#bbs khux parallels

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

KHUX: Ephemer and Skuld meet Ventus | BBS: Terra and Aqua meet Ventus. 

[keykidpilipili]

Speaking of Maleficent bargaining Sora’s rescue through one of Pete’s funky portals, you know how Elrena landed on her doorstep after UX?

Maleficent might know about Strelitzia as well and try to use her too as leverage, regardless of whether the one in Quadratum the real deal or data version.

[hollowwhisperings]

Heart Stations (KH spec)

after realising how much Foreshadowing and Sneaky Plot Points were lurking about in KH3's "demo" section, i finally remembered that a LOT of KH3 is done in parallel with KH1: which means that ITS "demo" is ALSO subtly plotty!

The first thing I remembered about Sora's heart station in KH1 is it being able to connect DIRECTLY to the heart stations of Princesses.

despite Sora never having met these princesses before.

except... VENTUS has!

the heart stations that Sora visits in the first Heart Dive belong to Snow White, Cinderella & Aurora: the order of their stations is in the same order as Ven's meeting them in BBS. Ventus befriended Cinderella personally, becoming friendly enough with Snow White & Aurora to have [link] attacks based on them (mostly through his friendship to the dwarves & Aurora's non-evil fairy godmothers).

There is also, in KH1's tutorial, a heart station depicting the three "free" princesses: Alice, Jasmine & Kairi. I had forgotten about this one. It's... interesting that, despite SORA being best friends with Kairi, Sora's heart instead connects to the "idea" of these three princesses altogether rather than individually (if only in the background, given the lack of need for a player to have 7 stages in a tutorial rather than 5). Sora knows Kairi personally but only Ventus could have known Alice or Jasmine, even THEN, his meeting them would have been during KHUX (a time he does not remember in BBS but treasures enough to enable his reunion with Chirithy in KH3).

The last heart station Sora visits in KH1's tutorial heart dive is Belle's: Belle is the princess who Sora ultimately ends up reasonating with most, in his heart at least, and she notably takes on the role of "Riku" to Beast's "Sora" in CoM.

it is EXTREMELY odd that Sora, well before Riku's heart gave him Kingdom Key, was able to directly walk from his heart station to those of the Princesses of Heart: Ventus did not have this ability nor any personal connection with Kairi. There are two plausible explanations as to why Sora's heart was ALREADY connected to that of the Princesses, prior to personally meeting them: Ventus might have joined their hearts by his being an 'artificial' Princess of Light courtesy of Xehanort & Vanitas; RIKU was connected to the princesses and, when Riku gave his crown necklace to Sora, Sora inherited that connection.

Ventus: Artificial Princess of Heart?

this theory is technically canon, working with the definition of princesses as "beings whose hearts are made entirely of light". it seems unlikely that this technicality would result in a metaphysical stairway between Sora's heart station and those of the Prinxesses': if it was THAT easy, Xehanort would have noticed the connection while he had Ven all comatose. Ven's heart being sheltered in Sora's MIGHT, however, explain why the heart stations of Snow White & Cinderella & Aurora were so much closer than the other stations (though the Sleeper/Dreaming connection is a stronger factor shared by Sora & these three).

Riku as Kingmaker?

Sora's first keyblade, Kingdom Key, gets him specifically scouted as Special by Donald & Goofy: Kingdom Key has narrative significance to it, tying it to Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Key was also, originally, an existence dormant in RIKU'S heart: when Riku['s heart] was consumed by darkness in KH1, Sora was able to reach the light within Riku and receive its protection.

the ease with which Sora inherited Riku's keyblade betrays A Lot about Riku's Heart but it ALSO hints that this is not the ONLY example of Riku's Heart being considered interchangeable with Sora's. in later games, Riku and Sora are able to wield each other's keyblades without hesitation and are even capable of merging: other than SoRiku & Sora's Heart Roommates, Aqua is the only instance of someone summoning & wielding another's keyblade.

The keyblade of a deceased Eraqus came to Aqua in her time of need: this makes sense, the keyblade of a teacher coming to protect its student. Eraqus taught Aqua how to call and use a keyblade; Eraqus [knighted] Aqua with this keyblade; Eraqus died with this keyblade, died realising that he had failed his students and that original duty of protecting them.

Sora, meanwhile, began wielding a keyblade because Riku's Heart knew Sora could use it when Riku could not.

So what makes Riku so special, to keyblades and Princesses of Heart specifically?

It seems increasingly likely that Riku is the "Child of Destiny" that Xehanort believed himself to be: Riku's resemblance to Ephemer makes it likely that, just like Xehanort, Riku is his descendant; additionally, the light of Riku's heart was strong enough to catch the attention of both Terra AND Aqua in BBS. Both Terra & Aqua had, by then, met three Princesses of Heart AND lived alongside the artificially-light Ventus: nevertheless, Terra and Aqua only note that Riku's light is "strong" but not in the same way as any heart they'd encountered before.

Riku also, just "incidentally", happens to have had a Crown since infancy (if we quote Sora in CoM but correctly attribute to Riku what he says of Naminé's charm)... that Riku GAVE to SORA, who now wears it as a necklace. A crown necklace that Sora subconsciously gestures to when speaking from "the heart". *insert Necklace Theory here*

so, even before receiving Kingdom Key, Sora had been given a kind of "kingdom's key" through Riku, in symbol & oath.

this leads me to conclude that the CROWN must have connected Sora's heart (which, in DDD, appears a hop skip & a jump away from Riku's) to the Seven Princesses of Heart, the Seven Lights.

which, in turn, leads me to believe that Riku's gift & oath to Sora was significant enough to be recognised as a form of "Coronation": Riku CROWNED Sora, even without knowing it, and did so while meaning it with "all his heart". Riku's Heart recognising & accepting Sora as its "[king?]" (partner? equivalent?) seems to have continued from that Fateful Meteor Shower, throughout Riku's Entire Villain Arc & Redemption, continuing past Sora's failing to exist: Riku has pulled at LEAST two True Love's Sacrifices for Sora, not counting repeats across timelines, just within DDD & KH3. Riku's sacrificing himself has never lasted long enough to learn any repurcussions beyond Sora.exe going offline. SORA'S nonexistence has not significantly affected the integrity of his universe at large, beyond Riku.exe presumably shortcircuiting, which leads me to believe that so long as ONE of the two has a heart where it should be, the potentially disaatrous ramifications of "oh, btw, this one kid's heart has direct access to our universe's suns? should we be worried about that" has been prevented.

(Riku launching himself OUT of said universe to follow Sora? UH. let's just hope Kairi's still in touch with the other Original 7 and can lead the New Lights when it potentially/inevitably becomes necessary?)

Speaking of Kairi...

interestingly, Kairi never really indicates feeling "connected" to Riku.

Kairi feels connected to SORA and HIS heart, something many characters share in common (often very literally). Another product of Riku (& thus Destiny) sharing his role with Sora, when not designating him [his] King absolutely?

Speaking of Kings...

Riku ends up manifesting ANOTHER keyblade, just casually, despite Sora's having Kingdom Key being a Big Deal.

we could dismiss Riku's having Soul Eater in KH1 as "that's Xehanort/Terra/Ansem SoD's heart at work"... but we can't dismiss Riku's STILL having a keyblade post-KH2, Sora wielding the original Kingdom Key while Riku so happens to summon a second keyblade from his heart without any fuss at all??

it is... interesting, that Donald & Goofy never ended up explaining [to the audience] why Kingdom Key SPECIFICALLY was something King Mickey was looking for in the first place.

if it was due to Mickey's searching for the Wayfinder Trio, Donald & Goofy would have been searching for multiple "keyblade WIELDERS" instead of one "KEYBLADE": we can only assume that Xehanort's repeated efforts at starting another ragnarok have sufficiently distracted everyone from Kingdom Key's origins.

I personally find it very heartwarming/plot-foreshadow-y that Kingdom Key has STAYED with Sora, even upon reuniting with a Riku whose heart is at peace again: consciously or otherwise, Riku's heart continues to choose "Sora".

(which, given how likely it is that Riku is the foretold Child of Destiny... means that RIKU'S choosing Sora makes DESTINY choose Sora... for better of for worse, right? plz just let them be married already, Disney: Nomura & Utada have Riku's vows all written and everything)

[renatogpadilla]

Kingdom Hearts' Keblade Wielders are just Jedi:

OK, so we can all agree that Keyblade Wielders are just Jedi, right?

That's not me projecting on an AU or anything.

They're just JEDI. Like, the parallel is obvious! Mark Hamill is even there!

Except they're allowed attachment (which, granted, 9 out of 10 times is what causes the problems) and everyone is a Padawan because the ONLY 3 LIVING MASTERS are crackpots!

Xehanort is The Evil One, Eraqus is the Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi parallel that's too BLIND to see how to stop the Anakin (Terra) betrayal from happening and Yen Sid is Yoda BECAUSE HE NEVER DOES ANYTHING UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE except sit there ominously and help out in the final fight of the trilogy.

Still don't believe it? How about the "rule of two's"? How there can only be ONE Sith Lord and ONE Sith Apprentice?

As there are only 2 active evil Keyblade Wielders at a time! If we take BBS to be the Prequels, then Vanitas is 1000% Maul, and then there's Xehanort, who is STILL EVERY OTHER VILLAIN who weilds a Keyblade, with the sole exception of Xion (who forms part of the Sora Heart Hotel) and Luxu (who doesn't count because he doesn't wield his Keyblade during the entire Trilogy)!

The Whole KHUX plot is essentially Order 66, with the Foretellers (a fooled Council/Senate) turning Keyblade Wielders against each other for their Master's plan (unknowingly).

And finally, this new KHML connection with the "Secret Society of Keyblade Wielders" being a parallel of the Jedi as used during the Clone Wars: As a police force that takes your children rather than Peacekeepers.

I KNOW for a fact SOMEBODY has done this AU before, and I can't help but feel like the parallels got pretty obvious the longer Keyblade Wielder Lore expanded...

Like, you could even argue that Mickey plays the part of Obi-Wan... Though considering the rivalry with the Maul stand-in, maybe "Ven" Kenobi would be more accurate...

I'm just saying, if what you want is to predict anything, the Parallels are THERE.

Edit: IT JUST HIT ME. ROXAS IS STARKILLER.

Canonically the hardest hitter? Worked for and betrayed the bad guys? Dual Wielder? In love with his also-previously-evil mission-partner? Everyone's favorite character?

"THE FORCE UNLEASHED" IS LITERALLY A XION LIVES AU.

Edit 2: Actually, Ven is Luke. It's actually pretty spot-on...

Edit 3: Aqua isn't just Ahsoka. She's a bit of Padme as well, now that I think about it...

[probably-ace-ok]

So here’s a crazy theory for today: the new character files seem to confirm Marluxia was a Nobody when he arrived from the past... and following this trail of thought, maybe the Ventus we see in KHUX and the Ventus (before heart split) that we see in BBS aren’t quite the same person...

[trans-girl-sora]

ANYWAY here’s a HUGE write-up of the various stuff we saw in the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary video

First, Dark Road Stuff: 

First: Xehanort KNOWS he was Player??? THAT’S fucked up lmao 

A new cast of Dark Road characters!! I don’t think any of these we saw previously, which is fun!

We see Xehanort’s keyblade armor, and it looks like the No Heart BBS fight! So it’s just always had the little crown motif which is kinda cute. Also one of the original capital-d Darknesses is there, and evidently killed all the other students l o l. 

God the jpeg artifacts on this game. It really was built in flash, huh

I’m curious to see who he’s mourning in this shot - is it his mom that we saw at the end of khux? Is it the master who maybe dies at the end? Who Knows

Missing Link Stuff:

As much as I’ve been wanting a khux mmo for a while, I wasn’t expecting............. this. Whatever Missing Link is. Because I have some Theories. 

Specifically this shot. This is definitely in the early alpha stages because beta signups are opening later this year but like... to ME, the overhead shots of this game feels. Like a augmented reality map game?? Like Pokemon Go or Pikmin Bloom?? I hope to GOD it’s not but it feels like a legitimate city with the little Large Body in the bottom right and the little green markers, it feels like a real life walk game and I’d HATE that. I’m sure it isn’t but. Man. Dystopian thoughts.

But hey check it out we get THREE new keyblades! A red and black one that feels like a gear, a green and gray one with what looks like a wire mesh around a lantern, and a sharp one that looks kind of between Starlight and Missing Ache. I have a feeling there’s some sort of class system that encourages the multiplayer that we see near the end of the trailer here: 

Also my boy Brain is there!! And I refused to call him Blaine, you can pry Brain from my cold dead hands. 

And now, of course, Kingdom Hearts 4 Stuff: 

So this feels deliberate, right? Like this is a very obvious message, displayed a couple of times in different areas, written in the in-universe KH alphabet. The first character in the first word is A, the last character is 7, and in the second word there’s a punctuation mark and then a 3. But a lot of it I don’t know, and people haven’t translated yet :( 

Also this is the first we start seeing of the dark force in the trailer, which I’m gonna tentatively call the “Heartless” for now. Which I have my doubts about. 

Also yeah that’s Endor LOL

MY SLEEPY GIRL also jesus her feet are big, I can see why her yellow shoes are so HUGE now, wearing Size 20s out here

MY OTHER SLEEPY GIRL who looks rough but she has been dead for like a thousand years so. Sleep it off, Strel

They feel TINY compared to the doors and deck lmao, like look how little bitty they are

THIS is interesting, we see English script alongside the Scala script. Which... is weird. Also the D-Dream and D-Eater is very interesting and fun lol, it’s another parallel to DDD alongside Missing Link using a cover of the DDD version of Dearly Beloved

And of course, our Baddy. Who actually looks a lot like Dark Inferno! There’s some differences - no weapons, no glow, no bandana - but it’s got a lot of visual similarities. Also, interestingly, Re:Mind’s Dark Inferno χ is stated to be a “Darkness” sleeping inside of Ven, maybe Vanitas, so it’s possible this is another original Darkness as well? We do see MoM and Luxu here in a second so it could track. 

The grapple is SICK and very interesting, almost a fleur de lis? 

SORA’S GOT HIS BUILDING SKATING POWERS BACK 

We see Luxu and MoM (assumedly, because of the posture? The rightmost one is at least MoM for sure)

And I really like the font!! It’s different, a little more clean than the one in the Dark Seeker Saga. 

And of course Goofy and Donald looking for Hades because Sora literally died. 

Also this is just a funny smear frame but it’s nice to see they’re embracing the more comical side of things too! They’re making sure it stays cartoony which I like 

Anyway that’s all I’ve got for now and tomorrow I’ll ramble more 

[whyarewecalledtheshipname]

saw that one “crack” idea on twitter about riku being MoM’s son lmao buttt it did remind me of a couple thoughts

which are that i fully believe MoM and that one Darkness are ex boyfriends LMAO

and in regards to riku’s parents. he does mention “our parents” in kh1. but the original post on twitter did mention this one line from the novel…

but as always the reason i think about riku’s parentage is bc of hercules lmao i mean??? i’ve posted about this before but—if riku’s parents were higher beings, only for riku to end up on the mortal realm AS a mortal for some reason

and now i’m wondering what that reason could have been. like was it voluntary or not? was it riku’s doing? his choice? cause at first i was thinking about how baby hercules was legit kidnapped

but tHEN i thought about player. bc players two lives feel, different. on one side, Player decided to sacrifice themselves, and be reborn. on the other side, xehanort was born with the memories of his past life, causing him to want to leave the islands.

so like, on players end, the whole thing was “voluntary”, but on xehanorts side, bc he literally doesn’t remember choosing to be reborn, it feels involuntary. like he was born in the wrong place, or like he’s meant to be somewhere else.

like riku’s line from kh1. riku wonders the exact same things, which is part of why i freak out about the riku/xehanort parallel so much.

bc given the fact riku’s lines, riku’s scenes, came first. only for xehanort to parallel them years later, like—both in bbs and khux—esp after khux reveals the reason behind his whole mindset is bc of being a reincarnation—

LIKEEEEE IT IS NOT COINCIDENCE.

???? how are you gonna show me this

riku being all “there have to be other worlds out there. and if there are, why am i here, on this one?”

xehanort, games later: *seems to ponder the exact same thing*

xehanort, games after that: oh the reason he wonders about other worlds and has the desire to leave the islands is bc he is a reincarnation of a whole ass other person who lived a whole ass separate life on another world

LIKE WHAT ABOUT RIKU THEN???

NOT TO MENTION————NOT TO MENTION THAT XEHANORT IS A FUSED HUMAN AND CHIRITHY HEART??? right????? (edit: maaaybe not actually but idfc lol)

WHAT ABOUT RIKU THEN

what about riku’s “chirithy aspect”, as i call it

ofccc these are all questions assuming the riku/xehanort parallel runs THAT deep. but IF IT DOES?????

Edit: because there's also this whole mystery/unanswered question about xehanorts whole ass MOTHER? Tf??

“i need to protect the person who matters, i need to leave this island, i am also a dream eater” BITCH WTF you want me to make of this???????

“what is he?” a reincarnation maybe????

but if he is—who is he a reincarnation of? WHAT is he a reincarnation of??

this circles back to the “riku is MoM’s son” idea LMAO and i support it wholeheartedly don’t get me wrong.

i mean MoM is obv not human, though supposedly he’s currently in a human form. but despite this he can still do shit no human should be able to do. eg. plucking his whole ass eyeball from his being, and continuing to SEE through it till the end of time. (assuming the eye is even his lol rip)

riku, despite being in a human form, also is implied to have abilities no human should have? the way he’s immune to darkness when realistically, all humans should succumb to it in some form or another. not to mention his dream eater bs, his self sacrifice SOMEhow spawning a whole ass NEW timeline for some reason. (i used to accept that it was bc of true love but what if it’s more—)

for a second i was like “wait xehnort fell to darkness tho” but then i remembered player was still just a human so we’re good lmao

ANYWAY i think it took my brain a good while to remember why the riku/xehanort/player parallel bothered me so much like, this has been in my head for a while now but i couldn’t get it out lol

like we’re always asking “what is riku” but my dumb brain keeps spamming “what WAS riku” bc that’s two things now that hint at some form of past life/past form and i don’t know what to think 😭

like you’re really gonna parallel riku and xehanort’s motivations, then drop this bomb about the origin of xehanorts motivations, then just? keep walking?

[nadziejastar]

I guess technically lea would have to be a sheep since they're the same year, but he seems more like the rooster.

The Rooster definitely fits Lea more than the Sheep does. Personally, I see him as a Dragon.

A cool-headed young man who rarely shows emotion.

This is part of Saix's description from the Ultimania.

A serene and self-possessed boy who always has time for a quick quip at his best friend Lea's expense.

This is Isa's description from the BBS journal.

Cool, collected, and mature beyond his age. He's good friends with Lea.

From KHUX.

A quiet and cool-headed youth. Though he does come out of his shell when talking to his best friend Lea, toward other he is distant and untalkative. Often scolds Lea and his contrasting personality.

And from the BBS novel. "Serene", "calm", "self-possessed", "cool", "collected". All adjectives describing how in control of his emotions Isa is. When they got caught by Dilan, Lea was angry and struggling for him to let go. On the other hand, Isa was completely calm.

A fiery red-haired young man who can manipulate flames and his chakrams at will.

This is Axel's description in the Ultimania. His personality is “fiery”.

“Yeah, and we failed. One day she was just gone!” Axel snapped in a way that was reminiscent of his younger self.

And here's an interesting bit from the KH3 novel implying Lea was prone to snapping when he was younger. Axel seemed very cool and collected for the most part in 358/2 Days. But I think that was because he was a Nobody. We only see some fiery-ness peak through at the very end when he yells at Xion.

“Do you have anything you couldn’t bear to lose?”

Axel shifted in surprise and pulled the ice cream bar out of his mouth. “What? Where’d that come from?”

“I saw someone today and…he was talking about something like that. It was so important he couldn’t even think about losing it. Xaldin told me that’s a weakness.”

Back when he had a heart, I think hotheadedness and irascibility were major parts of his personality. Maybe that's why there was a heavy Beast/Axel parallel in 358/2 Days.

Let's say Lea and Isa were test subjects in their original backstory. If the goal was to amplify the darkness in one of them, it makes sense that they would target the more outwardly emotional one who was quick to anger, right? And they would have done that by exploiting his weakness— the person he couldn't bear to lose.

[eradicatetehnormal]

My One Gripe About Ventus As a Character

Don't get me wrong. I like Ventus a lot. Man's is my pfp, but there's one thing that's been bothering me as of late. See, a lot of people have pointed out that Ventus and Kairi have a lot of similarities. Both are beings with hearts of pure light and both seem to have similar struggles. Part of Ventus's story in BBS was about him feeling left behind by his friends. Compare that to what Kairi's going through, where she's separated from Sora and Riku in every KH game, and you can interpret her situation to be the same, just long-term. So I look at Ventus and then I look at Kairi and then I realize, they literally wrote a better Kairi. It's saddening because it feels like the writers are backhandedly acknowledging that they know what to do with her, they just don't want to do it unless they attach a PP to her. I'm not saying the writers are sexist per se. KH doesn't have AMAZING female characters but some of them manage to shine as important and iconic figures, like Aqua and Larxene. Let's hope that the parallels are intentional (which I'm pretty sure they are since Ventus also has princess parallels (being trapped in a castle for a good portion of his life, being put in Snow White's casket in 2.0)) and that they actually intend to say something with them. Someone pointed out that in KHUX they use a term like "person of light" instead of "princess of light, or something like that. I wonder what that means for these two. Will Ventus be able to be a person of light with Kairi, or perhaps even take her place? 0-0 I think it could be potentially interesting to see her go through a "What am I without my powers" arc, though I'm not sure if I really want that to happen since it's the most interesting part about her character.

[descendant-of-truth]

I don't think Ven is the one who killed Strelitzia, but it's possible that he unknowingly had a hand in it. Maybe it's the sleeper agent theory, maybe it's something else - but I think he's gotta be involved somehow.

And after looking back at some BBS cutscenes, I think I've found a moment that foreshadows his involvement.

Isn't this kind of a weird thing to include, given that it's never brought up again? If I remember correctly, he never learned that it was a poisoned apple, or that Snow White died from it. Nobody did. So what's the point?

I think it's possible that this will end up paralleling his actions in KHUX; giving someone the means to murder Strelitzia, somehow, but not knowing that she died or that he was ever involved. It doesn't really narrow down the list of suspects, but I think it's more likely than him being the main culprit.

Side note - 0.2 puts an illusion of him in Snow White's coffin. He takes the place of the person he wronged, even if it was a mistake.

I'm not sure what this would imply regarding Strelitzia, but I still think it's worth mentioning.

[revengerevisited]

Maddie rambles about Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road

Let’s just get this outta the way: Xehanort is my least favorite character in Kingdom Hearts. Now there are certainly more boring and underdeveloped characters but as far as evil deeds go, it doesn’t matter how ‘cute’ or ‘relatable’ Nomura tries to make Xehanort. I will never forget that he tore Ven’s heart in half, tortured Vanitas for four years, killed his own best friend, possessed Terra’s body for a decade, possessed Riku’s body as Ansem, unleashed Heartless on the worlds resulting in countless deaths, manipulated Organization XIII for years, and experimented on Kairi as a child and eventually murdered her in front of her best friends. Any attempt to make me sympathize with him just ain’t gonna work.

Also, I’m not taking any of these ‘Character X is secretly Character Y’ theories too seriously until they actually happen. Yes, it can be fun to speculate that Bragi or Odin is secretly Luxu or the Master of Masters, or that Brain is Eraqus’s ancestor, or that Demyx is the MoM, or that Ava or Vor is Kairi’s grandma, or whatever other theories are out there. But until there’s conclusive evidence that’s all they are, speculations and theories.

On that note, I don’t know why Xehanort is having dreams about the KHUX Player’s adventures but I don’t think it’s because Xehanort is the Player’s Nobody or a reincarnation of the Player. Reincarnation has never been a concept present in the KH series, and honestly it just sounds like bad fanfiction. Plus, if Xehanort does turn out to be the Player, then I feel bad for everyone who spent a lot of time creating their own unique character only to have it be replaced by the generic default Player in KHDR’s opening cutscene and then re-replaced by Xehanort of all people. Perhaps Xehanort simply has a unique, unexplained power to see into the past like Namine’s memory manipulation or Terra’s precognition.

Either way, this past-sight just makes it harder and harder for me to believe that Xehanort wanted to learn about the Keyblade War in BBS, since it seems he already knew all he needs to know. Xemnas knows that Luxord, Marluxia, Demyx, and Larxene are from the past, young Xehanort lives in Scala ad Caelum which was built over the ruins of Daybreak Town complete with a huge machine explaining Daybreak Town’s demise, Eraqus talks about the Book of Prophecies like it’s common knowledge, the list goes on. Also, I don’t like the implication that Xehanort chose Ventus as his vessel and later as material for the X-Blade only because he knows him from the Player’s dreams. Then again, if his dreams of the Keyblade War end before the Player meets Ven and Lauriam, then Xehanort wouldn’t know about them and would instead be more familiar with Skuld and Ephemer.

I will say that one thing I do like is Xehanort comparing himself to a starfish laying on the beach, both for the humorous imagery and also just a bit of that islander backstory flavor. Xehanort being the outsider of his friends group and not telling the whole truth of how he ended up in Scala is also an interesting Kairi parallel, although him being found unconscious in the middle of a city is kinda overused. I do like that the surrounding cities around Scala are all uninhabited, since trying to wrap my mind around these huge mountain-sized cities with potentially millions of people in them was a little too much for my brain to handle.

I do however find it quite bizarre that it’s taken some worlds so long to recover from the Keyblade War. Not only that, but apparently people just appear out of thin air once their world is restored. Like, how? It just feels weird and uncomfortable, almost like these people only exist for the protagonist and audience’s amusement rather than being independent living beings in their own right. I dunno, there’s just something deeply unsettling about those implications. It also makes me wonder how long ago the Keyblade War was, if places like Agrabah still aren’t finished only 75-ish years before KH1. The characters refer to it as a legend, so it must’ve happened a long time ago, right? Some fans think it’s only been 100 years since the Keyblade War, but that would be like the equivalent of calling World War 1 a legend.

The worlds all being on different timescales is also extremely headache-inducing, both as analyst and a fanfic writer trying to keep track of the plot. Couple that with time travel and the whole thing just falls apart. Of course, if each world runs at a different time, then perhaps this is why Xehanort looks so much older than Eraqus, or rather why Eraqus looks so relatively young when he’s supposed to be 80-ish years old. And if that’s the case, then do any of the characters’ ages really matter? I’ve already proven that their ages have been retconned before. Also, this renders timecodes such as ‘75 years later’ and ‘one year later’ from Re:Mind and other parts of the series completely meaningless. The timeline is broken.

Anyway, I’m not sure how much Norse Mythology will play into the story, but all the new characters have Norse names with two that stand out the most. The first is Master Odin, named after a Norse god who sacrificed one of his own eyes for knowledge, which is an interesting parallel to the MoM. The second is Baldr, the as of yet unseen seventh student who has a missing sister, because evidently Nomura likes recycling his previous plots before they’ve even finished. In Norse Mythology, Baldr is the god of light whose death kickstarts the events of Ragnarok. How this’ll be relevant in KHDR remains to be seen, but after seeing those four gravestones in the timeskip/flashforward, I can’t imagine this ending well for anyone not named Eraqus or Xehanort. 

Now, as funny as I find it that the new characters have all been killed off this quickly, I’m not entirely convinced that those are Urd, Hermod, Bragi, and Vor’s graves. They could actually be the graves of the missing upperclassmen, if some of them turn up dead. Speaking of the upperclassmen, I would hope that Yen Sid is one of them, but I have a feeling he won’t be allowed to show up simply because of Disney’s stranglehold on its own IP. It’s pretty sad and ironic seeing as this series used to be all about Disney, but I assume that’s why Nomura is straying further and further from the brand.

About the four new student characters, I don’t have any particular attachment to any of them, beyond Vor’s name being hilariously unfortunate. I find it a bit eye-rolling that fans continuously snub Kairi but will instantly latch onto any new characters like Yozora and these four despite barely knowing anything about them. It doesn’t help that, and please correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems that any of the four who you choose to be in your trio will have the exact same dialogue in cutscenes no matter who you pick, meaning that these new characters don’t even get much of a chance to develop their own personalities because all of their dialogue has to be generic and bland enough to fit all four of them.

Young Eraqus is probably the best character so far, simply because he’s the only one with any personality. Granted his supposed cowardice has yet to be seen, but it’s mentioned so often that I assume it’s gonna be an important plot point later. However, I’m finding it hard to relate young Eraqus with his adult counterpart seeing as their personalities are just so different. I’m aware there’s a 65-ish year gap between this Eraqus and older Eraqus, but there better be some major character development to explain this, especially since even standing in front of his presumed classmate’s graves he still seems fairly chipper.

On that note, as humorous as ‘Tardy Fleetfoot’ is, just like with Xehanort, don’t think I’ve forgotten that this guy caused Terra’s insecurity and self-doubt with his overzealous anti-darkness stance, probably heavily influenced Aqua’s black-and-white anti-darkness keyblade-first-ask-questions-later thinking, was also probably the one who told her to lie to Ventus about always living with them, and attempted to straight up kill Ven and Terra. Eraqus’s actions aren’t as bad as Xehanort’s, but they certainly aren’t acceptable in any capacity.

Something odd I noticed is that Eraqus knows what the Heartless are called, and even the difference between Pureblood and Emblem Heartless-- well, part of the difference; I’m assuming he doesn’t know that future Xehanort created them. But anyway, my point is that Aqua doesn’t know what the Heartless are called until Mickey tells her in BBS 0.2. Before that she simply calls them ‘dwellers of darkness’, and even mistakes one for an Unversed. Does this mean Eraqus never taught his students about the Heartless? Why? Perhaps after his classmates died, he decided to shelter his own students from the worlds, hence why their Mark of Mastery was so simple? I’m just guessing at this point. Of course, there’s still no real explanation as for why the Emblem Heartless are here in the past. My best theory is that someone used the Book of Prophecies to summon them... somehow. It really just seems like an excuse to gloss over the corner Nomura wrote himself into with the whole ‘Emblem Heartless were made by Ansem’ thing, but we’ll see.

Honestly this whole series is just one big endless death-spiral of constant retcons and nonsensical plot twists and at this point I’m just exhausted. My view on KH has become one of mild and morbid curiosity, rather than expecting anything truly great. Is that cynical? Yes, but I’ve watched other once-great series (Star Wars, Voltron) worsen over time to the point that they just fizzle out and die, and I’m afraid it’s the same deal with Kingdom Hearts. I don’t think I’ve truly enjoyed a KH game since BBS, and if the series just continues down the path of introducing bland new characters every time Nomura gets bored rather than developing the already established ones, I don’t know how long I can stay interested. The Dark Seeker Saga is over and he really needs to let Xehanort go.

To end this on a positive note, I am tentatively hopeful about Melody of Memory. The gameplay looks cute and fun and the story looks like it will have more development for Kairi and her backstory, which is something I’ve been wanting for a while now. Focusing on the original cast is definitely a step in the right direction, and I hope this series can keep moving forwards rather than backwards.

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

BBS: Ventus saves Aqua from Vanitas | KHUX: Ephemer saves Skuld from Player.

[magpiejay1234]

The thematic changes in Kingdom Hearts

I was planning to make a larger post about this, but playing FF1 and FF2 gave me a realization about the Seeker of Darkness saga in KH.

The reason why the first three games hold dearly for many people and the latter games do not is probably not limited to stuff like Nomura’s influence, the retcons or nostalgia. There is a definitive shift in the themes, and it is not just serial escalation.

The Seeker of Darkness saga is effectively a thematic trilogy of its own, each of which are divided into their own arcs of sorts. First part sets up as a deconstruction of traditional Disney and Squaresoft stories, the second part is a discourse on this deconstruction, and the latter part reconstructs the story as a modern Disney and Square Enix story, with excessive doses of shonen.

--Original Trilogy: The Apprentice Xenahort arc--

*First three games are a simple drama with thematic escalation. First game is a simple crossover that turns into a more traditional shonen affair with a classical Disney character as the main character. Sora’s optimism and silliness deconstructs both the traditionally static nature of classical Disney characters, and the edgelord shonen archetypes of the early 2000s. Ansem SoD in this game is just another “king mook”, a large Heartless that controls the lesser Heartless, but he still has a Square style backstory.

CoM is a traditional mid-quel that set ups concepts like data clones and Nobodies without fully explaining them. This is because this game is really about Riku, who is the Squaresoft representative that deconstructs both the traditional Squaresoft “black knight” characters like FF2′s Leon and FF4′s Theodore/Golbez and the traditional shonen rival archetype. Because Riku is his own character now, he gets two Shadow Archetypes, one being the returning ghost of Ansem SoD and the other being the Riku Replica. First one represents what he can become and the latter represents what he was. Traditional shonen and Squaresoft stuff, but with important twists.

KH2 is the climax, and you start off with Roxas. Roxas may be Sora’s Nobody, but conceptually what he actually is really Sora’s Shadow Self, in a very Cecil in FF4 fashion even. Because Sora’s character is an immature kid that acts younger than his age, Roxas is an angsty existentialist teen, representing what Sora “logically should become”. Except of course, the twist is that Roxas actually develops a self-hood. The enemies of the game, Nobodies, despite later retcons, really represent the void, in the FF sense, just like Heartless represent the darkness. But much like Heartless, despite craving destruction eventually develop creative instincts and self-hood, Nobodies, despite desiring emptiness and representing logic, really want to exist and feel.

--The Long Intermission: Existentialism and Fate--

*The next two games, Coded and 358/2 Days, are an operatic intermission, and in true operatic intermission fashion, nothing absolutely happens. Just more setup for the later part of the Saga.

Well something happens actually. Xion happens. As much as I like the character, she starts the deconstructive take on the series, as her romantic relationship with Roxas kills the parallels between him and Naminé set up in the KH2, and recontextualizes Roxas as a being of his own, rather than purely existing for commentary Sora.

Coded does the same thing Naminé, who was also set up as the inversion of Sora’s idealized self of Kairi (a purpose later given to Xion), though Coded’s main purpose is to set up the Book of Prophecies MacGuffin, which also inserts theme of “fate” to the KH series, which obviously didn’t exist previously, at least not so profusely.

--The Second Trilogy: Master Xehanort Arc--

*The latter trilogy of games, BBS, 3D and KH3, effectively serve as deconstructions of the original trilogy, and this starts with retcons. While the KH series always had an ambiguous morality compared to other Disney properties, villains were still villains and heroes were still heroes. The latter part of the SoD saga, muddies the water in a not-so-positive, though still comprehensible way.

First game, BBS, is often called The Revenge of the Sith of the franchise, but it is also told in a Rashomon style. While this idea was previously used in other games, it was done a thematically consistent way. Here, each character have a different arc, which converge in the same event, return of the X-blade and actual Kingdom Hearts. The only constants in all three stories are Old Master Xehanort and Eraqus, who both literal manifestations of new Square Enix under Nomura and old Squaresoft under Hironobu Sakaguchi. The villains of this game are rather fitting nonetheless. The Unversed are the repressed emotions of people, making them a sort of proto-Heartless. Even though the Unversed we see are manifestations of only one entity, Vanitas, they work in this story as BBS is literally about miscommunication.

3D isn’t too interesting as it is just a standard training arc. The new enemies, Nightmare Dream Eaters and their good counterparts are not thematically relevant, the only relevance they have is their creation. Creating Dream Eaters as allies is obviously meant to tie in with M Xehanort’s vessel creation, but the time loop is not an important storyline, outside of being a reference to FF1′s plot. The villain, Young Xehanort, has little relevance to Riku, and no relevance to Sora. However, this game sets up the idea that old Master Xehanort and Sora are counterparts, as Roxas is his own being now.

KH3 is a clusterf*ck of themes, which makes sense because how are they going to resolve all these plot threads? Well, they do resolve them and open new ones for the next Saga, even though %90 of them are now answered by KHUx. Central theme of KH3 is the deconstruction of the intermission arc, rather than accepting fate and be satisfied with existence, you should defy fate, even if your very existence gets blown away. I can’t say this idea is thematically fitting or not, since the very idea of fate didn’t exist in original trilogy, as your mere presence already changed the so-called “world lines” of the various “world”s (which, despite loooking like planets, are actually parallel universes with their own physics rules), but defying fate in large pattern is always shown to be dangerous. That is basically the Terranort’s and his clones’ entire story arc.

Biggest flaw of KH3 and the entire latter trilogy is however it fully embraces the shonen archetypal storytelling with both traditional SE and SS elements, which is probably for better given the post-Nomura era of Square Enix after the company degenerated to being a Disney-Sony second party studio. What was then an ironic twist on expectations is now played straight. Sora has now a negative character arc that implies he might turn to darkness a la Tidus, Riku is now the Piccolo, Roxas, Xion and Naminé are now somebodies, and the new villain MoM’s plan involves weaponizing light somehow. And of course, Xigbar being Luxu is very traditional FF twist, just like Garland becoming Chaos, Mateus becoming the new Satan, everything about Cloud of Darkness etc.

I suppose Kairi got the better end of this in spades, but her thematic role or lack thereof needs another post.

[hollowwhisperings]

KH Spec: Princesses of Light as Stars, part 1/?

As of KH3, all of the original seven Princesses of Heart recognised in KH1 have [retired] except Kairi. I suspect that the Other Six were able to pass on their roles due to their respective worlds no longer being kept in Time Loops (as seen in their appearances in the mobile games & BBS being exactly as they were in KH1). comple since KHUX) & their FINALLY being able to "move on" with their lives.

Kairi's primary character arc has been one of Resistance To Change: she kept her role, unchanged for all that she was the only Light to have experienced time*. That said... it seems odd that Kairi was the ONLY princess to have lived in a world of real-time (Axel, Isa & Ienzo all aged between BBS & KH2: this confirms that Radiant Garden experiences time, even in Kairi's absence). It seems very plausible that Kairi's Grandmother preceded Kairi in the role of "Seventh Light". Whether it was an entirely familial legacy (a "secret bloodline", one might say) or Kairi's Grandmother was secretly an Immortal Princess until choosing Kairi to replace her... is Its Own Theory.

The Princesses of Heart served as Seven "Backup Generators" keeping the metaphysical lights on for the KH Universe in the absence of its "Sun", Kingdom Hearts. For Thematic Reasons & simplicity's sake, the New Princesses of Heart (dubbed "New" Princesses of Light in KH3) will henceforth be referred to as the "Seven Stars"... because that's what they ARE.

Stars in the KH setting: Paopu Fruit & Wayfinders

Stars are a consistent reference point in the KH series, sometimes in conjunction with the "One Sky (One Destiny)" arc words they're set in, but largely as symbols in their own right.

Stars are, of course, what the Paopu Fruit of Destiny Islands are shaped like: the legend that sharing Paopu Fruit with someone ties people together forever was one taught to Xehanort by [Player] and, likely through Eraqus, to Aqua & thus the Wayfinder Trio (whose star-shaped wayfinders DID, in the end, bring them back to each other). Riku and Selphie arr the first to bring up paopu fruit bringing "Romantic" Forevers: Riku very smoothly (/s) covers for his hopes of sharing one with Sora by distracting him with a competition and That Female Friend They Share with whom Heteroromanticism Can Be Achieved (rather than, say, certain silver haired dreameaters who have theme songs saying promises are for children & making an oath with sunrise-coloured rings...).

Kairi makes a star-shaped wayfinder from thalassa shells instead of helping Riku make his Dream Boat: she later "lends" this wayfinder to Sora, calling it "her Lucky Charm". In the original JP, using Kairi's token lets Sora use the [Promise Charm] Keyblade. While the ENG translation to "Oathkepper" IS a lot cooler sounding, it is Misleading: the lyrics of Chikai reference the distinction between "promises" and "oaths", specifically framed within vows of a wedding. Kairi is someone who makes Promises (her star-crossed sharing of paopu fruit with Sora, a goodbye to childhood): Oaths exist only in reference to Riku, especially when with regard to Sora.

Through Kairi & Riku, stars represent promises & oaths: childhood friendship & lifelong love. Through the Wayfinders (Kairi's but esoecially Aqua's), stars represent connection, return & reunions.

While Riku Is The Light (the story's "Sun"), Kairi is a Star: while they are the same thing, astronomically, the symbolism of "stars" differs due to that of "suns". There are many Stars, bright and gentle and distant. There is only one Sun*, blinding and personal.

The next part in this series of speculations will be on how Kairi & the Other Princesses are connected to stars.

*While Rapunzel also has sun imagery, its use in KH3 is largely in parallel with Riku: both are the metaphorical secret "suns" of their own worlds & stories, and "stars" in the context of each other's.

[xnymphae]

Nobody

Those bright red fingers and tattered black clothes look familiar, don’t they? According to THIS POST , there’s an interesting parallel to draw between Anti-Aqua and a certain enemy from KHUX, the Darklings. And that’s what fuels this idea that, before Sora beat the darkness out of her, Aqua was on the verge of becoming a Darkling. And what exactly is a Darkling? It is a Pureblood Heartless formed when a Keyblade Wielder succumbs to the darkness within their own heart. Sora also mentions that Aqua must have a ‘heart of steel’ to survive over ten years in the Realm of Darkness... or, in other words, a very strong will. 

And what happens when someone with a very strong will becomes a Heartless? A Nobody is left behind. But, her process of becoming a Darkling was interrupted. Her body remained largely intact, but I like to think some small part of her power was lost that day, coalescing elsewhere in the Realm of Darkness and creating an incomplete, partial Nobody. It would go a long way towards explaining why Aqua no longer seems to be as powerful during KH3 as she was at the end of BBS, and why she was ranked so low on the recent ‘power charts’ that went out despite being a Master with magical power rivaling that of Xehanort’s. Of course there’s still the obvious ‘Nomura is sexist’ point to make but let’s not get into that right now.

Her partial Nobody still lingers in the Realm of Darkness, holding a portion of her power and will. And that Nobody’s creation was interrupted partway through, meaning that she is small, frail, child-like... heavily resembling Aqua when she was actually a child. She has no name, and she’s lost, scared, alone. Maybe the Darkness will reject her, a creature of non-existence, and force her into the nearest world in the Realm of Light, or maybe she’s doomed to wander the darkness for eternity as Aqua herself once was... or maybe someone will find her? I’d like to make a verse out of this and explore all of the possibilities with this idea... ;3c

[thetwilightroadtonightfall]

send me headcanons :'D I have been curious if you have new or kind of old ones around your head feel would be an interesting reading to take a look what ideas you have in mind, preety cool >

I have some old key kid Ven headcanons that have just been lying in my phone for a while. I hope they’re alright, I feel like I pointed out some really obvious things. But good luck on your work! I’m sure you’ll do great :)

You thought bbs Ven was a sweetheart? You ain’t seen nothing yet

khux Ven is the Ven that hasn’t met Xehanort yet, therefore he must be protected at all costs

well, they don’t know about Xehanort, but all four of the other leaders have silently agreed to protect the youngest of their group solely because of how innocent and cheery he is

Ven wears normal boots instead of his armoured shoes (see here)

all his clothes are a little loose bc he hasn’t grown into them yet; the boy’s like 10-11 years old and Tiny

his desire to make friends in bbs stems from his time as a child always hanging around other groups of key kids but never really feeling like he belonged with them

he always needs to be saved or assisted during missions and he hates it

before getting chosen, he just lives his life in Daybreak Town peacefully, getting by with the help of other kids that don’t stick around long enough to form a bond with him, but getting by nonetheless

Like Strelitzia, he spent a lot of time watching others from a distance, longing to be like them, to be better than what he is

but he’s just. Ordinary Ven (paralleling ordinary kid Sora)

He really looks up to his fellow leaders (physically and metaphorically), especially Ephemera. Ven wants to be able to talk freely to anyone and just be someone that makes others feel comfortable like him someday.

Blaine lets him play with the newborn Spirits. Ven’s a natural with them, and often falls asleep with them surrounding him

he gets severely attached to them and it pains everyone to see him try to hold back his tears once they have to hand the new Spirits over to their wielders

Ven never really buys new outfits, but once in a while, he’ll aim to get cool accessories like goggles or necklaces that have perks

a bit of training allowed the others to figure out that Ven’s been relying on strength when he really should’ve been relying on his speed and energy, so they all help him out a bit in that department

the others also try their best to make sure Ven feels included in group discussions and decisions, while also not giving him too much responsibility. He’s just a little kid, after all, and he should be able to enjoy his youth despite having a big role thrust upon him. They want to preserve his innocence since they kind of already lost theirs