Written By VioletStar | Storyboarded By CharlieCo

for le beau monde nintendo zine

reaching, reaching, reaching

(thinking abt the new totk trailer and.. hands......)

The Master of Masters

The Re:Mind trailer convinced me that there IS an alternate scenario after Riku’s sacrifice that went differently than the one we saw. Props to Sleeping Realm for calling that one right on the friggin dot, btw. Bravo.

I believe it’ll end with Riku’s true death, and that ties in with my Master of Masters theory.

The Master watches Master Xehanort with the Gazing Eye at the tip of No Name. Of all the keyblades that hold Gazing Eyes, Vanitas’s Void Gear is the only one that contains two located in the shaft.

If one eye sees, the Master would still need the other eye to see what it was seeing. Even though he implies that it’s literally his eye when he gives No Name to Luxu, it’s not really, it’s just one of the eyes from his keyblade.

Also on that topic, there is a shot of Sora in the KH3 intro I find super duper weird.

The pupil in Soras left eye is a slit for a moment, like the Gazing Eye. It’s just an illusion as a result of reflected light in his eye, but you can bet its intentional.

The Master’s study is also full of gears, which seems like it might be too obvious but hey, there it is.

The Unversed symbol is similar to that of the Dream Eaters, and I think ties into my theory that Vanitas’s heart contains Sora’s darkness and Riku’s darkness also. Which is why it’s divided in three. The Master created the Chirithy, the very first Dream Eaters.

The only Keyblade Sora has ever been able to wield that holds a Gazing Eye is End of Pain. Both he and Riku can wield it in DDD.

You can bet your butthole End of Pain represents Vanitas. All he wants, his sole driving purpose, is to end his existence of pain. This keyblade is a clue to Vanitas’s redemption, and it lies with Sora and Riku. But Sora has to accept Vanitas for what he is. Darkness. It’s shown in the Keyblade Graveyard that Sora doesnt understand this yet, since he tries to convince Vanitas to stand with the light. And while Ventus accepts Vanitas’s choice, Sora does not. This is something Riku understands though, he figured it out in DDD: “I know the way. Consume the darkness, return it to light.”

It’s not like Vanitas died here. His replica body was destroyed yes. But his heart, I assume, went back to the darkness. And if Sora was dragged down to the darkest abyss, like YMX warned him, and that’s where he is in the secret ending, Vanitas will be there, right beside him.

In Kairi’s grandmothers story, its stated that one day, a door to the innermost darkness will open, and the true light will return. Mickey tells Sora in his first dive to the heart that he is the one that will open the door. As he gets closer to Riku, he gets closer to Vanitas, but this is how it must be, its Sora’s destiny to reunite with him. This is what the last passage of Destati is referring to.

Eh? What? You do not want it!?

Still it belongs to you

What you have lost

Will become one!

The story also states the the return of the true light will connect all the worlds once again.

When Ansem the Wise talks to Riku about the many hearts connected to Sora’s in DDD, he says:

“They can be saved.” But only if Sora follows his heart.

I think Anti Black Coat was a Nightmare of Vanitas before his face changed, and could even have been the Master himself, pushing Riku to become stronger. Since the Master created Chirithy, Riku’s Dream Eater powers are definitely related to him as well.

So after Riku’s true death, Sora’s grief and rage allow darkness to enter his heart, and he and Vanitas become one. Sora becomes the being he was meant to be, his heart finally complete. This is the origin of Rage Form, and the meaning behind the segment of the final battle when Xehanort steals Sora’s light, forcing him into Rage Form, and Sora must attack him to regain his light.

But uniting with Sora does not end Vanitas’s pain, because he can feel Sora’s immense pain from losing Riku. Sora-Vanitas realizes he screwed up royally, and hatches a crazy elaborate plan to fix it. He travels back in time to the Age of Fairy Tales. He’s able to do so because a past version of himself exists there: Ventus. He then sets his plan in motion and vanishes, I think, to the Realm of Darkness, for a century (or however long the timeframe is between Union X and when Xehanort was given No Name).

I assume this is where the Coda becomes relevant, jumping through the timeline through dreams and darkness, sleep and death, like how the Coda tells one to skip ahead to the ending of a piece of music, and can be very complex. The time travel rules of KH state that once you arrive in the past, you have to wait for time to pass naturally, so this shouldn’t be possible. Time doesnt seem to work the same way in dreams however, and it definitely doesnt work the same way in the Realm of Darkness. Scala Ad Caelum is also most likely a huge part of this, since Xehanort said it was the nexus of all worlds, a place where all of his selves through time could be one.

He writes the Book of Prophecies based on what he already experienced in his past, but tells Luxu it was because he succeeded in his role. He does this to give Luxu confidence in himself for a seemingly impossible task, and apparently it worked. Luxu passing the No Name to Xehanort was still vital however, because it allows the Master to see what he wasnt previously aware of. He can now see Xehanort’s moves, and make counter moves. Like a chess game.

Also, when he wrote the final passage, when he said that the light would expire, he was literally talking about Riku.

By the time the Epilogue happens, when Luxu is talking with the Foretellers, he definitely knows that Sora is their Master as a teenager. And he’s seen the results of Sora and Riku’s bond for himself. They changed the future through their love for each other, which should be impossible. You cannot change events that have already happened. But they did. When they are revived after Riku’s sacrifice Xigbar even says “Gotta make sure you’re not blundering your way toward a second failure.” He’s not talking about the failure we had just witnessed.

The Master’s favourite phrase, “May your heart be your guiding key”, comes from Sora hearing Yen Sid say it, and he adopted it as his motto, his Ninja Way lol.

The traitor mentioned in the Lost Page is the Master himself. Xemnas tells Sora in DDD “As your flesh bears the sigil, so your name shall be known as that… of a recusant.” He oddly says Soras FLESH bears the sigil, even though it’s merely emblazoned on his shirt. Gula deduced in Back Cover that whomever strays from their role must be the traitor. Sora is the traitor. He strayed from his role, because he failed to protect Riku like Aqua told him to. “You make sure to stay with him, and keep him safe. That’s your job Sora.”

He let the light die.

The Black Box contains the Master’s heart, which is Sora’s complete heart, and also most likely, his soul. In one of the Secret Reports, Ienzo writes that the hearts within Sora’s are each contained within their own “boxes”, and this is mentioned intentionally.

He intends to give the box to Riku. He’s been waiting for countless years to save Riku’s life, and literally give him his heart. This is the end of pain.

So romantic I’m gonna die.

You are the key that connects – everything –

I had a super cute wishfulshipping dream the other night totally out of the blue??

Legend's Heritage: Why does he hide it?

An LU Theory (plus some ramblings)

(Spoilers for A Link to the Past)

I promised I'd make a post about this in my last theory, so here it is!

Okay, before we dive into speculating, here's some LoZ context to aid in understanding. The Knights of Hyrule were a special clan of knights. They were not regular soldiers, but skilled bodyguards designated to the protection of the royal family. Breath of the Wild also holds evidence for there being two distinct and separate sets of protectors. However, story wise their biggest role is in A Link to the Past.

In the prologue to A Link to the Past we learn about the Imprisoning War; the battle against Ganon after the Hero of Times death. Most of the Knights died in the conflict while protecting the Sacred Realm and the Seven Sages. (I'd link to the Zelda Wiki article about it for more detail, but Tumblr is being dumb regarding adding links to posts now so... Sorry. I can't even tag this with 'long post' without it being suppressed now)

"As the sages sealed the way to the Dark World, the Knights of Hyrule defended them from the attacks of evil monsters. I heard that the Knights of Hyrule were nearly wiped out in that battle..." - Maiden (A Link to the Past)

For a time peace returned to the kingdom, but it seems that the Knights of Hyrule’s numbers never recovered. Early on we learn that Legend’s uncle appears to have been a Knight, and in his dying moments he teaches his nephew the Knights secret sword techniques.

"Unnh... That voice... Link? Is it you? I thought I told you to wait at home... I suppose there's no escaping destiny... Here, take this sword and shield from me. I shall teach you one of the secret sword techniques used by the Knights of Hyrule... Hold the B Button to focus power in your blade. Release it to unleash the power. Link...you must rescue Princess Zelda. Our people are fated to do so."

(No idea if Jojo wants to keep the Uncle dead like many fans headcanon because technically after defeating Ganon and wishing on the Triforce, Legend’s uncle is shown to be alive again in the credits but meh... I live for ✨ANGST✨)

In fact throughout the game, we learn that Legend is not only a descendant of the Knights of Hyrule, but he’s likely the last one.

"Among the descendants of the Knights Of Hyrule a hero must appear." - Sahasrahla (A Link to the Past)

"Only a person of the Knights Of Hyrule, who protected the royalty of Hylia, can become the Hero... You are of their blood-line, aren't you? Then you must rescue Zelda without fail." - Maiden (A Link to the Past)

"You are perhaps the last one to carry on the blood-line of the Knights... It is ironic that the last one in the line has the potential to become the Hero of legend." - Maiden (A Link to the Past)

Now Legend not only holds the blood of the Knights, but he was also knighted in the Oracle games (probably reluctantly, LOL). One would think it would be quite the honor to hold such an important role as the last true Knight of Hyrule, and yet Legend has rejected everything he is. He claims to be nothing more then “an average nobody”, which we know to be a lie.

I tell you, this kid keeps his secrets buried deep and he hasn’t given me a whole lot of hints to work with. But I can’t help but still try to speculate WHY?! Why keep such a lineage a secret? Here are a few possibilities...

1. Maybe in a way he feels that the the Knights have taken away any choice he had of leading a normal life. His Uncle’s dying words were “I suppose there’s no escaping destiny,” but if anyone is stubborn enough to try, it’s Legend.

2. The brainwashed castle guards killed his uncle and attacked him, and although those soldiers weren't technically Knights of Hyrule, it’s understandable why Legend is so critical of them and wouldn’t want to be associated with them in any way. His comments regarding them show that he doesn't really differentiate between the two.

3. We also don’t know the exact fate of his parents but if we assume that they were Knights like his uncle, then they probably didn’t meet a happy end either. You could also argue being destined from birth to serve the Royal family is where all his troubles started...

4. Perhaps his motives are not rooted in bitterness at all, but selflessness. Behind all that snark is someone who just has no desire for titles or recognition. We know that he purposely chooses not to be a leader even though he’s the most experienced of the group.

Despite all his quips he has a good heart; after all, one would need a balanced heart to wish upon the Triforce (twice!) without it separating. The only other characters we’ve known to harness the full power of the Triforce like that are Sky, King Daphnes from the Wind Waker, and the King from the prologue of Zelda II: The adventure of Link— That's a pretty impressive lineup of noble people to be lumped together with!

5. However, I like to think it's a combination of his past hardships and selfless heart.

He'll continue on his travels, helping other's simply because it's the right thing to do. He's never quested for recognition and never will, but in a way he's also running from his past.

I think his adventures have affected him (you’re not fooling anyone Legend!)

But eventually he’s going to have to truly face himself; what he’s lost and who he is.

Ok–

Aerith knows Zack’s sword, he’s her lover after all and she’s seen him with it. She’s still not sure where he is (though I know she knows deep down), where he’s gone, or what’s happened to him at this point so what if– she’s approached Cloud because he has the same eyes and he has her lover’s precious buster sword on his back.

It makes me so happy to see all the Zerith we’re going to get in the remake!

“Sometimes, I see someone with those eyes. The same as yours. But he always disappears. Do you know each other? Do you know where he is? May I ask you another question or should I stop…?” -Aerith’s Monologue, FF 30th anniversary Exhibition.

Credit to: @enigmaphenomenon for the gif.

The Shell Box of real walnut made for perfume storage, greetings from France from the 19th century.

「 “He really wanted to meet you.” 」

Needed to smile so I drew some more Zootopia!Kingdom Hearts stuff. ;w;a

I hope it makes you smile too.

Find the hearts joined to yours…