.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡A tall figure looms amidst the graveyard...｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆.

Trick or treat!!

Oh no! What can I put together for trick-or-treaters?

It was more a punishment than a party, the ten of them sat around the a long table in a little used formal dining room in the castle at the Land of Departure, despite how much a gift being all together still was. Aqua patrolled like a guard making sure everyone was eating their roasted pumpkin seeds, drinking their pumpkin cider, and carving their pumpkins. Aqua's pumpkin had already been attended to, silhouette of a certain princess of heart the blue haired keyblade master had always favored over others flickering warmly, lit by a candle and a concentrated weak fire spell.

When Aqua had visited the Hundred Acre Wood recently (light duty they all took in rotation to make sure they didn't burn out always assigned to the same planets) she'd been cornered by hopping mad Rabbit, if the pun could be forgiven, which Aqua herself still wasn't sure it could be. She'd heard it first from Terra, then Axel, then Ventus, then Sora, each one having thought he was the originator and asking, "But was he hopping mad?" was a novel joke. Sora at least had the decency to look concerned Rabbit was upset and apologize for both the cause and Aqua being stuck in the middle before he started making fun. Vanitas had heard the four others make the joke and seen how frustrated Aqua was becoming, and perpetuated the pun on purpose. There was only so much Darkness itself could reform.

What had Rabbit so upset was all the keybearers stomping through his garden and pulling up every single pumpkin as fast as he could grow them, just to follow the rumor that there were sometimes potions to be found underneath. He didn't begrudge his friends any potions they could find, or even a nice round pumpkin or two when he grew more than he could ever use himself, but just to see his hard work quite literally tossed aside and turned to garbage didn't settle right.

Aqua had assured him that the Warriors of Light valued Rabbit's diligence and his pumpkins, and that every part of every single pumpkin was put to good use.

Every. Piece. Every. Pumpkin.

Pumpkins grown in the Hundred Acre Wood were part of the book and still existed in paper shreds littering the floor of Leon and Cloud's house until brought to full form in the real world, all suspended in time, not a single one rotted. There was quite a collection.

The keybearers would learn the value of pumpkin.

It was the right season for it at least.

The scent of pumpkin pie--though it also could have been the pumpkin bread--drifted into the room. Aqua would have to check the oven in a few minutes, right after she stopped Vanitas from cutting Ven's jack-o-lantern Chirithy in half for his own amusement. Up until that point Vanitas had taken pumpkin carving more seriously than some of the others, Roxas in particular. Roxas had just stabbed his knife into his pumpkin and left it at first, crossing his arms, leaning back in his chair, and falling into a sulking pout about how much he hated Halloween decorations (Some old grudge from a stint in Halloweentown back during his Organization days, Aqua would have explained to her later) until Axel leaned over and whispered something in his ear that turned him into a much better sport.

By the end of the day, stuffed full of pumpkin empanadas and making pumpkin potpourri, even Aqua's regrets were high, but a lesson was learned.

For a time at least.

Kairi and Sora were found guilty of hurling cabbages a few weeks later.

That was a much sadder party.

Ok hi com thoughts.i just reached the sixth floor so I'm almost done w the initial Disney worlds I think? Idk I only have halloweentown left

Sora is remembering more ‼‼ and its incheresting... tbh I was expecting it to be more 'blatant incorrect memory bullshit' but had I not been spoiled to high heaven I probably would have believed naminé's scheme. Idk something about the way sora describes 'we had a friend when I was really little and then one day she was gone and the adults tried to explain it to me but I didnt understand ans I didnt remember her until now because I've been repressing my memories of her' that unsettle me even knowing what I do... plus the parallels w kairi and idea that they're unable to coexist even in timeline with the way naminé 'left' without explanation and kairi arrived without explanation at around the same time in soras brain.... many thoughts I need to rotate before I conclude. Also I'm only at floor 6 duh. But idk obviously lore videos + fandom osmosis were never gonna get all the impact of the story but I'm starting to realise that Oh Shit The Memory Stuff Is Interesting

Speaking of which, I know this is coming from Mr 'luxord should've been at castle oblivion', but the fact that marluxia is heading it is Interesting when you have union cross knowledge... spouting off all this shit about 'precious memories and people are often the ones most buried in your heart' like wow I really showed sora now he's gonna fall for our plan, meanwhile somewhere in quadratum strelitzia gets the sudden urge to bang her head into a wall

Aaand final thought I think, the sprites r rlly cool and nice and awesome... axels hair in particular is so so cool w the shading. Also something abt larxenes face looks way different from the other games but I'm kinda digging it

Since it is officially spooky season, I decided to draw Axel and my OC Adara in their Halloween town costumes. In case you couldn’t tell, Axel is supposed to be Dracula and Adara is supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood. Also, I loved the non-coloured version of it so much I wanted to post it too. It reminds me of my metal plate etchings from my printmaking days. 

p.s. please forgive the flat colours. I really didn’t feel like doing a whole lot of shading after all the cross hatching I had done. I have issues with my wrists, and lemme tell you, all that hatching did a number on my right hand. so.... yea

Werewolf Saix/Isa and Vampire Axel/Lea in Halloween town for all your Akusai Disney needs~

Drew this one for @axels-inbox

I want them to go worlds that transform them/their outfits! Those worlds are always cool looking at the very least.

Also I like making them match a lot bc I hc them as siblings who got separated w Everything That Happened and Lea didn't even Know for a while bc Kairi grew so much and he’s been through A Lot (and Kairi has no memory of RG)

Please don’t tag as LeaK*i, Ak*Kai, OTP, and similar.

-Don’t reupload/edit/use without proper credit, ask first please-

Ok fun ask what do you think each of the trios in kh would wear for halloween

joke answer: they all decide to dress up as the scariest thing they know and everyone shows up dressed like DiZ/ansem tw

real answers: i think it would be cute if everyone dressed like one of the heartless or unversed or dream eaters!

or also:

sora could be a vampire like his halloweentown look

riku could be a vampire hunter for fun. i think it would be silly. or a bat bc of the whole "light in the darkness" thing

kairi as a scarecrow, or she could also be a vampire hunter

roxas as a zombie (bc of the jokes w him in days acting like one at first)

xion as a ghost or something silly like those "kids getting kidnapped by aliens" joke ghost costume

axel as a scarecrow is also funny bc. flammable. or a pumpkin if he doesnt want to be creative. OR a "sexy devil"

aqua as a wizard. not a witch but a wizard.

terra as a comically large bodybuilder or like a fire fighter. or an animal. WAIT NO THE DINOSAUR COSTUMES.

ventus as a mummy bc he was asleep for a very long time. or a cat bc of chirithy

namine as a witch bc of the obvious. but i also think that her dressing like kiki specifically would be super cute. OR as a famous painting/sculpture. or as the artist from kiki's delivery service bc thats a combo of those two. OR a ghost witch to combine those both bc theyre things she's been called/thought of as

The Legend of Hana Part 19

Warnings: Still trying to use pieces of the manga. It’s not as easy as you think

Rating: SFW

The girls had gotten ready for school and headed out the door. Meanwhile, Roxas walked into the Grey Area and saw a poster on the window.

The following have been assigned to Castle Oblivion: 

No. 4 Vexen

No. 5 Lexaeus

No. 6 Zexion

No. 8 Axel

No. 11 Marluxia

No. 12 Larxene

Not too far away from Roxas, Luxord and Xigbar sat down and Luxord was shuffling his cards. 

“Looks like we’ll have less friends to play with,” Luxord said. Roxas turned around and saw Luxord and Xigbar. “How are you at poker, Number 13?”

“He’ll be eaten alive,” Xigbar muttered. Roxas walked over and Luxord got the game going. 

“Would’ve been nice if he’d gone to Castle Oblivion,” Xigbar said as he looked at Demyx. 

“Shut up!” Demyx said. Saïx walked up behind Demyx and hit him in the head with a clipboard. 

“What was that for?” Demyx asked but Saïx paid no attention to him 

“Everyone. We’re a bit short handed so I’m putting you to work right away,” Saïx said. 

“Fair enough,” Xigbar said. 

“Roxas, you will be working with Xion today. Xigbar, you will be working with Luna today.” Xigbar smirked and went to go find Luna. He soon found her in the training grounds, and saw her practice her shadow powers. She was getting better at them. It was almost like she was a witch. 

“Hey, babe,” he said. Luna stopped training and looked at Xigbar. 

“Hey, Xig,” she said. 

“Saïx assigned us to a mission. Think you’re up for it?” 

“Sure. Would be nice to get out of the castle every now and then.” Luna took Xigbar’s hand and the two of them went off to do their mission.

~~~~

The two of them had arrived in the world of Halloweentown and there was a lot there. From ghosts to scary clowns. Luna looked around and was amazed by all of it. 

“Wow! This is so cool!” she said. 

“Welcome to Halloweentown!” Xigbar said. 

“So! What do we need to take care of here?” 

“Take out the Heartless. Pretty simple.” 

“Alright.” As the two of them were walking, Luna heard something that sounded like a very weak mewl. She and Xigbar followed the noise and saw a group of Heartless getting closer to a scared, black kitten. 

“Oh, no!” Luna exclaimed. She and Xigbar ran in front of the kitten and the battle had started. Luna used her shadow powers while Xigbar used his arrow guns. The battle was tough. Every time they defeated one, another one would appear. Luna saw one about to attack Xigbar and the kitten and a burst of energy escaped from her, defeating all of the Heartless. 

“Woah...” Xigbar gasped. He had never seen her do that before. And neither had she. After her powers had calmed down, Luna went over to check on the kitten. 

“Are you okay, sweetie?” she asked. The kitten mewled in response but it sounded very weak. Luna picked the kitten up and saw that he was very malnourished and had fleas all over his body.

“Poor little baby,” she said. Xigbar looked at the kitten and saw what Luna had saw. 

“We should take him home and help get the fleas off of him,” he said. 

“Right. An immediate bath is in order.” The kitten mewled in agreement and the three of them headed back to the castle. Once inside, Luna and Xigbar took the kitten to one of the bathrooms and gave him a bath to help get rid of the fleas. After the bath, Xigbar found an old baby bottle that belonged to Yui and gave the kitten some formula. Fenwick, being the curious little fox that he is, walked over to Luna and Xigbar and saw the little kitten there. Luna saw Fenwick and knelt down to his height. 

“Be careful. He’s very weak,” she said. She gently placed the kitten on the ground and the kitten slowly made his way to Fenwick. They seemed to like each other and Fenwick brought the kitten to his bed to cuddle. 

“Well, I guess the kitten is gonna live here then,” Xigbar said. 

“Yep. He’s gonna need a name though,” Luna said. 

“How about Felix?” 

“Felix? I like that. It suits the little guy.” 

Since it’s Halloween time. I’ve come up with what the rest of the Destiny Trio and other Trios could be in Halloweentown

Riku. A Werewolf

Kairi. A Witch

Roxas. Ghost

Axel. Devil

Xion. Puppet

Aqua. Angel

Terra. Zombie

Ventus. Phantom

What Halloweentown outfits could you see Roxas, Xion, Axel, Aqua, Ven and Terra having?

Hmmm...

Roxas: Zombie Xion: Puppet Axel: Evil clown Aqua: Doll Ven: Ghost Terra: Skeleton/Frankenstein monster

idk tho, those are the first that came in my mind ahah

Hello, i was wondering if i could request a head cannon with the org 13. What would they do on their day off with their S/O?

What Organization XIII does with their s/o on their day off

Xemnas really likes to spoil his s/o! Breakfast in bed, sleeping in to get in some early morning cuddles. It's a quiet, pure affection.

Axel likes to have a stay-in movie night! With a ton of comedy movies, plus the biggest ice cream sundae that you can think of.

Driving without a destination in mind is what Saix will do with his s/o. It's relaxing, private, and anything goes!

Book club for 2 is an idea that Zexion has always had in mind, but never had the time until recently. Picking out a book he and his s/o have never read before and discussing it together is insightful, and a learning experience.

Xaldin is pretty hands-on, so building something together is what he prefers to do on his day off. At first, it was a little frustrating. Different paces for building caused some tension, but finding a rhythm to it came by quickly.

Lexaeus likes to cook together! He finds it really soothing, and the dishes are really hearty.

Demyx doesn't really have a plan for what to do on his day off. It's usually really spontaneous. Hiking, watching a Struggle match, or heading to a rollerblading rink are a few things that he's done with his s/o.

Xigbar honestly just likes to stay in. Massages, taking a hot bath together, and napping.

Larxene likes a shopping spree! It's a way to spoil each other and to get some cute clothing at the same time.

Marluxia will try out yoga with his s/o! It's a good way to unwind, plus you learn something new!

Vexen is a hopeless romantic, through and through. Writing love letters and reading it to each other is something that he's frequently done on his day off.

Roxas likes to go workd-hopping! It's probably against the rules, but seeing hus s/o having fun always brings a smile to his face. Halloweentown is the world he takes his s/o to the most.

Since everything is pretty much a game to Luxord, planning an all-day scavenger hunt is the day off event! What's the prize? Play and find out.

favorite halloween or scary movies?

Masterlist 1/Masterlist 2/Masterlist 3/Holiday and Vacation Masterlist

Buy me a coffee here!

I might do a separate one with scary movies - if I haven’t already done it? I’ll have to check and see 

Xemnas - Young Frankenstein

Xigbar - Addams Family Values

Xaldin - Corpse Bride

Vexen - Beetlejuice

Lexaeus - It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Zexion - Coraline

Saix - Haunted Mansion

Axel - Casper Meets Wendy

Demyx - Mom’s Got a Date with A Vampire

Luxord - The Little Vampire

Marluxia - A Nightmare Before Christmas

Larxene - Twitches

Roxas - Hocus Pocus

Xion - Halloweentown

41 or 147

147.Zombies aren’t real, I promise.

“A..aand and...” Salena gulped in spurts of air, but still didn’t seem to be able to catch her breath. Tears fell steadily, and her arms were tight around Axel’s neck as he held her, rubbing  his daughter’s back and walking her around the room like he had when she was a colicky baby. 

“Take your time, sweetie,” Axel advised, ever patient despite being roused from a dead sleep a few minutes ago by Salena screaming bloody murder because she’d had a bad dream and annihilating his shin on furniture that had jumped out at him as he and Roxas ran to the twins’ room to make sure that it wasn’t something worse. Roxas sat on Dulce’s bed, murmuring words of comfort to their other daughter and petting her hair, trying to help her just drift back off instead of wake up fully. One member of the family should get some rest.

“And they will come out of the ground!” Salena continued recounting her dream and the fears it had sparked, voice growing stronger, but turning shrill. ”The graves! They will come out of graveyard ground and their eyeballs will be hanging just like…” She waved her arms wildly and then patted her cheek where a hanging eyeball would be. Axel held onto her more tightly now that she wasn’t holding onto him, and nodded compassionately as she continued to ramble in fragments as excited children were apt to do. “...There on their faces by their nose, except it’s only half a nose and they will go braaaains while stretching out their arms. Just like that. Braaaains. And they have a really spooky voice, and they will climb up the walls and come in through my window and eat my brain.” 

“Zombies aren’t real, I promise,” Roxas chimed in from his place on the bed as soon as there was a pause. He repeated it more softly for Dulce's benefit, since her eyes had snapped back open and she was breathing heavily with sympathetic hysteria like she was about to restart the cycle of crying. “Zombies do not exist.”

Axel frowned at him over Salena’s head. “Well, we both know that isn’t true. We’ve met plenty of zombies.”

Roxas glared daggers at him. “But they can’t climb, right Axel?”

“That’s specist,” Axel retorted. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand what Roxas was trying to do. He just didn’t see anything but harm in the long-run if they started lying to the girls to make things easier. They wanted to maintain trust. “Most zombies are perfectly nice people-like monsters who only want to do their jobs.” The truth only took a few more words. Of course, their job typically consisted of scaring children, but that didn’t need to be said.

“And they don’t live on this planet,” Roxas stressed, and Axel actually had to give him that point. He should have thought to start there.

Dulce sat up, fully awake now and calm, eyes bright with interest. “Do they eat brains?” Her tone was one of curiosity not of fear. It was story time. Learning about other planets was one of her favorite things.

Salena echoed her, sounding much more mournful, still struggling with doubt even though her daddies had clearly faced the zombies and lived. “Do they eat brains?”

“Only the brains that come out of Dr. Finkelstein’s lab,” Roxas answered quickly before Axel could say he didn’t know and had never thought to ask.

“If you’re good, we’ll take you to meet some zombies next week. You can ask them all the questions you want, and learn they aren’t that scary,” Axel promised, trying to placate everyone at once.

Roxas made a doubtful noise. He wasn’t sure about taking the twins to Halloweentown. He barely liked going to Halloweentown still. He and Axel would have to have a long conversation before Axel made any other promises. 

Luckily, this promise Salena was already letting them out of.

“I don’t want to meet the zombies!” she warbled, panicked, with hands scrambling to lock around Axel’s neck as she buried her face again.

“Then we’ll only do it if you’re bad then,” Axel amended, patting her back.

“Axel!” Roxas snapped harshly. “Not funny!” The twins were young. They couldn’t always just figure out when daddies were joking.

Salena started crying again. It was going to be a long night.

weekend to dos

Halloween layout

Axel layout (make edits per contributors)

candles

make 5 soriku base dolls

open commission slots for sleepytime soriku plush

design winter wonderland soriku

design christmas soriku

design halloweentown akuroku

Finish setting up Extra Credit server, invite definite contributors

Finish setting up Zine circle tumblr

new sticker set

tree skirt (get more done)

Halloween hat

KH Beyond The Trinity, It’s True Saving Graces

DID the Kingdom Hearts series need to continue beyond the release of KH2:FM+ in 2007? No. SHOULD it have continued beyond then? That’s a gray area, depends on how you see it. COULD it have continued beyond then? Yes, absolutely. And so if we’re to approach it from that last perspective, as a continuing game series that produces content beyond it’s original trilogy, then we must recognize that while there are countless things that gone done in the games beyond the KH Trinity that didn’t gel with the KH lore, narrative and universe as originally presented by canon in the KH Trinity, there are also some elements that very well could’ve or even do feel right at home with Trinity-era KH canon; things that feel inevitable and that would have to exist in a series beyond the Trinity, as they serve to the canon’s benefit and enhance the overall KH experience rather than drag it down like so much other shit that Nomura, Oka, Nishi, and the rest at modern Square Enix has thrown at us. And this is the idea behind this post, which shall detail 34 points that the Series Beyond the KH Trinity has going for it that could very naturally and organically lend themselves well to much better post-Trinity KH material, had only such material come to exist in the reality we live in.

The Organization XIII Diaries - All of those journal entries written down by various Organization members in Days? They do so much more to provide specific context and weight to the characters’ personal motivations and character portrayals than anything they could ever say in spoken dialogue. Xemnas, Xigbar, Xaldin, Saix, Axel, and Roxas in particular have the highlights that make already great characters (Xemnas, Saix, and Axel) or underwritten characters (Xigbar, Xaldin, Roxas) into more layered, thought-provoking individuals than you might assume when watching them in action.

More Organization XIII in Disney Worlds - This was something that Days sort of half-assed (Xigbar goes to Agrabah and Olympus Colosseum, Xaldin first starts going to Beast’s Castle, Axel goes to Neverland, Demyx goes to Olympus Colosseum, and Luxord goes to Wonderland) but man did Shiro Amano ever run with it in his manga adaptation of the same game (thankfully not even having to adapt it’s worst, most content-lacking world, Halloweentown). If KH2 had the Organization under-performing in Disney worlds save for Xaldin, then the foundation laid by Days for how the group goes about their business in other world made up for it to a reasonably good extent.

Belle and the Beast’s story - Days stands as the only non-Trinity installment of the “Dark Seeker Saga” to feature the Beast, filling in blanks of his character arc by showing us how he got his and Belle’s life at his castle back in order following KH1 and what happened to start him on the path to where we come in with him in KH2. While that second part wasn’t exactly needed since KH2 filled us in on it already, the first part is absolutely welcome as it helps to clear up the confusion some had about the Beast, after reuniting with Belle and having his world restored by the end of KH1, seemingly continuing to keep Belle a prisoner in his castle - what’s shown in Days displays more free agency for Belle and creates more sympathy for Beast, showing their situation to be more complex than just a case of Stockholm/Lima Syndrome. Much like the arc for Axel in that same game, while none of it is necessary for enjoying what’s already presented within the Trinity any fuller than you already could, the character is so strong and so interesting that the gap-bridging still feels welcome regardless. KH just couldn’t go wrong with the Beast.

Whatever Happened to Captain Hook - One of KH2′s more baffling questions was that when Maleficent asks Pete “And what of the others?” after he’d only tried to re-recruit Hades to their cause, there’s no good answer for why Captain Hook couldn’t be retrieved. Hades was disinterested, and Jafar, Ursula, and Oogie Boogie are incapacitated or dead, but we last saw Hook getting chased across the sea by a crocodile and it’s been a year since then - surely he should be available! Well, Days answered this in two differing ways, one in the game, one in the manga. In the game, the Jolly Roger ship, the vessel Hook used (when enchanted with Maleficent’s magic) to freely travel around to different worlds, was terribly damaged, meaning that his whole use to Maleficent was rendered nil, and there was little they could do to get the ship to work through the Corridors of Darkness anyway. In the manga, Hook actively chooses to remain in Neverland and go nowhere else because only in Neverland can he battle against Peter Pan, which thanks to Axel, he is reminded is his reason for living. This also adds to why Pete sought help from Barbossa and his crew - they could serve as good replacement for Hook and his crew in the Disney Villains’ business.

The Horror-Comedy of Xion - Say what you will about the tragic aspects of Xion’s character, how well or not so well they landed, and how damaging they ultimately proved to be for the series going forward from Days, but the aspects of Xion’s character that were horrifying, comical, or even both at once are downright ICONIC to this franchise. Whether these be lines from her that are funny (”Roxas...that’s a stick”), lines said to her that are funny (”Xion...who else will I have ice cream with?”), the sheer totally out there nature of her character being twistedly hilarious when you really think about it, the creepiness that seeps into some of her diary entries, the WTF factor and nightmarish horror given off by the scene that reveals her true form and starts the final boss fight against her, the Zant-esque craziness with which she fights Roxas in different locations, her giant puppet abomination form that can inspire in the imagination even scarier images of the form she could’ve taken on - so much of what I enjoyed about Xion in the game are in these little details. Filling her in with a well defined characterization in Shiro Amano’s manga is, in Axel’s words, the icing on the cake. Xion sticks with you for all the wrong reasons, but in capable hands, they become the right reasons.

The Keyblade Legend + the Ancient History of Kingdom Hearts - In the KH Trinity, the legend of the Keyblade and the ancient history of Kingdom Hearts that inspired the fairy tale of how the World was destroyed by Darkness but rebuilt by light in the hearts of children, and thus how the truest Light sleeps within the deepest Darkness to this very day, were two separate pieces of lore that somehow always felt like they were connected somehow. So while I’m sure we could’ve all done without the Keyblade War, the X-Blade, the Jedi Order of the True Keyblade Masters and all that random ass shit that came out of Nomura’s ass, the idea that the Keyblade is the material counterpart to the Great Heart that was used as weapons for Light and Dark back in ancient times, and it was their clashing that begot the great Darkness that swallowed Kingdom Hearts and ended the World as it once was, is conceptual brilliance. It feels like the key (ha ha) to understanding not only what the Keyblade’s ultimate purpose is and how such a weapon is tied to the realms of Light, Darkness, and in-Between that are all sustained by Kingdom Hearts itself, but why the weapons that might have been plentiful back when the World began (as evidenced by the Keyblade Graveyard) are so scarce in the time the series’ story is mainly set (or, y’know, should have been scarce but that went down the drain pretty quickly in BBS). I dunno, I just liked that the series at least made the effort to establish that the Keyblade’s existence and the Kingdom Hearts situation were indeed two halves of one whole mythology, even if the landing wasn’t stuck.

Yen Sid and Mickey Origins - You could just barely make out what the exact nature of Master Yen Sid and King Mickey’s student-teacher relationship was in KH2, even though the two characters never shared the screen together. The Star Seeker Keyblade that Sora gets from Yen Sid’s combined with the knowledge that Yen Sid was the King’s teacher in magical combat, which would have to include Keyblade wielding, and that the King had experience with the Keyblade by the time he sought out and claimed the Dark Realm’s Keyblade, which Yen Sid knew of, gives you the impression that in addition to being a powerful sorcerer, Yen Sid in the KHverse is an OG Keyblade Master who passed his blade and his knowledge down to his pupil Mickey, and now he’s playing a similar role for Sora. So prior to the complete derailment of Yen Sid and Mickey’s characters, it was nice to see this confirmed in BBS. And while Mickey’s exploits as a badass Disney King are better left to the imagination, I really do enjoy seeing how he got his start. Seeing him more impetuous, less responsible, a lot more fallible and inexperienced is great, working on a level similar to how the mouse’s portrayal in Epic Mickey worked so well. It helps that this is the one vocal performance Brett Iwan ever gave as Mickey in a KH game where he seemed 100% comfortable and engaged with his role. My one complaint with BBS Mickey would be that ugly outfit he wears. He really could’ve gone for better.

Maleficent in Enchanted Dominion - Speaking of seeing where someone got their start, Maleficent was always among the greatest, coolest, most interesting villains in the KH Trinity, and her role becomes that much more effective when we see what her roots were - how she was essentially the Devil in her home world who had her own story and her own enemies she sought to vanquish there, but when told of a vaster, greater World that her’s is but a small part of, and how she is in fact not the true Mistress Of All Evil over all the dark powers of the universe but could become such were she to use the seven hearts of the purest light to unlock the way to the deepest Darkness which she could use to rule all worlds, it gets her set on the path for even greater super villainy that we witnessed from her in KH1. The best part of her role in this world, however? In KH1, when Xehanort unlocked her heart and awakened a truly dark power that allowed her to transform into a dragon, Maleficent goes “This is it...this power! Darkness - the TRUE DARKNESS!”, as though some power inside her that was locked away and in slumber for years had just then been re-awakened. BBS actually shows us what that was about, as the three good fairies cast enchantment upon Prince Philip’s blade that didn’t slay the dragon like in Sleeping Beauty, but instead locked Maleficent’s heart so that she never again to access all those powers of Hell, something that clearly puts Maleficent in a weakened position. And she follows this by declaring that she can compensate for this loss of power by gathering more whose hearts belong to darkness under her control and leadership, which is exactly what comes to pass by KH1. It’s a brilliant start to a brilliant villain.

More Scrooge McDuck, Complete with Voice Acting - More of KHverse Scrooge and his multi-world spanning business tycoon ways is never not a good thing. BBS also happens to be the one time in KH history where Alan Young, the character’s most iconic voice actor, voices the role. Makes his part here all the more welcome.

Winnie the Pooh Beginnings - Merlin’s dialogue about the Book of Pooh in KH1 reads: “You wish to know what kind of book it is? I don’t even know, myself. In fact, it’s not mine. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. It was such a curious book, I asked Cid to repair it for me. Well, I guess I’ll put it here somewhere, for now. This book holds a great secret. The missing pages will unlock it.” Notice how that dialogue gave no frame of reference for how long ago or not that “one day” was, and how since this is all taking place in Traverse Town, nothing connects the book to Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden other than Cid being asked to repair it. Yet then in KH2, Merlin refers to the book as being “one of the world’s most cherished treasures.” Referring to Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden, even suggesting that Leon and the others expected the book to be well taken care of. So what is the deal with this book? BBS gave us some clarity - the book was found in Radiant Garden, when Merlin first had a home set up there, which is why it became one of that world’s treasures, but just as described in KH1, it just finds it’s way into Merlin’s bag despite not being his book, with Terra initially mistaking it for his book when he brings it to the wizard’s attention. Now this felt like something worth the series touching upon - it helps us fully understand the book’s origins but while still keeping the unsolvable mystery of where it truly came from and why it holds such special magical properties in tact. 

The Fairy Tale Scene - The fairy tale that Kairi’s grandmother told her that exposed the hidden truth of Kingdom Hearts and it’s effect on the World and all Light and Darkness within it to the player was great when told in the first game...but the scene that featured it wasn’t too impressive. It just had Kairi’s grandmother puppet-talking while no voice acting came from her mouth and the camera was fixed on just that for a good few minutes as the lullaby rendition of Kairi’s leitmotif played in the background. The BBS counterpart to this moment, in which little Kairi is told the same fairy tale by her grandmother, is an improvement for two big reasons aside from just now having improved graphics and voice acting. One is the visuals; the visuals are sheer brilliance. When the grandmother talks of the great Light being swallowed by Darkness, we see the sun shining above Radiant Garden getting temporarily blocked out by dark clouds. When she talks about how fragments of Light survived in the hearts of children, the camera goes to little Kairi in all her childlike innocence. And when she talks about the World of divided worlds we live in now, we are shown all the worlds that had been visited thus far, finishing here in Radiant Garden itself. And it ends on Aqua, a champion for the Light, seeming clearly inspired by this old woman’s words and clutching tight the flowers that Kairi gave her. Perfection. And the other big reason is the English version, which not only gives little Kairi an expressive model, but casts Ariel Winter in the role of Kairi while Kathryn Beaumont is voicing the grandmother. Suddenly, this scene holds so much significant meaning. We’re hearing, within a Disney fantasy story, someone from Disney’s oldest generation passing a simple but deep Disney fairy tale down to someone from Disney’s newest generation who’s to be carrying the torch now. It’s one of the most purely DISNEY moments to come out of not just BBS but the Series Beyond as a whole, making it honestly one of the best scenes in any Kingdom Hearts game. Basically, if we go for Revenge Of The Sith comparisons with this game, this scene is the equivalent to the scene between Ian McDiarmid and Hayden Christensen at the Opera House. It’s got so much weight to it and I’m glad to have it.

Radiant Garden - We saw how this world was when it was reduced to ruins in KH1, we saw how it was like when under construction for full restoration in KH2. It stands to reason that seeing the lovely, shining paradise kingdom it used to be was inevitable, even if not set in the past then set in the future following the world’s full restoration. Even the world’s theme music changes each time to reflect the state that the world and it’s inhabitants are in, which is a stroke of brilliance on Yoko Shinomura’s part, so I was glad to see it in all forms.

Disney Town - Literally since KH1, we saw that the classic Disney characters’ home world had a castle and a town. We got to explore the castle in KH2, so where does that leave the town? Like the above world, this really feels like something that was an inevitability.

Young Hercules and Zack - Young Hercules is just a MILES more sympathetic and likable character than the fully grown Hercules we see in KH1, KH2, and KH3, so I appreciated having him in a prequel. Even better is what Final Fantasy character they pair him up with. A younger, Disneyfied gladiator take on Zack Fair is a brilliant inclusion to this world given that Zack’s whole shtick in Crisis Core, for good and for bad, was about being a true hero, just like Herc’s dream. Just like Auron was such a natural fit for the Underworld, Zack feels like the perfect fit for the world of aspiring heroes above.

Hades Can Do No Wrong - He just can’t, OK? When has he ever really let us down? He’s such a fun part of literally every KH title he appears in, even fucking Coded, making him one of the franchise’s best recurring villains.

Deep Space/the Story of 626 - This came up in an older post that helped inspire this one. Since Stitch was such a random inclusion in KH2, I thought it was great of BBS to showcase his origins and give us a story that doesn’t outright explain absolutely everything about what got 626 from point BBS to point KH2, but leaves us with just enough to allow us to fill in those blanks, which is what KH should do more of, dammit! Plus, Deep Space is just a fun world in general.

The Actual Neverland - And speaking of fun worlds....In KH1 we got the Jolly Roger on the Never Sea. In Days we got Skull Rock and it’s surrounding mini-islands in the Never Sea. In BBS, we finally get to play in fucking Neverland. And I’m like - about damn time, guys.

The Birth (By Sleep) Of Xehanort - This isn’t about the totally bonkers plot development of old man Master Xehanort hijacking Terra’s heart so that he can take possession of his younger, stronger body - you could easily pass that over ‘cause aside from Master Xehanort’s heart leaving his dissolving body looking like that time where Kairi and Sora’s hearts left Sora’s dissolving body, and Terra-Xehanort looking very familiarly like Xemnas, the main villain of the KH Trinity story, none of it really matters to anything we had before. I’m talking about when Terra-Xehanort turns up at town square of Radiant Garden, Keyblade in hand, and fights an epic Duel of Fates with Aqua than ends with only him lying there after the dust has cleared, with no memory of anything except a single name - “Xehanort” - as he’s taken in and rescued from death’s door by Ansem the Wise. This whole sequence is positively chilling based on what you know from KH2. This is doing for KH2 what Revenge of the Sith did for Return of the Jedi; actually enriching and enhancing the chronologically later installment, which in turn is what’s enriching and enhancing this one. It is THE high point of BBS’ ending.

Mind Screwdriver Prequel Text - Did KH2′s ending leave enough loose ends and mysteries open to be pursued in a sequel? Honestly no, it did not - KH2 ended the story that KH1 began telling way too perfectly. That’s why the good, Light parts of BBS come from it being a prequel to the events covered within the KH Trinity + Days, and why the decision to craft a prelude narrative was a fortunate one at the time it was made. Anything that, as of KH2, was still pretty Mind Screwy would be lessened with the Mind Screwdriver that the prequel text of BBS offered. The grave, death sentence-passing sin against the KH series committed in BBS was how Nomura and Oka misutilized their new prequel-set concepts in a hamfisted attempt to “reconnect” them with concepts set chronologically after their time but that were conceived well before them, and to use them to push the post-KH2 series narrative forward in the most horrifically wrongheaded ways possible. But when it comes to the prequel stuff that ended up not getting pushed forward in that forced, unappealing way? As in the stuff that were NOT strongly tied to the Keyblade Jedi, the ancient Keyblade War and the X-Blade that played such a huge part in it, young Sora and Riku on Destiny Islands, young Lea and Isa in Radiant Garden, contradictions and retcons pulled on even small details of previous games even when they ought to have known better (like, Donald and Goofy know about the Keyblade and Pete was bailed out by Maleficent after a brief time-out that Queen Minnie put him in? What? NO!), and the grand destiny awaiting the young Master Xehanort? They actually serve their purposes well.

The Disney Stuff in UX - I love the way Disney is represented in UX, and that feel strange to say about a spinoff mobile app game that’s not even part of the Dark Seeker Saga! Not only do you get to play around in childrens’ storybook looking recreations of Disney environments, not only does the game do what CoM did and make the most of every familiar world backdrop by utilizing anything that might not have been well utilized before (like we see the Queen’s death in Dwarf Woodland, we get to face Giant Snake Jafar in Agrabah, we actually get Gaston in Beast’s Castle, more for the Princess of Heart characters to do), but they provide us with a bunch of Disney character medals, most of characters already used in the KH series but some special medals are made for characters who’d not even made it into KH. The Disney is strong with this one!

The New Utada Songs - You’d be forgiven for thinking that the existence of KH3 is warranted entirely because it brought us these songs. “Face My Fears” is just an absolute bop from start to finish. It actually gets you excited to start playing the epic adventure it’s leading you into, even when it turns out to not be a particularly good epic adventure like the song might lead you to believe it could be. And “Don’t Think Twice”...sure, it’s no “Simple and Clean” or “Sanctuary”, but it’s a very lovely sounding song that has this nice feel of bittersweet finality to it, meaning it fits the game perfectly.

The Disney Theme Park Attractions - In KH3, you can use special moves to summon Disney Theme Park Attractions. You can use those attractions to deal damage to your enemies. How is this NOT the most awesomely ludicrous thing that Kingdom Hearts as a concept was missing for all this time?

KH3′s Disney World Designs - I’ve heaped praise upon this before, but yeah, KH3 has some of the best Disney worlds out of any of the KH games. They’re great not just in their technical design and scope, but they all utilize very different styles of playability that makes them feel like mini-games in of themselves and this somehow really works for a KH experience. Olympus is a G Rated God of War game, Toy Box literally features a first person shooter Mech fight game, Corona is a nature/dating/friendship simulation game (with a great rhythm mini-game at one point too), Monstropolis is a Survival Horror game (more like Survival Horror-Comedy actually), Arendelle is a Legend of Zelda-esque dungeon crawling, puzzle-solving exploration adventure game, the Caribbean is literally Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, San Fransokyo is a city-sprawling superhero beat-em-up action game, and the Hundred Acre Woods is...well, the Hundred Acre Woods, Rabbit’s Garden Edition. This ensures that even if you might forget exactly what the worlds’ stories and events were (as the game itself seemed to forget why Sora, Donald, and Goofy were even going to these places at all), you won’t ever forget playing them out.

Dominion Of The Gods - We’ve played at the Olympus Coliseum ever since KH1, and in KH2 we got to explore the Underworld. If the Hercules-based world was to make one final showing in the series, then us getting to see the gods’ realm a top Mount Olympus was only natural, and so that’s what KH3 gave us.

Twilight Town’s Redemption -  I’d previously liked Twilight Town better when it was fake (both in CoM and the KH2 Prologue) than when it was real, as the real thing felt like a mundane, sleepy little town that was too easy to fully explore and there just wasn’t enough in it to maintain interest. Man did KH3 change it up for the better - Twilight Town has become a small city now and it is a blast to play around in. The music, the atmosphere, the MPCs, the mini-games, the overall design…all just a huge improvement. And now we finally get to have it as the Hub World of a game like it was previously thought to be when KH2 was in the works. How ironic!

Scrooge McDuck...Again! - He’s still a ridiculously interesting character, both in the KH series and in general, and seeing him opening up a double business in Twilight Town - an outdoor Theater AND a Bistro right across from each other - and having Hayner, Pence, and Olette as his employees is exactly the sort of thing I want to see out of a proper Disney-Square Enix series, with Disney characters and KH original characters servicing each other rather than feeling distant from one another. KH3 is also the debut of Enn Reitel in the role of Scrooge and I would definitely like for Disney to use him more - he’s a natural fit for carrying Alan Young’s torch.

Little Chef’s Bistro Kitchen - This might’ve been THE best Disney-Pixar addition to KH3. Not just Remy’s presence and the mini-game where Sora helps him cook recipes in the kitchen, but the whole practice of gathering ingredients to use in said cooking game. “This looks like a good place to find some ingredients.” is iconic, after all!

The Toy Story - Was it just me or was the writing for Toy Box’s segment particularly good compared to the rest of the game? They really had me convinced that I was experiencing a legit Toy Story adventure, and the way Woody, Buzz, Hamm, Rex, the LGMs, and Sarge all played off of our main trio and the world’s antagonists was just delightful in how true it kept to their characters. In particular, Buzz letting the anxiety-inducing situation that he and his friends were in drive him to overcautious xenophobia and distrust towards the newcomers while Woody tried to get him to see reason and give them a chance was clever considering that in the original movie, it was Buzz who was the newcomer to Andy’s House and Woody had shown hostility towards him, so this makes for a neat role reversal, a good showing of character growth for Woody, and some good character growth for Buzz (which he desperately needed given how Toy Story 4 would go on to treat his character later that same year). Also, Xehanort in this level is not only the best any Xehanort has ever been since BBS, but he might even be the best handled Organization member in a Disney world story ironically because he has no overt ties to the larger original narrative of KH3, unlike all the others who talk of the 7 Lights/13 Darknesses crap, the Black Box, Ventus, Datascapes, Time Travel, Replicas, and whatever shit Xigbar was even meaning to say - he’s just an evil researcher with a twisted reverence for Darkness, as he should be. All in all, it was great stuff, with the only real mark against it that I can think of being the Verum Rex game in this world, played off as a big joke for most of the world’s story, is our first exposure to Yozora. Fucking Yozora...

James P. Sullivan - Not only is Sully the most fearsome and physically formidable party member since the Beast and the routines he’s got with Mike Wazowski always a delight, but he was given a pretty good story in the Monstropolis level - we get to see his struggles as the CEO of Monsters Inc. see him reunite with Boo and fight to keep her safe from the Unversed and Heartless enemies, and best of all, see him save Sora by scaring Vanitas shitless with his iconic roar before yeeting him through a door. Just awesome!

The Caribbean - There are some people who despise this world and think that it’s story and events are the worst out of all of KH3′s worlds. Seeing that in comes in between the visits to Arendelle and San Fransokyo, these people are clearly wrong and stupid. While Toy Box’s story might have been written the best, The Caribbean is the overall best world to come out of KH3. It’s story was not delivered in the best form it could’ve been (but I find it hard to blame the game for this when the story of the movie it’s deriving from was so fractured, unfocused, and almost as over-complicated as a KH original story), but it compensates by being an Even Better Sequel to KH2′s Port Royal world by having better, wider environments (it’s HUGE!), improved graphics that make the Pirates characters look more real AND make the visitors from other worlds look less out of place, a superior English voice actor for Jack Sparrow, a superior and more involved role for Luxord, some actual pirate-style naval maneuvering and ship combat, a less dark and bleak atmosphere overall, and a delightfully epic climax w/ a boss fight against Davy Jones, a villain who literally keeps his own heart locked away in a chest so he felt like he’d make a natural inclusion to KH ever since 2006, making the experience of getting to see and fight him in a KH game so goddamn rewarding. While I wanted more out of the non-Jack characters and feel that stupid crab hunt stretched on for longer than it needed to, I can say with certainty that out of all the worlds in KH3, this is the one I had the most fun with and most enjoy coming back to.

Dark Baymax - While San Fransokyo was by far the worst Disney world visit out of all of them, the one concept it’s story had going for it that would lend itself so well to KH regardless of what else got done with the story would be Dark Baymax, who is basically the original Baymax’s Heartless. Which makes so much fucking sense - Baymax’s heart, the chip that contained “all that made him Baymax”, was ejected from the original Baymax’s body, so all it would be left with would be the combat chip, which was all power, zero heart. Since Baymax, like Tron before him, is a AI being, the concept of the heart is presented in a more unorthodox way with him but still in a way that works and jives perfectly with the themes of the series.

Return To Pooh Corner - Return visits to Pooh’s world are always welcome in KH games, but this one seems less impressive than previous outings given that you can’t really go beyond Rabbit’s Garden for that single mini-game. However, none of that matters because not only is the Garden mini-game a ton of fun to play, not only is just visiting and spending time with this world’s inhabitants always rewarding in itself, not only do we have Lumpy the fucking Heffalump here with us now, but we get THIS moment. It’s honestly one of THE most...well, heartfelt moments to ever be seen in the series. It speaks to everyone who’s ever had experience with not just Winnie the Pooh, but anything you enjoyed as a child that was inherently wholesome and childlike in innocence. You (who Sora’s standing in for) and it (which Pooh stands in for) just aren’t on the same mental wavelength anymore and so even if you find you still enjoy it, you don’t enjoy it in the exact same way you did when you were little. Because you changed, lost a lot of innocence, and grew up, while that thing you enjoyed did not; it stayed the same, because in it’s very nature it can only stay the same. Hence the bond you share has weakened considerably and cannot ever go back to what it once was. It could even be applied to how fully grown players of KH3 who began playing KH when they were kids will likely feel about the series at this point, especially now that they’re wise to all to the bad writing and poor creative decisions - the connection you have with the series is weaker than it was when you were younger. It just isn’t the same anymore. However, Sora and Pooh agreeing that they’re always going to be special parts of each other’s lives is the perfect cap-off to this world. It’s a very Christopher Robin moment.

The Visual Spectacle in the Keyblade Graveyard, the Final World, and Scala ad Caelum - If we could just...pretend the story that was accompanying the beats, events and visuals in the game’s final stretch WASN’T the story that actually IS accompanying them, then all the parts of KH3′s finale that are NOT related to the 7 Lights VS the 13 Darknesses (which was all sooooo BAD beyond even what I could have ever predicted!) would be a lot more enjoyable and better to appreciate if not purely on a visual level. Because seriously, just look at these visuals. Look at all of these gorgeous. spectacular visuals they throw at you. Scala ad Caelum (formerly Daybreak Down) in particular is an amazing combination of extraordinary visual splendor into one whole, making it a unique stage for a grand finale, and even putting the visuals and music for the Final World aside, the writing for the star souls you encounter there is easily some of the strongest, most powerful material found in any KH game. And had we actually gotten story context and gameplay challenges worthy of these visuals and plot beats, far grander it would’ve been. For great substance should always accompany such great style.

And last of all, but certainly not least...

This Part Right Here. What a fucking brilliant way to finish a fight.

actually, I’m gonna talk about it more tonight 

- Xion joins the Organization a few weeks after the announcement that everyone at CO died. Some (Demyx and Luxord) thought it was in rather poor taste. 

- She was particularly unstable for the first few weeks - tbh if Xemnas and co. weren’t so desperate for new members she wouldn’t have made the cut. It takes her around a month to be fully stabilized. 

- She was paired with Roxas a lot because Roxas was still going on baby missions (pretty much) and they were a good way to ease her into the structure of the Organization and using her new powers etc. They bonded over mutual not knowing what the fuck was happening. 

- She had large memory gaps due to the trauma involved with like... dying. She, like Roxas, didn’t quite understand what she was. After she stabilized the memories started coming back. She realized she (and everyone else) was basically dead. It hit her hard. She distances herself from Roxas for a bit and even after she warms back up she’s noticeably more closed off. She tries to hide their true nature from Roxas because He Is Baby. 

- They go from being besties to more like Xion being an older sister. Roxas resents this as much as his fledgling heart can let him because he doesn’t like feeling babied or coddled. He knows she’s not telling him something and is frustrated by it. 

- Axel comes back. Oh no Roxas has TWO sibling-like friends who try to shield him from how awful the world is. (Except Axel is much more callous about it and Xion screams in the background.) (He gets better though.) (Mostly through threats.) 

- Since Axel is back to be Roxas’ babysitter, Xion is shuffled between Saix and Luxord. She helps with surveillance between worlds using her mirrors. She’s mainly paired with Saix because her role involves lots of reports. :/ Saix isn’t as much of a dick, but he’s still kind of a dick. (Xion still hangs out with Axel and Roxas when she can)

- I just like pairing her with Luxord bc I can see them fucking off and playing cards. He tells her tarot. She tries her best to scry. Pseudo-psychic buddies. 

- Anyway blah blah Days

- Roxas has a huge falling out with Axel and Xion because of everything they hid from him regarding his nature and what the Organization does. He leaves because he doesn’t want to be a tool for someone else anymore. (And also because he’s having an identity crisis and wants to kick Sora’s ass.)

- Axel and Xion are ordered to track him down and bring him back. Neither really work that hard at it. Axel replaces the Saix fight, except he throws it because he doesn’t want to actually hurt the kid. Roxas knows he threw the fight and it honestly pisses him off more. 

- Xion confronts him in the dark city and tries to tell her piece. He ignores her and she does nothing as he walks away. *Cue Roxas getting kidnapped* 

- Xion isn’t apart of the Twilight Town Rescue Mission, because the Organization doesn’t exactly trust her after letting Roxas go. 

- When Axel defects from the Organization to go after Sora, he asks Xion to run with him. She refused, partially out of fear of death (and Saix) and partially because There Has To Be Another Way. 

- Xion: Maybe I can talk to Sora and he’ll remember us??? We don’t have to kill him!!

Axel: You Are So Good But So Naive. 

- She’ll appear to Sora near the cavern of remembrance area (bc crystals) and she’ll try to talk to him. Sora would be aggressive but also shaken for reasons he doesn’t know. She doesn’t fight him during those confrontations, but she gets more and more desperate. (In the context of this being a game, I’ll say these moments are optional as you work your way deeper into the cavern.)

- I haven’t decided which Disney world she would haunt, but I want to say Halloweentown because there isn’t any real Nobody presence there and I want her to look like a haunted Victorian doll with her creepy cobwebbed mirrors. 

- And also because the Halloweentown world is pretty sympathetic to the pain of creatures without hearts (the experiment that steals presents to feel something) Xion would try to tie that into the Organization and what they’re trying to do. 

- She’s finally fully confronted in the Dark City, after Axel’s sacrifice and before Sora storms the castle. At this point, she realizes that talking doesn’t do any good and she goes Apeshit. (Ok not really, but she’s Actually Fighting now) She keeps turning Sora’s reflection into Roxas to try and force the memories out of him. 

- It doesn’t work

- She’s defeated. 

- Her death scene is similar in that she turns into crystal as she dies. She starts crying (!!!) and says that all she wanted to do was see her best friend again and tell him she was sorry. 

- Sora replies, “It’s alright. You were only trying to protect me.” Except it’s not Sora! It’s Roxas speaking through Sora! Xion knows her words finally got through and she dies smiling. 

- Cue Roxas vs. Sora battle bc holy shit is Roxas PISSED 

- blah blah blah 

- Clocktower scene but now Xion is there too. They all properly apologize for everything. Xion hands Roxas a crystal sphere. “Look familiar?” She says, smiling. Roxas damn near cries. (She gave him and Axel both crystal spheres a while ago back when things were kind of good. Namine used this memory and translated it to the digital Twilight Town) (Roxas lost his original, so Xion gave him a new one he can’t lose ;o; )

- The Keyblade Sora gets after this battle is based on those crystal spheres. (The keychain is the actual one Sora’s had the whole time) It gives a boost in magic and has auto-block.