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alice-in-gingerland · 4 years

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Axel/Roxas - Beauty and the Beast

So, I’ve been out of the writing game for roughly ten years, since university killed my spirit. But lately I’ve had this idea playing around in my head and wanted to see if I could still write. So I am slowly writing my Akuroku retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Posting the first chapter draft of chapter one here and hope people can give some feedback and maybe some ideas. Let’s see what happens!

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Namine sighed heavily, torn between slamming her face into her palms or shouting at the ragtag team in front of her.

‘You literally could have just taken a horse each!’

Sora raised his eyebrows in confusion, a cookie still raised partially to his lips.

‘But we only had one rope between the three of us.’

‘Plus, dwarves are too short to ride a full sized horse alone,’ added Riku, gesturing to a nodding Kairi.

‘You didn’t even need a rope once Kairi’s character subdued them,’ Namine exclaimed.

Kairi giggled at her sister’s obvious exasperation but chose not to let it go just yet, ‘but you can’t control a horse like that, it’s not realistic.’

The whole group were beginning to laugh at the absurdness of the situation, even Riku was trembling slightly, trying to hold back his amusement at the normally calm dungeon master who was turning vaguely pink with frustration.

‘Why do you guys always have to make big events out of tiny situations, we’ll never get to the main parts of the quest if you keep doing this.’ She slammed the book in front of her closed with an air of finality, causing Sora to pout.

‘Ah Nams, you never let us mess around, that’s half the fun of DnD!’

Riku tilted back in his chair to check the clock on the kitchen wall, ‘to be fair, it’s getting pretty late. We should probably finish up and head home.’

‘Let's make camp for the night, I’ll tie up the horses. We’re only a few kilometres from the town so will be good to rest up in case there’s a fight,’ said Sora, his eyes darting over the colourful map that covered the majority of the dining room table they sat at.

Namine rubbed her forehead tiredly before beginning to carefully pack away her books and pens.

Sora was decidedly less careful, using his forearm to sweep his dice, notebook and other odds and ends into a waiting cardboard box, causing Riku to wince.

‘Before we head home, what’s the plan for Halloween this weekend,’ Kairi queried. She stretched out her back to loosen her muscles after a few hours being confined to the table, her russet hair almost tickling the small of her back. Namine tapped one of her colouring pens against her dusky pink lips, debating how she would like to spend one of her favourite holidays of the year.

Riku snorted, still leaning back dangerously in his chair and obviously in no hurry to assist with the clean up. ‘Aren’t we getting a bit too old to be trick or treating?’

Sora stuck his tongue out at the older boy, following up with a nudge to his chair. Riku’s azure eyes widened in panic as he struggled to stop from toppling backwards; he managed to right himself and gave Sora a victorious smirk.

‘Just because you turn fifteen soon doesn’t mean the rest of us have to stop enjoying ourselves,’ retorted Kairi, swiftly linking her arm through Sora’s.

The young brunette posed thoughtfully as he lent into his best friends supporting frame.

‘He does have a point though, maybe we could do something a bit more, I dunno, exciting this year?’

Namine’s brow dipped in concern, knowing from experience what Sora meant by exciting. Kairi nudged Sora with her hip.

‘By exciting, I think you mean dangerous…’

The boy glanced to his right, a mock hurt expression crossing his face, ‘ well it doesn’t have to be anything bad, just maybe something scary. You know, to frighten Mr All Grown Up.’

Namine clapped her hands together in excitement, startling the three other teens who turned to her in puzzlement. The young girl’s features were alight with excitement, her usual cornflower blue eyes darkened with intent.

‘I think we should go to the old Wildwood House.’

Sora and Kairi almost bounced in excitement. Sneaking into the old Wildwood House had been a tradition for the teenage population in their town for at least the past two decades. The old manor house had been empty for over one hundred years, allowing multiple rumours to circulate regarding why no one had bought it; tales varying from gruesome murders to alien abduction. It didn’t help that the house sat imposingly upon the tallest hill in the area, surrounded by a dense pine wood that was often enveloped in thick mist due to the multiple hot springs the territory was known for.

Namine beamed at her sister and Sora’s reactions as she began to twirl her ash blonde hair between her finger tips; her usual habit when dreaming up artistic ideas.

‘I’ve wanted to go for a while, apparently the architecture is untouched and even the original furniture and furnishings are unblemished - a paused moment in time. I really want to take some photos and maybe make a few quick sketches, but it’s way too creepy to go alone.’

The petite girl turned her pleading gaze upon Riku, who swiftly noticed all three of his friends were staring at him, silently pleading for his agreement.

‘Well if you three pansies think you’re up for it, why not,’ he shrugged, hooked his arms behind his head nonchalantly.

Sora grabbed Kairi’s hand, which she noticed was trembling slightly.

‘Oh my god Kairi, I can’t wait! Did you hear that the whole family was murdered up there by a wild axeman, and the ghosts still haunt the woods because they are buried in the floorboard.’

Kairi scoffed and argued, ‘don’t be stupid, they would have found the bodies. Everyone knows they made some kind of deal with the fairies for an immortal life and were transported to the faerie plain, they only return once a year to steal souls for the fairies.’

‘I heard that the man who lived there sold his soul to a fire demon for eternal beauty and power,’ retorted Namine. Riku let out a snicker and flicked a stray dice at the blonde. ‘Honestly, that’s the plot from Howl’s Moving Castle, you muppet.’

The youngest girl blushed and the four teenagers continued to bicker until they were interrupted by heavy footfalls and genial masculine voice.

‘Nah, the owner made a wish with a genie to be immortal, but it didn’t pan out quite the way he planned.’

Two young men appeared at the bottom of the stairs, one with a mischievous grin and pushed back dirty blonde hair, the other with an almost cherubic face; almost identical to Sora except obviously older with golden blonde styled locks, instead of a brown unkempt birdnest the younger brother liked to sport.

Roxas pondered for a moment, nudging his friend out of the way so he could grab a crisp from the bowl on the table, ‘that’s not it either, it was a djinn. He was so set on looking for power that he was possessed by a travelling djinn.’ He popped the crisp into his mouth and almost immediately winced, ‘what is wrong with you guys, prawn cocktail, really!’ Roxas grimaced and wiped his fingers on his little brother’s shirt.

Sora visibly bristled, shoving his brother away from the group.

‘What are you two doing down here, go away!’

‘Snacks of course,’ Hayner countered, grabbing a handful of prawn cocktail crisps and winking in Namine’s direction. Riku narrowed his eyes and tugged the younger girl to his side; he didn’t mind Roxas, but his flirtatious friend could often be a little too forward with Kairi and Namine. The girls never seemed to mind, but Riku knew that Hayner was less than innocent and not very faithful at that. He had overheard arguments between the two older boys regarding Hayner’s treatment of women for at least two years. He’d never mention it to Sora but he had accidentally walked in on the pair of them locked in an extremely heated embrace once. The memory of their tongues and roaming hands made him nauseous and caused a shudder to ripple through his body. Hayner obviously didn’t care whose pants he was getting into as long as he was getting satisfaction from them.

Deciding he’d annoyed his brother and company enough, Roxas gestured for his friend to follow him into the adjoining kitchen.

‘Come on, let the kids play.’

Hayner gave a brief wave and grin before accompanying Roxas into the kitchen and closing the door behind them.

‘Ah, that takes me back.’

Roxas raised an eyebrow in question whilst grabbing two cans of fizzy from the fridge, passing one to the other boy. Hayner gratefully accepted the can, popping it open with a satisfying hiss and taking a large gulp before answering, ‘you know, when you, me, Pence and Ollette used to come round here and play a bit of dungeons and dragons.’

Roxas rested his hip against the sideboard, his gaze turning pensive for a moment.

‘Yeah, back before it was cool,’ he laughed, ‘also before we discovered the lure of alcohol.’

Hayner slid forward and lightly caressed Roxas’s forearm, his voice taking on a heated tone ‘before we discovered other things as well.’

Roxas’s eyes flashed with annoyance and he gently but firmly brushed away the offending appendage. ‘Aren’t you seeing that guy Seifer.’

He moved away from his promiscuous friend, putting a bit of distance between them before taking a sip of his drink. Fooling around with Hayner has always been fun, but he worried it was a distraction from him finding a real and meaningful relationship; something Roxas was starting to desire more than simply sexual gratification. He wanted dedication and passion, and was perfectly aware Hayner was not capable of fulfilling those needs. He also wasn’t keen on accidentally becoming ‘the other man’ when his friend inevitably forgot he was in a monogamous relationship.

‘I was only teasing,’ Hayner said, not looking as chagrined as Roxas believed he should be feeling.

“Anyway, me and Seifer aren’t exactly exclusive,’ he continued, picking at the side of his can, ‘pretty sure he’s crashing with Fuu and there’s no way those two are platonic.’

Sensing his friend's discomfort Roxas replied, ‘you don’t know that, you know better than I do that he fights with his Dad on the regular. He probably just needed a safe place to stay and him and Fuu have been mates since primary school.’

A small smile flit across Hayner’s face as he glanced up.

“You’re probably right, always are.’

Roxas gave the taller boy a shove and the two chuckled quietly.

Sounds of giggling and shuffling trickled under the kitchen door as the pair relaxed into an amicable silence.

“Do you remember when we went up to the Wildwood House,” Roxas murmured.

Hayner shifted, leaning back on his tanned arms, ‘yeah, it was creepy man, but only because it was old and dark and we were thirteen.’

Roxas frowned, “what about the figure I saw, and that burning fire?’

Hayner snorted and replied, ‘dude, you freaked out at a curtain, and some group who went up before us must have lit a candle to scare the next visitors. Just don’t say anything to the kids; Sora will get all hyped up then they’ll all be disappointed when it’s just an empty old house.’

Yanking open a cupboard door, Hayner extracted a bag of bacon rasher crisps and a packet of party ring biscuits and gathered them under his arm.

“Come on mate, got your fav biscuits, let’s go destroy strangers on Rocket League.’

The muscular blonde elbowed open the door and strode away, leaving Roxas to his vague memories of a slim cloaked figure reaching out to him with a palm of smokeless flames.

#akuroku #axel #roxas #kingdom hearts #beauty and the beast #teen #hayner #namine and kairi are sisters #djinn #axel and roxas #fanfiction

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yo-namine · 5 years

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Last KH3 playthrough post! Endgame spoilers are below the cut.

Just a warning: This post is REALLY long and contains, um… opinions.

I’m glad the final battle trailer scenes happen right off the bat. I had no idea what would come next, and it made the experience that much more interesting.

Why do none of these keyslingers know how to block? First Aqua tries to shield Ven with her own body, then Sora does the same for Kairi. Just hit square, guys.

ZETTAFLARE DONALD ILU SO MUCH

The way Riku and Aqua stepped up to Sora’s side made me think they were going to be party members in another demon tide battle, but nope. Boo.

I’m surprised that Aqua just… let the demon tide take her? What the hell?

Sora loses Kairi, Donald, and Goofy and just… crumbles. He completely gives up and says it’s all over. Riku almost starts to try to soothe him, but instead, he gets up, tells Sora that he knows that’s bullshit, and then faces off against the demon tide (which was polite enough to wait for Sora and Riku to finish their conversation before attacking, by the way). It’s like a moment of tough love, and it’s actually what I was expecting Roxas to do back when I assumed he would be the one to show up in the Graveyard and pull Sora back on his feet. I wasn’t expecting a bunch of reassurances like “no, you’re not worthless, we can still do this, everything will be okay” but rather, “Get up, we’re not finished here.”

So Riku confronts the heartless and Sora just… watches in horror as they take him, too. And he doesn’t even fight back when they turn and come for him. And then the screen cuts to black and shows the final line of the prophecy, and… That was a really effective way to end that scene. Damn.

Yeah, I don’t know how to play chess, but I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to just conjure extra pieces from thin air, Eraqus. That was a nice line from him, though, about light from the past. Like, “The light doesn’t need time travel bullshit to kick your ass because HEARTS.”

Sora fucking died. Sora actually, literally fucking died. He goes to the Final World because he died. Holy shit.

The Final World is beautiful, and the music is lovely, too. The first thing I did after getting control again was take some selfies of dead Sora, ngl.

Sora’s been to the Final World before in his sleep, and Chirithy just let him pass through lmao.

Who is the first star that Sora talks to here? At first I thought it was Xion, but she says a “somebody” sent her to the Final World, so… Strelitzia? Ava? Skuld? lol I like that Sora just sits down next to her like this conversation’s the most normal thing ever. He’s dead and talking to another dead person, and he just rolls with it. I love this kid.

Some of the optional star conversations really got to me. One of them says that their friends replaced them after they died (“That was my seat. That was my place at the table.”). There’s also one that was apparently a child looking for their father, and that one actually made me tear up.

I’m not sure who the one who talked about being “identical” was. I think a third talks about their mentor, and perhaps that was a past keyblade apprentice? Another says that people teased them and a friend about being an item, and they pulled away from the relationship, and the other person never closed the distance. All of their little stories are just… sad. Jesus.

Naminé has a star! I missed her star on my first playthrough, but I replayed this part just for her scene. I wish I’d gotten it the first time, though. She clarifies that Kairi’s the one keeping Sora tethered to the world of the living. And god, Naminé’s words are so sad. She truly doesn’t think anyone really misses her or that she matters at all. But Sora says that he and the others (including “someone else special,” who I think may’ve been Xion?) miss her and want her back. AND she mentions her conversation with Terra from the orchestra! Holy shit, WHY was this conversation optional? That was important story stuff that explained why Lingering Will shows up when we rehash the fight in the Graveyard. Naminé came through for everyone in a pretty major way, and if you don’t talk to her star (which is VERY easy to miss), you’d never know it. Though… I guess that’s kind of fitting in a meta way. Naminé helping people from behind the scenes and not expecting any credit, I mean. Still, I wish I hadn’t missed this on my first playthrough. Anyway, Naminé’s “Let’s just say I’ve got your back?” was really cute. And then Sora thanks her and gets all flustered. “That’s not the official thank-you!”

I’m… still not clear on what exactly the power of waking is or how it differs from restoring someone’s heart the old-fashioned way (i.e. taking a Keblade of Heart to the chest), but okay.

JIMINY SURVIVED ALL OF THAT JFSKLFFJL

I liked going through the different worlds to save all of Sora’s friends. It was a nice callback to KH1, when you visit different worlds in End of the World, and when you get to Realm of Chaos and have to rescue Donald and Goofy from Ansem SoD’s heartless… ship… thing. It was really annoying fighting the same boss over and over again, though. It wasn’t difficult (save for one instance where the lich spammed aeroga and pinned me against the ceiling. I only survived because it triggered rage form.), and I get that it was just a series of symbolic battles, but I dunno, maybe just giving him less HP for me to have to mow down would’ve made it less tedious.

So the power of waking is “traversing hearts to reach worlds.” So I guess that’s what Sora was doing while falling through the different Stations of Awakening and then arriving in different worlds.

“There’s no saving you.” Fuck, okay, after finishing the game, this line in the sleeping San Fransokyo hits a lot harder. You think Kid Xehanort knows that Team Nort is planning to snatch Kairi and use Sora’s desire to save her to ultimately destroy him? Because if so… ugh.

Sora and Kairi’s little spin when they reunite is so cute.

“I feel strong with you, Kairi.” Awww but also UGHHHHHHHH because I know what’s coming. And then Sora has flashbacks to Eugene and Anna sacrificing themselves for someone they love, and I’m not 100% sure why. Is it just foreshadowing his sacrifice for Kairi? Is he afraid that her rescuing him will cost her her own life? Whatever it is, Kairi seems to read Sora’s mind and says that he’s safe with her. And again, that’s really sweet, and I like that her PoH powers are FINALLY being explored in some way, but fuck, knowing how this all ends makes watching this scene so painful the second time around.

I was so confused when Sora was revived and we started replaying that confrontation scene in the Graveyard. The first time I played it, I was very seriously considering skipping the cutscene and reloading my save because I thought I’d gone the wrong way or something, but then Lingering Will showed up and the scene changed. Phew. I guess we went in a little time loop there. But wait, if everyone’s aware that Sora revived them, then they must remember how they were taken in the first place, right? If that’s the case, why the hell did Ven run up to Terra a second time? Why didn’t anyone stop him? Why did Aqua have to look “Terra” in the eye a second time to know it wasn’t him? Am I to assume that if Naminé hadn’t summoned Lingering Will, these dingdongs would’ve all lost their hearts AGAIN?

I’m so over demon tide boss fights, but damn if that battle theme doesn’t kick ass.

EPHEMERA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY SHIT, OF ALL THE THINGS I NEVER SAW COMING. He helps Sora use the keyblades of all the fallen wielders from the first war to fight off the heartless, and you use the names of all those KHUX users who won that KH3 contest as attacks. Oh my gosh, what a sweet tribute. I like thinking that Larkey’s keyblade helped, too. <3

Oh god, when KH1 Riku showed up and Forze Del Male started playing, my entire life flashed before my eyes. I DID NOT want a rehash of that fight. I was relieved that I didn’t have to, but I was also just a little disappointed because that Xehanort shadow that emerges from him looked like a cool potential boss. I feel like there are actually a lot of scenes that happened in the Graveyard that would’ve worked better as actual battles or gameplay, tbh.

Also, that Forze De Male remix was hot as hell.

R.I.P. to all of fandom’s “Yen Sid is useless” jokes. What a way to go.

“You’re a whole pint by yourself, Sora.” I LOVE THIS DUCK SO MUCH.

I like that the maze tries to force you to choose between helping Riku or Mickey first like it’s some tragic moral dilemma. Like oh gee, let me think: Best written character in the series, or corporate icon Ricky Rat? That said, I actually did go to Mickey first just because I couldn’t get past the moving wall puzzle lmao. I wish this area had had a few more puzzles, though. I felt like I breezed through it way too fast.

Riku is really nerfed as a party member. He was CONSTANTLY KO’d in my fight against the Norts. Like damn dude, even Kairi stayed conscious through her battle (all 5 seconds of it, but still).

Repliku tears himself away from his own vessel and leaves it. For Naminé. Fuck, I didn’t expect that at all. What a great scene, and what a better ending for a character whose story I thought ended in CoM. I loved that.

Didn’t love that Riku and Sora just left Naminé’s vessel facedown in the dirt, though. Like… at least prop it against the wall or something guys, geez.

I like that you get a sort of farewell scene between the heroes and all the main villains of the series. It may’ve been a little fanservicey, but oh well. I’m not so hot on it from a story standpoint. Like I know we’re doing the anime thing where “I defeated you in battle, now we’re cool” but it still felt… odd. But at least it’s not as obnoxious as what comes up later with Master Xehanort.

I liked Larxene’s take on this especially, how she’d rather be destroyed than be a Nort. Why she joined up in the first place is still a mystery… And her answering Sora the way she did implies that the Norts aren’t just possessed mind slaves. They do have agency, though I guess that was clear from Even and Demyx turning against them, now that I remember it.

Building on the agency thing, I liked Vanitas’s scene with Ven. Ven wanted so badly for Vanitas to come to the light, but… It really wasn’t what Vanitas wanted for himself. “We decide who we are.” “I did decide who I am.” It’s tragic, but I like that it showed that not everyone was getting a happy ending from this game, and that there are some people you just can’t save.

COME GUARDIAN WAS TERRA’S HEARTLESS AFTER ALL. FUCK YES. I love that theory and I’m so happy it turned out to be correct!!!!!

And then we finally get a Wayfinder reunion!!!!!!

“What final words do you have for your superior?” Okay, I know this game is rated E10, but I half expected Axel to just look up and say “Fuck you.”

Xemnas and Axel’s conversation was so meta. Axel bragging about how popular he was, Xemnas calling Axel’s keyblade a joke. Like… Damn, they really paid attention to fandom over the years, didn’t they? I just wish they’d paid this much attention to all the fans who wanted a good storyline for Kairi. Anywho, Xemnas destroys Axel’s keyblade, so we lose two Lights from this scene. I’m kind of grateful that happened, actually. Having Axel lose his spot made it a little easier to accept Kairi losing hers. But only a little. Kairi getting kidnapped AGAIN was still stupid and contrived.

Unlike the other Norts, Xion’s apparently not acting on her own free will when the fight starts. Sora telling her “You can stop now” seemed to break something within her. And then Xemnas turns to attack her, and Sora’s heart reaches out to someone, and then BOOM. Roxas shows up to sass Xemnas and save the day!!!

I barely did anything in that Isa fight, lmao. I tried to land a few hits on him, but then I realized Roxas could handle him just fine alone, so I just hung back with Xion and cast cure here and there.

I’m disappointed that there’s almost no interaction between Roxas and Sora beyond a couple of nods, tbh. It’s kind of a weak payoff after all the fuss Sora made about wanting to save Roxas at the start of the game. That was what Sora decided to fight for “with all his heart,” and then once Roxas is back, we just keep blazing ahead with the story without a moment to appreciate the fact that he accomplished his goal (or rather, someone else accomplished it for him).

Aww, Xion looked so left out when she stood of to the side and started crying. It was almost like she was hesitant to join Axel and Roxas after she came so close to almost killing both of them. She didn’t even reach for the other two when Axel pulled them into a group hug, she just kept her hands clasped tight together and sort of curled in on herself. Aw, honey. Anyway, I’m glad these three will get to be together again.

I half expected Riku to snap “ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?” when Sora tells him that Kairi’s been kidnapped.

I liked both Xemnas and Ansem SoD’s sendoffs. Kid Xehanort doesn’t give a shit that he lost, though, he just fucks off back to the past knowing damn well what’s about to happen. And to that, I again say ugh.

And then we get… that scene. What the fuck did Xehanort mean by “You need motivation.”? Motherfucker, we are already out here in the Keyblade Graveyard having this showdown. Kingdom Hearts is looming above us. Sora just got done killing all ninety-seven billion Xehanorts. This fight is happening no matter what you do. This doesn’t make any fucking sense. Having Xehanort kill off Kairi was stupid and unnecessary and pointless and lazy and truly horrible, horrible writing. And see, I can’t even give Nomura the benefit of the doubt here because he actually had Xehanort call Kairi Sora’s “motivation.” That was it. That was the only reason Xehanort killed her. Not because she was a keyblade wielder who was in the way of his goal, not because she was a Princess of Heart whose power could pose a threat. Not because of anything Kairi did or who she was as a person, but because she was a THING that was important to Sora. Fuck that. Fuck that entire scene, fuck everything about it, fuck everyone who gave that writing decision the green light. Fuck it. And knowing how this game ends (with Sora apparently sacrificing himself to save Kairi), Kairi now has more motivation than EVER to fight to get him back, but you know Nomura won’t give a shit when it comes time to write scenarios for KH4. He’s just gonna throw Kairi back on the islands and have Riku be the hero. Riku will find Sora, they’ll have adventures together and apart, they’ll continue to grow as characters, and then they’ll go home to where Kairi’s just sitting pretty, waiting to be the perfect reward for everything Sora’s accomplished. So there you go, that’s Kingdom Hearts IV. I just saved you $50 in the future (not adjusted for inflation).

Just. Jesus Christ, of all the idiotic tone-deaf bullshit… To have so much self-awareness while writing Naminé’s dialogue in the Final World and Axel’s scene with Xemnas in the Graveyard and then NONE OF THAT WHATSOEVER when it came to writing Kairi’s final scenes… That’s unreal. It’s almost unbelievable, but I really shouldn’t be surprised. Nomura’s pulled this shit before, so oop @ me for actually expecting better from him. Lesson fucking learned.

Anyway, after we get past all that stupid sexist bullshit that I actively hated, Sora gets ready to leave for the next area. I like that Donald and Goofy literally pick him up off the ground and help him stand, and that they go with him afterward. I just love the Trinity Trio in this game so much. They feel so much like a family now, and since I’m clearly never ever ever ever getting any decent Destiny Trio development, that’s a nice comfort. The other keyslingers stay behind to keep Kingdom Hearts shut, and Xion tells Sora that she can sense that Kairi will be okay, which… Yeah, alright. I just saw Xehanort slash into her back and shatter her into thousands of pieces, but no, I’m sure she’s fine. flskjdf Okay, sorry, I get what that scene with Xion was trying to do, but it just doesn’t make any sense? Xion is Sora’s replica, not Kairi’s. I could buy that she can sense Sora’s heart, but she has no real connection to Kairi’s at all, so how would she know that Kairi’s okay? Maybe she was just saying that as a way to comfort Sora, like a “she’ll always be in your heart” kind of thing, but even that feels off. Like that’s the kind of thing you say to someone a couple weeks after the funeral, not right there at the crime scene. Oh well. I guess it was sweet that she at least wanted him to hear that.

Then we get to Scala ad Caelum, which was kind of a letdown, really. I was hoping to get to explore the city, but you really just have one large area that’s ultimately just a battlefield. The boss battles weren’t much of a challenge at all, and you don’t even have to defeat them all, which was disappointing, but eh. The only tense moment was when Xehanort triggered Sora’s rage form in the final battle, but Donald and Goofy kept me healed up enough that it wasn’t much of a problem.

Xehanort uses the “one sky, one destiny” line from Kairi’s letter. Like it’s not enough that he killed her, he’s gotta plagiarize her, too. Dick.

Donald and Goofy help Sora ward off Xehanort’s final attack! Like they literally, physically help him push back against it! I love these half-pints. <3

Eraqus! He asks Terra to look after his other apprentices for him, aw.

Xehanort gives Sora the X-blade, and there’s no “sorry I killed your friend” or anything. He just goes on to be at peace with Eraqus. Seriously? This dude abuses Ven, hijacks Terra’s body, throws Aqua into the Realm of Darkness, murders Kairi, and he still gets to pass on peacefully into the next life with his bff? Come the fuck on.

Hearing “Always On My Mind” again was nice. That was always one of my favorite tracks from KH1.

Okay, after rewatching the ending cinematic, it makes a lot more sense to me. Riku suggests that they all go back to Yen Sid’s place to figure out how to save Kairi (which… why are we all acting like this is something that can just be undone? She wasn’t taken into darkness by the heartless like before; Xehanort struck her down. We didn’t see her heart leave her body or anything, she just shattered. To me, that looks like an E10-rated game’s version of death.), but Sora knows what he has to do. It wasn’t until the second time through this ending that I realized he was already planning on waking her heart at the expense of his own life. Knowing that, it’s a little odd that Riku just lets him go with a roundabout way of saying “I believe in you.” Kairi’s supposedly Riku’s friend, too, isn’t she? And he knows how to wake sleeping hearts, too, so why couldn’t he go with Sora to find her?

I loved seeing the Wayfinder Trio laying flowers at Eraqus’s memorial. I also like that keyblades are apparently used specifically for this when the wielder has passed on. That’s a nice bit of world building. And Chirithy is reunited with Ven after all (who apparently remembers them)! Aww. I still don’t know how the hell Ven exists in this timeline, but still. Aw.

I love Xion’s new outfit, and that she and her boys got to go back to Twilight Town together. I’m not so hot on Isa being there, though, and I’m really put off by how chummy he and Roxas seem. I know these scenes are taking place after a little time has passed, so maybe there was some tension between them at first that we just don’t see because it’s not particularly relevant, but still… Anyway, a shadow passes over them for a moment, and I think it must’ve been the gummi ship arriving to pick them up and take them to a party on Destiny Islands. Nice.

When I got to the scene of Naminé waking up in Radiant Garden… I actually started sobbing. Like that’s embarrassing to admit, but that scene hit me so hard. Just watching her open her eyes, and then seeing Dilan and Aeleus lead her out to the courtyard where the ship lands. Seeing her smile when Riku holds out his hand to her… I started crying while typing this up just remembering it, haha. I loved that moment so, so much. I’m so happy she gets to be her own person, that Ansem helped restore her to finally give her a life of her own after everything he put her through. I love that Riku’s the person to welcome her onto the ship, that he’s doing this for the Replica who gave up the vessel for her, but also because she’s been his friend, too (albeit largely off-screen). And the final shot of her laying her hand so gently in his... Holy god, what a finale shot. That scene ALONE was worth the thirteen year wait for me. I am truly stunned that that was part of the ending, that Naminé—of all characters—was the final person they built up to. That was just so much more than I had ever hoped for for her.

And then the actual final scene. You have all the main characters playing on the beach. Xion and Naminé are finding seashells; Riku, Roxas, and Terra are running around doing… something; the Twilight Town kids and Goofy and Donald are making sand castles; Lea, Ven, and Isa are playing frisbee. And then everyone stops to look at Sora and Kairi on the paopu tree. Sora vanishes, and you see Kairi start to slowly curl in on herself as the scene fades to black. And… upon rewatch, I actually like this ending? I was confused the first time I watched it because I didn’t have Kid Xehanort’s words in San Fransokyo fresh on my mind at the time, but when I went back and watched all the scenes together, I understood that Sora woke up her heart, and him “abusing” that power took its toll. I’m alright with us actually not seeing him do this (or at least, I’m not bothered by that by itself. I’m really bothered that it happened like that after Kairi got fridged the way she did, but on its own, it’s fine.). I’m upset that Sora’s gone, but truthfully, I was sort of expecting it. And like I said in my tirade about Kairi’s writing a few bullet points up, you know he’ll be back. It’s just really upsetting to know that Kairi now has to live with the guilt over the fact that he gave up his life for her, and that—as far as she knows—she’ll never see him again. And you just know that Nomura will absolutely, positively not let her do anything about it come KH4, to which I can only say, again: UGH.

I don’t care about Braig being Luxu, bye.

I think I’m still too raw from the emotional highs (and lows) of this game to really analyze everything as clearly as I’d like. There’s still stuff I want to talk about, but I’ll save that for another time. I can’t deny how much I enjoyed everything that happened before Kairi got fridged, but man, that one point really sours a lot of this game for me.

But yeah, that’s all for now.

#kh spoilers #kh3 spoilers #my posts #kh3 #kh3 bloggin

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last-flight-of-fancy · 5 years

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fatedeniedhope replied to your post “* sees people confused over various kh plot points * * is not people i...”

I would like yo know a bit. Only play kh 1 and chain of memories and half way to kh 2

oh boy there is a *lot* to cover here then!

I don’t mean that to sound intimidating, kh just has a tendency for long, sprawling interconnected plots (many of which are still unresolved even now)

i am also doing this entirely by memory, so if i’ve skimmed something i shouldn’t have its because my brain has stopped registering it as important; feel free to ask for clarification, i wrote this in one sitting because i was avoiding doing laundry XD

putting a cut because i am overviewing a Lot of game here and tbh there’s still a lot of stuff i am skimming or skipping entirely. I’m just trying to hit the highlights.

i don’t know where you stopped in 2, so i’m just gonna give a brief overview

-there is a boy named roxas

-he’s being hunted by these strangers called nobody’s

-things get weird

-turns out he’s sora’s nobody, as nobody’s are created when a person is turned into a heartless (which sora did during kh1)

-roxas returns to sora (”looks like my summer vacation is.. over...” whoops there goes my heart) and normal sora gameplay resumes.

-DIDNEY WORLDS

-turns out everyone forgot sora for a year bc of what happened in chain of memories (and also 358/2. dont worry about that yet we’ll get there). kairi sends out a bottle to “the boy she can’t remember” trying to call him home. (yes this is important)

-organization 13 (all what? eight of them left?) pops up, xemnas is cryptic, and they say their goal is to recreate kingdom hearts via sora killing heartless, since apparently only killing heartless with a keyblade sends the trapped hearts to Kingdom Hearts

-this version of the tale persists through 358 as well. it’s.. half right.

-bla bla bla, shenanigans. there’s ansem (the boss from kh1) and a guy named diz. That isn’t who either of them actually are. It’s actually Riku (who tapped too far into the darkness trying to capture roxas for the whole twilight town scenario at the beginning of the game, thus altering his appearance to look like the guy who posessed him for a bit) and THE ACTUAL ANSEM (ie, the ruler(?) of radient garden before it fell, and the guy heartless ansem stole his name from.

-anyways

-sora goes off searching for riku, bc as far as he knows, he’s still lost out in the darkness.

-he’s not, he’s fine, but he’s super embarrassed about the whole ‘looking like the enemy’ thing and won’t let sora find him.

-sora casually murders most of the remaining organization members (only most of whom shot first)

-this continues on until axel attempts to kidnap kairi, who ends up in twilight town for a bit hanging out with the hayner/pence/ollete trio, before being slightly more successfully kidnapped a second time.

-and then she gets kidnapped again by saix. Axel apologises to sora over this. in his defence, he’s pretty desperate at this point (he just wants his friend(s) back)

-sora storms The World That Never Was, kairi is rescued by Namine.

-the trio finally meets up (namine disapeared at some point? yknow, i actually dont recall what happened to her in between these scenes), sora and kairi share a slightly awkward but sweet hug, and after a moments trepidation over ‘Ansem’, kairi tells/shows him its riku, at which point sora bursts into tears.

-i ship a lot of ot3′s, but sorikai is the OG ot3

-anyways

-namine and roxas have a very symbolic moment refusing with their Other’s, Namine opens a portal back to destiny islands so they can go home.

-everyone except sora and riku make it through, and thus commences several final fantasy style boss fights

-they win, of course, riku’s injured in the line of battle, and they limp out, having traversed several realms during the course of this battle, they’re now trapped on a beach in the realm of darkness. it’s the same beach everyone else seems to end up on in this place. There is only one beach in the RoD apparently

-they stay there a while, and then they pick up a message in a bottle; it’s from kairi, “to the boy she can’t remember”

-Feelings make a door to the light open, and sora and riku fall like actual comets from the sky and everybody’s reunited and happy. huzzah!

-.... well for a while anyways.

-should i get into the whole xemnas/xehanort/ansem thing here?

-eh

-okay so

-lets swing back into Birth By Sleep for a bit

-(im sorry if kh can’t hit any of its plot points in order i think its fair neither do i)

-BBS takes place roughly nine years prior to kh1, with the exception of bbs’s prologue, which i would estimate as being an additional four years prior to that

-during said prologue, we meet Master Xehanort, an incredibly old dude with brown skin, gold eyes, and a white beard. even newcomers to the series will probably recognise that only one type of person gets those colours in these games.

-we also meet baby Ventus, Xehanorts apprentice. He looks exactly like Roxas.

-shenanigans happen, Xehanort splits Ven’s heart in two, creating Vanitas, who is Ventus’s darkness.

-Vanitas’ whole shtick is he wants to be reunited with Ventus, ostensibly to create the X-blade (yes it’s pronounced exactly the same as ‘keyblade’ and yes, every single kh fan ive ever talked to has found this annoying af)

-unfortunately being split in two like that puts ven in a coma, and xehanort takes the unresponiseve body to destiny islands to dump it like unwanted ravioli

-luckily for ven, “a brand new hear” hears his hurt and reaches out to help, filling out the gaps left in his and allowing him to start recovering

-the heart is sora

-actual, literal baby sora reaching out to help people before he can even walk yet.

-the game never spells this out explicitly, which makes it an easy plot point to miss if you aren’t paying attention

-ven doesn’t recover immidietly though, and xehanort sends him to live with his old friend Master Eraqus and his two teenage apprentices, Aqua and Terra

-here’s where we time skip, ventus is fully recovered, terra and aqua are young adults and about to take their Mark Of Mastery exams for becoming keyblade masters.

-Terra fails because he has darkness in his heart and also xehanort rigged it against him

-aqua passes and becomes a master. I love her very much.

-terra journey’s out to try and figure out where the darkness comes from

-vanitas taunts ven saying terra’s leaving him bc ven’s stupid or something and ven panics and chases after him (he’s like 14 and has a bit of a hero worship thing, stupid decisions are par for the course)

-eraqus sends aqua out to both spy on terra (he words it nicer but thats the gist of it), which aqua doesn’t particularly like but trusts her masters judgement and does it, and bring ventus home, which she is more on board with

-the biggest tragedy in bbs is that no one talks to each other

-stuff happens, they learn some stuff, aqua’s route has So Many Lesbian Feels with every single princess she runs into it brings me great delight

-Ventus learns the whole ‘fight your darkness to become the X-blade’ plot, eraqus learns this too and tries to kill ven. Terra busts in at the last moment and saves ven, at this point using his dark powers fully.

-#terrawasright

-eraqus dies, which i don’t think terra fully intended to do (he just wanted to save ven) and if you recall the scene in kh1 where kairi catches a falling sora only for him to burst into a bunch of floating glitter? imagine that but with two grown men

-aqua’s just trying to figure out whats going on. she gets to meet kairi (saves her from some heartless and then puts a charm on her necklace to keep her safe) and then meets Mickey, who will be our future duex ex machina

-they all meet for the final battle.

-ven asks his friends to murder him

-no one does that

-what the fuck ven

-they fight, and a lot of stuff sorta happens at the same time

-1: terra fights xehanort, who has essentially been spending the whole game prepping terra to be his next host. xehanort is a body snatcher confirmed. xehanort wins, terra becomes the fanon-named terranort.

-2: ventus fights vanitas. vanitas reveals his face, and he looks exactly like a colour swapped version of sora. (also voiced by the same voice actor! it’s actually surprsingly difficult to notice this if you don’t have some kind of clue already because haley joel osment does and *amazing* job). ventus wins, the X-blade is not forged, but as a lot of this battle takes place in his heart, the effects are bad and ven falls into a coma (he reaches out once more, and another hearts answers. “you can stay here a while, I don’t mind” says the other heart. yes its fucking sora again. too good, too pure)

-3: aqua gets knocked out to start with, but then she fights vanitas controlling ventus’ body, which eventually gets sorted out. terra’s dissapeared at this point, and she takes a comatose ven and hides him in the land of departure, which she uses a secret mechanism to turn into Castle Oblivion (and thus, impossible to navigate without her key)

-aqua goes to hunt down terra(nort), and finds him in radiant garden. they fight, aqua wins, but when he begins to sink into the darkness she sacrifices herself to save him (which is how he ends up as one of ansem’s apprentices and mostly without any memories)

-aqua will spend the next ten years in the realm of darkness

-bbs is such a goddam tragedy

-OKAY

-time to fast forward

-so sora and ven are connected, which is why vanitas and roxas look the way they do, which brings us to

-the case of xion

-and 358/2

-the worst game to play but my absolute favourite in terms of slow-burn pacing and emotionally investing you in the characters

-this game pretty much just deals with the year sora spent asleep, and the kids time in the organization.

-roxas wakes up with no memories, is inducted into the org, and told “kill heartless with your keyblade”. He’s more or less a zombie at first, and accepts this without question.

-a week later, a new member is introduced, named Xion, who also has a keyblade, and is also a zombie with no memories at first

-Axel, the org’s assassin, is basically told to babysit them both

-he’s not really into it at first, but those natural Big Brother instincts kick in Hard about five minutes later and from that point on he’s mostly just trying to keep them both alive.

-oh, also Lea, Axel’s somebody, met Ventus in bbs, so that was probably a little weird for him.

-as the game goes on and these kids essentially learn how to human and try to figure out what makes them different, the Big Plots stew in the background. Axel and Saix have some kind of plan that Axel apparently isn’t sticking to, and Axel questions his loyalties more as the game goes on and circumstances force him to choose between two kids Who Did Nothing Wrong, and his oldest friend.

-Xion learns they are a replica, a la Repliku, created as a backup to roxas if he could not fulfil his duty in creating kingdom hearts. their connection with roxas, and through him sora, has the unintended side effect of flitering memories and feelings into and through Xion.

-this is why putting sora back together takes so long

-Xion, between the pressure of being an org member in general, and the mental load from being caught between three+ people in a very literal sense, has a breakdown. Riku finds them, and despite a pretty rocky start between them, helps them through it.

-Xion leaves at two different points, the first time, Axel brings them back. “please don’t hold back, Axel. Promise.” “Everyone always thinks they’re right”

-excuse me i have to lay down again after thinking about how emotionally wrought this scene is.

-(the alternative is he has to kill them. he does everything he can to avoid that, but it’s clearly approaching an unsustainable situation; the org is running out of patience for dealing with the ‘clearly defective replica’, xion doesnt feel this situation is right, and axel just wants to keep everyone alive.

-yes typing ‘clearly defective replica’ physically hurt me. xion is a perfect bab and xemnas can fite me

-Xion leaves again

-Roxas, learning pieces of this but not all, runs away from the org. cue titular “no one would me” “that’s not true!” scene from 2

-(this leads to what is a hilariously depressing scene of roxas on the clocktower looking at his life and going “where could i even run to? I havent got anywhere to go” because he’s never known anything other than the organization and whoops i made myself sad again)

-namine explains to xion that sora can never wake up so long as they have his memories. The only way for them to release the memories is to die. It’s a hard decision.

-Xion meets roxas on the clocktower, feigns insanity, and goads him into fighting them (”do you see my face, roxas? is it a boys face? don’t you see. I have to make you a part of me too.”)

-cue more ff style boss fights

-xion dies

-look i can’t go into detail on this one i’ll start crying again, xion dies, everyone forgets they ever existed, and roxas gets to watch them shatter into dust in his arms.

-in the brief period where the memories are quickly vanishing but Not Quite Gone Yet roxas goes into a Roaring Rampage of Revenge and storms the World That Never Was

-this is where Riku catches up to him, and from there its a pretty straight shot into the beginning of kh2

-which im sure if you played these in chronological order would be *some kind of mood whiplash* i bet

-okay what have i missed

-recoded happened. the only important part here is that malificent and pete find out about the black box and malificent being malificent of course she Has To Have It

-”but whats the black box??” you ask

-good question

-we still dont know

-its origin point is in KHUx though,

-which is the multiplayer mobile game set during the Keyblade War of ages past. each weilder also has a companion dream eater named chirithy

-there are five unions, each headed by a leader and represented by an animal (unicorn, bear, snake, fox, and leopard)

-#anguisforlife

-these five (plus one more, named luxu) are each given roles by their master (the Master of Masters, or also known as MoM). He also tells them there is a traitor amongst the warriors of light. it’s unclear at this point how much of this he is directly steering. He also doesnt specifiy Which warriors of light, probably on purpose so everything happens as it should.

-so figure, trying to figure out who the traitor is is a pretty direct cause to no one trusting each other and eventually going for each others throats

-there is a page from the book of prophecies he gives only to luxu, who he tells that his role is to see the future with this Special Keyblade (and specifically the Eye in it). You might recognise it as xehanorts keyblade (and then you’ll start to see the Eye in a whole bunch of other ones too, notably in soul edge, way to dawn, and void gear)

-luxu fucks off, and everyone else goes about their business

-the first half of khux details how these unions came to be rivals, and then how they fell into war with each other and destroyed the light. the second half detailed how Ava, leader of the fox union, created a fifth group known as the dandelions, specifically picked to survive the fall of the light and rebuild.

-ventus and lauriam are two of these leaders. No, we still don’t know how they got from one point to the other.

-one of the replacement leaders, strelitzia, got murdered and replaced by someone else. i think this plot point has been resolved in japan but i havent checked yet

-strelitzia is lauriam’s sister. she also knows elrena.

-and if you’re bad at anagraming like i am, lauriam=marluxua, and elrena=larxene

-so yeah figure that one out for me

-also i love strelitzia she has like two scenes total and i was already ludicrously attached help

-(Yes i screamed very hard during that One Scene in 3. we dont even see her face but it’s heerrrrrrrr)

-anyways

-right the black box

-luxu is seen carrying it off in the Back Cover movie as he wanders into exile. we still dont know whats in it. and that’s basically that.

-which leaves just Dream Drop Distance

-sora and riku take a Highly Modified mark of master exam under yen sid.

-things go wrong almost immidietly

-sora gets trapped by the xehanorts in a deep sleep, where they plan to use him as one of their 13 vessels of darkness

-there has to be 13 for some reason

-13 darknesses, and 7 lights, and when they clash it’ll make the X-blade

-because reasons

-it’s fate or something

-riku rescues him

-there is time travel involved now

-because at this point the 13 darkness now include; heartless ansem, master xehanort, xemnas, young xehanort, xigbar, and saix.

-more time travel will be involved later, but to keep this in mind the rules of time travel here are

-you cannot take your body with you

-you lose any future knowledge you gain if and when you return

-things are obviously wibbly here because it’s half in the dreamscape, but just. keep those rules in mind when you play 3.

....... im sure im missing a bunch but i just spent two hours writing the most casual pre-kh3 synopsis ever i hope you can forgive me XD

#fatedeniedhope #flights tag for replies and stuff #kingdom hearts #i am working on the assumption you just wanted everything before 3 #bc lbr im still processing 3 myself i dont know if i could do any kind of synopsis on that one yet #too many feelings #long post

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mimiplaysgames · 6 years

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Strength to Protect the Things That Matter (Ch. 14)

Fanfiction: Kingdom Hearts III Rating: T Pairing: Terra/Aqua (eventually) Other characters: Sora, Riku, Lea, Eraqus, Xehanort, Yen Sid Word Count: 2,997 In-progress

Summary: Terra has prayed for years for relief from having no one to talk to in the dark, except with the monster of a man who stole his life. He gets his chance - less than a week - to set things right before he loses everything again.

AO3 FF.net

A/N: I am so sorry this took so long! I had to fly to my hometown to deal with family stuff, and this seriously delayed all of my writing plans. Thank you SO MUCH for your patience as I trudged through this chapter. I did design the flashback scene of this chapter on the flight back, so it wouldn’t have existed otherwise. A small silver lining, I guess? Thank you guys again for your patience!! I promise that the next chapter won’t take so long to come up. This one is quite angsty, but it’s necessary to move everything forward. It’s shorter than what I have been writing lately, but the next one is probably going to end up being gargantuan.

Lies

Riding the glider comes more naturally than Terra expected. Out in the lanes between, he directs the glider, with the gummi ship following close behind him. His armor fits the same as before, a reminder that time, for him, never really passed.

Unlike the gummi ship, which needs a directory and a highway to travel, the glider is guided by the heart. This is what the Master used to say, since it is formed by the Keyblade, a literal extension of the wielder’s deepest thoughts and spirit of character. All Terra needs to do is think about Yen Sid’s tower, focus on it, and eventually the glider will take him there. If he wants to wander around, he can choose to do so, and the heart will direct him to where he needs to go.

For now, Terra chooses to ride the glider on his own, needing some time and space to think to himself after what had happened.

Sora got back to his normal mood in no time, and Donald was already prepared with a long lecture. Goofy was as warm and comforting as ever. Riku had been a bit distant, lost in his own thoughts. Your armor said it recognized me, which really confused me at first, he said at the time. Anyway, I want a concrete plan of action to see what else we can do to find your friends. I’m sure with you here, we can finally get closer to them.

Terra jets through the open space around him, at war with conflicting feelings that are threatening to overwhelm him. On one hand, he wants to be close to Sora and Riku. Something about them makes him feel comforted and like he belongs. Which makes the guilt that he feels because of the fight with his armor all the harder to deal with. It’s been a long time since I have felt peace, but around them, it comes easier. I need to make it up to them.

On the other, he needs to run away. To just leave, because it seems safer for him that way, even though he doesn’t know where to. Something tells him that wherever he is aching to go to isn’t good for him; it would only good for Xehanort. Is he getting stronger? Does that mean I’m running out of time?

And then there are the random bursts of intense rage that make him want to destroy the handlebars of the glider he’s riding on - surely the emotions that he picked up when connecting with his armor again. It’s difficult to adjust to, and it’s a sore pain, but he’s at least grateful that he’s whole again.

Yen Sid’s tower slowly appears in the distance the closer he gets, a jutting tower cutting up against a sky half lit by a sunset – the rest a warp of night into outer space. Terra lands, and both the glider and the armor dissipate. Sora and the rest jog out of the gummi ship.

“We need to get Yen Sid to give us one of those,” Sora says, referring to the glider, and with that scheming smile he normally wears as usual.

“You ready?” Riku asks Terra. “We’ll show you to your room, and then we can meet with him later.”

The inside of the tower is the same as it used to be. A single spiral staircase at the entrance that leads above, as though the top of the tower is much larger than the bottom floor. The décor is quirky yet foreboding, as if he stepped into a space that is dedicated to those interested in the occult but has a history of funny magical mishaps.

“Well, you guys took your sweet time to get here.” The voice comes from above, slick and snake-like, with a genuine yet monitored sense of enthusiasm. It can only come from one person.

“I wondered if I would find you here,” Terra says as he looks up to see Lea and a girl with burgundy hair, who emitted a bright light - a tremendous one. It’s been a long time since Terra has felt something like this.

They stand at the top of the spiral staircase, looking down on them. Having yet another good friend around deepens the comfort that Terra needs to feel relaxed in this place.

Lea waves his arm around as if to showcase the grandeur of the castle. “Welcome to our humble abode.”

Riku leaves Terra to tend to himself in his room. Bigger than the bunker he slept in at Tifa’s, the room is lined with gray bricks. A very large mirror sits under the window on the opposite side, and a small bed with a nightstand lay in the middle. Terra can see that he looks like a complete mess, dirt covering his face and his hair disheveled. There is a door which leads to a small bathroom, and Terra prepares a hot shower for himself, needing the heat to soothe his sore muscles. However, Terra is not yet aware of all the nicks and scratches he collected during the fight, and the water stings immensely.

The heat of the shower leaves the room steamy and the small mirror above the sink foggy. Terra wraps a towel around himself, and notices the sound of dripping water. Hypnotic and completely annoying. He rushes back to the shower to tighten the knob as much as he can, unable to bear the sound. It’s a wonder why it bothers him, it never used to be a problem before.

He stands in front of the mirror above the sink, and wipes the fog away, to see his darkened face, white hair, and intensely yellow eyes.

He jumps back and yells, terrified of what he had witnessed. He gazes back to the mirror to see his own face, normal as it should be. A headache starts to beat a rhythm into his forehead.

Remember: I can’t allow myself to freak out. It’s going to ruin me and take away any chances I have at finding them. I need to give myself as much time as possible.

After getting dressed, he takes a small sip of Tifa’s potion, which he left on the bedside table, along with Aqua’s docile Keyblade. He then heads out to explore the tower.

He reaches a room with shelves of books, like a small library. There is a rather large desk that spans the entire room, and a piano in the corner. He approaches the piano, where a vague sense of familiarity washes over him. He hears faint footsteps behind him, as if they are lost in time. He turns to see a young man, his hair donned in a ponytail, wearing a white robe. This man is there, and yet not really there, and Terra’s heart sinks to depths of his stomach as he tries to stop himself from despairing. The sound of a piano playing starts to get loud in his mind.

Master?

He turned away from Eraqus and focused on the piano. Two hands, dark-skinned, stroked the keys. A focus on the deeper base notes as he played gentle chords. The mid-range notes served as flairs of a melody. The song was beautiful and reflective, as if the keys themselves imagined a solemn fantasy story of a legend that depicted the enchanted death of a genius after he achieved peace, sinking deep into a lake thickened with snow.

“Not a bad song, Xehanort.” He heard Eraqus sit on a chair close by, but he refused to distract himself from the keys until the melody was fully played once through.

Only when he was finished that Xehanort finally turned to face Eraqus, who had a large book open in front of him.

“How did you do?” Xehanort asked.

“I passed. Master Yen Sid is a bit cooky, but I find him a much more difficult grader than our Master.” Eraqus looked no older than seventeen.

“Surely, then, it’s a testament to your intellect if you passed.” Practice. It was practice that made this statement seep through his lips so easily, because there was no emotion aside from a lingering, genuine respect for his younger comrade there.

Eraqus snorted. “That must mean yours is superior above all else since you passed this exam apparently with a perfect score. Yen Sid was certain to remind me of that before I took it.”

No emotional response. It was as if Xehanort knew he was superior, and no amount of compliments would be sufficient enough to make him feel grateful for it. There was a calculated attempt to construct a reply, as if he was trying to think of the most acceptable thing to say.

Xehanort took a seat in front of Eraqus and said, “Where did you think you went wrong?” He sounded sweet and concerned in a way, but curiosity was the bigger motivator here.

“It seems Yen Sid and our Master are very much in agreement over the existence of darkness, but it’s difficult for me to grasp. I don’t comprehend how one can be a great Keyblade Master if he can’t control his own darkness. How is a peacekeeper supposed to keep balance if he follows all the fluctuating whims of his desires? The heart is our guide, but it can be fickle.”

“I couldn’t agree more over the fickleness.”

“It’s just hard to determine what our intuition is and what our desires are telling us. There is so much capability for light in our hearts, but they can lead us astray if we don’t recognize it. This is where I have to disagree with our Master.”

“May I contribute a different perspective?”

“Go ahead. I always enjoy them.” Eraqus had excitement in his eyes, eager to hear what his friend had to say.

“How do you expect to fully understand the difference between our intuition, or what our hearts truly want us aligned to be, and desire if you don’t take the time to understand our darkness?”

“What if you were led astray in the process?”

“If our hearts are made to guide us on our destined path, what’s the harm in understanding them? Surely, they can’t fail us.”

“Hm.” By this point, Eraqus had completely forgotten he had an open book. “I’ll have to think of a rebuttal for that one. I always appreciate your input. You keep me on my toes, Xehanort, that’s for certain.”

Xehanort looked down on his hands.

“These moments I share with you give me hope that I can one day be Master, just as I am sure you will be. I wouldn’t be where I am now without you, my friend,” Eraqus continued.

And here was yet another compliment, one that was truly genuine. What was the most sincere thing Xehanort could say in return?

“An achievement we both strive for, of which you are certainly capable of accomplishing. You never cease to amuse me, friend,” Xehanort said.

Terra is breathing heavily, a complete swath of rage threatening to overflow him. “Amusement? That’s all he was to you?” he asks out loud.

The headache gets worse. Rage is the last thing that Terra needs right now, but memories of his Master’s death at the hands of Xehanort hijack his mind. Damn you, Xehanort. Having a home, having a friend who loved you and looked up to you, meant nothing.

Terra attempts to breathe heavily to calm himself. I wonder if he’s doing this to me on purpose so I would lose control.

Just focus on the breath. It will go away.

When Terra finishes his breathing exercises, he feels slightly better. The headache, though, keeps pounding. He wipes the sweat from his face, now noticing the heat that spreads through his body.

Riku walks in, but Terra cannot tell if he notices his mental state. “This was where you were. C’mon. Yen Sid is ready.”

Terra stands in front of Yen Sid’s desk, the wizard giving off a severe, stern vibe. But Terra knows from before that Yen Sid is gentler than he looks. Sora and Riku casually stand beside him. Lea leans against the wall with his arms crossed, and the girl, Kairi, keeps herself off to the side. She is very inclusive and welcoming to Terra, and he has no doubt in his mind after having a small chat with her that she is a Princess of Heart - conscientious, curious, and kind, with a light strong enough that it pierces his heart, making him feel like he has done no wrong. All the wielders here, eager to get information with their new comrade.

Terra bends over in respect. “It’s an honor to see you again, sir.”

“That’s so formal,” Sora chuckles.

“Sora,” Riku whispers in an almost-scolding tone.

“And you are welcome here, my boy. I have to say, this meeting is like having an audience with a ghost. I’m sure you are fully aware of the predicament we are all in. How we are gathering Seven Guardians of Light against the oncoming offense that Master Xehanort has prepared.”

The headache pounds louder at the sound of his name. “Yes, sir. I was fully briefed.”

Yen Sid clasps his hands together and hums loudly, giving the impression that he is trying to determine how to best approach a sensitive subject to Terra.

“Tell me, Terra, what is it that you achieve to accomplish, now that you are back with us?”

Terra swallows the lump in his throat. What is the correct answer to this? That I should follow my duty as a Keyblade wielder and be a Guardian? That I should do whatever it takes to protect the light? What about my heart? Is what my heart wants the right answer?

“I want to find Aqua and Ven, sir.”

“I see.” Yen Sid takes a long pause, long enough to make Terra wonder what is going on.

“I need to ask everyone in this room. Who is it that you see standing before me right now?” Yen Sid finally asks.

The room is quiet, uncertain why such a question is even pondered.

“M-master? It’s Terra.” Riku is the first to speak.

“Yes. But that is not what I see,” Yen Sid replies with a slow shake to his head. “What I see standing before me is a ghost from long ago. A young former pupil of a friend, who had strong ambitions which inevitably led us to the catastrophe that we are facing right now. I see a young Xehanort standing before me.”

Terra takes every ounce of energy in order to stop himself from shaking, but the build up of bile in his throat is horrendously difficult to ignore.

Yen Sid continues, “I have always wondered what had happened to you, young Terra, but a part of me never expected this.”

Sora interjects. “That sounds crazy. I just see Terra. What are you trying to say?”

Yen Sid ignores what Sora has to say. “Tell me, my boy. The entire time Xehanort served as apprentice to Ansem the Wise, that was you, wasn’t it?”

Terra’s voice shakes incredibly, his efforts to even it failing. “M-my body, sir. I had no idea what was going on.”

Sora and Riku stare at Terra, their eyes a heavy burden. But Terra refuses to acknowledge them. He can’t.

“To think we have been fighting a part of you all this time. I’m so sorry I have not realized it before,” Yen Sid says, another slow shake to accompany his words.

Terra nods meekly.

“Tell me, Terra, about your Master, Eraqus.”

Terra grimaces, unable to control his composure anymore. The headache is getting to the point that it is becoming unbearable. “Sir, it was-”

“I do remember what the stars have told me all those years ago. Were you an accomplice to his murder?”

Terra can hear Lea groan in protest to the question.

Tears swell in his eyes. Weak. Traitor. “Sir, actually-”

Yen Sid brings his hand up to silence Terra. “Calm yourself, my boy. No matter your answer, which I can clearly see causes you severe grief, the only thing I have to say is that you cannot be a Guardian. Not in your condition. Not when you endanger us all here.”

The tears start to fall, and Terra bends over so that no one would see them.

“Thank you for your time, sir,” he forces himself to say. Then he turns quickly and storms from the room so that no one can see his face or stop him, rushing down the stairs.

“Terra!” he can hear Lea call out above him, but he ignores this.

He storms into his room and shuts the door. Failure. Traitor. Weak. Unworthy. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

He holds his head as he can barely manage the pain, and he yells out. It deteriorates into sobbing, heat spreading over his body.

He takes several short, but intense breaths, and gazes at his reflection on the large mirror. He sees himself, sweaty. And behind him, a figure forming. Xehanort as Terra.

Before he can scream, Xehanort grabs him from behind with such a blunt force that it almost takes his breath away. Covering Terra’s face and pulling at it. Oppressive heat surrounding him. They struggle, and when Terra pulls out of Xehanort’s grasp, he stumbles onto the floor, and scrambles to the bedside.

He opens the jar of Tifa’s potion, and swallows the largest gulp he can muster. Xehanort just stands there, looking at him.

“A simpleton at the whim of his emotions. Uncontrollable rage which makes you a governable puppet. A pathetic crush on a girl which makes you weak. This is why my mind will always be stronger than yours. Because you care to the point that it is of detriment to you,” Xehanort has a smirk on his face, his deep voice bouncing around within Terra’s mind. “I only have to wait until you finally break from it all.”

Terra feels dizzy, struggling to stand straight. A weakness in his knees bucks him, like he’s being drugged. Did I swallow too much of that potion?

Sleep. He tries to stay awake. Sleep.

He falls backwards onto the bed, the potion sending him off to slumber, a reprieve from the pain whirring in his head.

#terraqua #terra #kingdom hearts fanfiction #kh fanfic #terra fanfic #sora #riku #lea #yen sid #xehanort #eraqus #so angsty #but it's necessary angst #very necessary #it will be lighter next chapter i swear #my fic

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regalia-of-wisdom · 6 years

Text

Why Vanitas and Marluxia can come back if they want to and Nomura didn’t retcon.

‪Ok so on twitter I said that I wasn’t gonna write this bc I didn’t wanna be called a KH3 apologist but then my friends were like “you’re a kh3 apologist anyways just do it” so I did it. I love KH and theorizing and analyzing everything and it’s great, but also it’s 2 am, and also Nomura really needs to consider writing these things down somewhere before releasing these games. Also stop recycling villains, dammit.

Sorry that I can’t line break. I’m writing on mobile rn :/ it’s a long post.

‪Ok I’m too lazy to go on the wiki or something and re read these but on the very first KH (or maybe it was in the Secret Ansem Reports in KH2...?? ANYWAYS IN ONE OF THOSE) it is stated that, according to the metaphysics of the Kh universe, a person is made up of a body, a heart‬, ‪and a soul. Bc the main lore of kh doesn’t mention it much not many players seem to remember or know what the “soul” is, especially since it’s clearly not supposed to be the same thing that westerners think of as a soul (that would be a heart in KH-metaphysics)‬.

‪So all we ever get in the series is people losing their hearts, which is synonymous to someone going fucking catatonic and emotionless bc they don’t have a soul (think Kairi in KH1), or just overall disappear bc of darkness related hijinks that cause complications.‬

‪Like, Kairi in KH1 was alive, y’all. She had a breathing pattern and open eyes and everything, she just didn’t have a heart. She’s the only example we have of this (unless you want me to include Aurora in BBS lol), because she’s the only one whose body wouldn’t react to darkness related hijinks (Darkness, as you all know, is quite annoying).‬ This means that, clearly, not having a heart doesn’t mean you’re a corpse. It’s probably more like you going in a coma. Nobodies in Org XIII aren’t walking corpses. They’re just ppl without a soul. (AKA a heart). They’re like, psychopaths? Sam in that one season of Supernatural? you know, just a bunch of ppl that don’t have to deal with pesty issues like guilt or ethics.

(If you’re wondering why Kairi’s catatonic body in KH1 isn’t a Nobody it’s bc Nobodies are dependent on Darkness. Only hearts that have turned to heartless (darkness) create Nobodies, and Nobodies are born with the ability to open dark corridors and control heartless and do whatever they want. Like, they technically have access to both light and dark (and. Void? I guess?) but they’re very obviously leaning more towards the side of darkness. Not that they’re inherently dark creatures, but that they are just yet another life form in KH that owes its existence to Darkness. Kairi, as we all will never forget, has no darkness bothering her and complicating her life. Sora’s the one that had enough darkness and body and soul to spare to create two nobodies out of thin air. What the fuck dude.)

Of course if you played DDD you’d be like “uh, but Xemnas said that Nobodies can grow hearts uhhh” and id be like yeah he did and it makes a lot of sense especially if you had watched/Played Re: Coded and payed attention to the juicy lore bits instead of the main plot like I’ve been saying forever. However unimportant the plot is, Re: Coded’s storyline literally exists to say that anything with a Body and a (what KH calls a) Soul (Like, say, the person made out of data that you’re playing as throughout the game) has the ability to grow a heart and become a person. The entirety of Jiminy’s Journal becomes a world a la Winnie the Pooh, obtaining its own heart. Like, it’s a book and it was made and it’s kind of fake but it developed its own sense of self, and developed a heart. Like, it was literally pointed out to us. Data Sora lives beyond his programming (just like, hey, Tron.) bc he developed a sense of self. A personality. A heart. He even makes his own Keyblade, that’s how much heart he mad. With a lesson like that being thrown at us, why wouldn’t the Organization XIII Nobodies eventually be able to develop their own sense of self? To go beyond what they thought their “original” selves were like, and become able to feel? Not to say they do, mind you. I think a lot of them, or all of them, like Axel in the beginning of Days, were so stuck on what they thought their original self was like that they were just following through the motions and doing what a data program would consider its “programming”. Axel only began to grow a heart once he stopped trying to be Saïx’s friend, and started to go beyond what his memories were telling him he should act like and do what he felt like he needed to act like.

Anyways now at this point you’re probably like, “what does this have to do with Villains in KH always coming back…” and I’m gonna get to that jeez hold on a minute, I just felt like I needed to explain what a heart was for this to be clearer to people. What are the functions of a heart, and what it ultimately serves. I needed to explain this, because losing a Heart does not mean you are dead, losing your Soul does.

The Soul in KH should probably be referred to as Spirit, as I think it reflects the idea better, while keeping basically the same word. (Unfortunately we already have things called Spirits in KH, and they’re adorable darkness creatures, so.) It’s supposed to be the energy that makes something move. It’s the Will to Live. The fact that the soul seems to be synonymous with will is important, bc only people with a “Strong Will”, that become heartless, create Nobodies. The Will in this case is clearly the energy source that provides a body with sustenance. With life. Pinocchio was given a soul by the blue fairy so he could move (the heart, I think, he made himself due to Geppetto's own feelings). The love of children give the toys in Toy Story a will to protect, love, and be played with. Terra’s will was so damn strong, it reanimated his armor. Terra’s Will to live makes his armor move on its own. Look, it’s even called The Lingering Will. What does this mean? That only a body and a heart that has lost its soul, that loses its energy source (its lifestream, I suppose) undeniably dies.

No one, absolutely no one in KH, has lots their soul. Ok, not true, obviously there are some exceptions, particularly regarding the Disney villains, but I’m talking abt the story original characters that Nomura loves to recycle so much. No one has lost it bc pretty much almost no one we fight is ever a complete human being. They’re always missing vital parts of themselves. Ansem the Seeker of Darkness was humanoid Heart walking around. Xemnas and the Organization were a few bodies and souls walking around with maybe a mini heart or two. Vanitas is literally the most incomplete being I can think of. He’s literally half a heart, half a body, and half a soul. The dude is a mess. Master Xehanort… MX is clearly using loopholes and luck to keep himself surviving this long. By now, he’s made a complete and utter mess of Terra, who got literally split into 3 entities for 10 years, while he himself is really only a floating heart and a soul ruining everything. Young Xehanort is a complete being that should probably watch out for decapitation or something, but we can certainly rule out that Riku would kill him because I mean. Y’all have met Riku, right? Also he’s just obviously alive lmao.

The fact that these beings are incomplete is important bc the keyblade, our weapon of choice, is a mysterious artifact that serves very specific functions. It opens and locks anything, specifically the hearts to a world and the pathways that lead to other worlds. It seems to exist to bring balance and stability to… anywhere it’s at, really. It’s a magical item with magical intentions. Now, I’m not gonna sit here and say what I’m about to say as if it’s proven fact that I read in an interview or deduced myself or something, I will admit that my next point is in theoretical territory, but that doesn’t make it any less likely or probable. And that is that the Keyblade can not kill people. That is to say, it can not kill a soul. It can only break apart, or reunite parts of a person, but not destroy them. “Killing” heartless restores them to their original state: a heart, and killing nobodies does the same. Xehanort and Sora stabbed themselves to get their hearts out of their bodies and created heartless and nobodies in the process. It’s like the laws of thermodynamics or something. It seems to me that that is the nature of a keyblade.

So, inclusion, nobody has died in KH. The end. This is unnecessarily long but I get like that sometimes. There is one last point that I have to address but I might do that tomorrow, if anyone gives a shit by then. Good night!

#KH #Kingdom Hearts III #kh3 #kingdom hearts meta analysis #long post #why do i always have something to rant about #all the time #GOD

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