#i was never able to finish khux cause of it :(

[hexxter]

Me when I remember KHML gonna be another gacha game

[eosfalsus]

Petals Cast In The Wind : a theory in regards to Strelitzia’s current situation and future importance in Kingdom Hearts

Despite her short appearance, i believe Strelitzia will play an important role in the future of Kingdom Hearts. From the last we see of her in khux after her death, Strelitzia is shown in a white coat similar to that of the black coat Luxu and the Master of Masters wear but there's something off.

Giving it a deeper look, her coat is far different from the black coats. They are no zippers to be found on Strelitzia’s coat and her hands, along with her feet are obscured. Not to mention the fact her face is visible with her orange bangs peeking out.

There's something about her presence here that feels...ghostly. We see her call to Lauriam but she doesn't get the chance to talk to him, possibly because Lauriam was slowly regaining back his consciousness and before Strelitzia could finish her sentence,

she floats up...eerie.

The final time we see hooded Strelitzia is in data Daybreak Town accompanied by presumably Luxu or MoM , where they're going is not exactly confirmed but Brain theorizes that Elrena and her Chirithy likely saw a glitch of her data. But can data enter people's dreams? Isn't that a little odd? 

i don't believe the Strelitzia we see is a glitch nor data as Brain says, but rather something else .

Something we've seen when people with strong wills are unable to depart with the physical world completely, leaving a remnant of themselves behind.

But the question is, does Strelitzia fulfill the requirements? the answer is yes! Before Strelitzia died , she was occupied with one objective of importance : finally talking to the player who she has feelings for, but that day never came and her wishes and desires went unfulfilled.

Besides the player , Strelitzia is also shown to have some form of deep regret at the fact she was not able to keep her promise of growing stronger so she can fight at her brother's side. Thus, being another possible factor for why a part Strelitzia still remains in the living world even after her body had perish

Now that we know that this is Strelitzia's will, what is she doing with a black coat and who exactly is the black coat in data Daybreak Town ?

While it could be Luxu, it wouldn't line up with we know which is that Luxu was ordered to observe the real Daybreak Town and the rest of the future moving foward. Luxu was also told by MoM that he was not allowed to interfere with any of the dandelions and, lastly was not aware of Strelitzia's disappearance .

Which only leaves the only possible candidate to be MoM. Though that begs the question, what would MoM want with Strelitzia?

I assume even though MoM's original plan with the dandelions didn't go as originally planned , Strelitzia still has a role to play in achieving his goals, whatever they may be (seriously what is he actually up to besides using children to destroy darkness?)

When MoM talks about taking the next step towards his goal and not going alone, I don't think hes referring to Luxu or even the Foretellers but rather Strelitzia .

Which is why we see him in data Daybreak Town, possibly retrieving her data for future purposes. But why? i have an idea :

Whats left of Strelitzia is only a remnant of her will and emotions. If MoM needs her to harbor darkness and keep it lock inside her, i can only assume he needs her to have a physical form and thus a heart. As a dandelion, Strelitzia is strong enough to resist and store the darkness within her, making her perfect as either a candidate or even back up if one of the Foretellers are unsuccessful in their role. For this reason Strelitzia needs a body so she can be able to give Darkness a physical form, this is the where nameless star comes into play.

The nameless star explains that her identity was stolen from her and her heart was separated from her body. As to who was the cause, her only answer is that of a somebody. The only people we know of in KH to be able take hearts out of other people and transport their own hearts and possibly someone else’s as a new vessel are keyblade masters. And knowing that the only keyblade master we see in the unreality is MoM, there's no doubt that this was his doing.

As to why the nameless star was chosen, she’s shown in the Verum Rex commercial to be capable of one can only assume to be reality breaking powers and maybe even the power to manipulate the fabric of the world around her. This is not something we typically see capable off with the characters in KH.

She’s strong and undoubtedly powerful, a perfact fit for a dandelion leader such as Strelitzia.

 But what does it all mean in the end? Well honestly, I myself am not sure other than the fact Luxu confirms in the secret reports of KH3 that the dandelion leaders will return and Strelitzia being in the fictional world means Lauriam's search for her won't be in vain.

[revengerevisited]

Maddie talks about depression.

Talking about depression is kinda hard because every time I do, I start to feel guilty because I know there are so many other people who have it worse than me. It’s not like I’m starving or abused or homeless. All my problems are just in my head, and a lot of it is my own laziness.

My depression comes from my anxiety and stress. While certain stressors are no longer part of my life —school was hell, and I’m very glad I don’t have to be there anymore— there are still many things which stress me out. First is my general incompetency and fear of never accomplishing anything.

Truth be told, I kinda suck at... everything. I can’t cook anything complicated, I don’t know how to pay taxes or bills, I can’t learn to drive because I’m terrified of death, I suck at social skills, and I’ve never had a job. In other words, I’m not independent, and it’s honestly really embarrassing and makes me feel guilty.

While I could learn how to do those first two more easily than the others, I really am genuinely scared of driving and I don’t know how to fix that. Quick candid run-down, I’ve tried antidepressants and therapy, but the only thing that’s helped is anti-anxiety medication (buspirone, for the curious). Even then, it’s not a magic fix.

For social skills... That’s a tough one. I have trouble making a keeping friends. Just a couple months ago I had a falling out with a friend, and it’s really bummed me out. I feel lonely a lot of the time. I don’t really know if social skills are something that can be learned. It doesn’t help that I have social anxiety on top of everything else.

As for a job... Just thinking about it causes me anxiety. I know it’s both a social obligation and (supposed to be) a point of pride, not to mention the money, but I’m terrified of feeling trapped again in the same way I did at school. Plus, to have a job I need to drive, which brings us back to my fear of death.

I’ve realized the only thing that can partially help that fear would be having children, but I don’t know how I’m going to manage that either. I’m not attractive, my personality isn’t that likable, and what’s worse I’m running out of time to find a husband. If a woman is over thirty, chances of her children being born unhealthy start to increase. That’s only five years away for me.

Of course before I can even start thinking of marriage and kids, I have to get my own life together, because how am I supposed to care for kids if I can’t even care for myself? Which brings me back to getting a job. The only thing I’m really good at is writing. My art is still too lacking for me to rely on it. I’m both a perfectionist and a procrastinator, which makes me feel even more guilty for being lazy if I’m not constantly working on something.

My greatest accomplishment in life is a half-finished rarepair fanfic featuring a character who— Well. I don’t even know if I know him anymore. For years I poured everything I had into Vanitas, and... I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say this whole KHUX situation has broken my spirit.

I know that it’s ‘just fiction’ and I keep trying to tell myself that, but I know the truth is that Vanitas means so much more to me than ‘just fiction’. I’m not sure I could say exactly why he’s so important to me —though I have tried— but he just... is. 

I’ve already gone over my stress from online harassment. In some ways that, combined with the TOS on every website telling me that my art isn’t allowed, has really worn me down. Overall, everything combined makes me... not really want to create Kingdom Hearts content anymore. Which isn’t something anyone wants to hear. Trust me, I don’t want to stop, either, but... sometimes I wonder if I need to stop.

I feel like I need to stop thinking about Kingdom Hearts, about Vanitas, and focus on my own original writing, since thinking about what’s happening to him is making me so miserable. With original writing, there wouldn’t be any stupid retcons because I could control the characters. I could make all the characters 18+ to satisfy the stupid antis and TOS. I could sell my work and maybe that could become my job. I wouldn’t need to drive yet because I could do it in my own home.

But...

But if I abandon my fanfics, even just to go on a hiatus, then I’ll disappoint everyone. That’s my rock and my hard place. That’s guilt.

My mom paid $120,000 on my college tuition, and I wasted it and four whole years in a tiny dorm room on an animation degree that I’ll never use. That’s guilt.

Guilt is stress and stress is anxiety and anxiety is depression.

Everything, everything here, is just too much for me to handle and my mind gets overwhelmed and collapses and swirls into this abyss of grey. I just feel stuck in one place that I can’t get out of.

For the last couple weeks I’ve been a depression blob. That is to say, laying around and not doing anything. Not working because it’s too much effort. Not doing anything fun, because it’s too much effort. Not getting up to eat until I’m starving, because it’s too much effort. Just typing this all out is almost too much effort.

And this is where I come across as lazy and a complainer, because as I said, it’s all just in my head, and the guilt from that just makes me feel even worse. Other people handle life just fine. Why am I so bad at it?

...My biggest stressor right now is finishing this Venqua fic and making sure it’s perfect. It’s supposed to be funny and sexy but I feel like neither right now. But I really do want to finish it, and as soon as possible, because I know everyone’s excited and waiting on me.

I want to be able to have fun when I write. I don’t want it to feel like a chore. I think if I could just get through this one fic, then I can start on my original work and learn the life skills I need. But even then, chapter thirteen of A Heart and a Half would be next, and then fourteen, and so on. I don’t have time to do all these things at once.

I just don’t want to feel trapped.

[nadziejastar]

I mean, it's nothing specific towards Skuld. That’s an overly reductive summary of my viewpoint. I didn’t even know that Subject X was Skuld when I first played KH3, since I barely knew anything about KHUX. I would feel this way towards any character if they were Subject X. But yes, I do hate canon Subject X because she was forcefully inserted where she didn't belong. She became the main purpose of Lea and Isa's relationship out of nowhere, and their OWN relationship didn’t get the focus it deserved and needed. So, this would be a good opportunity to show how absurd the resolution of Axel/Saïx really was and why I have a good reason to hate Subject X for her role in the story.

Nostalgia… And memory. We are the ones who lost their hearts—the ones who are no one. Nobodies. Not light nor darkness—we live in the twilight.

Axel stopped outside the crystal ball room and took a deep breath.

Why are we here? What are we doing? No—why am I here?

Now, Axel did want to help Roxas. But what Kairi said in her letter was a way more accurate description of his relationship with Saïx. Whether Lea/Isa or Axel/Saïx, they had a very...intense relationship, to say the least. Good or bad, there was a ton of powerful emotions between them. It was Axel’s most intense relationship, bar none. This intensity was a fundamental aspect of his character.

Roxas wilted again, and something in his expression weakened Axel’s resolve slightly.

I just did what I thought was the best thing at the time. For Roxas, for Xion, for the Organization—and for Isa. But most of all for me.

He turned away from Roxas and made himself walk away.

Lea/Axel had very strong attachment and affection for who he remembered Isa to be. He stayed in Organization XIII for him, even when he no longer recognized him as that person anymore. I got the impression that Lea was not just best friends, but in LOVE with Isa. That’s how powerful their emotional connection was presented to be.

It’s messed up, Axel thought. Why am I trying to put Saïx in charge of the Organization…?

“I thought I told you not to get too involved.” Saïx swung his chair, turning his back on Axel. Axel could feel nothing but a will of rejection from that back.

“Just look at it. I won’t say any more than that.”

For Saïx to say that, he probably doesn’t intend to tell me any more. Axel stared at Saïx’s back. The two of us have definitely changed since those times.

“…I wonder which of us it was that changed,” muttered Axel, and Saïx’s shoulders trembled for just a second. Without waiting for an answer, Axel left the room.

And I don’t think that’s an unfounded or baseless interpretation. The subplot at the Beast’s Castle in Days was always parallel to Axel’s motivation for completing Kingdom Hearts. On the day Kingdom Hearts became visible in the sky (Day 94), Roxas questioned why they were fighting. Why did they even need hearts? 

Really? Axel wondered to himself. Did that self in my memories really have a strong heart? Don’t really know. And then, Nobodies without hearts wish for only one thing. A heart. If I was asked if I wanted a heart, I guess I’d answer that I did. But do I really want a heart? Can a heart really fill this hollowness I’ve carried since I fell into existence as a Nobody?

Axel didn’t let Roxas know, but deep down he actually had similar doubts. He was ambivalent about getting his heart back, because he wasn’t convinced it would truly heal the emptiness he felt. 

No—he had definitely betrayed them. The one who killed everyone in that castle, who led Riku to Naminé—that was him. And yet it wasn’t a total betrayal. Doubts still swirled inside him.

Why am I here? What do I want? How can I become whole again?

Even now, he wasn’t sure.

What should I have done? What should I do?

The mission on Day 94 was at the Beast’s Castle and Roxas first questioned why the Beast was fighting the Heartless. And the whole time in that world, Roxas kept wondering what he was fighting so hard for. 

“Once Kingdom Hearts is complete, I bet you’ll be able to figure it out.” 

The magic words again, Axel thought. It’ll all make sense when Kingdom Hearts is complete. 

But was that true? No one had ever seen it happen before. So who knew? Still, all they could do was believe in it. Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts…

Roxas finally learned that the Beast was fighting out of love. And I got the sense that it was a hint. Axel was motivated to complete Kingdom Hearts for the same reason. He wasn’t even sure if it would work. He was skeptical. But he chose to believe in it.

“We don’t need them both. Just one. And pretending won’t change it. Think good and hard about it.”

I am thinking. I’m thinking so hard that I’m sick of it. I’m thinking so hard that I just want you to tell me the answer. He wanted to tell him so, but Saïx had already started walking towards the lobby.

It’s just like that back is rejecting me. And, I’m realizing that my memories of the past are too different from the thoughts I’m having now. 

Why the hell am I here? I don’t really know any more. What the hell do I want to do?

Axel was always questioning why he was still in the organization when he thought about how much Saïx had changed. And he always felt like Saïx’s back was rejecting him.

He’d been overthinking the do’s and don’ts so much that he lost sight of what he wanted. And he couldn’t gather the courage to follow Roxas. Was he afraid of rebelling against the Organization? No—it was just that he wanted things to stay the way they were, even more than Xion or Roxas did.

He had been using the Organization for his own ends from the start. The only thing that had changed in the meantime was who it was all for. Maybe Saïx would call that a betrayal. But his world had changed.

Axel wasn’t really in the organization to get his heart back. He wasn’t even in the organization because he was afraid of rebelling. He was doing it all for Saïx’s sake. And he got fed up with that at the end of Days.

Today I have to destroy Roxas. I cannot betray the organization.

From the little shelf at his bedside, Axel took a white envelope, and looked at it vaguely for a while. Putting it in his pocket, Axel got up off the bed and left the room.

But that decision didn’t last very long. He decided he couldn’t betray the organization, then went to see Saïx.

Maybe this is the last time I’ll see Saïx, too.

Thinking, Axel looked at the seated Saïx’s back.

“We’ve known each other for a pretty long time, haven’t we?”

Ignoring Axel’s words, Saïx continued typing on the keyboard.

“Say something. Have you even thought that maybe I can’t erase Roxas?” Axel said, in a playful tone, and Saïx finally looked up. “It’ll be all right. Cause I’m tough.” Axel puffed out his chest.

“How stupid,” said Saïx, and for a moment he smiled.

He tried to emotionally connect with him, thinking it was the last time he might see him. And Saïx still had his back turned to him. But no matter how many times Saïx rejected Axel and left him staring at his back, Axel still kept trying and trying and trying. Axel never would have even considered destroying Roxas if it wasn’t for his feelings for Isa.

Axel waited.

In the shadows of the spaces between, he waited for Sora… For Roxas.

“Traitor,” Saïx had called him. But his betrayal of Organization XIII wasn’t exactly a recent development, Axel thought with a bitter laugh.

He could hardly feel the pain anymore. And it wasn’t that the wound was healing—no, this was just the end coming closer.

Before he reached Sora and the other two, Nobodies appeared in his way.

“Really, Saïx…?”

Number 7 had probably sent them—but whether to finish him off or to keep that trio from coming any farther, Axel wasn’t sure.

Saïx broke Axel’s heart into a million pieces. 

He wanted to fight that way again. He wished they had talked more, about lots of things. About nothing. He wanted to talk to his friend again.

But why do I feel this way if Nobodies have no hearts?

His time was running out, thanks to Saïx. He could hardly move anymore.

Axel was physically and emotionally destroyed by that man. Yet in KH3D...he went back to him. Very quickly and happily, too. All I could say was wow. Just...wow.

Saïx: There's something I've meant to ask.

Xemnas: About Axel? The poor fool. How long will he keep chasing the illusion of friendship, when he himself lacks emotion? Trying so hard to retrieve what he has lost, when it may never have existed in the first place. He deserves nothing more than our pity.

And Saïx had psychotic rage towards Axel when he left. This rage was VERY personal. 

“Hilarious,” said Saïx.

He’s being sarcastic… Joking, in other words.

Saïx had made up his mind not to say such things in front of the other Organization members. It was something he could only be towards Axel, something special that could only have been born from the relationship Saïx and Axel had had as humans.

It was a result of the extreme closeness they shared as humans.

He felt sad somehow, like he missed someone. That voice, that attitude… Axel. His name is Axel. But who is he? Oh—I remember. The guy with the scar on his forehead said he was trying to find Axel. Sora’s mind raced.

Axel’s sadness had nothing to do with a mystery girl. Saïx’s rage had nothing to do with a mystery girl. He was not offended on anyone else’s behalf. It was for leaving him. KH3 tried to downplay this and water down the powerful emotions between Axel and Saïx. And all they did was make it seem ridiculous that they were even friends in the first place, let alone best friends. 

Axel’s eyes crinkled as he remembered his own best friend—the only friend he’d ever had, in fact.

“If your best friend goes away, you’re sad, and if you get to be with them, you’re happy,” Naminé added. “Isn’t that how it is, Axel?”

“…That’s about the size of it.” Axel nodded and sat down on the remaining empty sofa, staring at the sea-salt ice cream he held.

Their whole relationship is pointless if you don’t address all of this sadness, heartbreak, and abuse. KH3 just swept it all under the rug. It tried to deflect all of your attention away from Axel and Saïx’s relationship. It diverted your attention to Roxas and Xion being back, and also to Subject X. It was all so they wouldn’t have address the elephant in the room. They needed to fix Lea and Isa’s relationship with EACH OTHER. KH3 did not do that. 

“I don’t want to disappear, but I’m not upset or sad about it.”

But they really, really needed to.

Axel didn’t waste a second grabbing his chakrams. But his body was reluctant somehow. 

I don’t want to disappear… But still, it wouldn’t be so bad if I did. Not here.

I mean, come on. Saïx KILLED Axel with a vicious smile on his face. He wanted Axel to PAY for leaving him. He acted like one of those crazy, jealous, obsessive ex-lovers that stalk and kill the person for dumping them. I also got the impression that Isa was in love with Lea. Saïx was devastated when Axel left because his memories of the past were that powerful. 

He wanted…to find hope—the hope that Sora and Riku had.

Saïx gave him a cruel grin. “You will lose everything!”

And then the Claymore pierced Axel’s chest.

I don’t want to disappear. I can’t disappear now. I shouldn’t have to disappear at all. Why am I doing all this? Who is it for? For Roxas… For Riku, for Naminé… And for myself. There are still things I should do. Things I have to do.

They gave him a sense of purpose. He WAS jealous, but he wasn’t JUST jealous. He was a lot more conflicted than that. Saïx hated Isa’s memories and wanted them to disappear. I mean, it may have been a negative relationship, but it was still a very intense relationship. Toxic, but passionate. 

“Well, I think you can be inseparable, even if you’re apart. It’s like, if you feel really close to each other. Like best friends,” said Axel.

Yet this incredibly destructive, intense, personal relationship played a relatively minor role in KH3. Saïx showed up and acted very casual with Lea. And Lea's reaction was very mild toward the guy who sadistically murdered him not long ago. 

“As long as we remember one another, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?”

Roxas grinned. “Who are you, and what have you done with Axel?”

“Hey! I tried, okay?” All that effort to cheer them up, and they just turned it into a punch line. Chagrined, he looked away.

They just casually chat about some random girl. SHE is now is the main focus of their friendship. Their OWN relationship was incredibly milquetoast and watered down. It took a back seat. They didn’t act like best friends, or even former best friends. They didn’t act like they liked, cared about, or respected each other. They just tolerated each other for the sake of that girl. Basically, it seemed like they were just using each other because they shared a common goal. That’s the note this relationship ended on.

Axel kept talking. “There’s something special only born between two people who are even more than friends… that’s love.”

“More special than friends? Like…if they’re best friends? Inseparable?”

“Well, you can care about your friends, but that’s not exactly it…” Axel paused, groping for words that might make sense to Roxas.

I got the sense that Lea and Isa’s and/or Saïx and Axel’s relationship was probably considered a bit TOO intense for something between two men. So a female had to be inserted to downplay that. Wouldn’t want people to get the wrong impression. Only a female is the "correct" target for that level of intensity. It’s sexist. it’s homophobic. And it’s just all around small-minded. 

Maybe…the pain I felt then was the hurt of someone’s heart? I feel it even more clearly than the pain in my body. It’s hard to endure, but…something about it is almost comfortingly familiar, too. It’s a special hurt, born from the same thing as my lost memories. I want to run away from it. But I won’t.

And it’s such a waste in a series all about pain bringing you closer together and the power of the heart. Yeah, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that I hated it.

[notruvik]

finished kh3 a couple of days ago and i have some thots on it.. this took me a while to write, but seeing the general consensus right now im glad im not the only one whos got some Feelings about it. obvious spoiler talk underneath the cut!

before anything i wanna say i did enjoy the game. i had fun with it, it is polished to beyond and isnt per se a rushed product technical wise - which makes my grievances with it the more harrowing

first and foremost i dont have too much gripes with the story and its ending overall. sora ‘dying’ had been hinted at before and seeing how the disney worlds played out i had expected it to happen. the revival of aqua, ven and terra was sufficient and while the seasalt trio only had one scene to call their own, it’s fine, really. it brought the emotion across and worked as climax for their arc. im happy that theyre happy

however, its nothing more than that: it’s fine. the game itself didnt do anything to make all of these returns and happy endings meaningful. it simply presented you one longer-than-average cutscene and a boss fight for each respective trio and had you fill in the blanks. for 20 hours it feels like the game is at a standstill as you go from disney world to disney world, forcing you to do unrelated tasks and seemingly doing everything to prevent sora from going into the realm of darkness until the very last 7 hours of the game where everything happens at once

that feeling of ‘standstill’ is caused by nothing really happening in sora’s physical journey. yes, he does meet marluxia, y!xehanort and vanitas (arguably the best and most efficient encounter in the game), but youre no step closer to the goal youre trying to achieve nor is any other character making any visible progress. when its time to finally take the first step, youre soon thrown at the very end of the plight: you save aqua, you immediately save ven, youre at the keyblade graveyard, you reunite everyone in the span of 2 hours and then its end game already

theres not breather in-between. no moment to let your achievements sink in and let these lost wielders get acquainted with the main cast and have some form of reunion. to make it feel like they matter in the present time. after all is said and done you find the resurrection of the wayfinder and seasalt trio meaningful not because the game helped you connect but because youve spent the past 10 years thinking about them.

this overall covers my main complaint about the game. further on i tried to collect some other issues in smaller points which i think just added to the Experience

to address the elephant in the room, kairi has been such a waste once again. being advertised as keyblade wielder, finally playing a role in all of this, only for her to get kidnapped immediately and killed is an awful move. being the reason sora is ‘dead’ in the end leaves such a bad bad aftertaste on top of all that. since a bunch of other posts have already discussed the issues at hand, i wont go in on this too hard. i do wanna say tho that kairi here feels like the epitome of character mismanagement problems the game is having in general; you dont feel for her. she says a lot of things, but is not acting on it. you dont see her training, you barely see her fighting. shes not talking to sora up to moments before her death, its no wonder youll forget about her until sora brings her up again post-end boss

continuing, instead of introducing mysterious female character(s) which never serve any purpose, i wish they had used the time to develop the characters which actually were at stake here. same goes for the many more sub-plots that never lead anywhere. the time spent talking about The Box, The Girl, The KHuX Survivors could have been used to ease the fallen heroes into the story. DLC content would have been perfect to introduce all these other elements into the present for future installments, instead of leaving all of these mentioned new plot points entirely unresolved. as its stands kh3 is a playable sequel bait instead the end of the xehanort saga

no radiant garden hub world? a huge portion of plot relevant characters are gathered there, why wouldn’t you add this one to the selection? the relief you would feel seeing the outcome of the restoration committee, kairi finally getting back in touch with her homeworld, damn, even just being able to interact with your allies on an npc level would be enough to make this game feel alive. this emptiness spreads out to the other world as well: like many AAA games, kh3 suffers from beautiful but empty world syndrome. sure, the worlds are huge, but theres nothing to do but fight enemy hordes and run for hours. arendelle arguably being the worst offender where all safe point spawning places look the same

minor, but still gonna mention it: sora still hasnt thanked namine and it personally drives me nuts. it wouldnt be that much of a problem honestly if theyd stop bringing it up every other game, throwing out cutscenes solely dedicated to that.. like, come on.

im trying to be optimistic here, but kh3 was supposed to wrap all these ‘spin-off’ into the main story line, not hint at a dozen more games to come. the game overall feels like another side project, instead of a full blown main title which is a damn shame. i already wrote this on twitter, but to me kh3 feels like the point where the series loses all of its emotional value in favor of ‘unforeseen’ plot twists to create this historic epic that paints nomura as some kind of ingenious story teller. instead of providing a story that focuses on the fight between light and dark, the power of friendship, and of course finally giving us an ending to all these characters weve grown attached to over the years, its simply put sequel bait in order to promote a (pretty much) pay to play mobile game. and it left me disappointed

[disneydreamlights]

So, the finale would involve the Player and their four Dandelion friends realizing that they're in the Unchained State after eavesdropping on Maleficent and Pete conversing in either Enchanted Dominion or Hollow Bastion (I might just leave out Hollow Bastion unless I make it about rebuilding Radiant Garden). And then form a plan to escape. There'd then be a multiplayer Story Battle unlocked on the cliff overlooking Daybreak Town. It would pit the Player against Pete.

Pete would be a Power Type enemy, with a Counter that buffs his defense whenever it's depleted. Your friends would be busy holding off the Heartless, while Neoshadows would occasionally join the battle due to Pete having an open Corridor of Darkness right next to him. It is a Multiplayer Battle. Defeating him triggers a Cutscene where the Player and their friends enter the Corridor of Darkness he was using, showing Daybreak Town's title card for the second time, signifying that you won't return.

Clearing that battle would drop the Player off into the Dark Corridor Trials Lobby, where a Story Battle now rests in the room's halfway point. Much like before, this Story Battle is multiplayer. It's actually a boss rush, with you teaming up with each of your friends to fight a Wretched Witch, Large Snowman, Ferocious Fin, and Mean Maiden. For plot reasons, you wouldn't activate the light bangles.

So uh, remember when I mentioned that Ephemer would go kinda off the deep end? Basically, Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain would all show up, with your four friends getting expelled from the Corridor of Darkness to be rebrainwashed. The Player, however, would break free and call them out for brainwashing them, and, when Ephemer says that it's for the greater good, the Player would say "Oh, you mean like how you killed Ven 'for the greater good'". Cue boss fight with all three Union Leaders.

Ephemer would be a Magic Type (because he was nearly defeated by a Speed Type Invisible when you first met him), Skuld a Speed Type, and Brain a Power Type. Ephemer would use his turn to revive Brain when he's defeated, Brain use his turn to revive Skuld when she's defeated, and Skuld would use her turn to revive Ephemer when he's defeated. They wouldn't recover a lot of HP when revived, but you'd still have to defeat all three of them in the same turn in order to end the battle for real.

Gonna break up the asks here. Answering this, then putting it under a read more.

Wow, last trip to Daybreak Town. A part of me wonders if this would be gameplay/story segregation or if after reaching this point in the story the player would no longer be allowed to return to Daybreak Town or any previous locations in the game. Granted this is supposed to be an MMO so it’d be difficult if you’re way farther in the story than your friends and party members, but it’d still be wild to no longer be able to visit Daybreak Town.

You know this only just hit me but I sincerely hope Ephemera returns to normal because I love him and we’re already putting one of my unproblematic favs through a lot of shit, putting two of them through shit is harsh too. ;w;

Boss battle sounds like a pain in the ass though. I mean granted I use mostly hit alls on my best Keyblade anyways but the idea of “You can’t use light bangles” implies that Guilt/Light version of Guilt is unusable and that’s the only reason my Lady Luck is so good.

In case your wondering, the Player's motivation for wanting to escape would be that they want to warn the worlds of Maleficent's upcoming invasion. They know they don't stand a chance against Realeficent (to distinguish her from the Holoficent the Player destroyed), because this version of Maleficent has had the chance to grow stronger than her counterpart. Ephemer's main concern would be rescuing and rebrainwashing the Dandelions so they can replace the Worlds whenever they're destroyed.

Replace the worlds? Basically you mean recreate holograms of them and such?

So, after defeating the Dandelion Trio, the player runs deeper into the Realm of Darkness. As soon as they're gone, Maleficent arrives on the scene and captures the weakened Union Leaders, remarking on how they'll make fine additions to her army. The Dark Realm Title would then appear. We then see the player arrive at the End of the World, complete with title, with Chirithy saying that there's no time to go back for the others, you'll have to work with your remaining friends to escape.

So, all the enemies outside of the World Terminus in the End of the World would be Nightmares. Inside the World Terminus, you'd visit post-apocalyptic versions of the Worlds from the game, in the same order we watched them disappear in the credits, with Daybreak Town being a burnt out husk of its former self. The enemies would be the Heartless from those Worlds. The Story Quests would require you to defeat 13 Heartless and 1 Raid Boss in each ruined World. It would all lead to a Story Battle.

You can only save those four and I guess the Union Leaders since you’re going to rescue them? Honestly that’s real sad. But damn good shit bringing back World Terminus since it’s like my favorite part of End of the World. 

Daybreak Town honestly sounds terrifying, it makes sense that it’d be destroyed like that but it still sounds depressing to see such an adorable town destroyed like that.

The Story Battle would be called "Case of Super" and be the FINAL Multiplayer Story Battle. The Player would be greeted by the Master of Masters (whom had up till now perioidically shown up to mess with the Player's head similar to the True Organization in DDD), who'd sarcastically congratulate you for falling right into his trap. He'd then reveal why he created Nightmare Chirithy, to motivate you into going into the Keyblade War, so he could use the repressed trauma to destroy your heart.

The MoM would then tell you your role in his plan, supply Guilt for Nightmare Chirithy to use to become a Nightmare and sow discord between the Foretellers, to set Strelitzia up to die by refusing to join the Dandelion, to destroy the World using the X-blade (the Player's Keyblade would transform into it after the Foreteller boss rush, with Ephemer pulling you into the Unchained State being what caused it to explode), and to become the is own Avatar in the Realm of Light.

The MoM, after piling all this guilt onto the Player, would finally introduce himself "Well, in case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm the one known as the Master of Masters, but you can call me X-Super." Then, cue final multiplayer boss fight. X-Super's attribute would be whatever your Foreteller is weak to. He'd be Magic type in Unicornis and Ursus, Speed type in Anguis and Vulpes, and Power type in Leopardos. He'd attack using copies of the Foretellers' and Luxu's Keyblades.

X-Super’s kinda a dumb name. I know it’s tied to pride so it works with the Seven Deadly Sins and it’s probably just what he’s calling himself but that doesn’t mean I have to like the name. XD

Jeez, MoM is definitely insane though. I wouldn’t put it passed him to have set up everything, including the Nightmare Chirithy well in advance, but that doesn’t make him any less insane, so I mean...

When the MoM is defeated, the Player would suddenly start experiencing the same tiredness that Sora did in DDD. The MoM would then reveal the truth, everything after your battle with the Union Leaders was all in your head. You escaped the Unchained State, but you never woke up. And now, in fighting the fake MoM Nightmare Chirithy planted in your head, you've unintentionally opened the floodgates to let out all that repressed darkness, so the REAL MoM can use you as his avatar in the real world.

Luckily for the Player, the MoM isn't the only hooded figure in the Unchained State. Earlier story moments would reveal that there's a second hooded figure working against Maleficent. This hooded figure would be revealed to be Luxu in this one moment, as he sends the MoM away (the MoM not knowing that Luxu had ascended to the Unchained State), and sends the Player's unconscious body towards the Land of Departure, which would be added in the final month of service.

The Land of Departure would be represented as a Story Battle on the World Map, and you'd have to spend AP in order to enter it. The cutscenes for the Land of Departure would reveal that the Player has been laying there trapped in a Nightmare, with Terra, Aqua, and Ven doing what they can to keep them alive while Vanitas fetches Sora (Strelitzia would be absent). Sora would use the power of awakening to send Chirithy and the Pet into the Player's heart since he can't enter himself.

The final boss of the entire MMO would be Nightmare Chirithy. The Player would first fight the same boss they did back in Unchained X, with a few extra attacks. After defeating that, Nightmare Chirithy would morph into Phantom Chirithy, which is basically a Raid Boss. It's hands would be the other two types that it's head isn't, and give it two extra attacks. Chirithy would be your NPC helper, either buffing your or debuffing the Nightmare. Your Pet would eat Nightmare Chirithy after it's beaten

Ooooooh, okay, so this is like the “Hey were closing it down get ready for the grand finale” type thing where you’re not supposed to return really after playing it. Obviously they’d probably do a gameplay story integration thing then, and if you ask me I think it should be within the last week of service, because if it happened before this, then there would be some segregation between story and gameplay and honestly that’s kinda dumb at this point. This is the last thing the players should play in KHUx. Finishing it should basically lock you out of the game because game over. It honestly feels like it should be some kind of concluding fanfare except locking it to one time is unfair, but there’s no furthering to the story after this. This is it, and there’s no point in continuing to let people play imo if you’re shutting down soon unless there’s more events coming around the corner. (I just really like big fanfare finales to things. Like I think everything described right now should be the final month of service.)

Silly end to Nightmare Chirithy, but given the super cutesy art style of the entire game it kinda makes sense that there wouldn’t be some kind of super intense ending to the game, even with all the intense stuff beforehand. Or at least it makes sense to me there wouldn’t be.