#bugged data-roxas

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded - Bugged Data-Riku & Bugged Data-Roxas

[shuuru]

On Ventus and Missing Ache

a.k.a On Ventus and Darkness™

Welp, this might as well happen.

Spoilers for Ux and Dark Road ahead.

edit: I just realised how to do one of these cuts, haha.

Ventus. Sweet baby Ventus. When he is introduced in Ux, he is probably like 11-12, kind, weaker than most Wielders, lonely and friendless before he joins the Union Leaders.

Baby boy. Baby.

And I swear I'm not exaggerating. These are some of the first sentences he says to the gang when they meet.

Where are your parents!?

When they're discussing Leader things, Ven is quiet until Skuld asks him about it and Ven tells them he will go along with whatever they decide. Ephemer tells him he can speak up but Ven clarifies the misunderstanding saying that he just isn't confident yet in guiding a Union. Brain tells him to grow a backgone. Lauriam calls him kind.

I bet Lauriam is thinking of Strel when he's saying this and this gives me a x2.0 psychic damage multiplier.

One day, Data-Daybreak Town starts glitching out all out the sudden and when Ephemer goes to investigate he finds Ventus fighting some Flappy Bugs but when we see his Keyblade is... not Wayward Wind.

Live reaction of me when I saw this: WHAT?! WHAT THE FUCK?!?

Let's have a look at the boys' Keyblades for a second.

Wayward Wind is called Fresh Breeze in Japanese and it's so cute. Next to it is the monstruosity that is Vanitas's Keyblade.

At first glance Wayward Wind and not-Void Gear (it's not called Void Gear, people. We have to deal with that) are not very similar but they're supposed to complement each other since both have "missing pieces" or are "incomplete".

And none of them look remotely similar to Missing Ache.

You will take Void Gear out of my cold, dead hands.

Now, to the star of the show.

[Cheering and clapping in the distance]

Ventus is not only using Missing Ache but an upgraded version of it that looks very cool. I've been told his Keyblade needs 4 out of 5 Reverse Medals that are considered dark medals so that's interesing I guess. (I never played Ux so I lack context)

[Image Source]

This is originally a Keychain that Roxas can wield in 358/2 Days, it's design obviously meant to be the Nobody symbol. It's very minimalistic compared to others we've seen, which makes it extra insane it has made me lose so much sleep. This Keyblade also has a recolor.

Missing Ache and Pain of Solitude

These two I'm pretty sure are meant to represent Roxas and Xion and they both talk about pain. Is it Missing because you lost it or Missing because you long for it? We don't know. Japanese won't help us here because their names are also in English.

I wanted to do a stretch and say Missing Ache actually looks more like Lost Memory but... no... I don't want to go there.

(I will clarify that this could be a "reusing assets" kind of situation because Missing Ache is a playable Keyblade. Still, I'm here to have fun and going insane is fun to me.)

Why am I insane about Ventus having this Keyblade? Because if you have the time to make a sprite of a Keyblade for one of your main characters, why not take the time to make it the Keyblade that we already associate with him?

In a meta sense, we have expectations for Ventus. We know him, we know OF him, so we expect to see Wayward Wind on his hands. This betrays our expectations, and it's on purpose. So why?

I think the real question is, even if Missing Ache is a placeholder, why isn't it Starlight? Ephemer and Skuld use the same Starlight and no one bats an eye. Brain uses Master's Defender (which was another what the fuck moment for me) and Laurian uses Divine Rose because of course he does.

Missing Ache has meaning because it's different, but maybe Missing Ache itself is not important.

My personal theory for the change in Keyblades is that Xehanort himself took amnesiac Ventus from the past and bequeated him a new Keyblade when he began training him (maybe because Ventus forgot he was a Keyblade Wielder when he time traveled) and that new Keyblade became Wayward Wind. We see him with it in the BBS flashback, reverse grip and everything.

"I want this twink obliterated." - Xehanort giving instructions to the neoshadows

Continuing with Ux, Brain figures out Ventus's name is not on the list Ava gave him and proceeds to tell him as such. Brain uses that maxxed INT stat of his to also conclude what happened with Strel and theorizes that darkness is involved in some way or another.

Ventus remembers a different version of his encounter with Master Ava but regains his memories after a beauty sleep. Enjoy.

Ventus Kingdomhearts, accomplice in murder.

Welp, that was intense.

It's interesting to me how Ventus doesn't look very possessed but he's very mindlessly following orders and just walks right next to Strel's body like she doesn't even exist. This makes me wonder if Darkness™ can manipulate memories.

We don't know exactly when or where Darkness™ hid inside of Ventus but if you allow me to theorize, I think it was a while ago, maybe even since The Book of Prophecies was written and Darkness™ got a chance to read it (more on this later). I also think Ventus had a similar situation as Baldr.

In Dark Road, Baldr loses his sister and is put (for some fucking reason) in solitary where his negative emotions make him spiral until his darkness gains form (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT). This is to me the most unnerving moment of the entire franchise.

Fucking spooky.

And now, the reveal. From Ventus's body, comes forth...

Darkness™

One of the Thirteen and that's the reason it's ™

Personally, I consider Darkness™ an Eldrich horror. This is a creature beyond human understanding and MoM agrees with me.

This is an ancient being, present on the First Kayblade War that happened during MoM's time as a child but, despite everything, Darkness™ is very willing to just... talk. When Brain starts asking them questions, they answer and they seem very truthful. Like it's not on their nature to lie... Mmh.

Here's a transcript of their conversation because the Tumblr Overlords aren't letting me post any more pictures.

Brain: I have to say, I didn't expect you to look like such a cliché. Darkness: So you say. Darkness: But I have no form to speak of. Darkness: We mostly go unnoticed, after all. Darkness: What you see and hear now is for your benefit. Ephemer: What do you want? Darkness: Want? Darkness: I want nothing. Darkness: I simply am. Darkness: It must be hard for you to understand. Darkness: We're very different. Darkness: Unlike you, our actions don't serve a greater purpose or goal. Lauriam: Then why did you take my sister? Lauriam: Why Strelitzia? Darkness: It was his will. Skuld: I don't believe you. Skuld: Ven didn't even know her! Skuld: Besides, he would never wish that on anyone. Darkness: You're right. Darkness: They were strangers. Darkness: But what he wished for was power. Darkness: I simply helped him fulfill that wish by making him a Union leader. Skuld: Ven would never want that! Darkness: Wouldn't he? Ephemer: Even if he did, he wouldn't go so far as to take it from someone, or steal their spot as leader. Darkness: Power is power. How it's adquired is of no consequence.

Still thinking about this conversation to this day. What do you mean Ven wished for power? For what? Is this wishing of power enough to let Darkness™ in? And the way Darkness™ talks about it, like they were doing Ven a favor? Insane.

One of the many questions that plagues me to this day is if Ventus is aware of Darkness™ at all.

(Not relevant but this Darkness™ uses the same "you" (おまえ) pronoun in Japanese as Vanitas, which in the end means nothing because it's very common but fuels my wips like you wouldn't believe.)

Lauriam: Then… It could've been any of us? Lauriam: It didn't have to be Strelitzia? Darkness: Yes. Lauriam: You--

Ouch.

Brain: I have a few questions. Darkness: Go on. Brain: Why Ven? Darkness: Because it was decided. Brain: What was? Darkness: That he would harbor darkness. Brain: Your vessel was chosen? Darkness: Yes. Darkness: It was written in the Book of Prophecies. Brain: You've read the Book? Darkness: In a manner of speaking, yes. At least the parts that matter to us. Brain: How? Darkness: We read the words as they were being written. Brain: In the Book? Darkness: Yes. Brain: What exactly is your relationship with the Master? Darkness: We're old friends. Ephemer: Friends? Ephemer: Then you and the Master are on the same side? Darkness: We have no need to side with people.

It was decided that Ventus would harbor darkness. Has Ventus been destined for this because MoM saw it with his future eye? How far into the future? Was it this point? BBS point? Even further? Is Ventus a Princess of Light? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Also, we have no need to side with people but MoM and them are old friends....? Mmmm, interesting.

Brain: You claimed you aren't after anything, Brain. but I'm not buying it. Darkness: What? Brain: You seem pretty desperate to get in our way, showing up like this. Brain: I don't know if it's pride or fear, but there's a reason you're still here. Darkness: … Darkness: Infection. Brain: Meaning? Darkness: Data transfer requires a signal. Darkness: The same goes for the hearts and minds of you humans. Darkness: You underestimated how easily the darkness rides on those signals. Darkness: … and spreads through this place. Brain: Is tha why you wormed your way into the data world? Brain: But then why hide inside Ven? Darkness: I told you. Because it was decided. Skuld: That's enough. Skuld: You're saying because it was written in the Book of Prophecies it was meant to be? Skuld: Well, I don't care. You hijacked Ven and attacked Lauriam's sister. Skuld: And now you're gonna pay for it! Brain: That's right Darkness: We are many, and we are one. Darkness: But to be one requires will. Darkness: Through him, we could divide into pure darkness and light… Darkness: …wilfull and distinct. Darkness: It was a sacrifice that needed to be made.

What I'm hearing here is that Darkness™ can gently separate Ventus and themselves between darkness and light and they way Xehanort did it was very sloppy.

Also, interesting how they consider individuality to be a sacrifice.

Darklings appear in the room and it seems Ven is the one they're looking for. Ventus regains consciousness and starts... shining? his light so strong it covers his entire body? and he absolutely destroys the Darklings that were surrounding him.

Insane power up.

Ventus stands up to Darkness™ and delivers the best piece of dialogue since "At least I have some!"

Ventus: If you're pure darkness, then that makes me pure light. Ventus: If you used me to reshape yourself, Ventus: then I can reshape you again. Ventus: I'll give you a new form… Ventus: …that we can defeat!

Ventus attacks Darkness™ with Missing Ache in hand and then fade to white.

And that's it. This is the last we see of this specific Darkness™ and Ventus is sleeping the rest of the game before he time travels to the future. They both now inhabit the same body and, as Lauriam theorizes, Darkness™ has probably become a part of Ventus. Chocolate powder and milk. Forever.

Well... Until.

Thank you for reading, I've been working on this for a week and it was a pain to write, but I had fun crying at the finale of Ux again. I had a lot more things I wanted to talk about, like Ventus regaining some memories of his past after KH3, the fact that we see a character create his own darkness from negative emotions and yet Vanitas is supposed to be one of the 13 Darknesses and how I can compare Darkness™ to Skynet in some way but I think that's for another theory post.

Have a great day, everyone.

[embraceyourdestiny]

OHHHHH MY GOD NOOOO

WHEN YOU LEAVE TWILIGHT TOWN AS SORA YOU CAN TALK TO HAYNER AT THE TRAIN STATION AND HE SAYS “sorry I was cold before. Something’s been bugging me…”

HAYNER IS UPSET BECAUSE ROXAS, HIS BEST FRIEND, IS GONE!!

EVEN THOUGH HE DOESNT KNOW HIM!!!

OUR HEARTS ARE CONNECTED. DATA IS REAL!! EVEN WITHOUT BEING PHYSICALLY IN THE SAME PLACE, THEIR HEARTS TOUCHED AND BECAME ONE!!! HAYNER NEVER MET ROXAS AND YET HIS HEART MISSES HIS BEST FRIENDAAAAAAA!!!!!

Also:

“We might not see each other from a while. Take care of yourself, okay?”

[yoroshiu]

Sora: Expectations vs Reality (Coded vs KH1, CoM, and 3D)

Another Sora analysis because I can't help myself haha (help). But there's been a couple of posts that talked about this topic and it's really rewired my brain, so I also want to take a stab at it. I feel like this isn't something that's looked into/analyzed as much compared to other interpretations of KH's narrative, especially in terms of Sora, or at least I haven't seen it as much across platforms in a mainstream sense (though I do think it's been on the rise in recent times).

So if you're willing to bear with me, then get ready for another long post!

As the title indicates, and as mentioned, other people have brought up, Data-Sora creates an in-universe (and IRL) set of expectations for the actual Sora. While Coded is technically a rehash of KH1 and CoM's plot to an extent (hence its reputation besides its amazing gameplay), the point is to gather and present the stakes KH2, Days, and BBS introduced and set up what Sora's goals are going to be leading into 3D and 3.

The way it chooses to do so is to put a simulated Sora to the test, to see if he can "handle the hurt" and while he manages to do so, as many others have pointed out, Data-Sora's decision about remembering the pain to connect to others contradicts Sora's decision to forget at the end of CoM. Coded dictates that Sora can handle the pain of those within him and/or those who need to be saved. But 3D contradicts that as well. Many say that this indicates a potential point in Sora's development as a character and person, and while I agree, I want to focus on what has shaped him to this point in the first place. I must add, though, that Sora in 3, in terms of what he knows/is aware of by the end, understands a lot more than I've seen some people give him credit for, but this is another opinion in of itself.

Reading full-on long paragraphs might make this even harder to get through so I'll try to place some parts in bullet points (I get info-overloaded easily sometimes due to long paragraphs too ToT):

Coded, as said before, while initially having Data-Sora find/fix the missing/corrupted data in Jiminy's Journal (KH1 aspect), turns into a test to see if Sora can handle the "hurt" of the people he needs to save (CoM aspect).

Data-Sora proves he is willing to take on that "hurt" and can handle it. Which Sora by KH3/ReMind also manages to show.

But this neglects a few things about Sora's character before that point:

Data-Sora in the first part of Coded has guidance from Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Data-Riku especially D and G who have experienced their KH1 development and are currently ride-or-die for him. The KH1 experience ends up being different for him.

Even though he fights Data-Riku, it can be chalked up to the bugs/possession rather than anything malicious, which contrasts with real Riku before the Ansem possession.

Data-Sora losing his keyblade happened due to Maleficent rather than Riku. Rather than Goofy and Donald leaving him, he's the one that storms off and even then they go after him.

When we get to the CoM portion, Data-Sora doesn't have his memories of what happened in the first half, hence he goes straight to Castle Oblivion without the KH1 experience (also he's initially guided by Mickey, Data-Riku, and Data-Roxas)

In this case, it's a test of strength rather than what happened in CoM where Marluxia and Larxene hoped to break Sora to make him their puppet.

Data-Sora went to the KH1 worlds in each room and was made to forget right after getting through each one

But Sora had his memories from even before the first game actively messed with, while also being made to believe that it was the real Riku attacking him. All of that happened without much guidance from anyone.

What this shows is that while Data-Sora is the ideal outcome of Sora's development, I think as a narrative that presents trauma (intentionally and unintentionally), it emphasizes what the real Sora has been through. Theoretically, had things gone differently for Sora, and he had a proper support system on these journies, he would have been able to make the "right" choice. But he didn't have that. He had to figure a lot of things out and had to pull himself through. In a way, it feels unfair to some extent and it creates the expectations vs reality aspect.

And I believe this comes to fruition in 3D:

Organization XIII successfully overwhelms Sora, his heart ends up breaking under the emotional stress of all the people he's connected to as he's pulled into deeper sleep.

It especially sucks considering that the Mark of Mastery Exam was actively messed with in an outright attempt to break Sora (again).

His failure of the exam makes sense considering he couldn't overcome the Darkness in this real-world application like Riku, but it leaves such a bitter taste, right?

(The logistics of the exam can be argued ngl. Isn't it wild that all cases of the exam we've seen have had an external force get involved and have irrevocable damage on the test takers? Taking lives and souls fr.)

So what we get is a failure of those expectations (at least initially). Reality is much more harrowing and vicious. And that's such an interesting thing to do narratively, it feels purposeful. It establishes a depth to Sora that isn't fully seen and even adds to the concept of Data-Sora being his own existence by extension. By KH3, Sora's low self-esteem is directly shown to us and stems from the reality of his journey. He has a lot of unaddressed scars and while the characters view him as a beacon of hope out of love and respect, many of us acknowledge how harmful that's been to him in the most specific ways.

I really, really hope that the upcoming games build on this and address it, because it'd be so satisfying to see all of this acknowledged and explored! It would feel fitting for Sora to go to Unreality and face the reality of himself.

(I'm sorry if this was incoherent, I'm bad at collecting my thoughts on the spot...I'm open to corrections and additional thoughts!)

[dreamsy990]

kingdom hearts characters as chips

me and @whole-bilk-milk have used our incredible scientific technique for character to chip analysis, and here we present the data for your viewing pleasure

sora - lays wavy original OR sunchips roxas - lays barbecue xion - lays salt and vinegar ventus - lays sour cream and onion vanitas - lays dill pickle. because theres something wrong with him

jiminy - bug chips mickey - cheddar ruffles donald - cheddar cheese quackers goofy - scooby snacks

ansem the wise - unsalted saltines ansem seeker of darkness - slutty vegan maple bbq kettle chips xemnas - unsalted baked kettle chips xehanort - kettle lightly salted chips

kairi - cape cod sea salt and cracked pepper, because it sounds interesting and then you realize its not actually as flavorful as you expected. namine - cape cod sweet mesquite barbecue OR sour cream and onion

riku - ranch pringles. i refuse to explain this. repliku - suspicious stew minecraft pringles OR onion and cream prongles

aqua - takis blue heat. because she is blue, and she is not a corn chip. terra - terra sweet potato. self explanatory terranort - terra bloody mary. more self explanatory

cloud - chex mix, because you dont think that combination of flavors should work but it really does. aerith - cape cod pink himalayan salt and red wine vinegar

axel - takis fuego demyx - funyuns and a bottle of sprite. larxene - tangy pickle doritos marluxia - sal de ibiza la vie en rose (they had roses on the packaging and sound pretentious) vexen - a couple of ice cubes and some salt in a ziplock bag xigbar - krinkle cut salt and pepper chips luxord - a poker chip saix - fun keen moon chips

[mysteryoftwilight]

Quick and dirty bio for Corrupted!Data Shelby, because working on the gsite does not bring joy right now.

Data Shelby — actor program from the Datascape Twilight Town.

Data corruption at 100%. Recommended action: restore terminal to factory settings release program from containment.

Physical changes — All very subtle things. Her freckles are too perfectly placed, her eyes less reflective than others, teeth and tongue similarly perfect in their places. Essentially, think of her as a really well made 3D model that people say is very realistic, but able to move around the real world. When experiencing extreme emotions or engaged in combat, her eyes gain the bug blox symbol from Re:Coded. She also is technically a cis woman, but only in the sense that she edited her data and model to make herself one.

Probability of program collapse: 85%. Recommended action: restore from backup Migrate to another server.

Emotional Changes — Very extreme. She was programmed to protect Roxas, and when it became impossible to carry out her prime directive, the corruption of the Datascape started by the Organization found a foothold in her digital Heart. This desire to prevent any pain has expanded beyond just Roxas, but the return of Roxas to the Data Twilight Town is her primary objective. Beyond that, She is outwardly a much more cheerful and friendly version of Shelby, but it doesn't take much for that facade to fall away and leave an explosive and irrational creature behind.

Personality matrix instability approaching dangerous levels. Recommended action: power down terminal bring another actor program to assist.

New Abilities — enhanced durability, strength, and magic, ability to record and implement data from other fighters, greater magic pool, parasitic virus spreading, ability to rewrite any code so long as she can touch what it's connected to, etc.

Program_Actor:ShellB is not responding to shutdown commands. Recommended action: Provide the program with administrator access. Inform Admin.User:Shelby

Backstory Synopsis — After Shelby's less than stellar idea of jumping between two Keyblades, Roxas was brought to a Datascape version of Twilight Town, which had many actor programs designed by Shelby herself. One of which was her, but one that was more honest and what she dreamed of being. However, as the Organization began hacking and tearing the program apart searching for Roxas, the program became more and more unstable. By the time DiZ began to pull Roxas from the Datascape, the program was so damaged it would have been kinder to simply delete it. In his haste to begin his revenge in earnest, however, DiZ forgot to properly shut it down, leaving the denizens to their own devices. Shelby's data began noticing the decay of her town, ultimately ending up as the only one that could move and search for the cause. The program discovered the backup terminal the real Shelby had implemented as a backdoor and learned everything that could be learned. With a heavy heart, she absorbed the corrupted program into herself. Roxas's last day started with her at 25% data corruption. She reconstructed the program with 105%, and began searching for a way to either return Roxas to the town (as it was her prime directive) or escape it so she could 'rescue' him.

During the time between Roxas' prologue and Sora's gang arriving in the Data Twilight Town, she opened connections to other data centers and copied her data to them. While the programs were received, these copied programs are still attempting to break down the firewalls and antivirus software of Space Paranoids, the servers of the World That Never Was, as well as the computers in Castle Oblivion. She continues working in the Twilight Town datascape, searching for a way out now that she knows Roxas is long gone, pulling from Vexen's research into Replicas to begin to fashion herself a functioning body to move about the Realm of Light.

Combat Notes — the corrupted program generally doesn't fight, but when she does she's the most unique among the Shelbies. Somebody!Shelby fights with machines and technology, Lhxels seeks to dominate the battlefield through her weapon and her lessers, and Algea controls the flow of battle using various spells she has an affinity for. The Corrupted Program, meanwhile, fights like a rabid animal when she needs to, since more often than not she's backed into a corner when people finally get to throw hands. Utilizing the data she'd taken into herself, she does actually have decent form but it's a blurred mess of different strikes that her processes and subroutines think would work best in the moment. This extends to the weapons in her hands as the bug blox she holds dominion over shift between various approximations of weapons.

Her limit break depends on if she's in a Data World or not. In a Data World, it's Program_Actor:Shell.B:Limit-Break:humane, while outside of one it's Declaration of Existence.

The former is a rapid assault of strikes with bug blox becoming more of a nuisance, as she summons waves to try and topple her opponent, mirror her strikes, and appear on the floor to try and trip her opponent as she attempts to corrupt the data of the person in front of her. Declaration of Existence, on the other hand, is a more measured dance of attacks, shifting quickly between combo strings from various fighters whose data she's gathered. It finishes with her putting herself inside an armor made up of bug blox, granting her a fairly thick layer of armor.

"....you shouldn't have done that. We could've been happy; a safe and protected family..."

"Admin.Program:Actor.Director, Initialize Combat.Mode executable and disable inhibitors. I won't let anything endanger any of you again, even if I must knock you all down to accomplish that."

[goldlightwriting]

Rewriting Keyblades

OK, full disclaimer here: I like Kingdom Hearts. I honestly, really do. The series is infamously complicated and confusing, and the rules for how the world functions seem to amount to "whatever Nomura and his team think would be cool at the time."

In spite of that, there's really not much about the story I would ultimately change in the grand scheme of things. If anything I would probably have just made all the important details easier to digest without having to read through tons of optional data reports found throughout the games and the myriad of releases/remasters.

That said, if there is ONE aspect of Kingdom Hearts I would make changes to, it's the Keyblades. For how important they are in the series, the rules for how these things work are by far the most confusing and inconsistent. KH1 presents the Keyblade as this special, one-of-a-kind weapon that only a "chosen one" can wield, and now everyone and their grandmas can use a Keyblade.

That part doesn't particularly bug me, but the details for how and why Keyblades are even formed and who can get one has never been clear-cut. The first Keyblades were apparently made by the Master of Masters, who "extracted them from the hearts of his apprentices," and then other people learned how to just make their own, I guess? (I dunno, I never actually played UnionX, so I can only go off of what's on the wiki.)

Sometimes Keyblades can be passed down, some are created from one's own heart, and some are created by attaching a keychain to an existing Keyblade. Some have the power to transform into other weapons, and others come equipped with unique properties like the ability to see into the future. Apparently there are also "counterpart" Keyblades in the Realms of Darkness and Light, however that works.

Needless to say, it's a lot. So... Yeah, I decided to try my hand at streamlining this mess just a bit. Without further ado, let's get into it.

The first known Keyblade was the Clavis Ferrum (because let's face it, the χ-blade was always a dumb name), said to be formed from the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts. The Clavis Ferrum boasted power beyond measure, but its true potential could only be unlocked when it was exposed to abundant Light and Darkness in equal measure.

Long ago, the scholars of Scala ad Caelum found and studied the Clavis Ferrum. From this, they learned how to harness the power of hearts to create replicas, which they called Keyblades.

There are two types of Keyblades: Soul Keyblades and World Keyblades.

Soul Keyblades are formed from the heart of an individual, and their strength is reflective of the person they are born from. Soul Keyblades are usually bound to their wielder, but can be passed on to someone else if the original wielder and the receiver both consent to this. It is also possible for a person to form a new Keyblade, often represented by a change in their heart.

World Keyblades are formed from the hearts of worlds, not unlike how the Clavis Ferrum spawned from the heart of existence itself. These Keyblades can theoretically be wielded by anyone, but only if they have come into contact with that world's Keyhole.

Regardless of type, Keyblades boast a variety of abilities relating to the hearts of both individuals and worlds. They can separate hearts from bodies, separate light from darkness and vice-versa, and even awaken slumbering hearts.

List of Notable Keyblades

Kingdom Key Originally formed from the heart of King Mickey, it was sent to Destiny Island in a desperate bid by the king to stop the world from succumbing to darkness. He originally intended the blade to go to Riku, but it wound up in the hands of Sora instead. Eventually, it becomes Sora's default Keyblade.

Roxas temporarily inherits the Kingdom Key as Sora's nobody, but can no longer wield it once Sora awakens.

Kingdom Key D A distorted replica of the Kingdom Key wielded by Xion. Though not as powerful as the original, it still has the power to release hearts, as per the Organization's goal.

Keyblade of Hearts An artificial Keyblade formed by forcefully combining the power of several hearts in a taboo ritual performed by Ansem. It has the power to force open a rift to Kingdom Hearts, but not unleash its full power.

Way to the Dawn A Keyblade formed from Riku's heart while he struggles to content with the light and darkness inside of him. It is later passed on to Riku Replica.

Destiny's Embrace A Keyblade formed by Kairi in her desperation to save Sora. She first summons it to cut through the Heartless attacking him, though her technique is somewhat lacking. Kairi spends a great deal of time training under Yen Sid to master the weapon, so that she can contribute to the final battle against Xehanort. Yes I am salty about the series refusing to let Kairi have any agency until the KH3 DLC how could you tell?

Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades formed from Sora's heart, representing his connections to Kairi and Riku. Roxas acquires them after leaving Organization XIII, and they are later passed on to him full with Sora's blessing.

Braveheart A Keyblade formed by Riku's heart after he finally reconciles the light and darkness within. This weapon represents Riku's willingness to accept himself completely, even the parts he was once ashamed of.

Flame Liberator Lea's Keyblade, awakened from his fiery resolve to save Roxas and not just unceremoniously summoned out of nowhere at the last minute in Dream Drop Distance. Has the unique ability to turn into chakrams.

Event Horizon A Keyblade created by Xion after her resurrection. Representing her full awakening to personhood, it is the culmination of her heart's desire escape from the eternal twilight that bound it. (Credit for the idea comes from this Reddit post.)

Earthshaker/Ends of the Earth A Keyblade formed from Terra's heart. Its form changes and undergoes a sort of evolution when Terra resolves to protect his friends above all else. It has the ability to transform into a deadly whip.

Rainfell/Stormfall A keyblade formed from Aqua's heart. Its form changes and undergoes a sort of evolution when she learns to look beyond her duties as a Keyblade Master. It wound up in Xemnas's possession when Aqua fell to the Realm of Darkness, but he could not properly wield it since it hadn't been Bequeathed.

Wayward Wind/Lost Memory A Keyblade formed from Ventus's heart. Its initial form represents Ventus's lacking memories, leaving him confused and seeking direction. It undergoes a sort of transformation when he recalls his missing past as Xehanort's apprentice.

Star Cluster Yen Sid's original Keyblade, passed on to Mickey after Yen Sid doffed the mantle of Keyblade Master. It becomes Mickey's default Keyblade going forward, since his Kingdom Key is now Sora's.

Master's Defender An ancient Keyblade passed down across many generations. Most prominently used by Master Eraquas, who never awakened a Keyblade from his own heart.

No Name Xehanort's original Keyblade, forged from his own heart when he was an apprentice. This Keyblade represents Xehanort's unique talent at chronomancy, though is ultimately abandoned in later years for favor of an inherited Keyblade.

The Gazing Eye The very first Keyblade ever formed by the Master of Masters, passed down to many wielders across many generations. This becomes Xehanort's main Keyblade throughout the series.

Ultima Weapon A Keyblade crafted in an attempt to recreate the Clavis Ferrum. Though ultimately an imperfect imitation, its power still far exceeds most ordinary Keyblades. Legends say that it manifests to those who overcome the most grueling of trials, and its form is ever-changing to represent the Ultima Weapon's unstable nature.

[sonderdream]

Coded bad ending: Data Riku gets taken over by the bugs, and Sora is forced to defeat him, destroying the journal and therefore Ansem's message.

3D bad ending: Sora gets norted, and the dream eaters get turned into nightmares for him to command.

KH2 alt bad ending: Axel defeats Roxas and burns down the mansion with them in it, killing them both. Sora never wakes up. (Apparently his plan in the novelization)

KH3 bad ending: Happened in the initial timeline, plus there's the Yozora loss ending. Some alternative ideas are:

1: Sora fails to bring Kairi back, his friends left waiting until they realize that something must have happened to him.

2: Sora arrives too late to help Riku against Dark Aqua, and they both fall to darkness with her.

3: Something leads to Kairi encountering Dark Aqua. Tired of being left behind and captured due to her "weakness", she accepts darkness into her heart, becoming a contradiction of pure light and darkness.

4: Either Sora or Kairi (based on option 3) take the chi-blade and decide to rewrite the world with it, sincerely believing they have the power to destroy darkness and save their friends (and become "strong").

5: Due to one of the above scenarios, the battle between light and dark doesn't end up happening quite as described in the book of prophecies. In the secret ending, Luxu tries to summon the Foretellers, and is left standing alone in the Keyblade Graveyard, and No Name's eye cracks.

KH1 bad ending:

1: Sora dies in Hollow Bastion before getting the Keyblade back. Donald and Goofy are forced to continue with Riku, realizing too late that they shouldn't have abandoned him. They don't notice the small Shadow watching them sadly. He takes the lucky charm from Kairi's empty body, before using darkness to return to the now-empty Destiny Islands, curling up in the secret place as the Final Keyhole is completed.

2: Sora stabs himself with the Keyblade of Heart as usual, but his Heartless doesn't manage to reunite with Kairi and restore him. Perhaps it's too weak to get to her before she's forced to flee with Donald and Goofy, is attacked by stronger Heartless who notice it's different, or gets taken by Xemnas for experimentation. (I've seen depictions of Kairi using her Keyblade or the Keyblade of Heart during this section, but that feels like too much of a good ending compared to the other ones I put here.)

(Couldn't think of anything for BBS or the mobile games since the endings are already bad endings more or less.)

I might've mentioned this before, but I think giving KH games multiple, non-canon endings—a.k.a. "bad" endings—would go hard.

CoM bad ending where Sora does get turned into Marluxia's puppet, and becomes so obsessively enamored with Namine that he completely forgets about all of his other friends, including Donald and Goofy.

Reverse/Rebirth bad ending where the Riku Replica successfully kills Riku and replaces him. (Or maybe Riku's darkness—Ansem—finally overtakes him permanently.)

KH2 bad ending where Kairi's letter-in-a-bottle never washes up on the shores of the Dark Margin, meaning Sora and Riku don't escape the Realm of Darkness.

Days bad ending where Roxas loses the battle with Xion, allowing Xion to absorb his power and turn into the unstoppable weapon that the Organization wanted all along.

Etc.

Obviously your standard KH game has a linear story with no "choices" to change the outcome of events, but I think more "losing an important battle" bad endings like the one in the KH3 Limit Cut Yozora boss fight would be cool. Heck, maybe the devs were using the Yozora fight as an excuse to experiment with that concept?

[zainesartsyblog]

Transparent and red overtone versions with no glitch edits

[talyns-fanfics]

Kingdom Hearts TNG - Coded

Instead of the first journal, the second journal (that documented Roxas’ journey) is manipulated and the Disney Castle Crew (DCC) need to figure out what’s up.

Re:Coded is my favorite KH game (though a movie at this point).

I’m not going through the entirety of Coded, just some key details that would need to be changed. I just need to get this out before I start on KH3.

Twilight Town is the first world we visit in the datascape. Here, we meet a Data-Roxas. He helps the DCC decipher the message left in the second journal. “Their pain will end, when you amend.” (Not of the censorship. This is real life, bro.)

Data-Sora is the embodiment of the journal. Since Jiminy mostly wrote about Sora as a kid, Data-Sora looks a lot like Sora back when the first journal was written. (Data-Sora in canon, but with the Organization coat.)

It was Xatlyn that out the bugs in the journal and the datascape in the first place. She still had some of Sora’s memories and didn’t like the pain she found in them. She left the message in the journal to let everyone know about the pain that Sora kept inside of himself.

A Data-Xatlyn tells Data-Roxas about what else she had found in Sora’s memories and he lets Mickey know.

Xatlyn also relays that since Ansem; the Seeker of Darkness has been defeated some time ago, that Apprentice Xehanort would return soon if he hadn’t already.

Sora and Roxas in the outside world needed to do everything in their power to save their friends, conquer darkness, and defeat Xehanort.

[tharkflark1]

character ask game: data sora!!

favorite thing about them

He has absolutely no idea whats going on at any time. He's truly no thoughts head empty. But he's also just like, a baby.

least favorite thing about them

He's not a gummiphone AI in KH3 ;0;

favorite line

"Of course I'm afraid. Why wouldn't I be? But, you know why I have to do this. You've been in my shoes before. You've fought with no one beside you. Because you knew that was a lot less scary than just sitting around and waiting for the end to come."

He's like, 3 hours old and yet hes so smart

brOTP

Him and Sora! and Also him and Riku.

OTP

Data Soriku

nOTP

Anything minor/adult ship probs

random headcanon

He's got Data-Roxas' stuff in him too. He could probably dual wield if he wanted to

unpopular opinion

ReCoded IS important and I WILL fight anyone on it

song i associate with them

No More Bugs!!! is a bop

favorite picture of them

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded - Bugged Data-Roxas

[dahniwitchoflight]

So as long as im going on for changes to KH that I think make sense

Let's actually make Re:Coded do something important and relevant, shall we?

So post KH2:

Disney gang parts ways with Destiny gang and heads back to Disney Castle. As they discuss their journeys, Jiminy notices strange new entries in the journal that he didnt write, and they digitize it into a data world to explore it, summoning data sora as usual.

However, instead of retreading kh1 disney worlds stories for the bajillionth useless time, the strange new additions to the journal are about exploring pieces and perspectives or memories that Sora didnt have at the time or that he forgot, OR even spicier, didnt belong to Sora in the first place.

Instead the major focus is on the memories and stories and memories that Namine and Riku went through together between CoM, Days and KH2.

They didnt go to Disney worlds really so its shorter compact story, kh stuff only, despite covering 3 games ish. New story content basically coming from what the novels said Riku and Namine were up to during those times which are basically mostly canon already, with a sprinkling of attempts at Xion reconnection, not enough to fully fix that, but to at least become aware that theres a Xion shaped hole in everyones hearts, to be aware that theres someone still missing from the bigger picture, to feel that loss.

But the purpose of Mickey and Data Sora exploring the new data and working through the bugs is basically the same as it was. 

For Sora to Remember the hidden hurts of the Lost, Namine, Roxas and Xion and accept that hurt. Remembering their stories, accepting their pain, AND: seeing new perspectives on DiZ/Ansem the Wise/Discovering that DiZ hid research deep inside of Sora that can be used to help them all revive one day.

With a projection of Namine being the initiator of the story, the one who managed to create an access point between hers and Riku's memories and the journal, bonus of being a better explanation for why the Journal which should be Sora's memories was changed to look like Riku instead. Because Namine put Riku's memories into the journal.

The bugs in the data represent the disconnects between those chains of memories that Namine needed help reconciling together, the incompatibilities between Soras memories of CoM and Namine and Rikus. And everyone's dissonant memories of Roxas and Xion. In a data form in a data world the incompatible memories could be better programmed together by literally defeating the inconsistencies as Bug Blox and be the key to making what Namine thought couldn't work, actually work. Everyone just, getting to keep all of the memories they made in CoM and Days.

It would serve the plot purpose of going through the timeline and stories of the background characters in a smoother consistent way, instead of leaving thing with too loose interpretations. 2 be part of the fix for Sora forgetting CoM and Namine and be a launching point for reattaching Xions memories, even if theyre not fully fixed like CoMs would be, people can start to be more aware of her in preparation that theres more to be done, its unfinished and 3 start to lay the foundations for accessing Ansems hidden research inside of Sora, the key to truly reviving all of the Lost.

Otherwise the stuff that happens with Mickey and Maleficent and all the disney characters in recoded can all stay the same as it was, and the story ends with Mickey writing the letter to the destiny trio that says we've uncovered a lot of new information about those who've been lost, they need all of your help to be whole again, but especially Sora

and then Destiny trio heads off, meets at Disney castle, and the credits can roll over silent scenes of Destiny trio reacting to the full story and Data Sora making the connection to real Sora and unlocking and readjusting the memories for him for real using the data world thats been all fixed up as the base, ending with him fully remembering Namine and having a new perspective on Namine, Riku and Roxas, with a determination to reach out to Xion fully as well. 

Then DDD can happen and stuff goes on from there.

But yeah the gist of it being, Namine couldnt fix the connections that were inside of peoples heart without doing too much damage to them to try and force all the pieces to fit, so she thought to use the medium of data in the journal as a way to work out the bugs instead, letting it become a more perfect template of what she couldnt achieve on just her own power by letting data sora run around inside and smash the bug blocks snd data together until they worked

[antibioware]

Kingdom Hearts games rated from most to least amount of soriku gaybaiting

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance – I don't have to explain this one. The entire premise of the game is gaybaiting. The entire plot of the game is gaybaiting. The game itself is like 30 hours of Sora and Riku tenderly calling out for each other and telling other characters how much they love each other while the other isn't present. THE SYMPHONY THEIR HEARTS MAKE TOGETHER IS DEARLY BELOVED. The secondhand embarassment is off the charts.

Kingdom Hearts II – Kairi taking their hands and linking them together so that Sora can see Riku in Ansem's body? The Scene™ with Sora falling on his knees and sobbing after finding Riku? The fight against Xemnas AND the bit in the Realm of Darkness? Gay rights were invented.

Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded – have you seen the way data Sora and Riku talk about each other? TO each other? Much as we make all fun of the "they put bugs in him" bit, data Sora risks literally everything to save data Riku, despite data Riku himself telling him he's just data and he shouldn't bother. The tenderness of it all

Kingdom Hearts III – would have been higher up on the list, between the fight against Aqua, the Gayblade scene, Riku sacrificing himself to save Sora, the whole "strength to protect what matters" deal etc. BUT considering part of the plot of the game is gaybaiting you while having incredibly forced romantic bits with Sora and Kairi, and them eating the Paopu fruit behind Riku's back, it feels like it's actively making fun of you. Fuck off Nomura.

Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories – here starts Riku's redemption arc after the entirety of KH1, and with it the beginning of both the overwhelming guilt Riku carries with him wherever he goes, and his absolute devotion to Sora and wanting to make it up to him for KH1. On Sora's side he keeps searching for Riku and Riku himself ends up being the only person he doesn't forget, despite Castle Oblivion literally existing to make them forget about important people. first try and not really gaybaiting as much as character introspection, but I can appreciate it.

Kingdom Hearts – I can't in good faith say there was any gaybaiting in this one because Riku is the antagonist the entire time and while Afterwards you learn he turned to the darkness because he was jealous of Sora and Kairi's relationship, it's difficult to tell it from first impact. It's heartwarming to see Sora still trying to get Riku back after he realizes something is wrong with him. Also the final scene makes me cry.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days – Riku's devotion to Sora and the way his guilt carries him is the cherry on top of the ABSOLUTE depression that is this game. Nothing is going well, Riku's part of it just adds sadness on top of the overwhelming sadness of Roxas and Xion's tragedy of an existence. But considering Sora isn't even in this game and Riku appears pretty rarely, no actual gaybaiting is in it.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep – Sora and Riku are barely seen in the game, and when they're there, they're very small and very cute together. So like, no gaybaiting can be there when the two characters are 5 years old. BUT Riku's scene with Terra + Aqua's speech to baby Sora and Riku anticipate future gaybaiting.

[smartzelda]

Hey, so I'm gonna elaborate on this quote by Hashimoto. Turns out every game from bbs to the end of kh3 limit cut has to do with exactly what he says right there about Sora an Riku. Stay with me on this

Yeah, @xionshadow @minwuwhite @salted-coffee-beans @lovingthatgayshit and everyone else, I essayed again. Keep in mind there aren't quotes in this, it's more of a ramble of events and such

BBS: Riku and Sora are together being best friends and have a focus due to the keyblade, light, Terra and Aqua. Kairi is by her self and meets aqua. Yeah Aqua puts a spell on her necklace that ultimately leads her to Riku and Sora, but at this point in time it's unknown to them who the person to protect Kairi would be. Also, evidence is always thrown in here that Aqua doing that is so//*ai cause it leads Kairi to Sora, but really the hope is she leads to the keyblade weilder (yknow, on xehanort's end) who is technically Riku before kh1 events, and Aqua makes no romantic mention. It's just supposed to be someone with a strong enough light to protect her, not HER protector as in love or something or as in Sora or Riku being her prince.

Kh1: Sora and Riku have friendship problems and Riku has some jealousy. At the end they close the door, Riku's sad over realizing bad stuff he did, Sora has flashbacks to him and Riku spending time together and promises to go get him and come back with him so the 3 friends can spend time together. Kairi has only a few moments, including her joint saving Sora as of kh3 knowledge, her wanting to share a paopu too, and just her giving Sora the lucky charm and knowing that he'll return it. There's also Riku trying to find Kairi. Arguably, this game is the most we get of 3 friends, they're a trio, even on Sora's end. Sora goes through the worlds searching for both of his friends. But even then, Kairi isn't there 80% of the game. The friendship end is covered, but besides those moments where Sora has Kairi visions of her talking to him, he doesn't reference her. On the other hand, he meets Riku more than once, and we get to see Riku's fears evolve and his fear of replacement. We get Sora accepting him almost the whole time and Riku siding with darkness. We get moments like the moment where Sora is falling and he literally remembers Riku going "Giving up already? Sora, I thought you were stronger than that" and he believes after that and is able to fly with that pixie dust. He's the only one Sora has those flashbacks of the past with in the game like that. Sora and Riku get a scene with working together on the door while Sora and Kairi get separated and only Sora's work goes into everything, namely that he's gonna go get Riku while Kairi waits (not like she has a choice, but it stands). Even when it's about Sora and Kairi it's about just friendship or Riku. That kh1 scene where they get separated is an attributed so//*ai scene that people see as romantic, but it contains Sora's desire for them all to be friends and to find Riku. On the other hand with Riku, it's about Riku. Riku and Sora close the door? Flashbacks specifically about him and Riku till the last flashback, but even then it's Sora and Riku running together while Kairi's in the back running behind them. Sora and Riku's interactions and what's going on with their friendship are definitely focused on while Kairi is a doll most the game and doesn't get that kind of focus

CoM: About going to find Riku and Mickey. Evidence at the beginning that Sora really wishes to find Riku. He's distracted by Naminé, but whenever he finally gets to see "Riku" it's interraction that causes Sora to think afterwards about his relationship with Riku and what he could've done (more seen in the novel). If that huge analysis is correct, a lot leads to Riku, including parallels, but it's covered up by Kairi. Even when all Sora's memories of Kairi are replaced with Naminé, Sora's not in love with her until she uses the meteor shower scene, which would be a Sora and Riku memory. Before she uses it, Naminé is essentially at Kairi's current level of "I need to save her cause she's my friend". He only forgets Riku because of Naminé's memory meddling detracting from his purpose and making him forget everything he came to do and everyone except her. Kairi is merely mentioned by Naminé and Sora and everyone else. Even afer Sora knows about the Naminé and the repliku truth of him being not exactly Riku, he still does his actions for Naminé cause his heart still feels the impact of the fake memories, and even though Repliku's fake, Sora treats him similarly as Naminé, probably because of what's true in his heart. In the novels, Sora thinks about Kairi momentarily if she's brought up and when he looks at the lucky charm. Even in the lucky charm case, in the novel, it reminds him of Kairi cause she gave it to him, but also his promise to bring Riku back and of all his friends. It's only in Naminé's case with all the meddling that Sora looks at it and thinks of Naminé and his promise to protect her. Kairi isn't present and the game has no development with Sora and her or real reference to their relationship. On Riku's side, the novels have him mostly think about Sora out of the two, only really mentioning Kairi at the beginning when he decides he wants to say sorry to Sora and Kairi and when he meets Naminé. In the novel, for example, Riku goes to destiny islands of his memories and thinks about times with Sora when they rolled around on the sand. There's a focus on how Riku feels about the darkness and how that translates with his fears relating to Sora and his friends. He makes a promise with Naminé that she'll watch over Sora, and he walks the road to dawn for his redemption and to be able to face Sora and everyone.

Days: Similar to BBS, this one has main character focus on a different cast, but again Sora, Riku, and their relationship is still involved. Riku gets involved with Xion. In the novel, he states that he's willing to help her and not lie to her mostly because she's a part of Sora and is similar in personality, while Kairi factors in as appearance familiarity. In the novel, Riku has clear monologues about how he wanted to reign in his darkness before Sora woke up, and before going to fight Roxas how he's prepared to use his darkness to win at all costs, all for Sora. There's Xion and Roxas having memory visions. Xion awakes from one yelling "Sora". Roxas has a bunch of visions including Riku and Riku lines where he confuses Riku with Xion and wakes up yelling "Riku". There's the focus on how Riku gives up his body to win against Roxas and get Sora back. Then he has Mickey promise not to tell Sora what happened to him. Again, Kairi only is involved in mere mention and memories, and while Sora is too, he's more consistently mentioned. Riku also gets his focus on his motivations relating to Sora and shows up. Riku is there amd we are presented what's going on with him and Sora

Kh2: This one has a lot of obvious. One of Sora's main goals and focuses is to find Riku and bring him back. Along the journey, we also have Riku alienating himself from Sora to protect him while also stalking/leading him to make sure he's okay. There's the big reunion scene moment, and at the end Sora and Riku fight multiple battles together. In the RoD they have a heart to heart, and even though Sora's motivation was to bring Riku back so they and Kairi could be together again no matter what, he resolves to stay in the RoD with Riku for eternity instead without fight or protest, even in the novel deciding that if he was stuck here with anyone, he's glad it's Riku. Again, we see their relationship, how they work together, how they feel about each other. As for Kairi, as usual she is barely present. She is mostly left up to the few times she is mentioned and Sora rarely talks about her. Even with the begging scene and his feelings, we can get that it's a product of Naminé's meddling and not anything to do with him actually developing those feelings. Even Kairi herself only resolves to find Sora, and during the reunion scene, we learn their relationship is iffy due to time, change, and no interaction. After the reunion, Kairi's only Sora relationship moments are when they talk to Naminé and Roxas, which has nothing to do with how Sora and Kairi feel about each other, and when Sora returns the lucky charm. Except the lucky charm thing was just symbolic of Sora's promise to bring Riku back and them all be together again. It didn't have much to do with his relationship with Kairi other than she gave it to him and he remembers that when looking at it too. So again, we don't get much or really anything with Kairi and Sora's development, but we get plenty with Riku and Sora and how their motivations and interactions and everything relate to each other and their motivations and relationship

Recoded: Do I even need to say much? Kairi is again only in mention. There's a whole section where data Riku's about to be overtaken by bugs and Sora resolves to go alone, dive into him, and save him. He travels with Riku and they have a lot of moments and we again get to see (even before when Riku's in disguise and just out of it) about how they feel about their relationship and how they must act with the other in their mind. There's even that flashback of a Riku memory where Kairi is there, but Riku instead focuses on the moon and reaches for it, the moon believed to symbolize Sora.

Dream Drop Distance: Again, need I say anything? This game is about them relationship wise. They think about each other, they believe in each other and have talks with other characters about how they're always connected. There's a whole scene about how their hearts are in tune. In the novel, Riku has a monologue about how light and darkness they compliment each other. We get to see sorta how they feel about the other and trust each other. We again get Riku's motivation to protect Sora and his evolution to finding out that their rivalry is not darkness, but what pushed them to be stronger together and still does. There's so much of them and their relationship. On the other hand, Kairi shows up 4 times in the whole game, only 3 referring to Sora. She isn't even really mentioned. 1 of those 3 is a flashback to Kairi flying through him in kh1, another is just Kairi appearing behind Sora with all the rest of the guardians of light, and a 3rd is just Sora's dream with Riku and Kairi walking away from him. There is really nothing with Kairi and her relationship with anyone here

0.2: There's not much, but even with Riku and Kairi standing there, the only mention between them and Sora is basically how Sora's rubbed off on Riku and how Riku's more like Sora, then Riku talking about how he wants to be more like Sora. So again, more of their relationship focus

Kh3: During Sora's journey section, there is like no mention of Kairi, but he thinks about Riku and mentions Riku and talks to Riku on the gummiphone. We see them meet in the tower and Riku reassures him that he can do it. We see this little of their relationship and the little development. There's the RoD thing where Sora arguably uses the power of waking to get to Riku without having KKD and the gayblade. There's these looks they give where they understand each other without speaking. Even with the paopu scene, it starts out with Sora focusing on Riku. This is also the first point we see Sora trying to do a relationship fix with Kairi. Sora sheilding Kairi doesn't amount to or develop anything. But we get Riku's sacrifice, where by now he's realized that he loves Sora and he tells Sora he believes in him as he goes to sacrifice. It has a bigger focus than Sora's shield of Kairi and is more dramatic. Riku tries to prove to Sora that he is strong on his own. There's Riku comforting Sora and them being the only one left. There's the deliberation of animation in Riku reaching out to Sora and dropping it, only to get up, tell Sora he believes in him and sacrifice. In the Riku keyblade graveyard battle, we get moments of Sora swooping in to protect Riku and them going to fight together, where as in the rest Sora popped in to help or like in Mickey's case where he just gets captured. We get to see their teamwork once again. There's Riku's reaction of being angry after Kairi being "killed" only after Sora gets smad. Riku's heart is the first to reach Sora in kingdom hearts, and Riku supports his end decision and believes in him. All the Sora with Kairi stuff is mention, him fixing his relationship with her, or him going to bring him back and have all his friends safe. I didn't even recognize the evidence of Riku being the light and saving Riku first, even the section of saving Riku having more cutscenes and Sora talk/analysis than the rest of the scenes Sora saves his friends

Remind: All of the Sora and Kairi stuff again is just Sora trying to find her and have all his friends safe and fix his relationship with her. This one is more about Kairi and Sora's relationship, and even then there's a focus on Sora and Riku's relationship. There's still a bunch of the same things as base kh3, but we get more moments of Riku saying to trust or believe in Sora, there's Riku recognizing Sora there when Sora hits him with light when no one else does, even softly saying Sora's name aloud. There's their heartstations side by side and Sora being able to connect to him from inside kingdom hearts. There's another shot when Sora gets Kairi's last heart piece where Riku's heart is the brightest and again reaches Sora first. We still get their relationship and how they feel about each other despite this section not being directly about them, just like bbs, days, and 0.2.

Limit cut: We get big focus here. We see Riku sad over Sora. We learn that he is at least a key to saving him. Riku's dreaming about looking for Sora exactly where he is. We learn Riku is gonna be important. On Kairi's side, she's mentioned again and relegates herself to doll status for a whole year. She can see the final world, but neither she nor the scientists looking in her heart or anyone else looking found Sora or something related, while Riku's dreams hold the or a key and possibly a clue. Also, Yozora, the kh3 Riku lookalike (described by even Sora, Donald, and Goofy) looking for Sora who may just be Sora, but may also refer to him looking for the nameless star who may be his Sora (it's kinda hard to know for now).

In every game, consistently, Sora and Riku's relationship and development is a focus, even if it's not the center or the most important thing

Thanks for dealing with my essay ramble

[valravn72]

Count my Xehanorts:

Xehanorts that are DEFINITELY Xehanort (may contain a little Terra): Master Xehanort, Young Xehanort, Terranort, Ansem-Terranort if you count him as a separate guy (I do lol), Ansem Seeker of Darkness, Xemnas, you may count the Young Xehanort in KH III and 3D as separate from the real one who continues the timeline towards Dark Road (again, I do).

~7 (oh god. seven.)

Basic Replicas: No Heart, the TWELVE replica Xehanorts.

~ 13 (FUCK)

Formerly Norted Pre-Final Keyblade War: Aqua (Anti Aqua), Terra (Terranort, I am not counting him again btw this is just for consistency), Axel (barely), Vexen (barely), Demyx (barely), Zexion (barely), Lexeaus (barely), Xaldin (barely but I kind of want to count him for the specific reason that his is on Xehanort’s side in Alba & Ater. Which is a stupid reason), Roxas (barely), Riku (I would say he is more… Ansem-ed? And then original org members are Xemnas-ed… if that makes sense).

~ 2 counting Terranort. 10 counting Terranort if I count everyone else which I really don’t. So really only 1.

Semi? Norted Vessels during the final keyblade war: Saïx, Larxene, Marluxia, Xigbar, Xion, Replica Repliku (calling him that is fun okay), Luxord.

~ 7 (OH MY GOD.)

Wait. I forgot Vanitas. It’s 8. Okay we’re good.

So overall that would be:

- Only including the definitely Xehanorts: 7

- Including the definitely Xehanorts and non-autonomous replicas: 20

- The above but including Anti-Aqua: 21

- The above but not including the replicas because they are not sentient: 8

- The above but including the keyblade war vessels: 16

- The above but adding the replicas back: 29

So if you take Xigbar’s word on being “half Xehanort” (I cannot imagine his grasp on identity is very sound as a Luxu vessel, but I digress), and include non-sentient clones and Aqua, which you probably should if you are counting Ansem Terranort (which I do), then you have 29 Xehanorts! Congrats, you have counted my Xehanorts.

Going to count Soras, Rikus and Luxus for a sec for funsies.

Count My Soras:

Definitely Sora: Sora

~ 1

Clone of Sora (not just physically): Xion, Roxas, Data Sora (I hope he’s doing alright idk where he is is he ok. I hope he got to be gay with insect journal Riku)

~ 3

Sora via retcon (not a story retcon like a spiritual retcon): Ventus, Vanitas

~ 2

Already HALF Sora /ref: Naminé

~ 1

Ventus???: Armored Ventus Nightmare (I just count it as Ventus tbh)

~ 1

Heartless: Tiny little Shadow Sora, Darkside Sora, AntiSora (there are too many of these guys I’m only counting them once because no)

~ 3 (personally I count Shadow Sora as just being Sora and I don’t count AntiSoras because they’re non-sentient. I do count Darkside Sora though idk why)

I feel like if we count Ventus we should kind of count her but no one does: Kairi

~ 1

Counting only sentient Soras and excluding Kairi, Darkside Sora, Shadow Sora and Armored Ventus Nightmare we have. SEVEN SORAS. NO I DID NOT CHERRY PICK THEM IN ORDER TO GET THAT NUMBER I PROMISE. ANYWAY, CONGRATS ON COUNTING MY SORAS. YIPPIE.

Count my Rikus:

Definitely Riku: Riku

Riku clones: Repliku

Clones of Riku clones: Replica Repliku (hehehehe)

Riku having body dysphoria and ptsd because he looks like his abuser and feels like crap about himself because he just sacrificed several children to his boyfriend: Riku-Ansem (this is the same guy. Also why is he called that shouldn��t he be called Ansem-Riku since he is Riku)

Clone of Riku crossbred with the digital manifestation of a journal written by a cricket: Data-Riku

There is one of each of these and I don’t count Riku-Ansem. There are four Rikus. Congrats you have counted my Rikus. They include Riku, clone of Riku and clone of clone of Riku. I think Vexen needs to come up with other ideas for replicas maybe. This is getting kind of weird. Edit: Also gay bug book boy is there. Normal franchise.

Count my Luxus:

Definitely Luxu: Luxu

~1

Eventually Luxu (and then not Luxu again I think, idk I have not been keeping up with Missing Link): Brain

~1

I think this may just be Luxu but in a different body and assuming a different identity: Bragi, Braig, Xigbar (counting Braig and Xigbar separately here because of the category but I count them as the same dude otherwise)

~2

All of them but counting Xiggy and Braig as the same person is three. Three Luxus is too many Luxus imo. Congrats, you have counted my Luxus. What if they made more… Just kidding. As if.

Congrats you have counted the freaks. Have a good day.

"nonbinary people are just confused" YOURE DAMN RIGHT IM CONFUSED. I DONT EVEN KNOW WHATS GOING ON ANYMORE. WHO THE FUCK IS THIS XEHANORT GUY AND WHY ARE THERE FOUR OF HIM