#wayfinder trio reunion

[karla-the-elemental-dreamer]

Terra Week 2023 - Day 7 Package

@terrakhweek

Pieces: 1. Reflection from Terra 2. Drawing of Terra, Aqua and Ventus (as per Terra’s request) 3. An encore that Terra doesn’t see coming – Song Dedication

To be acknowledged/shared: TUE 28 MAR or WED 29 MAR

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

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Firstly, here is the drawing done of the reunion in KH3. I thought this scene captured the Wayfinder trio the best, and their raw emotions, especially Terra’s:

I must say, Terra Week really pushed me to improve my drawing and do things I’ve never done before.

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Here is the conversation I had with Terra for Day 7. Ideas were still a mix-up when we had this chat, so it sorta goes all over the place but works out in the end. Terra also decides to give some of his own closing statements:

START CONVERSATION

Terra: “Hey, what’s going on? I heard there’s been some trouble with me?”.

Me: “Yeah… This energy has been seemingly messing with you lately and trying to derail me from my Terra-Week work”.

Terra: “Oh! Oh.. Awe. Would you like to tell me more about it?”.

Me: “I don’t think we need to regail the Terra-Week audience with that”.

Terra: “Alright; we’ll save that for another conversation then. But you said you’re stuck right?”.

Me: “I was stuck, and have been for days; but then I jammed all these fines up my subconscious this morning, and I think it finally got the message… Again”.

Terra: “Oh; hahahahahaha!… Gotta pay per disruption. So. What did you want to pick my brain about this time?”.

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Me: “Well, firstly; two benefits to when you speak. One; it’s a suitable way of showing our connection”.

Terra: “Mmm”.

Me: “And two; we get to hear from the man himself. I think that one time you spoke about being a Wayfinder and Caretaker, they enjoyed it last year. So I figured we had to give more this year; although I didn’t anticipate so many sensitive prompts for you this time; so once again, sorry about that”.

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Terra: “It’s alright. I did I say I was gonna help you. Does this one need a hanky [handkerchief]?”.

Me: “It depends on how you answer it. Since I didn’t know what to do about ‘Hero’, I’ve decided to go with last year’s Day 7 prompt which is ‘Self-Reflection’. So I was just wondering if you could pretty much reflect on yourself”.

Terra: “I think I get where you’re coming from, but that’s a bit of a vague ask. Can I have more details?”.

Me: “If you could just simply talk about your Kingdom Hearts life, any of it. Re-tell some stories from your own perspective, or look back on some of your actions and state if you would do them the same or differently this time around”.

Terra: “Ah, alright. Well as you know yourself, I would have done a lot of things differently, especially if you remember what I said for your Day 3 thing. In terms of how I went, not only did I fail my Mark of Mastery exam, but I screwed up everything else after that. I’d rate that experience with a big fat doughnut, only I got my friends back in the end, so I guess it’s not entirely that bad”.

Me: “Connections are important to you, aren’t they?”.

Terra: “Totally. And that’s the reason I made it to the other side. Like I said; amongst all the anger, despair and trickery, Aqua and Ven served as a reminder for hope, and were my reasons to not completely give in”.

Me: “That’s where the Lingering Will came from”.

Terra: “That’s right. The entity that would keep fighting on even when my heart and body could not. And the Lingering Will also wears a cape… You said you didn’t know what to address for a hero?”.

Me: “Well; not all heroes wear capes, Terra. But I get the visual tie-in”.

Terra: “Well I’ll ask you a question then. Do you think I’m a hero?”.

Me: “In some ways I guess you are, being unbiased here of course. You did come in when Ventus was about to be exterminated by Eraqus, so you spared Ventus in that sense. And then in your comeback, as the ‘guardian’, you swooped in and broke the chains that were about to end the lives of Aqua and Ventus, as well as Sora. And then only after Sora proved himself worthy enough to you [KH2.5 Secret Boss], you sacrificed yourself when then Terranort guy wanted to blast Sora. With the ‘rule of three’ in mind, I did manage to list three things, which confirm you’re a hero, sooo… Yeah”.

Terra: “Mmhmm”.

Me: “Wait a minute… You just led me to addressing the prompt I thought I didn’t know how to address”.

Terra: “That’s me doing my job as your dream guide [one of three]. But aren’t you forgetting something big about the word ‘Hero’?”.

Me: “What do you mean?”.

Terra: “”Well, there’s someone in Olympus Coliseum that I met with. We had a match or two, although one was a bit off”.

Me: “Zack”.

Terra: “Yeah. So only if you have enough time left, you could draw me with Zack”.

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Me: “It sucks that I still can’t do custom posing though”.

Terra: “It’s alright. All your other drawings have been fantastic so far. Hey; I’ve got one request if you’re okay with it. For the last day, could you please also draw me with Aqua and Ven? I understand that it’s supposed to be ‘Terra-Week’. But it doesn’t feel right not recognising the hearts of those who led me back here”.

Me: “In the case, I’ll prioritise that one over the Zack drawing”.

Terra: “And I’ve also got another idea for Day 4”.

Me: “Okay Terra; but aren’t we doing a bit much discussing our itinerary out in the open?”.

Terra: “It’s the last day. I’m sure the Terra-Week team would be interested to see how you did your work. So I was thinking about that 2022 prompt of New Friends and Hangouts. Your household and reality are basically my new friends. So why don’t you draw yourself and I, and a bunch of those teddies doing something together? I’m sure that’ll be appropriate, and we can add some Kingdom Hearts flare to it to make it more-so. And hey, if you’re wondering what happened to me, I’m making up for when I seemed to be missing earlier in the week”.

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Me: “Hey Terra, we’ve hit three pages [in the writing book]. Would you happen to have any final comments for Terra-Week as this will be posted on Day 7?”.

Terra: “Hmm, let’s see. Well… I know Terra-Week is supposed to be all about me, but then there are people that make it happen, like you. So I want those guys to know that I’m giving you a massive shout-out. What I find fun, but also a bit confusing, is that there are other versions of me? So I guess I’d be fascinated to see how other people choose to interact with me; or if they just make pieces about me. Like I wanna see what I’m doing in all their works. I must say that despite some difficult prompts, you’ve been very kind to me, and again, I’m sorry about any trouble I put you through. Like at least in your reality, I’m not too angry; crying all the time; wanting nothing but violence *chuckles*. But like I said, each person has something special to bring to the table; and I know everyone doing this project loves me in their own way… So thank you. And if there’s another Terra-Week next year, I’ll definitely be back. To the ‘mods’ though, could you not give such painful prompts next year that I have to bite my tongue while trying to help Karla?”.

Me: “Sorry Terra; that’s a ‘no-can-do, or more than half your cannon character would be gone lol. But I’d like to make a special admission before we close. To this day, I still sometimes want to wring the life out of Aqua and/or Eraqus for their occasional insensitivity which planted seeds for my dream guide’s ‘ruin’. However, Terra is always begging for me to let it go, and sometimes I perceive an energy where he gets hurt from my rants. That’s how much he cares about everyone and has a really good heart. This person had mountains of integrity, which is why in my reality, I’m trying to show him what he can become with his highest potential and minimal obstacles or doubts”.

Terra: “Mmm. Thanks to you, and the green guys too; the tots that come after me when I’m not feeling good. I’m also blessed to have Riku as a dream guide partner; so he and I get to strengthen our bond, and no matter what happens to the others, Riku and I have been guaranteed to experience this new reality together. Oh! And I can’t leave without quickly mentioning Karla’s mom. Once she found out about me… I’m the only dream guide in the house that’s loved by more than just one person, which makes it a house I never want to leave. Her mom’s said heaps of times that she feels bad for me. Alright, I think that’ll do it for Terra-Week this year. As the star, I’ve gotta be the one to finish it”.

END CONVERSATION

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THE ENCORE THAT TERRA DOESN’T SEE COMING:

I could talk about the last minute song dedication all day lol. When you go to the YouTube link, be sure to read the description if you want the info and reasons behind it, rather me me filling up this space so much. I will reveal though, that I wrote the song 😮.

Here is the link to the surprise Day 7 piece:

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I declare this the end of Terra Week 2023 from my end. To help the mod out, you can work with the above resources if you wish to construct a comment.

THE END!

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The reason I ended TW above is because I have also written a Behind The Scenes reflection on how I felt going through the production process, and then some of the other KH ppl also added their insights.

Therefore, I am not obliging the wider audience to be bored by this. Please only go to the G. Drive link if you have time and are interested in everything I went through to deliver the show: WARNING: Heavy Reading.

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Thank you!

[endlessskymaster]

OMG, the latest chapter for KH3 manga was just released (In Japanese) not in English yet.

After being defeated in the game, Vanitas' mask cracks, and in the manga Sora is the reason it breaks.

Wayfinder Trio reunion:

The Wayfinder Trio reunion is so heartfelt that even Sora's tearing up 😭

[idkhow2usetmblr]

New Vanitas panels form the KH3 manga lastest chapter!

Fun fact: Vanitas calls them "brothers" again

Bonus:

Wayfinder trio reunion!

[mythicalartistx]

Sea Salt Trio is the best Trio and here's why

The three trios are compared constantly and Sea Salt Trio is the one that work the best as the whole, but before we get into why it's why the others don't work as well.

As stated in my previous post, Destiny Island trio failed since the three never rarely interact much as a whole and are often in duos and Kairi and Riku barely interact as it is. Kairi and Sora seem awkward, while Riku and Sora seem to have the strongest relationship of the trio. And they also don't hate each other, none of the people in the trios really hate each other and all seem to be good friends.

Now Wayfinder Trio is much better however what makes it not work as well is the miscommunication. In Birth By Sleep they constantly mistrust one another and it's what lead to their ultimate demise.

However, I will say they all seemingly care for each other. All their actions come from a place of worry and care. In Kingdom Hearts 3, when they finally reunited they cried tears of joy and we're glad to have each other again. It's such a good scene. And unlike the Destiny Trio they still talk to each other and care.

And finally the Sea Salt Trio. The reason why this one works is that they all have a strong friendship. They start off as zombie like beings and form an unlikely friendship with Axel. The trio discuss silly things like being friends and identities while eating Sea Salt Ice Cream. They all also want the best for each other.

Xion wants to be with her friends. She likes being with them. And then she goes to run off for the sake of Roxas. She doesn't want him to get destroyed/ lose his powers. When Xion is weak Axel comes up with a plan so Saïx doesn't find out. Xion dies so she won't steal more of Roxas and hopes Kingdom Hearts is also destroyed.

The three of plan to go to the beach one day together. And their trio is from the simple moments of them talking every day after their missions until they realize bad things, but that's not initially their own fault. Axel want things to stay the same and cherish those moments, Roxas wants answers but cherish his friends, Xion is similar to Roxas.

Then after in 2, Axel keeps clinging onto those moments — the friendship between them (even Xion but he doesn't quite remember it was her, this is shown through the novel).

He liked how they made him be able to feel again.

Then he ends up sacrificing himself for Sora since he in some sense is part of Roxas and he knows he'll do a good thing. In KH3 while training with Kairi, he remembers Xion again. His eyes cry because of what his heart remembers. Kairi reminds himself of Xion, when he gets Ice Cream on the day before the battle he gets three which Saïx teases him for.

He remembers both of them and he wants them back. They are important and are his friends. And his whole reunion and even the battle before is bittersweet. Just like the Wayfinder Trio their reunion is really great.

And I just want to point out that none of these characters hate each other. Literally they don't. I've made posts in the past about some misconceptions are that Riku and Kairi hate each other/ don't like the other and that Axel and Xion apparently do? But they don't. There is literally in game and novel content that disproves this.

But this is why Sea Salt Trio works the best, but that doesn't mean the others are bad. Like I enjoy Riku and Sora moments and I strongly wish for Kairi to do more and make other friends. And I love the Wayfinders. This is why I think it works the best and it's not necessary my favorite.

And I have to say I've seen some amazing fanon comics or things of the trios that made them even better like Destiny Trio for example.

My favorite Trio actually isn't a canon trio and it's all from fanon— that's right shout out to the Lost Trio where some of them don't even interact in game.

(I need more lost trio content actually though, they're just so silly and funny to me)

[phoenix-downer]

KH3 Retrospective

I can’t believe it’s been four years already since KH3 came out. It both feels like it came out ages ago and just last month. Above was the very first screenshot I took as I started my playthrough. I was so awed by how good the textures for the stained glass on the Station of Awakening looked. 

Something I did while I was playing KH3 was create a little Google doc of my first reactions/impressions (as well as spamming the screenshot button lol). Here was from the first page: 

New version of Dearly Beloved is gorgeous - sounds similar to DDD version a little

Sora’s opening line is so good - Kairi is his home

Opening - Kairi and Sora’s chess pieces by each other

Kairi’s piece is the paopu piece

Riku looks gorgeous

Everyone looks beautiful

The door opening to save everyone there at the end

Seven hearts to save

Sora’s holding Xehanort’s piece at the end - checkmate?

Station of Awakening is GORGEOUS - looks like actual stained glass now

Showing Sora’s memories

Wisdom, vitality, balance - which one?!

I chose balance (yay SDG!)

Guardian, Warrior, Mystic

I chose Guardian (yay Namine!)

Tidal wave, then Sora ended up in cloud world

Destati sounds awesome

Sora’s opening lines are so good

Mysterious Tower music sounds so good

Cable Town looked gorgeous - Land of Departure?

Sora’s theme sounds kickass

Ending scenes from 0.2 played again to catch you up to speed on SDG

Next year for the fifth anniversary I want to share more of the document, perhaps in a more organized fashion (I also had a reaction document for ReMind and Melody of Memory that I might share excerpts from in the future). It’s just such a neat little time capsule of my immediate first reactions to everything, and while I had to use the pause button a lot, it’s fun to look back on what I was thinking in the moment before my later thoughts/perceptions took over. Definitely worth the time it took to record everything. 

For KH4 I want to continue the trend, as it also makes for a fun way to share the first playthrough experience with my friends and it makes it easier to write analysis posts later on.

Summarizing my thoughts now on KH3: 

The good: Beautiful graphics, world environments were a huge upgrade, the music was amazing, the humor in the Disney worlds was really good, Olympus Coliseum, Kingdom of Corona (the dancing minigame!), The Caribbean, San Fransokyo, Wayfinder Trio Reunion, Xion’s return, Roxas’s return, all the heartfelt Sora and Kairi moments, Young Xehanort, the Keyblade transformations, having more than two people in your party at a time now, the Luxu reveal.

The bad: No true midpoint to the game, no FF characters, the climax was rushed, wish Naminé was more involved, the way Kairi got “killed” was super bleh, and I’m still not a fan of the original ending (the secret ending excluding Kairi also made me ehhhhhh). 

And this leads me into another part of the document. When I consume a piece of media, I like to think about what worked well and why. It’s just really fun to celebrate good writing and learn from it, you know? Hence all the translation/analysis posts I’ve done of certain scenes from KH3. I also like to figure out how I would “fix” anything that didn’t land for me because it’s also a good learning experience, and at the end of my initial thoughts document, I actually included a list of things I thought would improve the writing of KH3. Of course, this is all based on my own personal feelings/interpretations, and as it stands, ReMind fixed a number of them anyway. But I thought I’d share my initial “fixes” in bold and then my thoughts about them now. 

Writing Changes:

Have Sora think about Kairi a la KH2 - Flynn/Rapunzel, Will/Elizabeth… - this isn’t really going to be changed at this point for obvious reasons, but I missed the little moments where Sora was thinking of Kairi in KH2 (like when Will and Elizabeth hugged, when he saw Jack and Sally dancing, etc.) and thought those would have strengthened the romantic plotline of KH3.

Sora’s reunion with Riku was anticlimactic - ditto, not gonna be updated at this point, but I remember thinking oh that’s it lol when technically we hadn’t seen them onscreen together since 2012 (trailers notwithstanding). In universe it makes sense though because it hasn’t been that long since they’ve seen each other. Plus, I assume their reunion in KH4 will be good, so I’m looking forward to that. 

Sora’s reunion with Kairi was also anticlimactic - see above, not gonna get changed at this point, but I wish they’d gotten a moment together before the big group meetup or at least him reacting to seeing her again. We hadn’t seen them talk directly since Blank Points I think? (trailers notwithstanding). So yeah I was a little disappointed there wasn’t more to their reunion, and again I think a little moment or brief scene that could’ve built up to the paopu fruit more. And at this point in the game I definitely got the feeling that Nomura was rushing to finish before deadlines hit + the burnout was setting in and he couldn’t spare any time to extras like this, just the core scenes that had to be there (group meetup, Aqua and Ven convo about Terra, Riku and Repliku scene, Kairi and Sora paopu sharing scene). He might have also had to do a bunch of last minute rewrites, who knows.

Have Kairi actually send her letter to Sora - I assume this will happen at a later date, looking back now it feels like foreshadowing, so I’m not sure why I complained about this lol. I do think at some point Sora will read the letter because why go to all that trouble of showing Kairi writing it + having her read it to the audience if it won’t be significant down the line? The focus on Sora’s smile makes me think he might get the letter when he’s feeling really down and needs to be cheered up, but we’ll see.

Have Sora have some way of contacting her like he can contact Riku - Yeah idk Square acts allergic sometimes to the love interests contacting the main character (see FFXV...), and in universe she was training with Merlin and Axel in a place where time flowed differently etc. so I get why she didn’t. Again I was just thinking of ways the paopu scene could’ve been built up to more effectively within KH3 itself (obviously the paopu scene has been foreshadowed since KH1 so that wasn’t my issue, more that I wanted more buildup within KH3 that built on the buildup we saw in KH1 and KH2 and Blank Points).

Keep Kairi getting killed… but have it be because she was protecting Sora of her own free volition - Yeah I’m still not happy about how this was handled. ReMind helped make this more tolerable because she did get to fight Xehanort by Sora’s side, but I still think her “death” could’ve been handled a lot better. And that’s all I’ll say about that lol, it’s a topic that’s been discussed to death at this point.

Go into more depth about what YX said - I think this was about all of Young Xehanort’s cryptic foreshadowing to Sora, I honestly can’t remember lol. But I do think, now that I’ve replayed the game, the foreshadowing works well, so I think this was more of an initial reaction on my part. 

Show Sora going to rescue her - This was one of my biggest issues with how KH3 originally ended, and I remember feeling robbed that we didn’t get to see Sora’s rescue mission of Kairi, but little did I know what Nomura had in store lol. ReMind more than fixed this, and I will be forever grateful to it and to Nomura for knowing how important this was and making sure it was added to the story. ReMind elevated KH3 so much for me, and looking back, I really do think Nomura was making the best of a bad situation (engine switch a year into development, tight deadlines, Disney being strict, serious burnout, sky high expectations...) with vanilla KH3, and I hope he gets the development time he needs to tell the story he wants to tell with KH4. I just remember reading some of his interviews post-KH3 and you could tell how exhausted and burnt out he was, and I really hope he doesn’t go through that again. 

End things on a less gutpunch of an ending - I know some people loved KH3′s ending so this is subjective, but I did not lol. Thankfully, ReMind fixed this and made the ending more bittersweet now that we’ve seen Sora rescuing Kairi. It feels much better knowing he got those moments with her traveling the worlds before he disappeared. 

Roxas and Sora barely interacted - ReMind fixed this too (noticing a pattern here?) I was really happy with the additional screentime they got in ReMind together  because honestly, their relationship is one of my favorites in the entire series.

Sora still hasn’t thanked Namine - I assume this will happen at a later date, I just remember thinking poor Naminé hadn’t gotten thanked yet. But I do think Nomura has something specific in mind for this scene and we will see it at some future date. So less of a “this should’ve been in KH3″ thing and more “oh bummer I’ll have to wait a while yet to see this.” 

Xehanort got off easy - I think this whole plot point was a victim of the rushed pacing that impacted both the climax and ending of KH3. I remember thinking to myself that Xehanort should not have gotten to die and go to Keyblade Heaven with Eraqus in the same game where he “killed” the protagonist’s girlfriend (which resulted in the protagonist’s “death”) especially not so soon after it happened. But in a way it’s also kind of realistic? The bad guy doesn’t always get what he deserves in real life, so I can see why Nomura took this angle here (though I would argue that in stories you can show good triumphing over evil and in fact people tend to want that more than realism due to the escapist nature of fiction). Then again, I’m kind of biased because I’m not a fan in general of turning Xehanort from a main villain to a misunderstood guy with an angsty backstory who was manipulated by the True Big Bad. I get the feeling we haven’t seen the last of him given that art of his younger self with an umbrella that came out for Dark Road’s ending, so I’m bracing myself for him to show up in Quadratum and team up with Sora, and meh, I just wish the series would move past him at this point, you know?

Destiny Trio still not a trio :( - fix that - I do hope that we get more Destiny Trio interactions in KH4, but looking back, I kinda get why there wasn’t a whole lot of them in KH3. The focus was more on Sora and Kairi’s relationship since that played such a key role in the climax and ending of the story, and there will be time in the future for the three to interact more. Nomura had that quote about how KH3 would feature relationships changing etc., and we did see that with the focus more on Sora and Kairi’s relationship (plus Melody of Memory gave us some Riku and Kairi interactions, and KH4 is probably gonna feature some good Sora and Riku interactions given how they’ll probably reunite before Sora and Kairi do. And then Kairi and Sora’s reunion will be important given how they were separated, and I imagine there will be at least one meaningful scene of the three of them together). 

Have Kairi fight back while she’s being taken - in her defense, it was very realistic for a short, petite fifteen-year old girl to have trouble fighting back against a grown ass man who 1) towers over her and most of the rest of the cast, and 2) is wrenching her arm back in a way that meant she’d likely dislocate her own arm if she tried to fight back. I just still wish this entire plot point had been handled differently, but it’s in the past now, not much more to be said about it.

Roxas and Xion were freed maybe when Sora “died”? - I think I had this on there because I thought the story would’ve benefited from the rescues being spread out more, giving time to focus on each one and allowing some longer soft/quiet moments with the character reunions. 

Anyway, thanks for reading all this. It was interesting going back and looking at my initial reactions to KH3 and how my thoughts and feelings have changed over time. I think the big factors in the shift are that ReMind really added so much to the story and fixed most of my major issues with it, and I have a better picture now of all the stressors Nomura had to deal with to get the game out the door. Honestly it’s probably a small miracle the vanilla game turned out as well as it did given all the factors he was working against, and for that I have a lot of respect for him. And it was clear he was aware of the issues, you know? Otherwise he wouldn’t have released ReMind. He wanted KH3 to be good and he wanted to make the fans happy, so he did what he could to improve on the base game. And there are some truly fantastic moments in the base game and ReMind alike that I loved analyzing every single piece of. 

How about you guys? How have your thoughts/feelings towards KH3 changed over time if at all? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[generatedreflection]

...I just realized something I probably really should have before

A lot of the discussion around the paopu has been fixated on it as a sign of commitment

But I just realized that basically every time it's been deliberately invoked, it's associated with anxiety about a relationship

Riku tossing it to Sora in KH1--a low-risk way to try and understand Sora's feelings

The cave drawing--Riku had just "threatened" to share it with Kairi first (and everyone else on the island is saying stuff like "you better do it first or Riku will beat you to it!") In the novels, he's thinking "If I could just beat Riku at something..." rather than making a statement of commitment

Oathkeeper--Kairi is worried about Sora and uses the charm as reassurance he'll come back

The Wayfinders--the night before the exam, Aqua makes these. She expresses frequent anxiety about their bond all through the game, and while we don't get as much context of their bond before this, I do think the tension had already been there.

The KH3 Scene--Kairi is concerned about their battle tomorrow, so she wants to ensure they won't be separated again. After her unsent letter to Sora and general absence in KH3 up to that point, I think she actually might be worried about her relationship to him as a whole.

Kairi returning the cave drawing at the end of KH1 is really the only time that isn't motivated by worry, but it's more of a response than an invokation (which she already did earlier)

There's a lot of talk about 1 vs 2 paopus and romantic vs platonic invokations, but I just think it's really interesting how so far it's something people only seem to bring up when they're worried about something breaking. And they're usually right about the impending separation, with an eventual reunion at the end of it.

There's not really a point to this. Personally, I think of the paopu as more of a symbol and self-fulfilling prophecy rather than something magical (which might be stupid in a series like KH, but eh I've been wrong before). It's a way to say 'hey I care about you and I don't want to lose you,' which is something that both people will remember, to hopefully hold onto that relationship. (This is like. Constant with the Wayfinder trio.)

I just think it's interesting that despite being introduced in a way that gets us thinking of it as a kind of vow, so far it's felt more like a panic button?

[akimojo]

Every reunion in the endgame of three made me start sobbing irl so thank you for fighting the good fight

SAME they had me sobbing like a baby every time, especially the wayfinder trio reunion like damn that one got me so bad

[hollowwhisperings]

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

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

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

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

Stars in the KH setting: Paopu Fruit & Wayfinders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[transrikuu]

considering uploading the Wayfinder Trio reunion scene on YouTube except with the mods I have that make Ventus and Terra’s eyes green and brown respectively

[daremozaza]

Wayfinder Trio Reunion.

Now when I first played this and the Guardian snatched Terranort by the head, it snatched my soul out of my body as well.

[haomnyangz]

i love dying and being dead

[ninjaaa-go]

I would just like to say that kh3 was expecting too much out of me when it asked me to jump into another boss fight right after all the emotional reunions. I had to keep pausing the game to stop crying before I could move on to the next emotional gut punch.

[endlessskymaster]

This gif perfectly describes the Wayfinder Trio reunion.

[beth-and-bands]

I've finished the Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC, now what am I supposed to do😪

[mythicalartistx]

Wayfinder & SeaSalt Trio Reunion in KHiii

I used to not like KHiii as much but overtime I learned to appreciate it and it does have some really good moments.

Like the whole Keyblade Graveyard battle scene with all the groups reconnecting with their lost friends is so bittersweet and amazing.

Spoilers I guess but most my discussions have spoilers and the game has been out for 4 years 🤷

I mean the Terra breaking the chains scene is amazing. The music is great and that help shows how dramatica it is.

That scene is impactful and no wonder some people cry at it.

One day... I... will... set... this... right...

One day... I will...set.. this Right

I will return to this land..

And protect... My friends!

- Terra KH3

I was smiling to myself the whole time.

The scene is absolutely beautiful. A part of it is because of the fate of the three of them in BBS was so heartbreaking and sad.

And it's so bittersweet.

Now the reunion of the Sea Salt Trio...

Axel goes against Xemnas and Saïx is such a good scene. His poor bf being used.

Xion then tries stopping Xemnas from hurting them is everything especially when it shows Sora remembers them and their name from Roxas.

And I love when Axel regains his memory of Xion by holding his head and probably having a rush of memories before calling the name, Xion.

But it gets better when Roxas arrives and basically tells Xemnas I can do the same thing you can do and you don't know people's hearts as well as he might have thought.

It seems you're not as good as winning over people's hearts as you think

- Roxas KH3

Those scenes are so great

[nachtfaust]