Hot take🔥: GS should've had Mare, Cal and Evangeline POVs. Not necessarily Cal's, but definitely Evangeline's.

Personally I'm not a fan of action sequences or fight scenes in general, I find it hard to visualize them and I usually skip them on rereads. The emotional side of the story, politics and the character interactions matter to me much more.

I feel like GS was too action packed when the political side is WAY more interesting. At that point Mare's internal monolog is just angst over Maven's betrayal, newbloods, her anxieties and Cal. While I don't blame her one bit and she's my favorite, it gets tiring after it gets hammered into you for so many pages. Having Evangeline's pov would've helped built her up as a character and a good way of keeping her, Maven and Elara in the story, since they basically disappeared for the entire book.

Let's be real, VA best written pov is Maven (#1) and Evangeline's. They're so intriguing to read and their povs are basically doors to explaining the political aspects of the silvers' lives.

I would've loved to see how Maven and Elara dealt with the court and what type of ploys they used. In just sad at the missed opportunity (also sad because while I hated her Elara makes an incredible villain and we didn't see her at action enough). Also imagine having a couple of chapters of Cal's pov from his time at the jail on Tuck, what happened after Mare passed away from the sounder on Harbour Bay (an action scene I would've loved to see from his pov) and a chiller chapter that starts with waking next to Mare (and maybe finding out about Maven's notes) and continuing with him training the kids and being the wholesome himbo he is.

Anyway sorry for this enormous essay💀, hope I made sense to you and I would love to hear your opinion!☺

You're good!! I LOVE ESSAYS (((: and this one is chock full of some HOT HAUT TAKES. I will try to tackle them one at a time. A novel gets a novel love, so enjoy (((:

1. I actually like Glass Sword with only Mare's POV. It's the book where she's falling apart, and we really get the time to delve into her and her psyche. We get to see the New Bloods and whatnot. it might have been fun to have another POV but I think it takes away from the fact that this is the book where we truly get to focus on what trauma and things like it do to someone.

2. I actually like battle scenes 🙈 I write a good number of them myself, and in my actual book I'm planning to publish I have a lot of those moments. But the talking and the political intrigue is also high in Red Queen. The world is so rich, it would have been fun to see more of it! I think Victoria crafts these massive worlds, and picks things to focus on that in my opinion are not always the best. Realm Breaker suffers from this a bit. But world building is low key my favorite thing in the whole world.

3. I dont think Cal's POV would have given us anything special. We pretty much know his thoughts in Glass Sword and the rest of the series cause the guy telegraphs his emotions across his face. But Evangeline would have been LOVELY to have. (She's my second favorite character behind Cal and his mama.) I think then we would have seen more of the court and it actually would have been more fun to see her view rather than Maven's.

4. I actually think Cameron, Mare, and Evangeline's POV's are the best 🙈. Maven didn't really interest me all that much, since I had already formed my opinion of him, and while i love him as a villian, I really see him as uh... cool motive still murder. So I don't necessarily sympathize with him all that much. Evangeline is just so deliciously interesting. She is a box of contradictions and I loved my metal bitch queen form the moment she showed up on the page. Getting a POV from her was the highlight of the series for me. (That and Cal, he's just such a dork and his thoughts really are just: gotta do this for my dad, oh look there's mare, I love her hair, she's so special, she really makes me wanna do things differently, I love her--wait I'm not supposed to anymore, oh but I love her.)

5. Elara is hands down one of the wildest villains in YA. Talk about taking helicopter parenting to the max level. I do wish we got to see her in action more, but I also see why we didn't. Her motives are pretty clear, and her actions are clear too.

6. FINAL HOT TAKE: Farley deserved a POV. I'm furious she never got one.

So there you have it, my thoughts (((:

Well, Hiee people! This is gonna be my first post ever and I am not sure if it is a good Idea starting off with an angst, but I am dedicating it to a Yagi Toshinori/All might oneshot! Since its my first time on tumblr, please pardon any mistakes. I initially wanted to put it as Y/N but since its kinda gore, it didnt feel right.

Synopsis : Some Regrets will never leave you.

This event was placed during the time Bakugou got kidnapped and All Might used his full potential and lost his One For All against the Villian All For One.

Warning : angst, sexual assault foul language, gore, death.

Pairing : Yagi Toshinori/All Might x Fem/OC- Ayame

Original Villian Thorn

It was just another day for Ayame. She hummed and watered her plants. Ayame wasn't really special. Her quirk was mainly growing flowering plants. So she worked as a florist and grew various beautiful flowers. While humming she wondered 'oh, maybe tonight we can try out recent essential oil mix in the hot tub! Eucalyptus and rosemary will do well for toshi' she giggled and thought about all the possibilities after a hot tub would lead to. While Ayame was day dreaming, peonies bloomed all around the Flower Shop. Few locals who knew her very well called out "There you go again Ayame-san, are you missing him already?" She blushed and quickly apologized for the floral storm she caused. An elderly woman who was picking out flowers said "You don't have to apologize Ayame-chan you and your flowers are so beautiful. Your boyfriend is a lucky man. Ah..love. such a beautiful thing. Isn't it?" Ayame smiled and carefully handed the bouquet of white Lilies to her and said "don't worry about the payment Mrs. Ito" the elderly smiled and waved goodbye.

Ayame quickly closed the shop and headed home. She prepared the hot bath and some light dinner and waited for Toshi to come home. She noticed that Toshi was feeling low recently and wanted to do help him. She understands that although she can't fix his problems, she wants to be by his side when the going gets tough. So she patiently waits.

It is past midnight. The bath is gone cold. And so is the food. Ayame stomach growls woke her up from where she fell asleep on the kitchen counter. 'He still isn't home yet.' She gives him another call. And hears Toshi's cell ring outside the apartment. Frowning she walks towards the door and it opens, revealing a disheveled and exhausted Toshinori. Ayame gasped and held him in her arms and rubs his back. "Your alright. You are alright" she whispers reassuringly. He sigh "Bakugou is kidnapped and Young Midoriya and most of 1 A and 1 B are injured." She bites back tears, refusing to cry before him. "And here I am. The number one hero. Unable to do a thing in this state." He said bitterly and pulled away from Ayame's grasp. "Toshi, you-" He cut her off "we are making plans on raiding the place where Bakugou is kept captive. Momo smartly placed a tracking device on Bakugou. But the main issue is, All for one is most probably behind this. Ayame recalled the past conversation with Night Eye and looked at Toshi while she choked out "Toshi, no please don't" Toshi gingerly held her fingers between his own "This.....is why, we should have ended.....this, no. We never should have started anything to begin with. I should have never-" Ayame grasped his hand between hers and whispers "please Toshi, don't say this. Don't do this. We promised to be there for each other. No matter what the consequences were, we are going to face it together. Didn't we?" She kisses his finger, afraid that he may break out of trance and do what he has been planning to do. But Toshi pulled away again. "Ayame..... you are still so young. You still have so much ahead of you. I am nothing but a shell of a man, that may die tomorrow. Or soon. My power is not even my own, which I may lose in this battle. Please. Don't tie yourself down to me." She grabs hold of his shirt "Don't you dare say that! I am in love with Yagi Toshinori. Not because you are powerful. Or strong. But because you are you. I love you for who you are Toshi, and I am ready to walk down by your side to whatever path you have chosen. All I ask is for you to survive." Toshi grabs hold of his head "And you did Ayame! You have fulfilled it! You have walked down by my side. But I can't promise my survival. Which is why, you need to let go of me." Ayame rest her head against his chest. Tears running down her cheeks. "Toshi, my love... please don't" Toshinori gently pushes her away from him. He couldn't look at her. "Ayame, I am sorry.....Goodbye" he turns away and walks out of the door. Ayame froze. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered "Toshi..." getting back to her senses she rushes out of the door, trying to stop him. But she couldn't see him anywhere. She runs out on the streets in her nightgown yelling out his name. Searching for him. Asking the trees for help. But she never found him. Ayame sank to her knees and wails "Toshi, please don't leave me. Please" she kept crying in the middle of the streets. Her heart shattered.

The following day, the raid was conducted. Izuku, Kirishima, Todoroki, and Iida was able to rescue Bakugou while All Might intervened and fought One for All and defeated him. And in that process, he barely survived,completely lost his All For One Abilities and All Might's identity as Yagi Toshinori was now revealed to the world. But during that chaos, while all the Pro Hero's attention was on this raid, minor villains began causing havoc in most parts of the city. And now that the number one hero lost his power, doubt and fear began to rise in the country, feeding the Villians, making them more stronger. Unfortunately, Ayame fell victim to one of Hero Killer's followers, Thorn. And he has been keeping an eye on Ayame for a long time now. An obsessive psychopathic Villian who's quirk are Thorny Creepers. He made a pattern of her movements for over a span of 2 months now. Even keeping an eye on her ex-boyfriend. (Yes. He witnessed the whole breakup scenario) who surprisingly is revealed to be the former number one hero. With him out of the way, a perfect opportunity of having his way with her arose. He broke into her home and drugged her. The usual kidnapping tactic. Dumping her in the van, he drove away to the outskirts of the city into a dingy warehouse, he cuffed her with a power dampner and assaulted her, tortured her with his spiny creepers untill she was ripped apart. Her screams were music to his ears, while he filmed her. As she begged him to let her go, he began torturing her all over again. The very idea of hurting a former pro hero lover fed his ego. Ayame realized this and slowly turned unresponsive. It was the fourth day and he finally decided that since he no longer had fun, it was time to end her life. "You have served me well Little Flower. I enjoyed ripping off your petals. You look even prettier covered in blood. But its time to weed you out." All Ayame could think of was Toshi as she lay on the bloodied ground, trying to reach out to her pendant, while waiting for the final blow. 'I Love you Toshi' That evening while Toshi was recovering at the hospital, Naomasa visited him. There was a grave look on his face that made Toshinori heart drop. "Naomasa? What is it? Is Bakugou alri- "Naomasa cuts him off "There has been another crime by Thorn." Toshi Frowns "After 5 years? Are you sure its him?" Naomasa sinks in the chair "yes, the same pattern..but Toshi... I.." he takes a deep breath and says "this is hard....Its Ms. Ayame, we got the video from Thorn. They are still searching for her." Toshi's blood runs cold. He whispers as he jumps out of the bed "what did you say? I don't think I heard it right" Naomasa stand up "the Video was sent through her number. We tried tracking her cellphone but it was found in the river and-" Naomasa's cell rings. Time was suddenly slow for Toshi. He could hear his own heart beat. His eyes burned and when he closed it, all he could remember was Ayame's face when she hugged him and begged him not to leave her. Naomasa touched Toshinori's shoulder and said softly "They found her. I am so sorry but-" Toshi yelled "NO! No... No this can't be. I NEED TO SEE HER. WITH MY OWN EYES." Naomasa nodded. After an hour, they reached the warehouse. Toshi prayed for some miracle. Prayed that Ayame would be alive. There were police cars and Coroner's Vans. A crowd of people gathered at the distance. Murmuring lines of pity. But Toshi was numb. His face pale as he walk toward the entrance. Stench of Iron fills the air. And there, in the middle of the room lay a body twisted in a strange angle, in a large pool of blood. And he walked closer. And he saw her. Ayame. Lying on her stomach, but her neck twisted, facing upwards, her limbs flayed, while her left hand reached out towards the celtic knot pendant. The gift Toshi gave her a year ago. Toshi knelt on the ground and wailed as he reached out to touch her stiff hands. "Ayame, My Love, Please..." his words no longer sounded comprehensible as he choked on his tears. He began crawling towards her body, his trousers soaked in

cold blood.

The coroner who was collecting evidence protested but Toshi paid no heed as he held her up against his chest and whispered in her ear "your alright, you will wake up, you are alright my love. Now please, please wake up. I can't.....I shouldn't have left you. My love please. Please comeback" he kisses her forehead as he rocks himself back and forth holding her close to him. And that is when he see's it. There is a huge hole in her chest. He whispers "your heart..... where is your heart" he looks around and sees it pinned by thorny branches against the wall. He gasped "I am so sorry my love. I am so so sorry. I love you. I love you so much. This is all my fault. I should have stayed. I should have come back home early. My sweet sweet love. Please come back, please, I can't live without you. Please" The Coroner walked over to Naomasa. "Its been 7 hours since she passed away. And according to my analysis, she had been held captive for four days. Mutilated body and signs of resistance blows were found. We did find rubber between her finger nails. She was also sexually assaulted, so his Semen was found in her. There are also photos of her found on the desk. He has been preparing this for months now. Naomasa groaned "Yes. Parts of it was also shown in the video. He killed her because in the end, she showed no resistance." Upon hearing this, Toshinori slowly turns around eyes dangerously zoning in on the coroner as he seethed "Four Days? She was kidnapped four days ago? Tortured and raped.?" Toshi shivered. He could still feel the ghost of her kisses when she held his hand one last time. Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see her smile. Her sweet scent every time he held her in his arms. But now he held her cold body, he couldnt see her smile, nor the sweet scent. It was but the lifeless body and dead eyes that stared up at him. His heart slowed down. He kissed her cold stiff lips one last time. He gently closes her eyes. And weeps again. Yagi Toshinori screams. He may have saved the world, but he lost his. Regret is the most painful thing.

Quiet Devotion 4 [Hawks x Reader]

I'll edit this at a later date...

Summary: Part 4 of the 'Quiet Devotion' series… Somehow this story's managed to wring yet another part out of me. What am I doing with my life?

Reader Details: Emotional, humble, loyal, introspective, independent.

Quirk: Life Fiber (A.K.A Soul Silk).

Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

---

---

Six Years Ago

---

Fast doesn't even begin to cover the sheer speed the winged hero is capable of, and coupled with his reaction time and environmental awareness he seems down right inhuman at times. As far as you can tell there are few skills he's incapable of executing mid-combat and you find it all the more admiral that a considerable amount of that talent is focused on support and rescue work. It says much for his character that life takes precedence over the promise of glory

Memories of darkness and pain nip harshly at the back of your mind, the fear that'd overcome you when the car fire had finally died out was printed red on the backs of your eyelids. You can still smell the stench of burning gasoline and the heavy tinge of sweet iron, the feel of sand in your hair.

You dream of it sometimes, even a year later. You don't usually get back to sleep afterwards either, despite the tear inducing exhaustion riping painfully though your body. Instead you pull up the 24/7 Hero News website and hope that you'll catch a glimpse of red feathers flashing across the screen, hear that smooth, masculine voice quipping at his comrades, snarking at his opponents.

Anything to make you feel safe again. Anything to remind yourself that the dark of your room is only temporary, that the blankets tucked tightly (too tightly, always too tightly) around you are soft and pliant under your hands.

The news plays in the background as you finish washing the night's dishes, reporters droning on about Hawk's exploits in a seemingly endless stream of praise and condescension. Rapidly cooling water drips down the front of the kitchen sink and soaks the front of your shirt despite your best efforts, and you take a moment to unstick the cloth from your skin with water-wrinkled fingers.

The fabric is sopping in some places still, heavy and discolored with dish water despite the wringing you give it. The rain outside seems to somehow add to that feeling of dampness despite you having not been outside all day, the pitter-patter of icy droplets battering your window like icecubes caressing your spine.

It's as you lament the condition of your clothes and the weather that the beginnings of a though begins to take root in your mind.

'If only my clothes were made from my quirk.' You thought exasperatedly, not for the first time, while entering the livingroom to watch the rest of the report before you had to do laundry. 'Then I'd never have to worry about wet clothes again.'

On the news Hawks stands before the cameras with his trademark devil-may-care smile on his lips, eyes half-lidded and entire hero persona picture perfect but for the way his clothes seem to sag and darken unevenly from the rain. A more aggressive reporter manages to sneak in a baiting question about the teenager's glaring inexperience in the field and the winged hero quips back in response, water dripping from the tips of his long deflated hair.

He looks miserable standing in the rain, the bright colors so characteristic of him dulled and darkened by the gray overcast, by the rain soaking him to the bone. Even as he's smiling you can tell it doesn't reach his eyes, barely even manages to fully form on his lips as question after intrusive question is hurled at him from the hoard of intent faces. You don't miss the way he glanced to the side occasionally, towards a rail thin man standing quietly beside him, meeting the teen's gaze every time with a narrow-eyed stare.

You don't think you've ever seen Hawks so unhappy before. Not on the battle field with hellfire raining down around him, nor any of his interviews with a panel of venomous snakes breathing down his back. Not even when he'd misstepped during his first solo multi-villian battle and had more than half of his left wing exploded right off his back.

No. You'd never seen him looking so miserable before and more than anything that quiet discontent in his eyes racked your soul with a sad, profound longing. Without conscious thought the tips of your fingers begun to warm and turn black, dark roots creeping up the veins in your fingers and fading at the knuckles. Moments later the beginnings of your silk spilling forth onto your lap and latching onto your pant legs catches your attention.

It did that from time to time when you got overly emotional. Frankly, the lack of control was embarrassing and never failed to remind you of why you were never able to train it past its current potential. Your doctor had said it was nothing to worry about though, and that you could maintain a normal life even with the occasional accident.

You'd thought about going to a quirk specialist shortly after you'd hit your current limit, but ultimately decided against it when you caught sight of the price tag attached to each visit. You reasoned that even if you managed to start producing more silk there'd be little use for it besides having readily available materials on hand if you ever felt the need to sew. So you dropped the matter entirely and carried on with your life.

Until a year ago, that is, when your whole world came crashing down around you.

You quickly shake those thoughts away, instead focusing on detaching the silk from your clothes before they can weave into the fabric they're touching. Yet another oddity you've had to learn the hard way. For the first twenty or so seconds before it cools and solidifies, the silk will try to latch onto any available surface and meld to it. Honestly, it was more annoying than anything and sometimes you regretted not being able to get it checked out by a specialist.

It took a few moments but you eventually managed to get the silk separated into their individual strains. They're each around ten inches long, though some had managed to stick together at the ends to more than double their length.

Exasperated, you pluck up the longest of the bunch with the tips of your darkened fingers, holding it before you with a frown. The black strands remain stuck together and you knew from experience they'd now be impossible to disconnect.

The flash of red on the television catches your attention for a moment and your sight blurs as it attempts to refocus. In that brief second, however, the black of your silk melded seamlessly into the darkened cloth of Hawk's soaked jacket and undershirt. In that exact moment, the quiet thought came to your mind.

'My quirk has never been useful to me. But maybe, with enough patience and effort, it can be of use to someone who deserves it more than anyone.'

And so begun the trials of your labor. The physical manifestation of your unspoken devotion.

---

Present Day

--

Hawks wasn't sure what expression had managed to slip past his usually perfect control, but whatever it was must have been fearsome indeed because the young researcher before him was sweating bullets beside his mentor. Said mentor was glancing disappointedly at his assistant and had yet to step in, instead opting to shake his head and cross his arms with quiet exasperation.

"So." Hawks begun in a slow drawl, still smiling but for the way his eyes narrowed. "We're just throwing civilian names into hero politics now are we?" The assistant lowered his head, but remained silent. "Making sure to break all those confidential clauses, huh? I've got to admire your spirit though. Go big or go home is the name of the game in this industry, after all." The winged hero clapped a hand over the other's shoulder, making sure to look him right in the eye as he finished. "How's it feel to be the uncontested winner?"

The assistant took a deep, fortifying breath before finally speaking. "I got carried away. My actions were a direct violation of Proper Hero Agency Conduct and I understand there will be repercussions. I-" The young man pauses again, almost breaking eye contact but the hand tightening on his shoulder quickly made him reconsider. "I let my pride get in the way of proper procedure and it's potentially put a civilian in danger." The assistant grit his teeth and closed his eyes. "I didn't win anything. I fucked up. Knew it the moment their name came out of my mouth."

There was a tense silence before Hawks himself broke it with a loud, exaggerated sigh. "It can't be helped I guess. Chicks gotta break a few eggs before they can grow after all." Everyone pointedly ignore the fact the Hawks was only a few years older than the assistant. Most of all the assistant.

The winged hero threw his head back, letting his entire posture slump and his face crumple into an irritated frown. "They're probably having a heart attack right now."

--

You were panicking. Inwardly, for the time being, but you weren't too far from having a total breakdown. For three hours your phone has been blowing up with an unknown number of texts and calls, half of them demanding your compliance and the other your service, all of them wanting your attention. None of them were making much sense.

The bit about various hero agencies wanting you to work for them was clear, what wasn't though was the why in this situation? The only thing you could think of was the uniform you'd given Hawks (you were well aware you'd probably been on camera the entire time you'd been near Hawk's agency), but such things were dime a dozen in the hero industry and you didn't believe for a moment Endeavor's agency was hurting for costume designers.

The next thing you could think would prompt this response was that there was something about your quirk you were unaware of. Something, apparently, heros deemed valuable enough to look for. What it was you weren't sure, but you knew enough about yourself to know your quirk, while fairly simplistic, was still an unknown to you in many regards.

Still, the sudden influx of unexpected messages was stressful enough. Add that to the fact most of them were from distinguished hero agencies with members that could literally demolish mountains and you were feeling more than a little pressured. Even a little frightened by some of the more demanding messages you'd managed to glimpse before retreating to the other side of the workshop.

You could barely move your furniture across the room most days, what could you do if the likes of Best Jeanist or Gang Orca decided to pay you an unexpected visit?

Okay, that was the panic talking. Not only was that scenario completely illogical, the jab at Gang Orca for having a stereotypical villian aesthetic was uncalled for. Time to recenter yourself and get some much needed fresh air into your lungs before you start accusing All Might of fraud or some such nonsense.

It takes a few minutes to get the muscles in your back to loosen and your mind to stop spitting out half-coherent worst case scenarios, but you manage with a few intense rounds of breathing exercises. By the end of the ordeal you're exhausted, even a little sore from the lack of air before hand. You're functioning again though, and that's what matters.

Now in better control of your thoughts the most obvious solution to your current predicament comes to you with little prompting. You don't even hesitate. There is not a single doubt in your mind as to what you must do.

This is your chance to finally pay back the man you owe your life too. This may very well be the only chance you'll ever get and you've learned that life is far too short to squander the moments that matter.

Your slip on your coat and gloves, making a few last minute adjustments around the shop before stepping out the door and locking up behind you. With your purse on your shoulder and your eyes lit with hopeful determination you walk out into the world with renewed purpose.

You leave the phone.

Nothing they have to offer matters. It never has and you doubt it ever will. They could offer you jewels and they'd collect dust, the world and it'd keep on spinning. They could grant you eternal life and you'd have given it up in a heartbeat for this one chance.

He's the only one that matters. The only one whose attention means something.

He is your priority. He is your only priority.

KH3 is like half a game, it feels incomplete and clunky. It sets up events that never happen and tries to force moments without having the build up to support them. The game does some things really well and reaches some truly heartfelt emotional beats and solid character moments.

3:48 PM - 31 Jan 20191 reply0 retweets1 likeReply 1 Retweet  Like 1 View Tweet activity

The Disney (and Pixar) worlds were pretty well incorporated and mostly able to contribute thematically to the game unlike sometimes in past games were the worlds were kind of just dropped into the game.

The Toy Box much like Halloween Town brings up how dolls/toys/those who begin as inanimate objects can gain hearts. Monstropolis allows a plausible  entry point for Vanitas with the connection between fear induced scream  energy and the negative emotions of the unversed.

Of all the worlds, I enjoyed Sora's time with the Big Hero 6 gang the most. Their interactions felt genuine and I had a lot of fun watching them. It also had the most complete arc of the worlds with the continuation of the movie's theme of living after loss.

Most of the worlds' story arcs felt incomplete. Starting in Olympus we are left hanging with Pete finding Pandora's box and the city in ruins. The story just kind of ends. There also was not enough time and build up to give significance to Hercules' choice to rejoin the mortals.

In Twilight Town, with all the discussion surrounding hearts and data from Coded to KH2 to KH3, that a whole other Twilight Town exists was completely dropped. It felt like the game was leading the audience somewhere and then never followed through.

With the Toy Box, the Sora, Goofy, and Donald leave and don't come back with Woody, Buzz, and the others still stranded in another world just hoping to one day meet Andy again. The search for Andy and the other toys is the main arc for this world and its never resolved.

While some worlds aren't quite as obviously half a story arc, all of them could have used more time. Many of them assume you have already seen the source material. In Frozen, Hans being the villian is the big twist but with the first half of the movie cut, there's no impact.

Pirates of the Caribbean makes no sense to anyone who hasn't seen the movies. I wish there was a scene of Sora unlocking Tia Dalma given how it was setup to happen. There was good characterization for Sora here though on how both he and Jack are free spirits.

The Winnie the Poo part while sweet (because I love Winnie the Poo sections) doesn't go anywhere. Sora just loses his connection with Poo and disappears from the cover, and then a few mini games later he's back. Sora's comment on how their bond has weakened never goes anywhere.

In the other games you search for lost pages or help Poo regain his memories, here there is no story. It's a lost opportunity to do, well something,  but that can be said of much of the game. They could have used this part to talk about how relationships must be nurtured.

The ending also fell a bit flat because of the buildup-payoff problem. The game tries to show the characters despairing only for someone to swoop in and give them hope. The problem is that in the Keyblade Graveyard they do this so many times it loses its impact.

Given the amount of stuff this game should have resolved, not enough time was spent on that. Instead precious time was spent trying to create sequel hooks. In doing so, the cohesiveness of the game as a unit was compromised. The game was too short for all they tried to achieve.

At times the narrative would point "Look! its a  happy/sad/intense/etc. scene", but without a proper build up, these  scenes lacked emotional weight.

I'm conflicted on KHUX in KH3.  I liked Chirithy reuniting with Ven, Laurium possibly remembering, and Strelitzia's maybe cameo. The black box stuff could have been cut. Its to connect  KHUX with future games, but it does nothing for the Xehanort saga and bogs KH3 down.

Then there is the mysterious girl with connections to Lea, Isa, and Ansem that we are only hearing of now. Who is she? Is she Ava? I don't know but they should have saved it for another game.

I thought all the keyblades of the Union members coming to help was a nice touch, but why did Ephemer of all people show up? He was a Dandelion; the player was the one who chose to stay (except the player has no canon appearance in khux which makes them hard to depict).

On one hand I got really excited looking for my KHUX username but on the other hand it was a little too 4th wall breaking and took me out of the game. The other 4th wall leaning scenes with Axel didn't do it for me either.

I did like the definitely-not-instagram loading screens. They were just this side of absurd to be amusing. It was cute. Humor is a subjective thing but I didn't like the increase in jokes in this game. It broke immersion for me.

Some were funny like Verum Rex. Others though felt forced. KH3 had more Donald, Sora, and Goofy poking fun at each other. At first it was fun, but then they kept doing it and it got old.

Maybe its because of all the jokes and narrative problems broke my immersion in the game or maybe its because I'm older now, but KH3 wasn't as magical an experience for me as the other games.

I don't mean magic in how many spells Donald can cast but in that sense wonder, that the extraordinary is possible. That sense of magic is why the Roxas prologue of KH2 is one of my favorite parts of the franchise.

Part of it also is that the section where Sora goes saving everyone's hearts from the Lich after they "died" didn't reach me emotionally. Which is a shame since the part right before where Sora runs around in the Final World and talks with the stars is one of my favorite parts.

I was surprised we didn't see more Dives to the Heart and battles at the center of the heart given the Terranort, Ventus-Vanitas, Xion, etc. After Sora got the power of awakening I was expecting him and Riku to use that to free Xion and Terra.

And then we would get an epic battle where Terra finally kicks Xehanort out of his own body. I also wanted to see Aqua beat up Xehanort. Aqua's suppose to be super strong from spending 10 years in the Realm of Darkness.

Kairi deserved better. Kairi deserved more. 3 games (II, 3D, III) on how Kairi trains to become a keyblade wielder and she doesn't get to do anything. Why was she kidnapped anyways? The answer is to give an excuse for Sora at the end to have a "I must do this alone" moment.

Kairi was kidnapped just so Sora could angst over her and so he could go save her. She deserved better.

The developers really pushed the Sora-Kairi romance this game. I was disoriented since we since the last game we saw a lot of romantic indications was 17 years ago in KH1. Riku got third-wheeled this game.

Enough complaining, parts that worked pretty well/were well executed: Big Hero 6, Monsters Inc, Sora finding the Door to Darkness in Destiny Islands and Aqua returning to the Realm of Light, Sora's interaction with other characters(Rapunzel, BH6, Jack, etc), the Final World.

Visually the environments are amazing! I was so happy running around everywhere. Its pretty. (and the heartless are cute)

KH3 was on the low side for number of worlds visited. Again, I'm surprised how (comparatively) short the game is. There was a lack on Final Fantasy characters as well (or well videogame characters given how TWEWY was in 3D).

I would have loved to see a Moana world. Moana, Maui, and Sora interactions would have been great. Thematically it would have worked too since Moana's plot centers on how Te Fiti losing her heart changed her.

In every KH there's always been some wham moments and that didn't happen to me at all in KH3... until the every end with Luxu. Many of us have been suspicious of Xigbar for a very long time. His organization chair height is too high. He seems to know more than he should...

As much as I am complaining, I do like the Kingdom Hearts III. Its a good game.

I've said it before, but KH:coded is a thematic summary of the entire series and one of the important points in that game is how Data Sora understands hurt. Data Sora understood how to live through hurt and this is something we see Sora learn as well through the games.

In CoM Sora did not understand this. All the way to 3D he did not know how to deal with hurt so when Roxas shared all his pain, that contributed to Sora sinking into darkness. In KH3 though Sora has grown and can accept hurt.

I would have though liked to have seen a more overt conclusion to Sora's relationship to darkness. Sora has always had darkness in him, he's not a princess of heart (or Ven) and there were hints before KH3 that he was falling to darkness.

Anti/Rage form are a manifestations of that darkness. Maybe this was just sloppy character writing, but Sora is noticeably meaner during KH2 and at the end he says "maybe the darkness has gotten to me, too". In KH3, besides rage form Sora's darkness isn't directly addressed.

Back to UX. The devs connected the epilogue, the secret reports, and UX well. That's all that was needed really. From Backcover we already know the black box is important. KH3 shouldn't have wasted time focusing on it.

And about X girl )Shuld?? idk). It really is awkward how they bring her into KH3. If she's the reason Lea and Isa got into this mess they should have dropped a line in 358/2 or one of the other games something like "Don't forget we're doing this for her"

Another good scene was Aqua giving Ven head pats. This gave me life.

Scala ad Caelum was built inverse on top of Daybreak Town. I didn't notice! Never mind what I said earlier, there's the "oh shit... what" moment. I'm just going to sit here mind blown thinking of all the implications...

The Lion King Vs Simbas Pride Vs The Lion Guard

I know it doesn’t look like this is about shipping but it technically is because I find Kovu and Kiara absolutely adorable.

I just decided to watch Simbas Pride the other day after watching a few clips of the Lion Guard because damn that direct to video movie looks gorgeous in comparison.

I just watched Simbas Pride again because I started to realise they actually paid attention to detail but we’ll get there.

Also I’m not dealing with TLK 1 and a half because it doesn’t add anything to the story.  Hands up here who are sick to death of prequels when a sequel has been practically gift wrapped for them.

The Lion King

This has and will always be my favourite CLASSIC Disney movie.  The animation especially the attention to detail, the music, the characters and the emotional moments.  Its all so beautiful. Almost perfect.

However, since Simbas Pride exists I have to compare the two movies.

Simbas Pride

I know this will be a rather unpopular opinion especially since I’m referring to a Disney direct to video sequel but after watching Simbas Pride just now I realised that I think its better than the original.

Now obviously it suffers from the poorer animation all direct to video sequels have BUT I think it looks better than most Disney sequels.  While watching I kept looking at the other characters in the background and i was like hey wait they’re moving, they’re reacting its like they actually exist in that moment and haven’t turned to stone.  Most Disney sequels will have other characters in the background but won’t really do anything with them, they’re just there because they’re there.  The animation is still very similar to the original with just a few awkward moments here and there like in one scene Kiara walks as if her paws are sticking to the ground but its still very lion king and I am not a fan of the constant flashes of white teeth, like you showed them smiling normally before why the teeth now.

The music I think is better, He Lives in You (yes I know its from the West End/Broadway version) is my absolute favourite.  My Lullaby is my favourite villain song.  We are One is catchy and memorable.  Upendi can fuck off though, that song is an evil ear worm, One of Us is an awesome song  and finally Love Will Find a Way which I definitely prefer to Can you Feel the Love Tonight.

The stakes are much higher here.  In the original Simba returned because he was the rightful king, and for some reason Scar’s rule turned the pridelands into a wasteland but the conflict in Simbas Pride is between 2 warring prides.  If Simba loses to Zira his entire pride will be slaughtered.  And the violence in this my word, I mean its a Disney flick there’s no blood or visible wounds but  we can use our imagination, Disney distracts the kids from this by giving Timon and Pumbaa some screen time but you can’t look away as an adult.  You see outsiders biting pridelanders throats, several pinning down one lioness and tearing at her.  I mean yeah its a good thing Simba let the outsiders join the pride since he must have lost over half of his lionesses in the battle.  And lets not forget Nuka’s tragic death, crushed to death by logs wow Disney you really can be dark sometimes.

Zira and the outsiders are better antagonists than Scar and the hyenas.  Now don’t get me wrong I love Scar and I think he’s a great villian but he only commands hyenas who are only able to help him takeover due to their large numbers.  Zira commands lions and I’m not entirely sure how many since every shot there seem to be more but I would guess between 10 and 20 lionesses.  She has them train every day to prepare them for their inevitable battle with the pridelanders.  Every time she speaks to her pride as a whole during battles she’s saying ‘remember your training’ and telling them the best way to incapacitate her enemies.  Notice that she NEVER enters the battle herself.  She holds back commanding from afar and only steps in when she’s sure of herself.  Zira and the outsiders are fighting because they used to live in the pridelands while Scar ruled and Simba banished them to the outlands where they struggle to survive so to them Simba really is the villain of their tale whereas Scar and the hyenas do what they do because of a hunger for power.  Because Zira and her pride were once pridelanders under Scar it adds a sense of mystery to them.  With Scar you didn’t really need to know why you just accepted he’s evil and moved on but with Zira and her pride you do want to know.  Why would Simba just straight up banish a large part of his pride just because they were Scar’s supporters or did something happen?  Why does he warn Kiara they can’t be trusted? Sigh, it makes me sad when you see all these questions could have been answered in another film,  film set during Scar’s reign in The Lion King would have been ideal.

The romance in this was fairly rushed but I don’t really care because I love Kovu and Kiara.  From their first meeting they are absolutely adorable.  My favourite  moment is when Kiara tries to get Kovu to play with her and when he acts confused she switches to something she thinks he knows its just a shame Simba had to interrupt when he did.  I’d have loved to see them tussle a bit first.  Then when they’re grown they help Timon and Pumbaa and Kovu is confused again because all he thinks about is training but Kiaras like screw training lets just have some fun and he loves it, even when the rhinos are chasing them he’s got the biggest grin on his face.  Their awkward nose touch after the rhino chase was so sweet.  I like the scene after when they’re looking at the stars, Kiara points out a baby rabbit and Kovu immediately picks out an image of violence showing a clear comparison of their worlds.  What I love most and I’m most surprised about, Kiara never believes that Kovu was behind the ambush.  Most stories like this result in the character being misunderstood so everyone turns from them but Kiara doesn’t.  

The Lion Guard

Ok so I realise this was made with little kids in mind but its the kind of show that will be dumbed down.  I remember being excited when they announced the film, I watched about 2 minutes then gave up.  The lazy animation style was too unbearable, even if it was made for kids if they at least tried to stick to the original animation style I would have been happy to watch, well only if they kept the character’s personalities too.  I mean no don’t worry about following the much beloved source material just make these wonderful characters into cardboard cutouts I’m sure that won’t backfire in any way.

I don’t watch the show but I sometimes view clips on Youtube.  I watched one where Simba is stung by a scorpion and faints.  Nala cries his name once and thats it for Nala.  For the rest of the scene she’s sat gazing down at Simba as if he’s dead already and she doesn’t move at all its like they’ve replaced her with a cardboard version for the rest of the scene.  Kions the only one who’s trying to get a response out of Simba I mean yeah he’s the main character of the Lion Guard but Nala is SIMBAS MATE, she should be frantic nudging him, speaking to him, asking Rafiki if he’ll be ok but no just have her sit mutely in the background because only Kion matters.  What is the point of having these characters if you’re just going to ignore them. 

This is possibly the worst thing about watching something animated. In live action shows there is always something happening in the background because its real life but in animation it only happens if the animator can be bothered to do anything more than the initial plot point.  

I know this was quite biased but this is just how I feel especially since it baffles me that they decided to do something more with Lion King so forced a character who didn’t exist before into the story since Kion can’t possibly be a part of Simbas Pride when they could have just continued with Kovu and Kiara (pretty sure EVERYONE wanted that to happen, its like Spyro, Cynder and Skylanders all over again).  Isn’t that the point of the Circle of Life, they could do lion king movies forever and go on for generations and generations if they wanted to.

This was also partially inspired after reading Savu0211′s comics again on deviantart https://savu0211.deviantart.com/, I would highly recommend them to any lion king fan, just note Savu is german and his english and grammar isn’t perfect but you can usually figure out what he’s trying to say.