#twtnw posts

[firestorm09890]

Heartless move like animals and creatures that could feasibly exist and Nobodies move like a poorly-done sfm animation with shiny, rubbery textures no living humanoid should have. End of the World is all crags and sparkling waters and strange plants and life and everything from everywhere mashed together and The World That Never Was is all hard edges and neon lights and the illusion of a city where not a single person lives and it is pristine and perfect. A heart is connection and growth and a hollow body is stagnation. As a final boss Ansem turns into a massive inorganic structure (boat) made of organic material (flesh) and Xemnas turns into a massive organic structure (dragon) made of inorganic material (buildings). The former, the heart and Heartless and End of the World, is about the raw substance, and the latter, the body and Nobody and The World That Never Was, is about the appearance. and you need both

[dreamsy990]

Sooo... about your ghost roxas au, are there, mayhaps other ghosts like riku replica or Xion or is it just Roxas?

OH OKAY SOSOSOSOOSO THIS COULD BE SUCH A COOL CONCEPT !!!!! sadly its not within the scope of this specific au? but theres definitely a lot to play with with xion or repliku,,,,,,, anyways im going to explain a bit of the lore:tm: being ghost roxas au here since i never really properly explained whats going on in this au i think?

so the explanation of how this au works is kind of 90% "whats an explanation that allows my idea to happen while also seeming plausible in terms of kh lores uhhhhhh. im going to call it "narrative flexability" (bending like a rubber ruler to let whatever nomura wants to happen make sense) so the idea is at the start of kh2 when roxas "returns" to sora it doesnt like. fully work? leaving roxas in a sort of frightening liminal space between life and death !! dfgbhgfrerfhg anyways. sora is the only one who can see him also (hence the last comic where he was asking if he was hallucinating).

this au is like. entirely self indulgent i dont think its particularly interesting with like. whats actually going on more with the relationships which was always the focus to me. so theres not really that much to explain with the plot? its mostly true to kh2 but roxas is there and its a lot less focused on the actual events. idk it is but a humble character drama to me because thats what i like to read and write! i am SO fucking serious when i say the xion or repliku concept could be cool as hell however,,,,,,,,,,,,,, someone else should go insane about those guys and write that

[theworldthatneverwas]

Fans on Twitter have uncovered Nomura's secret 20th Anniversary message! There's been some misinformation going around, so I wanted to clear up a few points.

tl;dr, Nomura explains in an interview that the message is intentional, and the narrator from the trailers is Sigurd, which lines up with other information revealed in the interview.

More below the cut!

In an interview with Famitsu, the interviewer asks the following questions:

会場では貴重な資料などもたくさん展示されていました。ソラのスタチューに野村さんのメッセージが掲げられていましたが、下から3行目に"x"の文字がありました。あれには何か意味が？

野村 - あれには別のメッセージも隠していて、“x”はそのヒントですね。ご覧になった方々が、SNSなどで考察されていましたが、答えに辿り着いている方はまだいないようでしたね。

あのメッセージの言い回しや“x”、改行などに少し違和感も覚えたのですが、仕掛けがあったのですね。

野村 - あのメッセージを考えるのは、とてもたいへんでした（苦笑）。見た通りの文面には20周年のメッセージとして思っていることを伝えたかったですし、謎に気づいてもらえるよう少しだけ���自然にしたり。そのうえで隠されたメッセージを仕込む必要がありましたから。

To roughly translate, this says:

Interviewer: There are a lot of valuable materials on display at the event hall. Mr. Nomura, you wrote a message by the Sora statue, and there's a line with just "x" on the third line from the bottom. What's the meaning behind that?

Nomura: That's another secret I hid inside my message. The "x" is a hint to help find it. I've looked on social media, but I haven't seen anyone solve the mystery yet.

Interviewer: The message's wording, the line spacing, the "x" symbol, it all felt a little strange, but there was a reason behind it, then?

Nomura: It was hard to come up with it (laughs). I wanted to convey my feelings for the 20th anniversary as well as the hidden message, so I made it a little unusual so it would be noticed. And then on top of that, I had to put in this secret.

So in short, yes, Nomura did indeed put a secret in his 20th anniversary message. The image above, which shows the message, doesn't have a fixed-width font, so it seems a little unclear if it's just reaching. I made my own version in Excel for comparison, and it does indeed line up:

This is Nomura's message, written without kanji. We can see that the X starts on the 2nd character and proceeds until the 10th character across, using the numbers 2*10=20. (Notable because 二十, twenty, is literally the characters for two + ten).

The secret message says こえのしょうたいはしぐるどようちゅうい, or, with Kanji, 声の正体はシグルド。要注意。This translates to "The voice of the character is Sigurd. Pay close attention"

This is referring to Sigurd, a character introduced at the end of Union Cross's finale (pictured above). He greets Brain when he arrives at Scala ad Caelum.

The other point of contention here is that there's been a translation floating around of Nomura saying the voice's identity is someone we've known throughout the series but who was never voiced. This is mistranslated; what Nomura actually says is as follows:

男性の方のナレーションは、『キングダム ハーツ ミッシングリンク』のナレーションと同じ方だとのことでしたが？

野村 - はい、キャラクターは同一人物なのですが、同じ方に演じ分けていただいています。これまで出て来ているキャラクターですが、声がつくのは初めてになります。

Interviewer: The person who does the narration for both the Missing-Link trailer and for Kingdom Hearts 4 is the same person, isn't it?

Nomura - Yes, it's the same person for both, but they provided two different performances for the trailers. It's a character we've seen before now, but this is the first time they've been voiced.

This got translated elsewhere as "a character we've known throughout the series" or "someone who's been around for a while", but the line これまで出て来ているキャラクターです just says it's a character who's been seen before and doesn't specify how familiar we are with the character. So, this falls in line exactly with what the message above says and the rest of Nomura's interview.

In short - this is the real deal, everyone! The narrator for Missing-Link and KH4 is Sigurd. It seems we have much to discover about this character and his connections to the stories of both Scala ad Caelum and Sora.

[dearlybelovedhearts]

“Strange...” 

He’s stood at the top of one of the skyscrapers. He’s spent the best part of the day exploring the abandoned city only to find most of the electricity still works despite the fact there are no people to upkeep the generators. 

[rxcusant]

no one: nobody: not a single soul: me: BUT IF NORTIZATION XIII WASN’T STAYING IN TWTNW AND HELD MEETINGS ON A BUNCHA ROCKS IN THE MIDDLE OF A DESERT, WHAT DID THEY DO WHEN THE MEETINGS WERE OVER. WHERE DOES MARLUXIA GO ON HIS OFF TIME. WHO GETS THE MESSAGE OUT THAT THEY NEED TO HAVE A MEETING. DO THEY SEND VEXEN OUT TO TRACK EVERYONE DOWN AND BE LIKE “HEY MEETING IN 10 MINUTES AT THE ROCK FORMATION DONT BE LATE” AND THATS WHY HE BETRAYED THEM IN THE END??hE DIDNT WANT TO BE AN ERRAND MAN????  WHERE DO THEY GO

[nartatoalevy]

I think a common misconception in kh3 is that ienzo telling sora they last met in the castle is a translation error and not realizing it's ienzo assuming Sora retains Roxas' memories like normal nobodies turned somebodies do.

He's referring to the fact that Roxas last saw zexion in TWTNW and is assuming sora just naturally had roxas' memories and would thus recognize him and aeleus lol. It's not a translation error! it's just ienzo being out of the sora loop.

(and since the Twitter version of this post is kinda blowing up rn I should specify that I said mistranslation as the example since that WAS what people assumed it to be when the game first came out. People believed it was either a translation error or a continuity error, but it's neither! Seems some people got mixed up about that whoops)

[thefatalmarksman]

Wanna design Xig’s room at RG palace more in depth at some point tbh but a few points of interest:

- Braig once had it decorated to his interests—different shades of purple, all his different experimental firearms, emptied bottles of various drinks that he thought had cool designs, some low-maintenance plants. It wasn’t necessarily messy—no nasty food remnants and what have you—but he definitely never went out of his way to be immaculate with his often chaotic organization

- however, once RG was taken over by Maleficent and turned into her Villainous Headquarters, Hollow Bastion, her Dark Powers renovated everyone’s living spaces into Heartless-filled traps

- thus, when the RG good guys moved back in and had to de-Darknessify the aesthetic, a lot of rooms were basically turned back into blank spaces—including Braig’s old room

- in his post KH3 verse, Xigbar been allowed this space again, however, as he’d grown used to the rather sterile conditions at TWTNW, he hasn’t really done much, save have a bed with some nice linens, a couple pillows, and plenty of shelving

- however, that doesn’t mean the place looks totally un-lived-in. Xigbar has collected many items throughout his travels, which is what all of those shelves are for. His trinkets consist of anything that might have some sort of pleasant memory attached to them, whether it’s a brilliant gem or gold coin, or something as insignificant as a cool-looking stick

- in the end, though, if a memory sours, he’ll toss out the item, to get rid of the reminder

- after all, you can just throw things out and then you never have to think about it again.. right??

[haveievermentioned]

Time for Day 3!

First! For missing scene: the Mallard Family by @greyliliy https://archiveofourown.org/works/12077487

Image Description: A picture of Cloudy Mountains. Text: FWAW Day 3 Missing Scene: the Mallard Family by GreyLiliy It wasn’t as if the Muddlefoots weren’t aware that Drake Mallard was a prickly individual that was unpleasant to be around at the best of times.

It was just that as his direct neighbors, they got to see a different side of Drake. They knew things about him the rest of the community refused to put into the big picture that was the Mallard family.

To start, where most people saw a lenient dad with an out-of-control kid, The Muddlefoots saw a brand new single parents struggling to raise a troubled child all by himself.

Full Disclosure, this is sort of why I wanted to do this thing. I wanted to shout out this amazing fic. This fic that completely changed how I thought about the Muddlefoots. It's WONDERFUL. It tells the story of the 90's Darkwing Duck from THEIR perspective... namely they are just trying to make this new dad comfortable in this neighborhood, figuring out how he works so they can help him do the best for htis new family and it's just SO SO SO GOOD.

The best part is, it doesn't change anything about them! They are still exactly the same, just they are more emotionally intelligent than Darkwing and with more logic than he gives them credit for. Please please please read it.

Next is one by @theladysyk0 https://archiveofourown.org/works/11389257/chapters/25504239

Image: Dark and Light pink diamond pattern. Text: FWAW Day 3: Crossover Harley Quinn and Deadpool BFF's 5-Ever by The Lady Syko Deadpool pops into the DC universe, finds Harley after another bad break up with Joker, and the two decide to make a real go at this friendship thing. It's fluffy, it's sweet, it goes in HARD with the crossover stuff. Like "Spider-man meets Batman's villains and they all start asking if they have doubles in each universe" hard.

I know the writer, and she put in so much work on this. It's been her baby for YEARS. I'm so proud of her getting it out and she's a very skilled writer. Please go give this (and her) some of the love she deserves.

(Also another one of her fics has a MAGNIFICENT Noah Syndegaard running gag. And she has a great Danny Phantom story I almost put at Post Canon. Just go read her.) Finally, Angry Words by PoH https://archiveofourown.org/works/22905319

Image: The city of Rapture from Bioshock, an underwater city.

Text: Day 3: Fluff Angry Words by PoH

Saix is an Ugly Communist Goddess

Okay, to go into more detail, I was unsure to put this under fluff or Prompted but... I couldn't let this go anymore. (Besides, the initial prompt was "Xigbar accidentally ticks off a Big Daddy that chases him to TWTNW and then the Org has to take care of a Little Sister)

This is an incredibly Funny story about the SeaSalt Trio and video games. To say more is to spoil the joy.

PoH writes a lot of wonderful KH stuff, please go read all of it. I'm just trying to keep it to one rec per an author if I can.

[yo-namine]

Post-KH3, Sora and Roxas are in TWTNW for whatever reason, and they come across that street where they had their confrontation in KH2, and Sora’s like “Aww, Roxas. This is where we first met.”

“.........I tried to kill you here.”

“Yeah, well. Still.”

[angel-with-a-pipette]

Sora in KH2 always thought Kairi was safe. We knew differently but until Sora heard otherwise he thought she was at DI. Heading to TWTNW was partly to rescue her and because he now knew where she was and it was in a different place than he thought. As for Riku, he thought he was dead. So he cried for Riku BECAUSE HE FINALLY HAD PROOF HE WAS ALIVE and not for Kairi because he always thought she was alive and reasonably safe. The Org wanted her to extort Sora, and therefor was unlikely to harm her

Yes and no.

You are perfectly alright that Sora for the longest time was looking for Riku while thinking Kairi’s safe on Destiny Islands, and suddenly, Mickey comes along, doesn’t say what’s up with Riku and Sora naturally assumes the worst while he has the choice to believe Saix when he says they won’t hurt Kairi.

However, as @phoenix-downer​ pointed out before, there is actually a hint in KH2 that Sora very well cried about Kairi being kidnapped again in addition to Riku being MIA. If I’m allowed to quote this post:

“The way his head moves in this scene + his voice makes it clear he is upset here, and Donald and Goofy have to cheer him up so he can continue his journey.”

Of course, as always, Phoenix goes into way more detail and supplies her claim with video evidence and further interpretations of other scenes in the game, so please check that post out!

Anyway, crying or not, I think it’s ridiculous that both the hug and the crying have to be constantly pitted against each other. Sora cares about both of them and that has always and will always be true.

[firestorm09890]

there's likely zero connection at all considering the astral plane seems to be connected to unreality already but the whole "empty city with nothing but heartless and memories, 'connecting existence and nonexistence'" thing reminds me of a certain other place

[imdoingthismspaintadventure]

I read a Nomura interview that said that his whole narrative arc for KH3 began with Dream Drop Distance. And I found out that if you include DDD and 0.2 with KH3 and pretend it's all one game, you get the perfect KH game, even better than 2FM.

Seriously, if you have both 2.8/Story So Far and KH3 start playing DDD as if were KH3 part 1.

That way:

-The story picks up almost right where it left off from 2 (only important thing is that in Re: Coded we learn about MX coming back). This way, the boys are training for the Mark of Mastery in anticipation for this confrontation.

-We visit Traverse Town first, which introduces us to the TWEWY gang, which, given the epilogue, COULD BE REALLY IMPORTANT. Also this way we have Traverse Town as a returning location!

-The first five disney worlds add up to the ones in 3 to make a really wonderful list. We have beautiful cathedrals, techno cities, demented circuses and theme parks, comic strip old-disney musketeers and FANTASIA.

-We play as Riku a lot which gives him the time he was lacking in 3.

-First half of the game we fight Dream Eaters and visit Dream Worlds. This focus on Dreams will reinforce the themes of the second half of the game.

-This is a big one: We get TWTNW as the MIDDLE POINT CLIMAX of the story!! KH3 didn't really have one but now it does! And it sets everything into motion. We learn the goal of the main villain, the true organization is revealed, our hero almost falls into the abyss, we fight a series of epic bosses.... Plus we get to visit the Nobody Castle!

-Related to the previous point we also get all of this:

. Xigbar is very prominent here, which adds to his reveal

.We get Xion, and Roxas and Terra setup which pays off great (that scene of Riku looking at Guardian...)

.The two big climaxes here DESERVE to be in a main title! The best use of my friends are my power, and Riku's incredible talk with Ansem. I love those moments so much.

-Riku diving and collecting Soras directly pararells Sora's own journey later

-We get Aqua's interlude with 0.2 to get to play as her a bit more and that way, the two other main playable characters get a big part of screentime!

-This is just perfect: if we structure the game this way, there are 13 disney worlds (5 in DDD + 7 in kh3 + the mixup of disney remains in the Dark World in 0.2) and 7 original worlds (Traverse, TWTNW, Destiny Islands, Twilight Town, The Final World, Keyblade Graveyard, Scala ad Caelum)

-We fight every single enemy type.

-We get to see Sora's entire character journey post-two. With the beautiful touch that in the mid-game he fails the Mark of Mastery and in the very end he gets the approval from none other than Master Xehanort!

-And we'll see what Re : Mind adds to possibly add to this list.

What do you think of this? I played it like this and it was a blast!!

[memaha19]

Things I Want(ed) From KH3 That Re:Mind is Probably Not Going to Fix

 AKA, a brief interlude from Frozen 2 posting because Kingdom Hearts was on my mind this morning.

AKA, I’m excited for Re:Mind but still...

AKA, KH3 disappointed me and I’m still salty about it almost a year later.

AKA,  there are many “my problems with KH3″ posts/discussions floating out there on the internet and many are probably worded better than mine but, as I said, the game was on my mind this morning.

Just...the worlds. The Disney worlds in KH3 bothered me. There were so few of them but they were so so LONG. Some of them were painfully long. Toy Box felt like the longest experience of my life. Every time I thought that level was coming to an end, BAM, another trek to another area. And Arendelle...though I love Frozen, there’s only so many times I can trek up the mountain only to get thrown off and have to climb back up again. There were so few worlds, only seven, I believe, (because we’re not counting Twilight Town or the 100 Acre Woods, more on those later), that I think they could’ve given us a few more worlds and made the levels a little...shorter? A little more detailed and charming? The levels were huge but empty and devoid of the character that previous Disney worlds had in other games. The previous main games had about 10 or 11 worlds, not including the throwaways (like Atlantica in KH2) or the final worlds (TWTNW and End of the World), so there could’ve been some more! Birth By Sleep had numerous shorter worlds and I vastly prefer that to slogging through the same world for hours. Even the way that KH2 had us revisit each world would’ve been nice.  What’s more, they could’ve taken some of the massive time and space devoted to the empty, excruciatingly long Disney worlds and given us more time in Twilight Town or the Keyblade Graveyard, or put a playable Radiant Garden in the game. Those non-Disney worlds always served as nice interludes in the other games and it’s sorely lacking in this one. (And yes, I have heard that Re:Mind is going to let Scala be a playable world, so I’m excited for that!)

Related, I also wanted some worlds from older Disney films. I know the other games have had worlds from older films, but almost all of KH3′s worlds were so jarringly...current. I would’ve liked to see some of the older Disney film worlds rendered in the beautiful graphics of KH3, but, instead, the oldest film represented was Hercules (1997). Three of the worlds (maybe four, actually, with the Pirates world) were from movies from this decade (Corona, Arendelle, and San Fransokyo).

Related, they did the 100 Acre Woods so dirty. It was disappointing and short. It used to be a fun little interlude between the big worlds in previous games, a time to chill and play a mini-game and not have to fight a big boss fight. This was like “hello, here’s one mini game, goodbye.”

Related: all that Twilight Town exploration we got in the other games and this one gives us the forest and the town square area and that’s it?! We can’t even go to the clock tower or inside the mansion? When we first got to Twilight Town I was like “wow this is gorgeous!” and then quickly disappointed when I realized we couldn’t go anywhere.

Related, I’ve seen others say this and I agree: the Disney worlds seem like they’re just there, oftentimes, to get in your way. They feel like obstacles to the actual plot because they didn’t bother to place much/any relevance to the plot into any of the Disney worlds. Sometimes we get little snippets of the big story, like Marluxia and Larxene hanging around in Corona and Arendelle just to say cryptic things without ever being a real threat (that in itself is weird too, I spent ALL of the Corona level bracing myself for a fight with Marluxia only to fight...Mother Gothel’s heartless?) but it feels like two different games: The KH that wants to still be about Disney worlds and the KH that has gotten so deep in its own world building that it doesn’t have time for anything else.

Related, again: KH3 has an abundance of Disney worlds where Sora being there doesn’t make any difference to the plot. The most fun Disney worlds have always been the ones that have an original story that we’re actually involved in. Corona is just the plot of Tangled with Sora and co. tagging along. Their presence or lack thereof make no difference to the story. Arendelle is the same way.

The boss battles in the worlds were...lame. I understand that it maybe doesn’t make sense to fight someone like Mother Gothel, who never shows any physical fighting power in Tangled, but we can’t fight Zurg? We’re in a literal toy store and we can’t fight Zurg as the boss? We have to fight a weird doll and 800 robots? We have to fight Hans’ heartless? Not Hans? We fight Mother Gothel’s heartless? Not Marluxia, who’s been harassing us all level long? I understand that they held the KH characters back because of the whole “assembling 13 pieces of darkness for a big final battle” thing, but we had to fight Xemnas like ten times in previous games, they could let us fight Marluxia twice.  I feel like the other games were a lot better at having us face a combo of heartless/nobodies/unversed AND Disney bosses. But, as the game has really zero interest in making the Disney worlds a part of the plot, they throw these cheap (and endless) unversed/heartless bosses at us and they’re all so EASY. They could have, and probably should have, let us fight the Organization at the end of each world and then let us fight them again in the Keyblade Graveyard, similar to the way Chain of Memories had us fight each Organization member a couple times.   

When you finally do get through the Disney worlds, the ending is like “here’s all these characters that have been missing from the rest of the game” and the Keyblade Graveyard flings boss battle after boss battle at your face without much rhyme or reason. And while some of them are fun, some of them feel like “let’s just pair these characters together and make you fight them at the same time so we can save some time because we didn’t bother to put any of these fights into an earlier part of the game”. I’m looking at the Luxord/Marluxia/Larxene fight in particular. I would’ve understood pairing the last two together, but then Luxord is also there like they didn’t have any other place to put him.

This game is too easy. I’m not great at video games. I’m good-ish. I’m into stories more than anything so I hate when a game’s difficulty keeps me from completing it and keeps me from seeing more of the story. But I still like a little challenge. I have not-so-fond memories of yelling at the TV as I died time and time again fighting Ansem/Riku at Hollow Bastion in KH1, but I also have fond memories of finally beating him and what a rush it was! I didn’t get any of that in KH3. I’m not sure I died more than once or twice, if that.

The way they just let the Organization members hang out in the worlds and do nothing has always seemed weird to me. They’re big parts of the overall plot but now they just stand around and verbally harass Sora? As I said above, I spent all of Corona thinking I was going to have to face Marluxia at the end. Instead, they stand around in the worlds and then they stand around in the Keyblade Graveyard in the cutscenes and just talk. Also, okay, maybe I get the reasoning behind why Luxord was in the pirates world and why Vanitas was in Monstropolis, but Marluxia seemed like he was shoehorned into Corona solely because of the connection between the magic flower and his powers, which was stupid. And Larxene had zero connection to anything going on in Arendelle.

All the characters we’ve been waiting for (Ventus, Aqua, etc.) don’t appear until the very very end, which is a problem with the story pacing. They tease us, very early, with Riku and Mickey trying to find Aqua and then immediately drop that plot point to give us some empty Disney worlds. (Side note: this 100% tricked me into thinking we’d be switching back and forth between what Sora was up to and what Riku was up to and I was sorely disappointed as I played and realized it wasn’t true.) They dither in this “Sora needs the power of waking” to avoid giving us Ventus until the very end.

Just...the story pacing in general, which kind of ties into everything else.  This game has a beginning, because it had to, and something they wanted to end with but they weren’t really sure how to fill the space in the middle. You spend most of the game just chilling in the Disney worlds with very low stakes. This big battle waiting at the end is always there in the background but, partially because the Disney worlds feel like distractions that don’t add to the story, the middle of the game never really feels like it’s building toward the ending, or anything. And then, when you do get through the Disney worlds, about 75% of the plot is thrown at you in the last hour or two of the game. It reminds me (a lot of this game reminds me, actually) of FFXV. I love FFXV dearly, I’ve poured A TON of hours into gathering ingredients and taking photos and doing side quests, but it has the same plot issue. The majority of FFXV is a light-hearted journey about four bros on a roadtrip, only for everything to take a VERY dramatic tonal shift about 3/4 of the way through the game and then stay very very SAD for the rest of the game. KH3 does something similar, with the way we spend most of the game traveling through Disney worlds and cooking food with Remy, only for the game to suddenly remember at the 11th hour that it’s supposed to be wrapping up this big 10+ year long story and thrust you into battle after battle and plot-heavy cutscene after plot-heavy cutscene.

To the pacing point: yes, I’m aware these games have always had slightly funny/back-loaded pacing. However, a main thing the other games had that KH3 lacks is that Radiant Garden/Twilight Town/Traverse Town interlude world that helps push the plot along. Without that in KH3, we get a ton of long Disney worlds where we’re like “when is the story going to happen?” and then the Keyblade Graveyard where suddenly ALL of the story is happening. Previous games have let us experience the Disney worlds for awhile before bringing us to an interlude world which furthers the plot, a la the big Radiant Garden section in KH2 that happens midway through the game.

Anyway, I think Kingdom Hearts 3 was a gorgeous game, graphics-wise, and I’ll still be shelling out money for Re:Mind come January, but after waiting for 14 years for a continuation of the main story line, this game just feels like, after everything, Nomura still wasn’t sure how to end it? It feels rushed and underwhelming and incomplete as hell. 

TL;DR: I have all these thoughts about KH3 that I’ve waited 11 months to express.

[theworldthatneverwas]

Between Part and Meet - Trio

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Ephemer & Player Character & Skuld (Kingdom Hearts)

***

“Do you have a reservation, kupo?” the Moogle at the host stand asks you.

“Um, yes, I think so,” you say. “It might be under Ephemer?”

The Moogle scans through the list and nods. “You’re the first to arrive. Come this way, kupo.”

Feeling a little out of place, you follow the Moogle to a comfortable-looking booth with a frosted window overlooking the streets of Daybreak Town. You slide into the booth and are handed a menu and a bundle of utensils. “Can I get you anything to drink while you wait, kupo?” the Moogle asks.

“Um, just water is fine,” you reply a bit distractedly. The Moogle nods and floats away, leaving you to glance over the menu.

You’ve always been the early one when meeting up with Ephemer, and often when meeting with Skuld, too. It just feels nicer being early than it does being right on time or late. But this is the first time the three of you are meeting up outside of the clock tower, and not at anyone’s home. You hope they aren’t so busy with Union leader stuff that they forget about your plans together tonight at this restaurant.

You’ve even dressed up for the occasion – not too much, of course, but you’re not just wearing your usual mission clothes, either. Chirithy had helped you pick out your outfit and had been patient as you tried on different articles of clothing until you settled on this one.

You glance at the menu items without really reading them. You haven’t eaten at a restaurant in ages. So long, in fact, that you wonder briefly if there are any etiquette rules you might have forgotten. The Moogle comes back with your glass of water and you glance around at the other restaurant-goers. Many seem to be eating together in pairs, you realize. There’s a rather rowdy group of friends in a corner near the door, and a table of people who seem to have finished their food long ago and are just sitting and talking. That seems nice, you think. Just having somewhere to sit and talk with your friends.

There’s a tap on your shoulder and you look up with a jolt, then relax as you recognize the smiling face of Skuld. “Hope I haven’t kept you waiting long,” she says, sliding into the seat across from you. “Ephemer’s on his way too, but he told me to go without him in case you came early so you wouldn’t be sitting alone. We both guessed you’d be the first to arrive.”

“Typical,” you say, waving your hand dismissively. “But – wait I didn’t get a good look at you before you sat down. That’s a really nice shirt! Can I see the whole outfit?”

Skuld’s smile is radiant as she shimmies out of the booth to stand so you can see the whole outfit. Her usual skirt and zippered top are traded out for a lovely top with a high neckline and high-waisted pants. She’s even tied her hair into an elegant updo, though you can see that she hasn't traded out her familiar star-shaped studs. “You look wonderful!” you say. “I’m flattered you’d take the time to put your hair up like that, too. Did it take long?”

“I got Lauriam to help, actually,” she says, sitting back down and turning her head so you can admire the delicate twists of her hair. “He’s got all kinds of weird skills like that. He walked past me trying to do it myself and offered to help, and well, here we are.”

“He seems like a pretty interesting guy,” you say, propping up your cheek on your hand. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to help him with his little sister. Have you found out anything more about her?”

“Not yet, I’m afraid.”

Just then, a Moogle comes by with another water for Skuld. “Need a bit more time before you decide, kupo?” they ask, and you both nod in unison.

“I haven’t even looked at the menu,” you admit, pulling it up in front of you again. “Is there anything you recommend?”

“Hmm…” Skuld muses, running a finger down some of the options. “I’ve heard they have good spinach dip. And that their pastas are huge so it’s good to share.”

“Those both sound good. We could all get something different and try each others��, too.”

“I hope you two haven’t ordered without me.”

You look up from the menu to see Ephemer, smiling broadly. He slides into the booth next to you and you look him up and down to take in his outfit. Of all things, you’re most surprised that his red scarf is nowhere in sight, though he’s wearing a collared shirt that’s a similar shade of crimson. He’s even tucked his shirt into proper dress pants. His sleeves are rolled up, though his usual gloves are gone, too. It’s a rather nice look on him.

“Wow, Eph, you really cleaned up,” Skuld teases, leaning across the table.

“Excuse you, I always look this dashing – I just have specific wardrobe choices I like to keep to. Gotta maintain a certain aesthetic.”

You grin. “You look really nice. Your hair’s even less poofy than usual.” And it’s true, too – his normally chaotically curly hair is surprisingly tame today.

He turns to you and raises a hand to lightly pat at his own hair. “It took a lot more effort than I usually put into it,” he admits. He takes a moment to look at your own outfit and smiles. “You look pretty nice, yourself. Really nice, I mean. It suits you.”

You find your face growing warm at the compliment and hide it by directing everyone’s attention to the menu again. “So, what are we eating? Skuld and I were thinking we could each get something different to share.”

“Ooh, I like that,” Ephemer says, rotating the menu to read it better. “Can we share some of these appetisers first, maybe? And then get a bigger meal.”

You gesture across the table. “Skuld was just saying the spinach dip is supposed to be good. And the pasta portions are really big.”

“Okay, let’s do the spinach dip then, and maybe two of the pastas?”

You and Skuld both nod in agreement. “Sounds good.”

Just then, a Moogle comes by with a third glass of water for Ephemer and asks, “Does everyone know what they’d like to order, kupo?”

“Uh… I’ll let you guys each pick a pasta,” you say, and they both quickly study the menu. “We’ll have some spinach dip to start.”

“Let’s go with this… noc… no-chee and sweet potatoes pasta,” Ephemer says, and you chuckle under your breath as you look at the entry he’s pointing to on the menu.

“The sweet potato and hazelnut gnocchi,” you correct, and Ephemer looks a bit bewildered as he studies the word again, one eyebrow raised.

“Oh that sounds good, okay, and then how about this smoked salmon alfredo for the second pasta,” Skuld says to the Moogle, pointing at the menu before handing it over to them. “We’d like to split them so if you could just bring us a couple of side plates that would be excellent.”

“Understood, kupo. Can I get you anything else to drink?”

Ephemer suddenly looks hopeful. “Do you have milkshakes?” he asks in an unusually small voice.

Though it’s hard to understand Moogle expressions, you think this one might be smiling. “Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry milkshakes, kupo.”

“I’ll have a vanilla milkshake, then,” he says.

The Moogle nods. “I’ll be back with it soon, kupo!”

Skuld shakes her head at Ephemer. “A milkshake, huh?”

“I’m always up for ice cream,” he says. He bumps your shoulder with his own. “Wonder what a sea salt ice cream milkshake would taste like.”

You shrug. “Probably much the same as the ice cream itself. Sweet and a bit salty.”

“Do you think ice cream is hard to make? It seems like it would be.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever tried it. Might need a special machine or something. I’m not sure how it gets so fluffy.”

“If it’s anything like whipped cream,” Skuld chimes in, “I bet it needs a lot of mixing.”

In short order, Ephemer’s milkshake is delivered. He takes an eager sip from the straw and lets out a satisfied “ahh” before he pushes it towards you. “Want some?”

You take a sip yourself. It’s wonderfully creamy and vanilla-y. “Yum,” you say, licking your lips.

Ephemer offers his drink to Skuld in turn and she takes a small sip. “Oh that is good,” she says. “Now I almost wish I’d gotten one, too.”

“Excuse me!” Ephemer says abruptly, stopping a nearby Moogle who was passing by your booth. “Could we get two more milkshakes?”

“What kind would you like, kupo?”

“Wha – Ephemer, I don’t actually need one–” Skuld splutters, reddening under the Moogle’s expectant gaze.

He shakes his head at her. “Just go for it!” he says. “You may as well while we’re here.”

“Um, one strawberry milkshake,” you say politely. Ephemer grins at you and Skuld sighs before giving in.

“Okay, and one… one chocolate milkshake.”

“Got it. I’ll be right back, kupo.”

Skuld stretches her arms out over the table. “I shouldn’t let you guys convince me to buy things I don’t need,” she says.

You shrug. “I think it’s good to treat yourself, too. If you only ever bought things you absolutely needed you’d have nothing to look forward to.”

“I was just going to say you should buy milkshakes because they’re delicious but that sounds much more reasonable.” Ephemer takes another sip of his milkshake. “Soo good.”

Skuld leans against the back of the booth. “True. On both accounts, really.”

The Moogle returns with your requested milkshakes and you take an eager sip of yours. “Oh the strawberry flavour is so nice,” you say, sliding it along the table to Ephemer. “Try some?”

Skuld takes a sip of her own drink and smiles. “I mean, it is good. Here, try mine too.” You swap drinks. The chocolate has almost a hint of bitterness to it, and it, too, is very tasty.

The three of you make small talk until your spinach dip is delivered not long after. You scoop some of the warm cheesy dip onto a piece of toasted flatbread and blow on it before taking a tiny bite. It’s very hot, but also pleasantly creamy and flavourful.

“So Ephemer,” Skuld says as she scoops some of the dip onto a piece of bread, “can we talk about how you’ve never seen the word ‘gnocchi’ before?” You snort with laughter, suddenly remembering.

Ephemer is indignant. “I have seen it before! I’ve just never had to say it aloud!”

To Ephemer’s credit, it’s not an easy word to understand the pronunciation of, but it’s too fun to tease him like this. “Do you know what gnocchi is?”

“I do! It’s like little potato pasta things. Isn’t it?” He suddenly seems a bit unsure of himself and looks to you for support.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much right,” you laugh, taking another bite of your appetiser. “How did he say it again?” You turn to Skuld. “'No-chee'?”

She grins and Ephemer ducks his head slightly under the pretense of taking another sip of his milkshake. You can see that his cheeks have gone a bit pink. You pat his leg under the table. “Aw, it’s okay, sunshine. We’re just having a bit of fun. I think the Moogle knew what you wanted, anyway.”

He leans his head against your shoulder in mock grief. “All I wanted was some pasta.”

You pat his hair gently. It’s extremely soft today, perhaps having something to do with however he got his curls to look more tame. You reach forward to grab another piece of bread to dunk in the spinach dip and Ephemer sits back up so he can help himself as well. The appetiser wasn’t too big, and it’s just enough to satisfy your hunger a teeny bit until you get the pasta dishes.

“Oh, I meant to tell you,” Skuld says, pushing the dirty plates off to one side so she can reach a hand towards you over the table. “I finally saw Brain make food today. Or well, not really make food. But I did catch him eating some hard-boiled eggs? So I assume he made them himself.”

“Oh good, proof he actually does eat sometimes.” You trace your thumb over the back of Skuld’s hand. “I wonder if he ever goes out to eat. Do you think he hoards food in his room?”

She looks thoughtful. “Honestly the only places I ever see him are in the control room, in the main meeting room, or in his own room. So I can’t imagine he just heads out on the town to buy food very often.”

“I don’t know if that’s true,” Ephemer adds, propping up his cheek on his elbow. “He left with Lauriam one time to go somewhere in Daybreak Town. I don’t know if they went shopping, exactly, but they went out to do something .”

“Maybe the reason he always leaves fighting monsters to the rest of us is because he never has any energy due to lack of food.”

“Does he drink coffee?” you ask, trying to think if you’d seen him with a mug or a cup of anything the last time you’d been at the clock tower.

“I… don’t… think so? He might. There isn’t a coffee machine in the common kitchen area though, so he’d have to have it in his room.” She looks at Ephemer. “I don’t know if I’ve ever even seen him have a glass of water when he’s working.”

“Oh, no, one time I offered him a cup and he was scandalized. Told me off for even thinking of putting water anywhere near all of the computers. Which I guess kind of makes sense. We often have a bunch of papers all over the desks too so it would be bad if we spilled something on them.”

“Hmm,” you say, tracing along a dark line in the wood of the table top with your free hand. “Do you think it’d be weird if we tried to get together and have a meal sometime? Like, all the Union leaders. Or would that be extra weird to have me along since I’m not really part of the leaders…” You trail off, wondering if you’ve overstepped.

Skuld squeezes your other hand reassuringly. “No, I think that sounds great! I love your cooking. We could all try to pitch in and have a potluck, maybe!”

“Yeah that sounds excellent!” Ephemer agrees, nodding. “I’m always up for good food.”

“You’d have to make something too,” you point out. “It’s a potluck.”

“I can make food!” he insists. “You two have no faith in me.”

You and Skuld exchange a grin. “I’ll believe it when I taste it,” you tease.

Your food arrives just then, and you let go of Skuld’s hand to clear a space in the middle of the table for it to be set down. Both pastas are steaming and look wonderful. The Moogle places some extra plates down as well and picks up your spinach dip dishes to take away while another Moogle comes by with a cheese grater.

“Can I offer you some Parmesan cheese, kupo?” they ask, and Ephemer eagerly offers forth the smoked salmon dish.

“Yes, please!” he says, then looks to you and Skuld to confirm this is okay. Skuld shrugs and nods and you agree. The Moogle grates a nice little pile of Parmesan shavings onto the pasta and departs.

“Oh I am so ready to dig into this,” Ephemer says, unwrapping his fork from the napkin and scooping some of the nearest pasta onto his plate.

“Skuld, what are these little green things?” you ask, patting Ephemer’s arm so he can pass you a plate as well.

She inspects it for a moment. They’re about the size of peas but darker and a bit more leafy-looking. “Ohh these are the capers,” she explains, and pops one into her mouth. “Yeah. They’re like tiny flower buds.”

“Huh. I don’t know if I’ve ever had them before.” You scoop some of the pasta onto your dish and spear a caper experimentally on your fork before putting it in your mouth. “Hmm. Kinda salty? It’s good though.”

Skuld nods. “It goes well with the salmon.”

“Gonna try some of the no-chee?” you tease, gesturing to the other pasta plate.

“Yes I find I’m rather fond of no-chee,” she laughs and helps herself to the gnocchi. Ephemer makes a pouty face at the two of you but says nothing, his mouth full of pasta.

You take a sip of your strawberry milkshake – nearly done – and scoop some of the gnocchi out onto your plate as well. The hazelnuts give it a pleasant, earthy flavour along with the sweet potatoes. It’s a nice combination. “Good pick, Ephemer,” you say after swallowing your mouthful. “Might have to try making this sometime.”

“I might not know how to pronounce it, but I can still appreciate good food,” he says with a grin.

“Oh hang on, there’s a plate of garlic bread here, too,” Skuld says, moving the pasta dishes aside to put the plate in the center of the table. “Aw and there are three pieces even though we just got the two pastas, that’s nice. Okay, everyone gets one.”

The garlic bread seems to have been made from a rounded bun of sorts, and it’s wonderfully crispy on the flat side but fluffy and soft on the rounded side. “I might have to just order a basket of garlic bread the next time I come here,” you say after you’ve devoured your piece. “That was excellent. ”

Skuld drags her straw around the edge of her glass to get the last of her milkshake. “I think all the food we’ve had has been excellent. I’d come back.”

“I’d like that,” Ephemer says after swallowing a mouthful of food. “I mean, I just like eating food with you guys.”

“Is it because you don’t want to cook for yourself?” Skuld teases.

“No! I just like having familiar things.” This isn’t a particularly surprising sentiment coming from the boy who’d eaten the exact same flavour of ice cream with you day in and day out for nearly a year.

“Maybe we should try different places each time,” you offer. “You know. In case we find other foods we really like.”

Ephemer falls silent as he considers this but Skuld nods. “I like that. And then if we have a favourite place we can always come back to it.” She looks to Ephemer for agreement.

“Yeah… okay. When would we go? Once a week?”

Skuld shakes her head in surprise, glancing at Ephemer. “I don’t know if either of us can consistently set aside that kind of time. Maybe every three weeks? We can always try to get together on the off weeks, obviously. We just wouldn’t be going to restaurants.”

You feel a little twinge of sadness at the suggested schedule – surely Skuld and Ephemer will be seeing each other a lot more often than you’ll be seeing them in between meetups – but… well, any time you can hang out with them is good. “That’s all right by me,” you say.

“Great, it’s a plan. Ephemer and I will figure out a day that works best and let you know as soon as we can.”

Unexpectedly, you find yourself trying to avoid their gazes and look down at your plate under the pretense of trying to scoop a hazelnut onto your fork. It’s fine that Skuld and Ephemer have Union leader stuff to do. Obviously. They’ll let you know as soon as they’re free. “Yeah, sure.” The words feel uncomfortable in your tight throat.

Luckily, Skuld doesn’t seem to notice. You chance a glimpse up at her and she’s back to eating the last of her pasta. Ephemer bumps his shoulder against yours and smiles radiantly and you wonder if he noticed your reaction. You do your best to smile back and quickly turn away, picking up your near-empty glass of strawberry milkshake as though you think you can get more ice cream out of it. It’s fine. You’re fine.

“Well, that’s all for me,” Skuld declares, setting down her fork. “Ephemer, you want the last of the gnoc – ahem – the no-chee?”

Ephemer rolls his eyes at her. “Sure, I’ll finish it. You want any more before I take it?” he asks, offering the plate to you. You shake your head and he scoops the last of the gnocchi onto his plate. “Excellent.”

You lean against the back of the booth as well. “I’m full too. That was really yum.”

“I might have to try making gnocchi one of these times,” Skuld says thoughtfully. “I don’t think it would be too hard. Don’t you just cook the potatoes and then add some flour and stuff?”

You shrug. “I’ve never tried. You might have to cook it after you mix everything together, or maybe you can just use it in a dish as soon as you’re done, I’m not sure. I’d want a recipe before I try making it for the first time.”

Ephemer puts down his fork at last with a satisfied sigh, pushing his plate away from himself. “I mean, if you two want to cook no-kee then I wouldn’t complain about trying it.”

“Gnocchi,” Skuld corrects offhand, smiling, “and I’m sure you wouldn’t mind eating free food, huh?”

“I’m just saying, I wouldn’t pass it up.”

A Moogle comes by to pick up your dirty dishes. “Can I interest you in any dessert, kupo?”

Ephemer looks longingly at the dessert menu but you and Skuld both shake your heads. “I’m really full, but thank you,” you say.

Ephemer sighs. “Me too. Maybe next time though.”

The Moogle nods. “And how would you like to pay tonight, kupo? All on one bill, or separate?”

“Oh, uhh…”

“One bill is fine,” you interrupt. The Moogle nods and leaves.

“How much do I owe you?” Skuld asks, digging in her bag, but you shake your head.

“Don’t worry about it,” you say. “I’ll get this one. Then we’ll just have to go out again so you guys can pay me back.”

“Are you sure?” Ephemer asks, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, don’t sweat it.”

He slumps back in his seat. “Well, okay then.”

You pat his leg. “It’s my ploy to get you guys to hang out with me more,” you stage-whisper, ostensibly joking but also secretly hoping that they really will make sure you go out at least once more together.

The Moogle comes by with the bill and you hand over some munny, thanking them for the lovely meal. “I guess we should head out,” Skuld says, looking around. “It’s pretty busy so we shouldn’t take up an extra table.”

“Yeah, that’s… of course.” You glance at Ephemer and he slides out of the booth to let you out too. The three of you wind your way around the tables and out onto the streets of Daybreak Town.

“Thanks for the night out, you two,” Skuld says as the restaurant door closes behind you. She pulls on a motorcycle jacket on top of her fancy outfit, making it look more casual, but also somehow more… Skuld. Ephemer rolls down his sleeves but otherwise doesn’t seem as bothered by the cool breeze. Typical.

“This was really nice,” you say, stretching your arms out in front of yourself. “Thanks for coming.”

Unexpectedly, Ephemer pulls the three of you into a hug. “I’m glad things worked out that we could all meet up again,” he says.

“I… yeah, me too,” you say, wrapping your arms around the two of them. You’re not quite sure if he means he’s glad you could meet up tonight or if he’s grateful that, after all that has happened, despite being separated, the three of you managed to end up in the same world. You're glad for both, in any case.

“Well, I guess we should be off,” Skuld says when you break apart. “Do you want us to walk you home?”

Yes. “No, that’s all right,” you say. “I live in the other direction, anyway. I’ll see you guys soon!”

They smile and wave at you as they turn to walk in the other direction. You walk boldly through the streets, not looking back until you’re sure they must be out of sight, then sit down on the curb on a small side street. “Lucky?” you call tentatively.

Your Spirit companion poofs into existence beside you in the form of the fluffiest pink dog you’ve ever seen. They crawl up into your lap and their pink tongue laps at your chin. “No, no, it’s fine, settle down,” you say, pushing them down. Lucky quivers in your lap, their tiny tail thumping against your knees. You stroke their head softly. “I just needed a hug. And I didn’t want to let Chirithy know. You won’t tell them, will you Lucky?”

Lucky’s pink tongue lolls out of their mouth for a moment as they pant, then they lay their head down on your arm and look up at you with big eyes. You run a hand along their fluffy fur absentmindedly.

“I just… I think I get jealous of Skuld and Ephemer hanging out? I don’t know if that’s what it is, exactly. I just know I feel upset when I think about them hanging out without me. And I know a lot of it is unavoidable – obviously they’re both Union leaders, so they’re going to see each other around the tower and have Union leader meetings and stuff. So it’s stupid to get upset over it. Right? I feel like I’m just bringing the mood down because I want to spend time with them, too.”

Lucky’s quiet in your lap and you continue to stroke their fur. “I don’t want them to feel bad, either. I know they already feel bad enough for keeping things from me about the Keyblade War and all that. And I really, really want things to go back to normal.” You sigh deeply and Lucky’s tail starts to wag again. “Yeah, okay, we can go home,” you say, ushering them off your lap. Their shape changes to that of a little wolf, like they want to protect you as you walk home. You reach down and pat them between the ears. “Thanks.”

*

Ephemer turns to look back at you as he and Skuld walk in the other direction towards the tower, but you’re already partway down the street, confidently strolling away. “Did you think… did you think Peach seemed a bit troubled back there?” he asks.

“Just now, you mean?” Skuld asks, turning to him in surprise. “No, not really. Did you?”

He shrugs. “I dunno. I just thought they seemed a bit sad about something.”

“Well, we can ask the next time we all get together. Make sure they’re all right.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I hope we’re not too busy this week.”

***

Find Between Part and Meet on AO3! It updates every other Tuesday. This is the first chapter out of 6. I also have several other KHUx fics there under theworldthatneverwas, so be sure to check them out if you enjoyed this one!

Fic summary: You, Ephemer, and Skuld are back together again in Daybreak Town, but adjusting to normal life after the Keyblade War is easier said than done. And with Ephemer and Skuld so busy with their Union leader duties, what will it take to build this friendship up to weather any storm?

[nyctoheart]

Okay so here is a timeline of Sora and Riku in The World that Never Was in DDD. The four segments of bullet points are during the same times vertically, if that makes sense. Now what was confusing me so much was that during Sora’s 2nd layer of sleep, when he’s dreaming about Kairi, Riku, and the others, is that during the same time, Riku finds Sora’s body while he’s dreaming this. But, this doesn’t make sense because Riku and now Sora are both in their second layers of sleep. I would think the only way Riku could see a sleeping Sora having dreams would be if Riku is in the first layer or awake in the real world (but we know he’s in the 2nd from Ansem SoD), or if Sora was in a third layer of sleep (but we know he’s also in the second from Xigbar).

Anyway I feel like this is just a hole/contradiction, and that’s why I was confused when analyzing this TWTNW segment of DDD. 

(Btw, I understand Riku still has his Dreameaters even though it’s the real world. He addresses that himself, and I talk more about that in the actual analysis I’m writing. That’s not what this post is about)

[phoenix-downer]

Thoughts on riku as a character? (Love you blog btw keep it up *paopu fruit emoji*

Thank you so much! :)

And Riku is great! I love how much he’s grown and changed as a character over the course of the series. He’s definitely had one of the best character arcs overall and it’s been lovely seeing him… grow up, for lack of a better description? He went from being an insecure edgelord that falls to the darkness because of his lust for power to this calm, confident Keyblade Master who knows that power is only important in so that it can be used to protect what matters - his friends.

When I played KH1 I didn’t care much for him because of his descent into darkness and how he treats Sora, even if he was driven by the desire to protect Kairi and was jealous/concerned about Sora making new friends and abandoning his old ones. But once he realizes the error of his ways and does everything he can to make amends? Good stuff. Great stuff. His character arc starting from the end of KH1 and culminating in DDD was fantastic. I really came to appreciate him playing KH2 in particular (I initially skipped COM and didn’t play it until later), especially all the scenes with him in TWTNW. And DDD was really his time to shine.

In KH3, his scene with Sora at the Keyblade Graveyard, when he tells him “you don’t really believe that,” was great, too. Sora’s usually so cheerful, so upbeat, and you can tell how Riku is at a complete loss as to how to comfort him when he utterly breaks down. But just like those other times he’s encouraged Sora, he tells him exactly what he needs to hear and then goes and makes his final stand. 

I’ve always liked that about Riku, how he puts his money where his mouth is. Always was more of an actions-speak-louder-than-words kind of guy, and his last act is to defend Sora even though he knows they’re both kind of doomed. He’s come a long way from the guy he was in KH1, and it’s been great being along with him for the journey. 

Seriously, go back and watch the scene at Hollow Bastion in KH1 when Sora similarly despairs and is on his hands and knees because Riku took the Keyblade from him. This time, Riku is by his side again, only he isn’t taunting him; he’s the one comforting him in his despair. The scenes really bookend each other well and I kind of want to write an analysis post about it later - we’ll see!

If I had any future wishes for him as a character, it would be that I want to see more interactions with him and Kairi. The Destiny Trio in general could really use more scenes together and I hope we get them. And he didn’t get to talk to Terra, either. Hope we get to see more of that. Maybe show him training someone else now that he’s a Master? That would be cool, too.