that I learned to count to ten in English.

Last song:  I think Lights by Ellie Goulding or Zero by Imagine Dragons. Angst-adjacent songs about growing up have been vibing with me lately.

Favorite band:  Sleeping At Last. I love songs that have theatrical or poetic lyrics, and O'Neal's voice adds a beautifully emotional touch to everything he sings.

First book:  Green Eggs and Ham or And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Last book:  Flowers for Algernon. Haven't stopped thinking about it since.

First game:  Mario Golf or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask

Last game:  Pokémon Café ReMix, though I did just purchase Superliminal

Favorite game:  It changes constantly, but Supergiant's Hades is a recurring contestant

Working on:  I'm currently reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and watching The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. My dream is to publish a fantasy novel that I'm "working on."

Last movie:  It’s been some time, but I believe the last movie I watched was Murder on the Orient Express (1974). In theaters, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3.

Tagged by: @jaeltree

Tagging: @eahravinqueen @the-aqua-fangirl @faeriisms @vampyvillains @maybefaithwillsetmefree @zootopiathingz @crimebunny @acalculatedfuture @kalosxyz

[ravioli-fries]

You ask and you shall receive

About Izzy

Where is she from?(I have seen you draw her island and I'm curious)

How did she meet Rill and what was her first impression of him?

What's her relationship with Charlotte like?

Is she in a squad bc I have never seen you draw her with a robe

If she did in fact go to the Heart kingdom with co, what does she think Lolopechka and the Spirit Gardens?

• Okay so it’s actually a long story for the first once but I’ll shorten it as much as possible !!!!

Her soul, along with hundreds of thousand others, are in a time loop that’s been placed over previously mentioned land by its host gods. These people and gods are heavily inspired off of Mayan/Aztec culture and Mythology.

It starts with war which lasts for centuries before a victor arrises and the winners live within the mountains, to be as close to their gods as possible. This is like their “Golden Age” where the biggest death rate is sacrifices because rituals taste better without the mud, sweat and tears of war.

To the gods this period is like dessert to them, after feasting on the blood of war. This cycle of death happens because like everything else, you need food to survive.

Izel, the last empress of every time loop, will inevitably take her sons warm heart into her hands. Every loop is the same, same people, events, despair, love, so on. One loop however, Izel had a ever so slightly strong conviction.

Skipping over the unfinished complicated part, Izel becomes a resident of the Clover Kingdom as a infant, living in a commoners home and barbershop.

• She met Rill at the age 14, he was 15 and a brand new Magic Knight.

Her entire life she always felt a little empty. This being filled with the discovery of magic archaeology and solving unsolvable puzzles, mysteries, magic items. Izzy is highly intelligent and crafty, but also morally grey.

She steeps herself in the Black Market. Doing dirty work for thieves that aren’t intelligent. Izzy is fully aware she’s being used but is she really, as long as she’s enjoying it?

One thing leads to another and she’s got herself in a government list. They send some magic knights over to arrest her, how hard could it be, she doesn’t even have a grimoire! It turns out when you spend a while dodging knights and the general public you become very good at… (reads notes) Parkour.

This is when she meets Rill! He’s the first to ever catch up to her, which piques her interest of him. But in the end he is still a Magic Knight, coming to ruin her fun.

This goes on for. A full year. Izzy has a grimoire now! Rill, while still doing his job, he mainly goes after her to see her, since he finds her highly fascinating. They chat while the two of them run along, playing tag.

Eventually Rill is met with an ultimatum, if he doesn’t take care of her (her crimes have skyrocketed over time and with her having a grimoire) they’ll send their top Magic Knights after her and take his Grey Deer robe.

One thing leads to another. Izzy isn’t upset with Rill because he’s only doing his job, she just tells him she’ll break out of jail, no big deal, haha! This doesn’t help Rill feel less guilty.

An experienced Grey Deer by the name Matilda of Cloth Magic proposes that Izzy become a Magic Knight so her talents are not wasted. Izzy refuses. She is not a rule type. Sure, the status could give her free access to explore dungeons and Forbidden Books, but what conditions would she have to agree to? Maybe it would be easier to break in…

Without warning Matilda states to Izzy and her fellow Magic Knights she would love to be a Knight. The illusion of free choice.

And with that she begrudgingly became a Grey Deer that did nothing the Captain told her, unless it was a dungeon mission. The Captain caught on and only assigned her jobs that would suit her fancy; knowing otherwise she would be useless.

Then she became an Aqua Deer. Izzy doesn’t wear her robe because she chooses not to! Julius takes a fancy to her and she becomes co head of the department that deals with dungeons and so on.

Despite being morally grey, shes not a fighter. She just doesn’t care enough. But she could break someone’s nose, if needed. She rarely uses her Grimoires magic, depending on her own physical skill to get around. Being a dungeon dweller makes you extremely fit.

Her magic is hyper compressed Storm Magic. Only using is for tool creation and physical enhancement magic. Izzy’s magic in its raw form makes her uneasy. It’s reminding her of something tragic she doesn’t have a memory of…

Her Storm Magic isn’t control over lightning or rain, it’s the control over the atmosphere, temperature and moisture. It’s like having to dance with a wild beast.

Okay I started rambling. I’m sorry. I’m not even done yet.

• I think they have a big and little sister relationship! Izzy was always the big sister growing up so she heavy enjoys Charlottes warm company. Charlotte would actually love to have Izzy in her squad but Izzy refuses. Izzy loves Charlotte though, and deeply admires her, she wants to know everything about her and her curse.

• She actually has been to the Heart Kingdom before the cast did! For entertainment purposes only hahaha. She and Gaja has similar attributes but they don’t mix well!!! Haha, Gaja is weary of her because she just stares at him with her big ol’ eyes. This goes for all the spirit guardians though. And asking them a ridiculous amount of questions and poking around where she shouldn’t. Sarado has to be here favorite. She also has a small girl crush on Lolo hee hee.

Thank you so much for asking me these questions they were soooooooo so so fun to answer !!!!! I love you!!!!!!

[karla-the-elemental-dreamer]

Terra Week 2023 - Day 6 Package

@terrakhweek

Prompts Addressed: Free Day!

Pieces: 1. Drawing of if Terra was a 'teddy' (the race of my creatures you see). 2. Dream recap on questioning Eraqus.

Requires mod/re-share on Twitter (written pieces)?: No - published via Twitlonger.

-------------------------------------------

Drawing of if Terra was a 'teddy':

Terra (now): "Why have you given me such a big arm on one side in that picture? Is it to replace using my keyblade? Like that amount of stuffing's gonna knock someone over".

-------------------------------------------

Dream recap from SUN 19 MAR - 2023.

The dream recap will take you through in a logical manner; no prior explanations needed.

- START RECAP -

The dream started off with me walking around a slightly distorted version of my high school. I went into the chapel as that’s where I felt Master Eraqus would be situated. In this dream, my high school was rather a campus I owned, and each Kingdom Hearts and Jak&Daxter character lived in amongst different buildings with each other. Upon walking into the chapel, I saw Eraqus (KH3) kneeling and praying at the front table (not an alter).

The reason I went to see Eraqus is because I stated that I actually wanted to ask him some questions for Terra-Week. However, I then stopped myself as I realised I was seeing a deceased person but did not have a dream guide with me. Eraqus said that I didn’t need to worry as he was on my campus and so he was living under my rules. Though that’s when I heard the door opening, I turned around and noticed that Riku (KH3) had come in to accompany me. He went and sat in one the seats, letting Eraqus and I continue talking.

I forgot how I said it exactly, but I started asking Eraqus why he allowed to happen to Terra what had happened in KH-BBS. To begin with, Eraqus gave off an energy like he was sheepish and embarrassed. I think I then asked Eraqus why he didn’t offer help to Terra instead of choosing to believe and side with his old friend. Once again, I have forgotten what Eraqus’ response was. Though eventually, I remember Eraqus saying that darkness was a form of temptation.

He emphasised this by using the example of why Terra ran into nothing but villains on his journey (or at least more villains than good guys). He said that on every turn, he finally admits that Terra was manipulated by merely unfortunate circumstances, and that each encounter was more and more of a temptation. He said that the darkness that Xehanort introduced into Terra during the exam is likely what attracted the villains to him, and how they knew where he was when he arrived in each world.

There was a sub-scene that now played where Terra (KH3) was shown coming down the back Year 11 stairs that led into the chapel. Terra stood as close to the opening as he could without being spotted by anyone else in the room. Terra decided that he was going to eavesdrop on our conversation as he attempted to keep his balance and put his head next to the wall, giving a tiny smile.

Back to the main scene, I then asked why Eraqus decided to seemingly pick favourites (being with Aqua) rather than to actually see through Terra’s hurt and help him, being the father figure that Terra looked up to. And that if Eraqus had perhaps thought he was using Aqua to unintentionally divide the group. Eraqus looked down and sighed in sorrow, I also noticed him sitting on a chair now. He sighed as he said “forgive me”, with a subtle tear rolling down one of his cheeks. I answered Eraqus, “You know that I forgive you Eraqus, this was mentioned in a past dream”. Then from the back chairs, Riku gave a short burst of laughter and piped in, “You just want Terra-Week to think that you haven’t forgiven him”.

With the mention of Terra-Week from Riku, Eraqus then went on to say to me that he wanted them to know that he supports me in anything I post. I have forgotten Eraqus’ final words, but I then noticed Terra peeking from behind the wall to the stairs, so he wasn’t too hidden after all. I asked Terra what he was doing there, but I forgot his answer… Riku was also humoured and intrigued and asked the question in his own way. With the meeting with Eraqus seemingly over, both Riku and Terra walked me out of the chapel, and as were walking towards the front office, the dream ended.

- END RECAP -

-------------------------------------------

I already mentioned this; but get ready for the Day 7 finale. I have a surprise in-store which is known neither by the audience or even Terra himself 😉 Only Riku and Ventus have been in on it, with Aqua allowed in the loop.

I expect Terra to be in tears; or am I asking for too much lol?

-------------------------------------------

Thank you and see you on Day 7! 28/29 MAR (TZ dependent).

[storm-driver]

hey, because im curious, what kh scenes were the ones that were the most emotional to you? what scene or character or conversation got a genuine emotional reaction out of you? it can be any emotion. just what was it that made you experience that high of an emotion?

[naynah-pinsence]

Rewrite shower thoughts I gotta jot down before I forget:

I’m really glad I’m rewatching! It’s fun to remember stuff, and I think that I’ve thought of way more interesting things by revisiting the source. Recommend! I think I have to scrap chunks of my script bc I thought of new things, lol. That’s the process tho!

Gaito thoughts:

While I haven’t posted them all here, I have rewatched and taken notes on episodes 1 - 16 of Pitch. Unless I’m forgetting a line here or there. Gaito’s given reason for doing what he is doing is because he thinks the princesses and their pearls are pretty, and he likes pretty things. Like, he caresses the glass encasing Noel and ignores Lucia to her face when he’s got her in his grasp. He has the new shiny thing, but doesn’t have them all, so onto the next! This is a good villain! This is not my favorite type of villain, but still good. He’s downright cruel to the Dark Lovers, who literally live to serve him, and (if I’m remembering right) has no problem destroying the Black Beauty Sister’s sentience, which is effectively a death. Cold and goal oriented. Good, simple, and clear!

BUT. Once Sara enters the picture, Gaito’s villainy gets less direct? If I remember correctly, we don’t get the reveal about Gaito’s ~tragic backstory~ until maybe three episodes before he dies. Additionally, he chooses to die, which is framed in a redemptive light. The turnaround on what the audience is supposed to feel about Gaito is way too quick! (again, if i remember correctly). Before the narrative wants us to feel bad for him, Gaito is just a villain. And that’s fine! There’s nothing wrong with an antagonist just being a bad guy! Not everyone is Zuko.

I actually prefer the idea of a young, lonely, and misguided Gaito committing his sea-crimes out of a more explored backstory. I think it’s more interesting! It also gives Kaito more of an identity when it comes to Panthalasa. What does it mean for Kaito to be a lost prince to a dead kingdom? If I remember, it doesn’t really get touched upon ever? He just shoots light from his forehead when the plot needs it. Obvs, this kind of stuff is why I’m planning the rewrite in the first place! At this point, I’m using the backstory-driven Gaito, but what about Sara?

Sara thoughts:

Sara is an interesting character. She’s a pretty strong foil for parts of Lucia and Hanon as well as being a look at the “what if the good guy went bad?” genre. Her innocent trust was broken as a young teen, and her emotional outburst essentially destroys her home. She probably ended some lives. How does she deal with that? The anime only focuses on her relationship with Taro, so idk! Sara comes to hate humanity, which rubs off on Gaito when she meets and stays with Gaito. He does what he does for her. She seems to be completely smitten with him as well, but she is so focued on her hate that she uses him to enact her revenge. She also chooses to die with Gaito, as a form of atonement.

Sara has been so motivated the whole time that it seems a little out of left field for her to just give up at the end. Here’s an outline of an idea I’m playing with: At the end, Gaito does not die with Panthalassa. Gaito and the others (let’s be real, it’s mostly going to be Coco) try to convince Sara to live peacefully with the rest of them. Sara doesn’t. Sara is still angry. Sara isn’t going to quit. Sara shatters her pearl tear in defiance to the others, Aqua Regina, and her destiny as a mermaid princess. The shattered pearl would replace the search for soul fragments in Pure, and Sara would replace Michal and Mikeru as the main antagonists of Pure. They’d still be there, but maybe Sara would replace Fuku as the mastermind villain!

Quick Michal thoughts:

I don’t remember much about her except that she’s a good foil for Lucia, and also she’s kind of annoying? I’ll get to her character later, but man do I want her to be a good character. As it stands, I think it would be cool for her to be the villain for Aqua, as some kind of mermaid hunter. I’ll get there when I get there.

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 208

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 Go Go! 10 - “It’s Here! The Power of the Blue Rose!" Date watched: 16 April 2021 Original air date: 6 April 2008 Screenshots Transformation Gallery Project info and master list of posts

~mysterious~

Scorp knows his days at Eternal are numbered if he doesn’t get his act together, so he and Bunbee conspire on their most devious plan yet, pushing the Precures to exhaustion. But at the eleventh hour, a savior appears.... let’s dig in!

The Plot

The girls are hanging around at Natts House on a day off, goofing around, when suddenly the Rose Pact starts to glow intensely. The group assumes it’s King Donuts at first, but he’s already standing beside it. Instead, Flora emerges, and the opening credits play.

After the intro, she warns them that darkness is gathering its strength to tear apart the Red Rose, and they’ll need to bring together the power of the Red and Blue Roses. Somehow, her message manages to be both literal and cryptic at the same time. As quickly as she appeared, she disappears back into the Rose Pact, leaving everyone to stew on her words.

Meanwhile, at the Eternal Mansion, Scorp comes to deliver his report to Anacondy and finds Bunbee eavesdropping outside of her office. Bunbee mentions he heard her say something about an underground storehouse, which scares Scorp. After handing over his report, he talks privately with Bunbee and explains that Eternal is unforgiving to employees who fail to perform, condemning them to an underground labyrinth for all eternity. Bunbee freaks out hilariously, but Scorp tells him that he has a plan to save both of them.

We rejoin the girls at school, tending to the lawn with the rest of the student body (cultural note: Japanese students are usually responsible for the upkeep and general maintenance of their schools). They discuss Flora’s prophecy, somehow having a conversation despite all being a considerable distance from each other and facing different directions.

They recognize that the Red Rose being torn apart refers to them, but they still don’t know much about the Blue Rose. Nozomi assures everyone that everything will be fine, because they always pull through. She gathers her friends to hold hands in a circle, hearkening back to when she rescued them from the Kowaiina masks in the previous season.

Syrup and Coco show up to further discuss the warning. Syrup is very cynical but Coco, who knows firsthand the kind of trials the girls have overcome before, reassures him, and they agree to walk home together with the girls after school. The wind blows, scattering some rose petals, which leads to a transition to Natts House where Nuts picks up some rose petals of his own. He flashes back to an earlier conversation between the fairies about Flora’s prophecy, where King Donuts warned them that her predictions were absolute and the Precures should be extra cautious. Although not directly confirmed, this is probably why Coco and Syrup were so concerned. Nuts stares at the darkening sky in concern.

After school, the girls wait for their escorts home, but Scorp appears first, sarcastically offering to take them himself. They transform into Precure, but instead of fighting them, Scorp teleports to a short distance away. The team gives chase, and Scorp teleports again as it begins to rain. He continues to teleport, leading the team further and further away from the meeting point. The farther they chase him, the more intense the rain gets. Meanwhile, Coco, Nuts, and Syrup appear at the meeting spot, confused about where the girls are. Suddenly, Bunbee appears before the human fairies, saying that his business is with them as he transforms in an intimidating manner.

Scorp ultimately leads the Precures to an open field, where he finally stops and declares this should be far enough. The girls barely have enough time to ask him what he means before Bunbee teleports beside him, holding Coco, Nuts, and Syrup in their fairy forms, all looking a bit worse for wear. Scorp remarks that they are a part of the collection after all, just not very high on the list, and the two villains laugh. The Cures are all aghast at what’s unfolding, but Dream is the first to snap and charge at the villains, ready to kick their asses and retrieve her friends. However, when she tries to punch Scorp, he teleports out of the way, causing her to lose her balance and fall on the wet ground. Rouge and the other girls rush in to save her and get the fairies back, but they all slip and slide on the wet grass. Scorp and Bunbee just block and repel their attacks and throw them about. It’s a pretty brutal throwdown. At one point Mint charges Bunbee, demanding he give the fairies back, so he maliciously complies by swinging them directly into her trajectory, forcing her to stop her momentum. He takes advantage of this to punch her away. After a thorough trouncing, the girls are in shambles. Scorp remarks that he doesn’t understand their cause at all, because the fairies are too weak to even protect themselves. Naturally the heroines rebut this, saying he wouldn’t understand their bond and the way they support each other, regardless of their physical limitations. Their words fall on deaf ears though, and Bunbee tells Scorp he’s going to go ahead and return to Eternal HQ with his captives (probably should have done that to begin with). Dream and co attempt to give chase, but Bunbee bombards them with his stinger missiles, and the girls are unable to withstand the barrage. Feeling too weak to move, all they can do is stare hopelessly as their old enemy flees with their precious comrades.

Suddenly, the sky clears and a gentle breeze blows, carrying blue rose petals. The source is quickly revealed to be a mysterious girl standing on the peak of a nearby rooftop. The camera slowly pans up, allowing the audience to absorb every detail of her costume before revealing her face. It’s an outfit vaguely reminiscent of the Cures, similar enough to signify that she’s not just an ordinary person. She has long purple hair and if there was any lingering doubt about her identity, she wears a blue rose right in the middle of her chest, as well as smaller ones on her forehead and the backs of her gloves. Her entrance is backed by celebratory triumphant music, making it clear that she’s on the good side.

She orders Bunbee to release Coco, Nuts, and Syrup. When he doesn’t, she jumps over and kicks him hard enough to make him let go. She grabs the fairies in midair and safely returns them to the Precures, who are still taken aback by her sudden appearance. Their mysterious savior doesn’t mince words though, scowling at Dream and telling her she isn’t good enough. Before she can continue her lecture, Bunbee tries to divebomb her, but she turns around and stops him with one hand without batting an eye. She then performs a kick, a block, and an elbow thrust that knocks him backwards into Scorp.

There is a tremendous amount of power in her strikes, even by Precure standards. With the villains indisposed for a moment, the girl in purple returns her attention to the Precures. She sternly reminds them that the most precious treasures are easily lost, and they need to work extra hard to protect them. There’s a sense that she has an attachment to the fairies but it’s not dwelled upon here. As Scorp and Bunbee recover themselves, Dream and the other Cures launch a final attack as well. Lemonade separates the two generals from each other with her Prism Chain, and then Mint and Aqua use their special attacks on them as well. Bunbee teleports out of the way and tries to attack the mysterious girl from behind, but she grabs his arm and yeets him across the field. As Scorp swoops in for another pass, the purple heroine prepares to retaliate, but Dream leaps over her and performs Shooting Star instead. He resists being crushed, but he’s barely able to hold her back. Bunbee urges him to retreat and they reluctantly disappear, leaving Dream to crash head over heels on the ground.

“I’m okay!”

Rouge, Lemonade, Mint, and Aqua rush to her side along with Coco, Nuts, and Syrup. She says she’s fine. The mysterious girl glares from afar, before turning her back and walking away. Dream notices that she’s gone, and everyone is silently questioning who she was. Some blue rose petals blow past again, and Nozomi ponders whether this girl was the Blue Rose. The scene fades to black and the ending theme plays.

The Analysis

At long last, the payoff to the Blue Rose arc! It’s far from over, but for now, the warrior with the power of the Blue Rose has debuted and that’s what counts. I have a lot to say about our new heroine, but much like the episode, I’ll build up to that.

The pacing in this episode is excellent, it almost feels longer than what it actually is. The suspense builds up throughout the first few scenes as we’re told that the Precures are going to be split, and then separately that Scorp and Bunbee may be condemned to a fate worse than death if they don’t shape up. There’s uncertainty on both sides of the fight, and we soon see the girls ruminating over it in the garden scene. However, after a healthy conversation and considering all the obstacles they’ve overcome so far, they choose not to let it bother them. The team’s unshakeable confidence is enough to reassure Coco, though Syrup is less certain. This is consistent with their differing history with the team. Coco has seen firsthand what the girls are capable of, from overcoming the depths of despair to defeating Despariah by appealing to her humanity, and rescuing the lost citizens of Palmier Kingdom. Meanwhile, Syrup has only more recently gotten involved with the girls’ activities and isn’t aware of everything that they accomplished before he met them when they battled Nightmare, only some of their fights against Eternal, and he’s not sure they can fight back forever. Nonetheless, the callback to the pinnacle moment of the previous season is wonderful and a great reminder of everything the girls have overcome before now, including previous attempts to separate them. They’re stronger than that.

history shows that yes, you will be okay

With the tension being assuaged by the girls’ moment of solidarity, it is quickly reinjected by the following scene, where King Donuts cautions about Flora’s prophecies to the other fairies, and then we are shown Nuts being concerned about everyone, emphasized with some looming clouds. This cues to the audience that it’s not going to be just another battle, so it brings all the fear and concern right back to the forefront, and from there it’s all high stakes. The non-fight with Scorp as he leads the girls away from the school makes it clear that something unusual is afoot, and the next thing we know the fairies are being kidnapped. All of this tension culminates in the intense fight scene in the rain.

However...I found the actual battle to be a bit lacking and underwhelming. Obviously, the writers had to give Eternal the upper hand to allow for the Mysterious Girl to save the day with a badass entrance, that’s just the rules of the genre. Even so, all the Precures made at best one strike each and then fell to the combined force of the villains, when we know from numerous instances of them fighting MOTWs and generals alike that they can tank more than that. Is this the same team that burned the incarnation of despair herself with their power of hope? The same group of girls who defeated the strongest executives of Nightmare? The same Nozomi who befriended her evil clone? (okay that’s technically not canon but I am not letting Dark Dream be forgotten.) Those same legendary heroines, now succumbing to two punches from a mid-level manager? It doesn’t sit well with me. Bunbee’s strategy of using the captive fairies as a shield, knowing the girls wouldn’t want to hit them, was clever. I can understand Mint getting flustered at that moment, but the other Cures I’m less forgiving of.

The wet, slippery ground was a cool idea but the writers/animators didn’t do enough with it for my liking. And not to poke too many holes in Precure villain plots, but if Bunbee had just teleported back to Eternal with the fairies to begin with, they would have had a stronger bargaining chip to get the girls to hand over the Rose Pact. Things do turn around fast when the Mysterious Girl shows up, but even then she also only gets a few good hits in and spends half her screentime lecturing the Cures. Effectively, this is more of a tease of her abilities, her proper debut is in the next episode. I would rather this entire battle, from start to finish, had been a bit more desperate so as to not undersell the main heroines, even when introducing a requisite powerhouse of a new character.

Conversely, from a villain standpoint, Scorp and Bunbee going at it so desperately plays very well. They’ve had an interesting dynamic throughout the show so far, but despite his irritation with Nightmare’s former lackey, Scorp knows both of their jobs are at stake and he explains this to him plainly. After a great comedic overreaction, the next time that we see them when they hatch their plot to kidnap the fairies, they’re all business. You get the sense they’re giving their all for this fight in a way they haven’t before, and that could contribute to the Precures having such a hard time (though they should still be able to do more than they did). The next episode will show that Scorp still has a trump card to play, but he’s trying very hard here to avoid doing so. It’s a refreshing level of intensity for the duo, which in turn makes it incredible when the Mysterious Girl still tosses them around like ragdolls.

One plot point that was a bit unclear to me was Flora’s prophecy about evil attempting to scatter the Red Rose, because that’s not really what happened in this episode. I skimmed summaries through to the mid-season climax and didn’t see anything specific, so it may be more of a general warning that Eternal will try to break them apart, and that they should work with the Mysterious Girl for assistance, as she is the inheritor of the power of the Blue Rose.

Let’s talk some more about the Mysterious Girl. She fights HARD. She single handedly sends Bunbee flying across the field twice in about 4 minutes, and the weight of her blows is tangible. They make sure you know she stands apart from the Cures. She can hold off the recurring general with relative ease after he laid out the entire team, and this isn’t just a case of wanting to show how cool the new character is, although that is part of it. She’s going to remain strong and powerful throughout the show, and even in future crossovers. I dare say she’s unrivaled in Precure canon, inasmuch as power levels mean anything (they don’t). I’d also like to note for the record that the reason I only call Milky Rose the “Mysterious Girl” in this review is because that’s how she’s credited.

That’s her credit on the bottom: 謎の少女 (Nazo no Shoujo), literally “mysterious girl”, and her actress is anonymous, which immediately suggests that there’s something to hide. Watch this space over the next few episodes. (I mean, yes, I know who she is, and you probably do as well, but for the time being I’m going to limit this to in-universe knowledge.) Related to the mystery of her identity is her connection to the fairies and the Precures. She seems to be familiar with them at least, as she offers a kind, knowing smile when she rescues Coco, Nuts, and Syrup, then turns around and lectures Cure Dream about protecting him. Maybe I’m reading too much into the subtext, but I picked up a hint of implicit “You’re always like this”. For some reason she’s always glaring at the Cures, especially Dream, which conjures to mind another less than ideal relationship Nozomi has. When combined with the preceding episodes, there’s just enough evidence to suggest who the Mysterious Girl is without making it completely obvious, and when you do know, you can identify more key patterns, and her fight against Bunbee becomes much more personal.

Her outfit bears similarities to the Precure uniforms, but is also distinct enough from them to carve her out as a unique entity.

She wears a white two piece dress with magenta trim on the skirt and shoulder straps, as well as some lacing down the front in lieu of the jacket of the team’s uniform. I already mentioned the number of blue roses on her dress, but if you think that’s on the nose, wait until next time. She is not subtle. The separation between the top and skirt forms a V shape that exposes her navel, a la Cure Black and Cure Dream from their first seasons. She shares the color-coded shorts under skirt design sensibility of the main five, also inherited from their predecessors Cure Black and Cure Bloom. She has three-tiered shoulder pads that again are more reminiscent of those worn by the various Futari Wa Cures than the style of the current team. Her arm guards are two pieces, with the portion from her palms to forearms being the same style as the Precures’, but she also has a  white sleeve underneath it that extends all the way up to her bicep, and again has magenta trim. Most uniquely, she wears a thin, wire-like tiara that extends to the sides and back of her head, which along with some ribbons splits her hair off into two side sections that augment the main portion. It still all flows downward, but the side sections have a visible divide at their point of origin and give her a unique silhouette, somewhat like a set of ears, before the hair recombines down her back. She also wears pearly teardrop (or perhaps flower petal) shaped earrings, in contrast to the butterfly earrings worn by the main five. As usual, her eye color matches her theme color, in this case magenta eyes that are a shade lighter than the accents on her dress. All put together it’s a striking look and as a big fan of the color purple, I admire the outfit.

In the art and animation department, this episode is fairly good. There’s a few really standout shots, such as the one below, while most of the episode falls into average territory, and there’s a small number of sequences that are really lacking. Unfortunately, the fight in the rain is among these. However, some visual gems make up for it. The entire garden sequence is pure delight. It’s well-lit and places the girls in a welcoming environment, which helps to offset the doom and gloom of the rest of the episode.

This arc shot is a wonderful piece of animation. That’s not easy to do. Famously even The Lion King struggled with a similar shot, so while Precure doesn’t pull it off amazingly, there’s still effort. They change the angles on the characters slightly rather than just doing a lateral tracking shot with a loop, which is something they have been known to do before. Last episode in fact. However, there’s one aspect that stretches the imagination, in this show about middle school girls transforming into superheroes in frilly dresses to fight an evil corporation of monster people. And that aspect is that they are way too far apart from each other in the garden scene to be able to effectively communicate. They’re all facing different directions and are easily several feet (or meters) apart, their conversations would either be lost in the wind, or they’d have to call out loudly enough for everyone around them to know what they’re talking about.

Okay yes this is a stretch but it was funny to me.

Put everything together and you’ve got a tense, moody episode with an upbeat middle section that technically ends positively, but finishes with a hollow ending. This is an effective tool that leaves you wanting more without being an abject cliffhanger. It starts strong and ends well but has a subpar climax, being unable to fully deliver on its own promises. Nonetheless I like it, it’s a dramatic turn from the laid back last few episodes and a transition into the meat of the series. It’s not Precure at its best, but it’s quite solid.

Next time, it’s Scorp’s final stand and the Mysterious Girl’s first true fight. You won’t want to miss it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 kettei!

And now at long last, after 620 days since I started writing about YPC5 on the blog, and 244 days since my first Go Go review, I can finally uncover Milky Rose on my banner! Rejoice!

hopefully I can get to Fresh by 2022

[kessielrg]

[Kingdom Hearts] Messenger Chirithy

Summary: In which two Chirithy play messenger pigeon for their respective Keyblade wielders. Why? Because Gummiphones are supposed to be turned off during lessons, obviously. [VentusxOC][nonbinary Chirithy][post-Lost Lights]

Rating: K

Word Count: 1,517 words

If you liked this story, please reblog!

---

Ven let out a long, annoyed sigh. The teen took a glance up at his friends, Terra and Aqua, as Aqua used Terra to move things around the training room. You would think that by now, Ven wouldn’t have to do the reading and writing portion of Keyblade training anymore. He was just as experienced as his friends. (Maybe even more if Chirithy would admit to it.) This kind of stuff was made for newer wielders like Kairi and Lea. If Ven kept reading about the ingredients to synthesis a Dream Eater, he was going to start crying tears of boredom.

“Chin up, Ven!” Chirithy happily declared, hopping into view to distract its wielder. “You still have about three pages to go, then you’ll have a fast quiz after.”

That only made Ven groan. Terra and Aqua didn’t even bother to turn around. Rude.

“Kairi’s not doing reading work today.” Ven whined. “And who knows what Lea’s doing today. Not training. Not when Roxas and Xion are starting school in Twilight Town.”

Ven let out another groan as he rubbed his face with his hands. He looked at his Chirithy with an increasing hopelessness.

“Do you think Aqua has Sabrina doing reading and writing stuff too? Maybe I could ask her.”

Chirithy crossed their arms, casting a skeptical look at its wielder. “Good idea- spare for one thing. No Gummiphones while training.”

“This isn’t training.” Ven spat. “This is reading. It’s worse.”

“Still training!” Chirithy replied in a sing-song voice. But still, it could tell how bored Ven was. Chirithy sighed. “You know,” it started to suggest, “If you write a letter to her, then Aqua might think that you’re taking notes instead.”

Ven looked at his Chirithy. His eyes grew wide at the prospect. Then, in the least conspicuous way possible, Ventus started to shuffle through his books for a blank piece of paper. Chirithy looked on with mild curiosity as Ven wrote a single sentence.

‘Is Aqua making you study Dream Eaters too?’

Biting his lip, Ven carefully folded the paper into three times before handing it to Chirithy.

“Here.” he said with a grin. Chirithy just looked at him.

“That’s it? Just a sentence?”

Ventus recoiled a bit. “Why?” the teen asked in genuine confusion. “What else could I say?”

“It’s still a letter, Ven. I say you gotta give it a little more meat. Otherwise, you might as well try to snag your Gummiphone from Terra and just text her.”

Ven glanced over at Terra, flinched, then looked back at Chirithy. “Alright,” he agreed. “We’ll write Sabrina a real letter. It would still be a break from all this reading.”

“There ya go!” Chirithy agreed with a grin. Ven gave the Dream Eater a firm nod before scratching out his old sentence, then writing something much longer. He just hoped Sabrina would like it.

. . .

Sabrina paced around her room as she read over the danger of Nightmares. On her bed, two bunny children were acting out a rather heated fight. One of the bunnies ended up the victor, while the loser pretended to be dramatically dying. If you felt like listening close enough, you would have sworn that the winner of the battle mentioned something about having ice cream with someone. Even a few Guardians felt like playing along- hanging around the ‘dying’ bunny kid like crystals rising into the air. But Sabrina wasn’t paying attention; her focus was too razor-sharp to even register the theatrics on her bed at the moment.

She wasn’t even paying that much attention when Chirithy appeared at the foot of her bed.

“I have a letter for you!” Chirithy declared.

Sabrina stopped her pacing with a blink. She looked at Chirithy, then raised a skeptic eyebrow.

“From who?” she asked.

“Ven. Apparently.”

“Apparently?”

“His Chirithy said that he didn’t want to study.”

“Yeah, sounds about right.” Sabrina snorted as she took the letter from the Dream Eater. The smirk she had as she read through the letter slowly started to become a look of horror.

“Oh no.”

“What?”

“Remind me to tell Aqua to teach Ventus how to write a proper letter.” Sabrina said as she sat on the bed, allowing both Chirithy and the bunny children to read over the letter as well. “This is… wow. Okay, then.”

Sabrina let out a snort as Chirithy looked at the letter.

“I think it’s sweet.” Chirithy hummed as it glanced up at Sabrina.

“And that’s exactly what’s wrong with it,” she decided as she got up. She set the letter down on her desk before going through the desk’s drawers. From one drawer she pulled out a rather fancy inkwell, and from another she pulled out a just as fancy ink pen. Sabrina sat down at her desk in preparation to write her return letter.

Chirithy hopped into the air to leave the bed, only to appear on top of Sabrina’s desk. The bunny children stayed on the bed, laying on their stomachs as they observed their big sis like they were watching TV instead. Sabrina got into a rather firm posture as her guided the pen across the paper. There was an art is calligraphy- one that she took with extreme pride in.

‘Ventus,

Who on earth taught you how to write a letter? That thing has to be the most disastrous piece of parchment I have yet to lay eyes on. Paragraphs are a thing- use them.’

“Ow. Harsh.” Chirithy noted.

“Oh, but dear Chirithy, I’ve got far more up my sleeve.” Sabrina replied with cunning grin.

“Now I’m scared.”

Both wielder and Chirithy looked at each other, then shared an equal grin before Sabrina continued to write.

. . .

A few hours later, Chirithy patiently waited at Yen Sid’s tower. The Dream Eater kicked its legs as it sat at the foot of the steps. Chirithy hummed a rather jaunty tune to itself, even moving its head from side to side with every half beat. Where had they heard that song? It wasn’t anything Ventus knew.

“Hey Chirithy!”

Chirithy looked up and smiled. Sabrina’s Chirithy was bounding up to Ven’s Chirithy with a new letter in its hand. Like all of Sabrina’s other letters, it was neatly placed inside an envelope with a personal seal embossed on the top left corner. (The first two letters she sent were actually sealed with wax. But in finding that she and Ventus would be sending far more letters to each other, she quickly did away with it for an envelope that could be used over and over again.) If Chirithy tried to breath in deep enough, it could get a whiff of lavender. At this point, it wasn’t sure if it was coming from the letter or the other Chirithy.

“Just in time, Chirithy!” Ven’s Chirithy greeted. It got up from the steps to meet Sabrina’s Chirithy halfway. The duo gave each other a respectful nod before the Chirithy exchanged the letter.

“Is this the last letter of tonight?” Ven’s Chirithy asked.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Sabrina’s Chirithy replied. It seemed a bit perplexed at the idea. “She’s taking this quite seriously. It’s almost something I’ve never seen out of her before.”

“Ven’s totally lost track of time too.” Chirithy nodded. “Lemme tell ya something, Chirithy. I did not expect her to scent her letters with perfume. It almost blew the whole operation up right then and there.”

“Trust me, you should have seen my surprise when she pulled out an actual inkwell.”

Chirithy jumped back in shock. “She uses real ink?!”

The other Chirithy just folded its arms and gave the first a rather hard stare. “When was the last time you saw a generic pen use purple ink that changes to green when you look at it a certain way?”

“Point taken.” Chirithy thoughtfully nodded. It thought about something for a moment, then gave a small chortle. “She’s so extra.”

“Yeah.” the second Chirithy agreed. It even stood a bit taller with pride. “But it’s only because she likes him.”

Ven’s Chirithy laughed. Not long after, the other Chirithy joined in as well. At this point, Sabrina’s silent admiration for Ventus was well known to both Chirithy. There were precious few things wielders could hide from their special Dream Eaters to begin with. Budding feelings for another wielder were definitely at the top of the list.

As their enjoyment faded somewhat, Sabrina’s Chirithy placed a hand by its head in thought. “I hope they don’t do this all night.” it mused. “This is kinda exhausting.”

“It is.” Chirithy sighed. It let out a thoughtful hum before asking, “Is she having fun?”

“Of course!” the other Chirithy happily nodded. “I haven’t seen her so interested in anything since Aqua’s first training lesson.”

“That’s good. Well, got to go. She’s really keeping Ven is suspense.”

“No doubt. See you again in about 10 minutes, Chirithy.”

“See ya, Chirithy.”

And with that, both Chirithy returned to their respective wielders. They didn’t know it yet- but it was going to be a long night as well.

[youngerfrankenstein]

And so! Three years, almost to the day, since it came out and I have finally finished Kingdom Hearts 3.

I liked it! A lot. The Disney world were a little hit and miss, but the hits were really good, and Arendelle sucked. Overall I enjoyed them, the Toy Story world was probably my favourite, and it is always a joy to watch Disney characters interact with the original characters, with some particularly good moments in this one. The world design was overall really fun to run around in.

While I probably prefer the weight and magic system in the KH1 combat system and BBS’s customization I quite liked the combat in 3 as well. The Keyblade form changes added some fun variety and while I didn’t use the Attraction Flows that often they were kind of great? I just get a kick out of seeing monsters fall to a teacup ride.

The story is, well, it’s Kingdom Hearts. The series has been less and less interested in actual conclusions as time goes on. Hell 1 had a bit of that problem. But also, it’s Kingdom Hearts, and I’d be lying if I said every tearful reunion didn’t make me want to sob with joy.

Strangely my biggest problem with the story is how much the endgame felt like a retread of KH2’s Radiant Garden middle bit. (Fight a giant group of Heartless, party member(s) “die”, “Oh you were secretly playing into my evil scheme”, etc.) But the actual ending? Loved it for the most part.

Roxas, Axel and Xion were reunited! And Isa reconciled with Axel and joined the group. Roxas got to be friends with the Twilight Trio for real. Terra, Aqua and Ventus all get to go back home together! Repliku give up his chance at existence for Naminé and Riku honours his wish! The Disney characters reunite with their loved ones! Most everyone gets to just relax at the beach! And Sora will be fine sooner or later, the boy just gets damselled more than the Disney princesses. But I really do hope that most of the side characters get to just have their happy endings. Start with a somewhat clean slate! Not that I hold out much hope there.

I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t getting tired of “Oh look! An even BIGGER bad!” And even knowing it was coming the Xigbar reveal still made me roll my eyes.

Overall I guess my rankings for the major console releases are: KH1 > BBS > RE: CoM = KH3 > DDD > KH2, though I love them all in their own way and the rankings are very subject to change.

[marioclash]

if i were to rank the kingdom hearts games (that i played, because i only played through the collection on ps4) it would be like

kh 2

birth by sleep

kh 3

kh 1

dream drop distance

birth by sleep -a fragmentary passage-

re:chain of memories

im gonna explain my picks under the cut as well

i did NOT like re:chain of memories gameplay, it was the one game that i actually gave up on because i could not stand the card system. it was overwhelming and annoying (maybe eventually ill play the gba original instead, i hear its a lot more fluid in that version)

bbs fragmentary whatever was like... i guess you could call it a glorified demo for the kh3 engine, i love aqua shes one of my favorite kh characters but like... this just left me wanting more, its not downright awful, but i wish i enjoyed it more

dream drop distance was??? forgettable? maybe a little mean to say, but i barely remember anything about the game. i remember the... free flow? i think thats what it was called? the parkour-type system i mean, the pet raising stuff... and being annoyed by the timer (which items helped with) but whatever. not that bad, just... eh

kh1 i feel that... given its the first game, i go easy on it. its clunky, theres some stuff that straight-up doesnt work. but its the first game, i dont care, its fine, i like kh1. at the very least i didnt dislike it to the point of not continuing to other games.

kh3... this game could easily jump anywhere on this list depending on how im feeling. jesus christ i am so conflicted because i feel that it gets way too much hate, but i also... dont think its really worthy as a follow-up to the last numbered entry. i could write a fucking novel on how conflicted i am with kh3. i do like the traversal a lot, (expanding from ddd system, and using it more cleverly) i like how they REALLY expanded the gummi ship sections (even though i usually just made a beeline for my next destination anyway), and its story was... there... it existed. will say though, one of the parts at the end... kiiiinda made me start tearing up and media doesnt usually make me do that. i dont wanna cry worst game ever 0/10 LAME of the year

birth by sleep is fantastic, it introduced aqua 10/10. but seriously i really liked birth by sleep. i dont know how it fares on the psp original but on the ps4 it is sublime, i love the characters, i... like...? the story, the gameplay is super fine-tuned, and i felt a sense of exploration i didnt really feel with most of the other games

kingdom hearts 2. goddamn this game is really good. i LOVED this fucking game. the traversal, music, the locales, the combat, the characters. i cant even really describe how good this game is. far and away the best in the series and probably the best action rpg ive ever played. if youve never played a kingdom hearts game and dont particularly care about the story, play kh2. im considering doing another playthrough eventually (which for me should speak volumes, because i RARELY replay games, especially rpgs)

[kuriboo]

taking root in the soil

Rating: General Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: Gen Fandom: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games) Relationships: Lauriam & Marluxia (Kingdom Hearts),Marluxia & Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Lauriam & Terra (Kingdom Hearts) Characters: Lauriam (Kingdom Hearts), Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Aqua (Kingdom Hearts), Marluxia (Kingdom Hearts) Additional Tags: Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Terrariam Week 2021, Hurt/Comfort, Marluxia Is Lauriam (Kingdom Hearts), spoilers for both kh3 and khux Word Count: 2,436

On twitter there was an event for Terrariam Week, focusing on the relationship between Terra & Lauriam/Marluxia. I wrote for a few prompts, I had to cut it off at 3 but it was a lot of fun to write! Khux really made me care a lot about Lauriam so this really gave me an excuse to write him lol but anyway, I’ll post all the days’ entries here with the prompts that go with them.This is also posted on ao3; the link to ao3 will be in the notes of this post! I’ll also post the link to the terrariam week account in the notes.

You can also keep reading below.

⁂

Day 1: Meet-Cute

Lauriam stared down at his black cloak. He was sick of this thing.

The cloak was supposed to protect his heart from darkness. It was also a symbol of his status as a former member of Organization 13. It was a symbol of the person he became without his memories, turning against everything he was supposed to be. Guardian of Light turned Seeker of Darkness. Keyblade wielder turned assassin.

He felt like a traitor. He didn’t just turn against the original Organization, he turned against everything he used to stand for. He forgot about his sister, his friends, everything, and he was only now just starting to remember.

Well, he started to remember as Sora defeated him. His memories were still coming back. He remembered being a Dandelion, he remembered being a Union leader, he remembered Strelitzia…

Strelitzia…

He forgot about his own sister.

Lauriam laughed, a single tear falling down his face. It landed with a small splash on a flower below him, the flower just one of many surrounding him in this field. It was so similar to the one where he appeared after leaving Daybreak Town, where he started his search for Strelitzia.

He’d have to look for Elrena. Had she begun to remember? If not, he would have to try to help her. He owed that to her, for standing beside him for so long, even after they lost their memories.

A step crunching the flowers behind him broke Lauriam’s thoughts. He whirled around to see who it was.

Oh, Lauriam recognized that face. His hair was a different color, brown instead of white, but Lauriam was no fool. This was one of Xehanort’s many forms back again. Lauriam summoned his Keyblade in his hands. Would he never be able to escape him?

Xehanort stopped. He appeared confused. “You’re… Marluxia, right?

“It’s Lauriam now,” Lauriam corrected. “And I’ll thank you to remember that. You won’t get me to join your schemes anymore, Xehanort.”

“Xehanort?” He blinked, still confused. “No, no, Xehanort doesn’t have control over me anymore. I’m free now. My name is Terra.”

“Terra.” Lauriam kept his stance. Xehanort wasn’t above playing tricks. “And why should I trust you, ‘Terra’?”

“You don’t have to.” Terra held his hands up in front of him, palms out. “We’re not here to look for you. This is an accident.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” Lauriam’s grip on his Keyblade tightened. The Organization? “And what are you looking for, then?”

“Two of my friends are here with me.” Terra hesitated. “We’ve been searching different worlds for… Sora.”

Sora? There was a name Lauriam felt like he could trust now. Lauriam could still remember trying to turn the boy into a puppet. How ironic.

“Terra!”

Lauriam turned as he heard another voice call out to Terra. The person it belonged to…

Memories came flooding back. The blonde hair, the clothes he was wearing. Lauriam knew this person. Not from the Organization, but before.

“I asked the dwarves about him,” he told Terra without preamble. “They said no one’s seen him or heard anything about him. I guess Sora isn’t—“ He broke off, staring at Lauriam. “…Who are you?”

Lauriam knew him. Ventus, another former Union leader. Well, Ven wasn’t originally chosen for the role, but Lauriam wasn’t angry at him about it anymore. It wasn’t Ven’s fault he was used by Darkness.

“Hey, are you crying?” Ven asked.

Lauriam reached up to touch his cheek. It was wet. He was crying again. His heart must be overwhelmed, feeling so many emotions already when he wasn’t used to it anymore. “You’re the first… Nevermind. We’ve met before, but you must not remember me.” The Divine Rose disappeared from Lauriam’s hand. “My name is Lauriam. It’s good to see you again, Ven.”

“…Oh. I’m sorry.” Ven looked down at the ground. “You’re not the first friend I’ve met who I’ve forgotten. I can’t remember anything before I met Terra and Aqua…”

Terra put his hand on Ven’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s not your fault.”

“He’s right.” Lauriam smiled, though it hurt. Why did hearts make things so difficult? “I only just remembered myself. I’m hardly in a position to judge.”

He wasn't upset. Lauriam was just… disappointed. Not with Ven himself. But just as he started to remember again, he finally found another Union leader, only for said Union leader to have also forgotten. Fate could be cruel.

“I never imagined the world you came from to be like this. It’s strange to see you again here, of all places,” Terra admitted.

“I’m not from this world. The world I’m from…” Lauriam sighed. “It was destroyed a long time ago. This is where I found myself after I left.”

“Then can you come with us? To our world?” Ven blurted out. “I mean, you don’t have to, but… It would be nice to get to know you again! And maybe you can help me remember again!”

“You want me to…come with you?” Lauriam asked.

“We’ve been looking for Sora, but we’ve had to take breaks back home. I think Aqua will agree it’s about time for another one,” Terra said. “It would be nice to get to know you better…outside of everything before.”

“I don’t think I’d mind that, if you all will have me,” Lauriam answered. “And if I could help you find Sora again as well, it’d be the least I could do to make amends with him.”

And maybe find Elrena as well, and even Strelitzia, if they were searching many different worlds. Besides, where else could he go?

⁂

Day 2: New Beginnings

“Welcome to the Land of Departure.”

Lauriam looked around as Terra, Aqua, and Ventus led him through this new world. (New to him, at least.) Most of what he could see was the large building in front of them. It almost felt familiar; it must be the size, since the Castle That Never Was and Castle Oblivion seemed about as big as this place was. There was some greenery around, but not many flowers or anything like that.

Lauriam was okay with that. He was sure he’d still see the last place he saw his sister in his dreams.

“Come on!” Aqua led the group inside.

He was soon brought into a huge room. There were a couple of chairs, and it was nicely decorated, but there was a lot of empty space. Was this room used for training, or something else?

“Well, it’s not much, but it’s home,” Terra joked.

It was amazing how big this place seemed to be compared to what Lauriam was used to. “So this is the kind of place Keyblade wielders train these days?”

“I’m sure it’s not much compared to what you used to have,” Aqua said.

Lauriam chuckled. “When I was training, we were sent to different worlds all the time doing different missions. So, the places we got to stay in were rather small, but we were rarely there when we weren’t sleeping. I got to stay in the tower as a Union leader, though, which was much bigger. Too big, actually, it was easy to get lost in.”

As for after that… “As part of the…Organization, it wasn’t much different from when I was training. We had small rooms, but were constantly in other worlds for different missions. So, for the most part, this is actually bigger than I’m used to.”

“So a lot has changed…” Ven had a contemplative look on his face. “Can you tell us more? About what it was like back then? I wish I could remember…”

“Of course I can,” Lauriam said. He could tell more about the good times, anyway. He’d rather not get into the bad times, especially those relating to Darkness and his sister. But there were plenty of good times to reflect back on. “But we should probably find somewhere to sit, first. This could get long.”

⁂

“I’m assuming you want to get out of that coat.”

It had gotten late. Ven had gone to bed not long ago, and Aqua had just done the same. Ventus had listened eagerly to Lauriam’s recollections happily, and threw in his questions constantly. Now it was just Terra and Lauriam left.

Lauriam knew what Terra was getting at. He was sick of this black coat. It was supposed to protect his heart from darkness, but had come to symbolize something much worse. A period of his life that was now past.

“If you have anything else I could try, I would appreciate it,” Lauriam responded. “I would rather avoid wearing this thing unless I absolutely need to.”

“We’ve got spare clothes around. Stuff that doesn’t fit anyone. I’ll try to find whatever I can for you to try on.”

Lauriam thanked Terra as Terra walked off, going off to find the clothes in question. Now Lauriam was left alone with his thoughts, but all he could think about was what he was missing now that his memory had returned. He was missing Strelitzia, of course he was missing her. He was also missing Brain, Skuld, and Ephemer. He missed the Ventus that remembered who he was. The only thing that he had left from those times was his Keyblade, back to him now that he’d regained his heart.

Ironic, considering how before he’d regained his memories, he’d yearned for a Keyblade of his own.

Soon, Terra was back with a pile of clothes in his arm, more than Lauriam had been expecting.

“I can take you to a room to try them on,” Terra told him. “Hopefully something in here will fit you.”

Once Lauriam was there and alone, he started going through the pile. Most of it didn’t fit him, which he expected. It wasn’t like all the clothes were magically going to fit him. But he was able to find enough for a new outfit. A black button-up shirt and beige pants. He could keep his Organization boots on for now, so he wasn’t pressed for new shoes. Once the outfit was on, Lauriam walked back to where Terra was waiting, carrying his Organization coat over his shoulder.

“Well, what do you think?” Lauriam asked. “It’s certainly not my outfit from the old days, but I think it’ll do.”

“It looks great,” Terra said, a smile forming on his face. “It’s a fresh start. A new beginning for you.”

A new beginning… Lauriam liked that.

⁂

Day 5: Big Brothers Dynamic (or Day 3: Hurt/Comfort)

“He really looks up to you.”

Terra paused in his training. He looked over and noticed Lauriam watching him. Truthfully, Lauriam had been watching for a while, but Terra seemed so into his training that he hadn’t noticed.

“Who?” Terra asked.

“Ven,” Lauriam clarified. “He admires you, both you and Aqua.” He chuckled. “Ironic, considering he’s been a wielder much longer than you two.”

Terra shook his head. “Aqua deserves all the admiration, not me. I admire her, too. But after all I did to push him away, I’m lucky he looks up to me at all.”

“You can’t blame yourself for the way Xehanort manipulated you.” Lauriam frowned. “You’re far from his only victim. He has a knack for pulling in people who are lost, or missing something. It’s not luck or a mistake that Ven admires you; you came out of it all and took back everything that was yours.”

“I can’t agree with you, but I appreciate it.” Terra’s keyblade disappeared. “You know, you’re one of the first people that knew Ven before he lost his memory. After Chirithy, I mean.”

“Am I?” Lauriam blinked. “I’m…surprised, though really I shouldn’t be. Only the Union leaders and Elrena made it out of our world, and I haven’t found any of the other leaders since. Only Elrena, and now Ven, but Ven and Elrena hardly knew each other.”

“What was he like? Before he lost his memory?”

“Not so different, as far as I can tell. He was equal to the rest of us but still felt inferior, and felt he had to prove himself. He was a good friend, almost like a younger brother to the rest of us. He…”

Marluxia’s expression darkened. “He has more in common with you than either of you know.”

“…What do you mean?”

“He deserves better than to remember. If the full story comes out, he should be the first to know. But… Ven is part of the reason my sister disappeared.”

“Your…sister? What happened?”

Lauriam held up a hand. “Ven is not the one at fault. I forgave him a long time ago. Still, one of the reasons I left our world was to look for her. She has to be out there somewhere, and I won’t give up looking until I find her.”

Terra remembered what it felt like, when he returned home to find Master Eraqus attacking Ven. At that moment, it didn’t matter why their master was attacking him. Nothing could have stopped Terra from protecting Ven. He felt horrified that anyone would attack Ven, but the idea that their master felt he had to made Terra feel sick.”

He tried to picture it. Coming back to the Land of Departure to learn that Ven was completely gone. It was the closest he could think of based on what little Lauriam had described. “I don’t know what I’d do if I found out Ven was gone.”

“I think I nearly lost myself to the darkness when I learned what happened,” Lauriam said. He looked away. “I’m not proud of that moment, but I’m glad my friends were able to keep me from…” He sighed. “Well, that wasn’t long before I lost my memory and let myself become a vessel of darkness anyway, so I’m behind on my search.”

“Better late than never, though, right?” Terra smiled. “We’ll help you find your sister. I know I’d never stop looking if it were Ven, and we’re still looking for Sora anyway. Besides, we owe it to you as one of Ven’s friends.”

“You owe me nothing,” Lauriam protested. “I’ve done nothing to deserve that.”

“Then think of it this way: we’ll be helping each other. We won’t take no for an answer. But first…” Terra summoned his Keyblade. “Get your Keyblade. You’re joining in on training.”

“I’m more than a bit rusty,” Lauriam admitted, though he summoned his own Keyblade anyway. “I suppose it’s more reason for me to train.”

“I want to see how you fight. How strong you are. I’m curious about how much has changed since you and Ven’s time,” Terra said. “You better be ready.”

“I’ll admit, I’m curious as well.” Lauriam smirked. “I’ve been ready for ages.”

[mariposalass]

Sora’s Time to Shine

Summary: Mari is already not putting too much expectations going into watching the Final Smash Presentation when someone close to her besides Kirby and Edelgard’s beloved Professor pops out of nowhere in said Presentation. All hell breaks loose (but in a good way).

Setting: Mari and co.’s house in Daly City, California; October 5, 2021

Notes: I was pretty behind in seeing the reveal since I was pretty tired when it came out and I had to check a friend’s post on Plurk to make sure that it was not all for the jokes before watching it on Gamespot and writing this story down. And yes, the Byleth in my S/I verse is the female version in case anyone is curious. And yes, it took me until around 8 AM to write this up. Featuring Luther Vandross. Here is an ask I made on Sora’ behest during a F/O takeover long before he got confirmed recently. #SakuraiHasReachedtheImpossibleDream #Sora4Smash

Tags: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Smash Bros., Swift Keyblader, Smash Reveal, Sakurai has reached the impossible dream!, Sora for Smash, #Sora4Smash

“Hurry Mari, you’re about to miss it!” Kairi is dragging me out onto the sofa to see the final Smash Ultimate Presentation on the living room pretty early before plopping ourselves onto the sofa.

“Look, Kairi, guys. I hate to be a party pooper, but I have no clue about who could it be,” I try to be realistic in my views.

“Well, at this point, my beloved, it could be anybody from the video game world,” my dear Philip chimes in while trying to reassure me, “Besides, as soon as it is done, we shall try to reply back to this non Smash invitation that El had found in the mail today.”

“Huh, is that correct, El dear?” I asked my regal adopted daughter for confirmation.

“Why yes of course, Mother,” she replies as she passes me the invitation, “I believe that a friend of yours has sent us one, but I didn’t want to open it immediately since this is addressed to you.”

“Okay then, I will get to read it and reply back once the Presentation is over and see who gets to fight with Kirby and Professor Byleth,” I smiled back at her.

“I couldn’t believe that there was a leak that just came out before this Presentation video and it is about music. Who was that dense enough to do it at a time like this?” Riku mumbles as he gets the video streaming on the Nintendo Direct page in his laptop.

“You know, Riku, sometimes people can act very idiotic at times, so there isn’t much we can do besides ignoring and avoiding that as much as possible,” Harry sighs as he is bottle feeding and gently rocking Serena as she had cried a while ago to be bottle fed.

“Guys, have you guys seen Sora lately?” Issa asks us while carrying Chris in her arms, “I haven’t seen him in the last few days. He didn’t even reply back to either my or Kairi’s texts and calls. Do you think he’s off to visit Jack and Sally in Halloween Town? It’s nearing Halloween soon.”

“That’s really a good question, Issa,” Ahk agrees, “I had given up trying to find him by calling over on the phone since last Thursday. All I have gotten from it were many ‘The subscriber could not be reached’ messages.”

Even Riku and Kairi are in a loss for words as they turn to each other and wonder what is up with our friend lately. Did he just went poof without us knowing? Kirby always informs us through his many Poyos that he would have to head off to Smash whenever a new tourney starts or a newcomer arrives and Edelgard’s class often gets shorter class schedules or early dismissals whenever Professor Blyeth gets to fight in Smash: she is the professor handling the Black Eagles class. Sometimes even El, Petra and Dorothea along with a few others (and yes, that includes the Gatekeeper) would come over to Smash to spectate from the sidelines and support their beloved Professor.

There is a long silence when the Nintendo Switch title card plays in the laptop and Karina directs us all to watch the screen to see many clips featuring many Smashers in the current tournament before it transitions to Sakurai-san in the studio explaining about the video as well as showcasing the Mii Fighter costumes.

“Hey look, Isabelle the Dog’s demon slaying friend from Bethesda is now coming to Smash to rip and tear up the competition!” Moana screams when the Doomguy Mii Gunner costume appears.

“Good for him; I know that many fans really did want him to be in Smash, though the costume is a nice addition,” Issa agrees. “That now makes three Bethesda franchises represented in the costumes.”

“Even the Octolings and Judd the Cat got hats based on them too,” I chime in as well.

“Oh hey, guys! Sakarui’s about to reveal the last fighter for the Second Fighter’s Pass, so keep down it and don’t expect too much,” Karina informs as Sakurai transitions to the main event and we all stay silent and stay glued to our seats.

The screen turns black before the usual Smash logo opening shows up, but instead of the usual zoom in, it then turns into a flaming Smash logo with all the Smashers up until Kazuya Mishima (yeah, the guy who tried to drop Kirby off a cliff) looking at it and covered in the shadows. Did MH decided to get them to show up in there and meet the last fighter in the dark? Probably, I bet that he might be keeping it as a surprise and possibly even conserving electricity at the same time. Then cut to Inkling Girl looking in awe with the Smash logo reflecting onto her pupils as a nice ode to the first reveal trailer for the game/tourney, I honestly love this shot.

Wait a minute, the logo turns into stars and the next scene shows everyone frozen in place as toy-like ambiios?!? How is it even possible? Well, it does certainly confirmed once again that the video game version of the tourney is set in a world of make believe after all. I could swear that a lot of people crying their eyes out as they are watching this. It looks like this is the end of one great video game series about mascots fighting among each other. Or is it? Because the camera is aiming at Mario as if he looks like he’s trying to take a nap while standing up.

Riku then proceeds to mumble some words to me incoherently that something big is coming the moment Mario wakes up to see a glowing light to see the last remaining flame glowing on the floor, which I do agree with him. Suspicious right? Oh God, Mario no! Please don’t touch the fire for everyone’s sanity. Wait, hold on a second: that isn’t not just fire that he just grabbed on and then tossed it into the sky like a boomerang: the mystery object looks like a Keyblade and there’s that Mickey keychain! Yep, that’s a Keyblade alright. Could it be...

I could recognize that beam of light that Keyblades often produce whenever they lock and unlock Keyholes to other worlds, so does everyone in the room. Riku and Kairi hugged onto each other as if we’re about to brace for an emergency (Karina and Moana also did the same), Ahk stares at the screen to see if he’s not imagining things all the sudden, Issa has her mouth drop in shock, Chris and Serena didn’t cry throughout this entire presentation, Harry gasps and nearly drops Serena’s bottle, Philip turns to me for answers while Edelgard begins to sweatdrop in concern.

No words are exchanged as the light grows and shines brighter before it proceeds to shoot itself away from the Keyblade to reveal a Keyhole on another part of the room. It then glows bright within as the camera switches back to the rest of frozen Smashers as the light begins to fill the room and revives Link, Cloud, Incineroar and Mewtwo as they all gawk at it as it reveals something from the World of Light with the orchestral rendition of Simple and Clean playing in the background. And that’s when it hits us right at the gut: the familiar spiky brown hair poking out from that Keyhole.

“What!?!” Kairi shouts as the Keyhole ‘spits’ out Sora from the World of Light.

“H-h-he actually got in, for real?” Riku squeaks up.

“Oh my…” I gasp in pure shock as we watch the whole thing played out.

“Sakarui finally did it?” Issa adds in to the discussion.

“Well, it’s about time that they managed to get his darn behind into the tourney,” Karina seconds in.

Soon enough, Sora finally wakes up from his nappy time and takes notes from Peter Pan and Tinkerbell as he flies around, sprinkling fairy dust all over the other Smashers, before landing on the floor and the Keyblade flying back to his hand.

“Damn it, Sora!” I scream as the splash screen pops in.

“Kai, your boy has finally made it big time!” Moana shakes Kairi in congratulation rather rapidly that it nearly gives my lil sis a dizzying spell.

“Moana, please don’t make Kairi that dizzy,” Harry had to tell her that.

“Whoops! Sorry Kairi,” she apologizes to her which she accepts.

So with that, we switch back to Sakurai going in depth with Sora’s moveset after he discussed about the Kingdom Hearts games and world. And he has gotten 4 costume changes, man Sora, that’s a big wardrobe you’re bringing in, oh wait, he even got the Timeless River costume too. That makes it 5 then.

“Oh gods, Sakurai is making us suffer by watching Sakurai using Sora to beat up everyone,” Ahk tells us as the Sora moveset showcase begins.

“No kidding,” Harry muses as we see Sora beating everyone in Battlefield.

“Whoa, they went for Sealing the Keyhole instead of having Trinity Force with Donald and Goofy? What a bummer,” Karina bemoans in dismay.

“Well, you know modern Disney: too overprotective of their IPs,” Philip reminds her.

“Oh new stage, what could it be?” Riku gleefully chimes in before they reveal Hollow Bastion as the stage, “Whoa, Hollow Bastion. I never thought that you will return again.”

Then the stage changes into Dive to the Heart and it had Riku and Kairi in the stained glass in one, Riku being the main focus of the second one, Roxas in the middle of the third, Xion in the fourth, Terra for the fifth, a sleepy Ven in the sixth, and Aqua’s in the seventh.

“Pretty!” I complimented the look of each stained glass.

“Quite impressive I will admit,” El agrees with me too.

Then Sakurai begins a playthrough with Sora facing Cloud and Sephiroth in Hollow Bastion, for a while, we all thought that he’s going to be a goner with Cloud and Sephiroth beating him up in the Stamina match but then the tides begin to turn in his favor after Sephy lost his full stock and with Sora having to take down Cloud next. When he did, the scene begins to go into a slow white fade out with a Game!

“Alright! Sora did it! He defeated both Cloud and mean old Sephy,” Riku cheers on.

“Woo! Go Sora!” me, Kairi, Moana, and Karina screams aloud.

“That was brilliant!” Harry agrees before he turns to Serena, “Did you hear? Uncle Sora managed to defeat two opponents in a Smash Ultimate playthrough.”

“9 songs is better than nothing at all,” Issa observes, “It would be a licensing nightmare to talk to Disney if they can borrow a couple of songs from them and they straight up refuse to assist, oh well. Oooh, a Dearly Beloved Swing arrangement, nice! I better get that save file on the Switch prompto!”

“And check out that Spirit Board: Aunt Kairi has a Spirit of herself,” Edelgard informs us as the Spirit Board for KH is revealed.

“Oh gee, never thought that it could ever happen, but thanks,” she blushes.

“Hey, I got one as well, same with Axel, Xion, Roxas, Aqua, Terra and Ven,” Riku joins in, “Marina is so going to be happy to see her boyfriend as a Spirit. She will probably try to get him real soon.”

“You bet it right, Riku, you bet it right,” I nod and agree with that last statement.

“Oh hey, he’s going to be ready within a few weeks’ time,” Karina speaks up, “Neat! The roster is now complete.”

“Even Steve and Alex have amiibos of themselves being made, that’s even more wonderful,” Ahk takes note of it, “I’m pretty sure that Sora will have one of his own along with Pyra, Mythra, that jerk who tried to threw Kirby off a cliff, and even Sephiroth soon.”

“WHAT?!? Kingdom Hearts are coming to the Switch too!?!” I am surprised to hear the news as Sakurai reveals this new information, that is so mind-blowing.

When it fades to black then to the Ultimate mural, the camera then goes for the space between Ganondorf and Dark Samus to fill in Sora’s spot before panning back. Man, this Presentation is long and is finally ending, thank God; it must be tiring to sit down and watch a nearly hour long video as Sakurai showcases the screenshots he has made and showed off in Twitter. Man, so many memories and montages. And the achievements, wow, that is a lot of them, it will be a game feat that I don’t think it will be broken for a long time.

Man, I will miss the presentations and Sakurai’s corny jokes for sure. I wish him a nice deserving break from all the game development for sure as he gives thanks to everyone from the devs to the players to the people prompting the game and ends it off with a heartfelt goodbye as it fades to back into the full reveal trailer.

“Oh gee, I’m going to miss the Smash Presentations,” Kairi sighs, “I can’t believe that we’re coming to an end.”

“Man, it’s finally over,” Riku gasps in remark as the full trailer plays out, “I don’t think that there will be a game like Ultimate for a very long time. That’s for certain.”

“I agree, Riku. It’s to going to be a tough act to follow up on,” I add in before I look up at the ceiling and murmur some words, “It’s been a long time coming, Sora. You truly deserve that last spot, you really do. Have fun in the tourney and Smash Mansion, buddy.”

Sora is Finally Here!

The End

[your-1up-girl]

Birthdays and Promises

Okay! So this is my first work for @aerith-week I am happy with how it turned out and I just wanted to do a little something for the flower girl we all know and love! This is a Cloud/Aerith fic so please keep that in mind! I hope you guys enjoy it 

Word count: 1744

Pairing: Cloud/Aerith (Kingdom Hearts)

Day 1: Happy Birthday Aerith!

Read on Ao3

Check out the beautiful fanart done by the equally beautiful @sammilimyy

How they were able to plan a birthday party for Aerith without her knowledge would remain a mystery to her. She wasn’t shocked that everyone was able to fit inside Merlin’s little cottage. He is an amazing wizard after all and if he could fit the entirety of his house in his bag, then expanding the cottage was child’s play to him. 

There was no suspicion on her part when Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Naminé arrived, bags in tow, or when Leon sent her out in a hurry with a list of stuff to collect for tonight’s dinner.

“I don’t think some of this stuff even exists Leon.”

“The nephews have been getting some new product in their shops lately. I’m sure they’ll have what we need. And if not them, then try the Moogles.”  

She left with a smile and her worn basket in hand but once she shut the door, she stared down at the list again perplexed at some of the items. Brushing off any doubt, Aerith left for the marketplace. 

“Oh, you should get this one Aerith!”

“If you add this one to soup it makes it extra spicy!”

“This is good for when you have a cold!”

“Yes but is it from the list?”

“Don’t listen to the list, just take our advice Kupo!” 

Shopping so far has been a disaster. Aerith was barely able to get four things from this list before she had to ask the Nephews and the Moogle for help. And that in turn, created an even bigger disaster. Some of the stuff they brought her she knew she didn’t need and yet they tried to convince her otherwise. She wasn’t annoyed, perplexed was the better fit. “Listen, this has been very helpful, but, I think I should get going.” The Nephews and Moogle stopped in their tracks. “I’ll let Leon and Yuffie know to just make whatever we have left over.”

“But you can’t leave yet! (Kupo!)” The four yelled at the same time, Moogle even going as far as to block the door of their shop. 

“But why? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you four are stalling? 

“What does stalling mean?” Louie asked and was promptly hit in the back of the head by his two brothers. Aerith sighed and from the corner of her eye saw Kairi, Naminé, Olette, Xion, and Aqua all by the jewelry stand across the market. Other than wondering when Olette, Xion, and Aqua arrived, it wasn’t out of the normal. What threw Aerith off was that Cloud was with them shaking his head as the other girls held different products to her.

Aerith gave Moogle her list saying, “I’ll be right back; just help me find these things if you can.” Left the shop and went to the stand. Getting closer she saw that it was a beautiful jewelry stand the woman was selling things that Aerith had no idea could be found in Radiant Garden. 

“Oh Aerith!” Kairi stepped in front of her and the other girls did the same, basically blocking Cloud from her view. “What are you doing here?”

“Leon sent me out to get some things for dinner. Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Moogle are helping me at the shop.” As she conversed with the girls, she looked up to see Cloud casually leaned against stall’s post, arms crossed and head down. The shopkeeper was miserably failing at hiding the smile on her face. Aerith went around the girls to Cloud. “Hey.”

“...Hey.” She and Cloud have been dating for a few months now but he still seemed to have that adorable blush on his face when she was around. Today however, it seemed that it was more pink than usual.

“So, what brings you to this jewelry stand?” Aerith was having fun. Anything that would make Cloud fluster made her smile. It was her favorite hobby.

“Uh...the girls. They dragged me.” 

“Really? Then I must tip my hat to you ladies. You five managed to do something that I could never do.” Aerith turned to them with a small wink. “He hates to go shopping with me.”

“No!” Cloud grabbed her hand with both of his and held it close to him. “Don’t tell them that. You know that I love spending anytime I can with you.” Aerith hugged him and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

“I know. I just like messing with you.”

“AERITH!!!” The group looked back at the shop where the nephews were still waiting for her return. 

“I’ll be right there!” She called back and sighed. “I feel like Leon is sending me on a wild goose chase for some of these things but I just don’t know why.”

“Don’t worry about it.” This time he gave her the kiss but it was closer to the corner of her mouth. Ready to go back to the mess that was her errands, Xion gave her another piece of paper.

“Another list!? Leon what more could you possibly need!”

“Actually this one is from Cid.” Any hope that Aerith had of coming home early flew out the window. When Cid sends anyone on a trip, they almost never come back at a decent time.

Not sure how she did it but somehow she managed to get what Leon needed and the parts Cid asked for. Moogle had ended up taking her second list to get a head start on it while she and the nephews took care of the first one. Basket filled with items she’s almost positive they will never use, Aerith approached Merlin’s house. Huh, that’s strange. The lights were off. But it actually wasn’t that late. Thanks to Moogle, she was able to arrive while the sun was barely visible over the horizon. Yuffie normally has all the lights going at this point.

She opened the door, “Cloud? Merlin?” 

“Happy birthday Aerith!” When the lights came on, Aerith almost dropped her basket. Everyone was there to celebrate her birthday. Suddenly all of today’s antics make much more sense.

“I forgot today was my birthday.” She laughed as she dried the tears from her cheeks.

“How do you forget your own birthday?” Sora came over to give her a hug and the rest of the party followed suit. The last hug was from Tifa who lingered next to the b-day girl as everyone settled in. 

“Did you seriously forget?”

“Yes! When Leon sent me out I genuinely thought it was for groceries!”

“But didn’t you run into Sora and the others while you were out?”

“Yes, but I was so focused on the stupid list it didn’t seem out of the ordinary.”

Tifa gave a full belly laugh that Aerith joined in on. “Oh man, so you would have done nothing for your birthday? It’s a good thing Cloud planned this then.”

Aerith paused for just a moment, “C-cloud planned all this?”

“Oh yeah, when he asked you if you were doing anything on the seventh and you said no, he got a phone, everyone’s number. We all helped but Cloud was pretty much in charge of everything.” Aerith didn’t think Cloud would want to do all of this for her. She assumed that it was Sora, Ventus, or Yuffie who planned everything. But know that she knew it was Cloud; that just made the evening all the more special. 

The rest of the night was amazing. Cid cooked the food (and used some of the ingredients Aerith bought, at her request) and Xion, Roxas, and Lea made the cake. Merlin sat her down to open the presents everyone brought. People sang and danced and took photos of today's events but Aerith knew that this would be a night she would never forget. As it got closer to the end of the night, Cloud approached her. 

“Can we talk?” The party had settled down now and people were just relaxing and holding conversations. Aerith could see that Cloud was nervous so she led him to the stairs that opened to the roof of the house where they could be alone. Both of them sat comfortably looking at the night sky. 

“Did you like the party?” He was less nervous now that they were by themselves.

“Yes, I loved it. Thank you for planning this.” Cloud stuttered at her response and Aerith laughed. “Tifa told me, said you got a phone and everything.”

“Yeah well, Chip and Dale have been wanting me to get one for a while now so…” They sat there in silence for a bit longer. Someone inside put on some soft music and it could be heard by them above. Aerith scooted closer to Cloud so that their hands touched. Cloud responded by holding her hand in his. 

“Soooo, tell me. What were you really doing at the stand today?”

He was quiet and then said, “I wasn’t lying when I said the girls took me. I didn’t forget about your gift. I just wasn’t sure what to get you. That’s when Olette and Xion told me about the jewelry stand in the market and they all took me to get you something. We didn’t expect you to still be in the Nephew’s shop.” Cloud took a deep breath before reaching into his pocket and gave her a small gift. The paper had beautiful roses on it and a yellow bow. Aerith looked from him to the box a few times before opening it. Inside was a velvet box that contained a thin, band rose gold ring. Parts of the band seemed to branch off to look like tiny leaves. Said leaves were made of a type of gem.

“Cloud...this-this is-”

“It’s not an engagement ring. I don’t think we’ve been together long enough for us to take that step. But, this can be something like that. I guess, if you don’t like it the-”

Aerith cut him off by giving him a kiss. With her free hand she turned him to her and leaned forward. Cloud was taken back but eventually held Aerith only letting go when she stopped. 

“I think it’s beautiful. I knew it wasn’t an engagement ring but that doesn’t mean it holds any less value in my eyes.” She slipped the ring on the left ring finger. it glimmered in the moonlight beautifully. Aerith leaned into him and Cloud held her. 

“I love you Aerith, happy birthday.”

“Thank you Cloud, I love you too.”