Grotesquery

I don't even have to say anything else. This is everything. This is one thing.

Am I the only one here who cried when Xion died? I wish I was younger and less savvy to the universal indifference towards that character.

So, there was all this Darkness, right. Then came the light, and people were like, yo man, this is tight. But then some punks came up and started a fight, and now the entire world’s fighting for what’s right. So out of nowhere, they come up with this thing called the Keyblade. Apparently the world didn’t like that, so it kind of broke up. With itself. And it was nasty. But it’s all cool, because some chill girls called the Princesses of Heart, named Jasmine, Aurora, Snow, Alice, Belle, Cinderella, and Kairi got it back together. But it still lives in separate locations, called realms, and it still fights for custody of its children, called worlds. And for some reason there’s a brat named Xehanort who loved this bed-time story so much he wanted to make it come true. The only problem is he did some bad things to a lot of good people, with the help of bad people. Good people? Terra, Ventus, Aqua, Mickey, Eraqus. Bad people? Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Vanitas, Isa, and Lea. But he’s a good guy later cause everyone loves him. Oh, and there’s these guys called heartless who happen when a person dies. Nobodies happen sometimes too. The good guys have Keyblades, they’re basically guidance counsellors who make sure the universe doesn’t split. The only problem is that Xehanort and Vanitas have them Keys too. This causes a marital relapse in the relationship of the universe, and as a result, the X-Blade is born. But Aqua Mickey and Ventus killed it, and it was very sad. Vanitas died too. Xehanort then possesses Terra and develops SPD, turning into Neo_Xehanort and General SOD(Xehanort’s Heartless). Ven goes to sleep and Aqua gets trapped in Hell. Mickey goes star-sailing and forgets it for about 10-years cause that’s just how he rolls. The bad guys are working for a good-guy name Ansem the wise, but that doesn’t turn out so well. He ends up turning into DiZ because he spent too long in the tanning booth( also known as the Realm of Darkness). The bad guys do the same, but because they wore tanning lotion(which in this case takes the form of a black coat), they just turn into dudes called Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Saix, and Axel. (I forgot to mention their lotion brand was chemical X.) Neo-Xehanort goes too and turns into Xemnas. The only problem is he forgot his lotion, but he already has an X in his name so it’s good. They then call themselves Organization XIII. And they are all also nobodies. Blame terrible safety standards. Then these other guys named Sora, Riku, and Kairi show up. Riku joins the Dark Side of the skin Complexion and Sora chooses the light, but because of an imbalance in the universe Sora somehow ends up tanner. Kairi was just sort of there, except for the time where Sora died and she brought him back to life but after that she was just there again. Sora then goes to a Castle after beating general SOD, and Organization XIII decides to mess with his limited intelligence using Namine(Sora and Kairi’s Daughter from the future?/Baby Nobody) and a Riku Clone. Riku Clone dies to Riku while Riku is on a spiritual journey through said castle, and Sora falls asleep. But not after bad guys LARXENE, ZEXION, LEXAEUS, VEXEN, AND MARLUXIA die. Meanwhile Roxas(Sora’s Nobody) hooks up with the wrong crowd but meets the killer with a heart of gold Axel. Oh and Xion(Sora’s clone who is a girl because he loves Kairi. Basically Namine 2.) Xion dies and apparently Roxas is mad because Ice Cream is no longer sold. Then Riku shows up and uses Roxas to wake Sora up. Sora wakes up and goes on a killing spree with his partners in crime Donald and Goofy, killing the rest of Organization XIII, including Demyx, Luxord, and Xemnas. Sora then entered the Matrix and became the one, which Mickey confirmed via E-mail(Which in this case, takes the form of just regular mail.) Sora and Riku then go to become the very best, but fall asleep. While dreaming they meet younger Xehanort before he surrendered to Skin-Cancer and bed-time stories. Because time-travel. They then woke up and now Kingdom Hearts III is happenin. YOU ARE NOW PREPARED.

Loved this episode as a kid.

Nah way. Javelin would never make a biting comment when there is Kairi to be involved. That's just his rare brand of unfettered positivity shining through.

TIPTIPTALLY HYPE

"H" is the only letter that doesn't fit. "H" is the first word of half. There are three letters in Hikari that are also in Half Life. Half Life 3 confirmed. Never thought I'd actually make this joke.

And I am beyond impressed that you manage to keep up with this stuff given such criteria. You probably know the material better then Nomura himself, at this point. Anyways, thanks for your time, and thanks for helping me understand a few of these blank points.

1. Really? I could have sworn the secret Ansem reports specifically said he was banished to the Realm of Nothingness. Granted, that doesn't make me right, but at the same time, I would like to know if this was just another name for the RoD or if Nomura somehow ret-conned it. Of course, I could be completely wrong in all areas regardless. 2. That makes more sense. But was it ever confirmed that that was the specific way he escaped? Of course, it makes more sense for him to have escaped using the Dark Corridor considering the revenge scheme he had been plotting in the Realm of Darkness, but still. 3. Of course, there are a lot of uncertainties in Kingdom Hearts because in my eyes, so much of it depends on circumstance. Not all of it and not to everyone, but a lot of it is hard for ME to pin-point due to its very non-linear, thematic style. 4. *ARCMIN'S SELF ESTEEM HARSHLY FELL* Just kidding. Sorry if I was coming off as a bit theoretical there, they were just random thoughts that popped into my mind. And honestly, what else am I supposed to rely on when there's so much exposition of these facts out there that I have yet to discover? Oh, and I didn't mean to imply that the realm of in-between was the Dark Margin. I was trying to say that it was the border of both the Realm of In-between and the Realm of Darkness. (Quick question, is the realm of in-between the same as the realm of nothingness? I was always led to believe that the realm Xemnas transported Sora and Riku to at the climax of Kingdom Hearts 2 was the "Realm of Nothingness" and the Realm of In-Between was the realm between the light realm and the dark realm. Or, are they one and the same? And if so, what is Ansem referring to when he mentions "realm of nothingness" in his secret reports?) 5. Yeah, we can all agree upon that. Sorry of what I said made it sound anything to the contrary.

Regardless, that doesn't change the fact that both pairs of people wound up on the edges of their respective Realms. Considering how huge these places are supposed to be(Like Kuno said, the dark realm alone is theorized to be at least as big as the realm of light) I still find it to be a rather significant coincidence that all 4 characters made it to that border. As Nomura stated that time flows "differently" in the Realm of Darkness, I think that may have something to do with it. Perhaps the Dark Coastline is the final destination for people in the realm of darkness, no matter what, and no matter what direction you go, you always end up there in the end as it's the edge of the realm itself. Perhaps for that reason time itself has little consequence for people before they make it there, as there is no other "end" to your time in the realm then that. Less has been shown about the realm of in-between, but I can assume its rules are somewhat similar. And considering that Ansem was once trapped in the realm of in-between, yet escaped with relative ease(he was definitely not there as long as Aqua was in the Realm of Darkness) that leads me to believe that the Realm of In-between is possibly much smaller than the realm of Darkness. Either that, or the flow of time is much more erratic there, so distance has less meaning. On an unrelated note, I also find it quite likely that Ansem escaped from the realm of in-between much in the same way as Sora and Riku did, by eventually finding the border, and his "light within the darkness" as you put it, and somehow escaping using that. I can't say for sure what that was, but this IS just a theory after all.

That didn't stop Aqua and Ansem from running into each-other, of course. In the exact same spot that Sora and Riku were in, probably not long before. I'm beginning to think the Realm of Darkness has a twisted sense of humor.

I still recommend you condense your chapters into a single thread. The mods very clearly do not like the forums clustered with unnecessary topics, and putting your entire story into a single place would probably be the most convenient way of going about the process. Now, for the story itself. I find myself in a strange position when I read this story. For one, I cannot honestly say I have much to complain about. In general, it is well written, the characters are likable, even if at times a little simplistic, and the progression of events as well as the actual driving narrative itself is very enjoyable. While there are a few instances where the grammar could have been improved slightly, I honestly don't believe that it's anything that detracts from the story as a whole. But, on the other hand, I don't want to take the easy way out and simply say: "Good work, keep it up." I do want for you to improve in every way possible, and I do want the story to grow alongside you. The only problem is that I have very little in the way of criticism that wouldn't sound like simple nitpicking. Which is why it's so difficult for me to even start going about deconstructing your story, as I can't say for sure what about it is wrong. Don't misunderstand, there is most definitely a great deal of things in your story that could have been done better. Even the greatest stories of all time have their fair share of warranted criticisms. My conundrum is that I'm not wholly experienced enough to spot them, and by extension, properly explain them. However, I will do my best. Let's start with the first aspect of the story, the characters. Always remember this, in writing, there is no such thing as "bad", only something that could have been done better. And to be brutally honest, I think this instance is a prime example. Now. I'm not saying the character's weren't fine. I'm not saying they weren't good. ... I'm saying they can be done better. For one, let's start with the Original Characters. Spero, on the whole, I think makes a fairly standard protagonist. He has a some innocence to him, but doesn't seem as confident as other characters in the series. He sort of has his own role that, at the moment, I think looks undefined. Which is good. In addition, he has a lot of aspects that don't immediately remind me of either of his parents, which is VERY good. It's never a good idea to make someone an exact copy of someone else personality wise unless it's done for comedic effect. And I'm being 100% serious here. However, at the same time, I don't feel like there's really enough personality there for me to make any concrete judgments regarding his character. His introduction felt just a little bit lacking, like, it's good that we know who he is. And it's great that we get to see his interaction with other characters. But I just feel like we need to know more about him, especially when considering that at the moment, it looks like he's gonna end up being the main protagonist. You explain the Keyblade War, that's great. But how does he feel about it, personally? Not just what he says, but what he thinks. We now know that his parents are the rulers of wherever he lives, but we don't really know how he himself feels about that. Now, I'm going to stop myself. Because this is a fine line all authors walk, the balancing beam of too much versus too little. Now, I feel as though the pacing in all of your chapters was really well done. And I AM aware that adding in more material like what was suggested above can SEVERELY mess that up. I am not saying that you need to mix around any of the material as it presently is, because honestly, it feels just fine where it's at. What I'm asking of you is to just set aside some time every now an again, maybe show some more varied interaction between the characters. For instance, all we've seen of the relationship between Amare and Spero so far is their awkward, slightly amusing friendship. If you intend on making them a couple, then I strongly recommend adding in something of a more personal and serious nature to their relationship. The last thing I want to see is more of the same, all building up to a big emotional scene where they just come out and say they like each-other, for no reason. Which, leads me to... URGKKK FLIPPIN OMIGOSH that Riku interrogation scene. I have all the WRONG feelings about that in all the WRONG ways. First off, I appreciate what you were trying to do. Yeah, add a little bit of conflict to the story. Not everything is Malshine and rainbows. Growing up sucks. But... it just comes out of nowhere! No buildup, WHATSOEVER. The scene could have easily been made 10 times better if you added in some basic foreshadowing, like maybe Xion goes "Lately, Xion had been worrying about Riku. A lot of the anger and seriousness that he had during the war was starting to show once again upon his face. She hated seeing it in times of war, and she hated seeing it even more in times of peace." That ALONE would have made the scene so much more powerful. Instead... It just feels out of place. HUGE wasted potential, in my opinion. AND THAT LEADS ME TO ANOTHER THING THAT IS ADMIRABLE OF YOU TO ATTEMPT BUT WAS NOT DONE IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE. Namely, the struggle for dominance between the old characters and the new. For one, I like that you're at least trying to focus on both of them. Yeah, the old Keyblade Masters are important. No reason to not give them some characterization. My only problem here is that the old characters seem to be the main focus. Like, no. That shouldn't be the case. In my opinion, too little of the story has been committed to the younger generation here. And it's not like I can find an excuse, like you didn't have enough to work with when it came to the tykes. Because literally, in chapter 4, this new guy who's main character potential comes in, doesn't say a word, and is automatically supposed to be part of the group. What? Why? Why weren't we given a proper introduction to this character? I don't get it. Was there not enough time? Was it not necessary? Well, I say it was fairly necessary. Even something as simple as him waking up in the morning would have been better than just him popping into existence and suddenly main character. The worst part is that he shares the scene with OTHER PEOPLE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE. I understand you had their Dads there to show parallels between all the old main characters and their children, but it just wasn't the right time to introduce Aurum. Oh, and I don't think we ever even got a description of what he looked like? I mean, has he even said anything yet. All I remember is that he got hugged. Oh who am I kidding that's character of the year material right there 10/10. Look, I'm sorry if this sounds brutal. And, yeah, I probably could have been less sarcastic with those last few lines. But I just want to get my point across, there are lackings in your story. And it's your responsibility to try your best to improve those areas, for the good of your story. Now, if there's anything about the story that YOU yourself feel could have done better, then please, inform us. I personally would be happy to help you sort through any doubts you happen to have. P.S Seriously, please keep all your stuff on one thread. It makes it so much easier to sort through the comments and keeps everything manageable. ~Arcmin, the "Artist" formerly known as Mancer Nope, putting air quotes around the word artist doesn't make it any less pretentious.

Seconded. Not only because it can be more delicious in more configurations than any other food in existence, but because you can literally take any substance known to man-kind, put it on top of a pizza, and still have it qualify as pizza. Therefore breaking the rules of scarcity and gifting us all an infinite supply of food, in the form of pizza. Pizza is one. Pizza is all.

1. This is not elaborated on. The only sort of answer we have is that Kairi's Keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, takes on that form as a manifestation of her heart. Another possibility is that Riku may have stumbled upon Aqua during his travels in the Realm of Darkness and gotten the Keybalde from her then, but this is incredibly unlikely due to that fact that he would have not only brought her back with him, but also probably would have mentioned the existence of another Keyblade wielder in KH3D. 2. Ansem was imprisoned within the realm of nothingness by Terranort, not the realm of darkness. The secret ending of BBS shows him in the realm of darkness, after he sacrificed himself at The World That Never Was by damaging Xemnas' Kingdom Hearts. This is the only time he was trapped in the Realm of Darkness. As stated before, Terranort trapped him in the Realm of Nothingness after he and the other 5 apprentices betrayed him. Once Ansem escaped from that realm, he took on the guise of DiZ. 3. This is also unexplained, and believe me, your reasoning makes just as much sense as you think. Logically speaking, it is impossible to recreate the original X-Blade that was used during the Keyblade wars, unless you use the 7 Princesses of Heart, as well as the currently undefined 13 Original Pieces of Darkness. However, Xehanort's intention is to create something similar to the X-Blade, perhaps not as powerful, but with the same function. Much the same way that Ventus and Vanitas managed to forge it in BBS, even though they didn't really recreate it. They created a new one. For instance, assume you have a locksmith, who creates a key. For some reason, that key is shattered into pieces, and no longer opens the door it was designed to open. Do you think the locksmith would go through the trouble of bringing the pieces back together, or just create a new key from scratch, that accomplishes that same purpose as the one that was destroyed? 4. Again, this is pretty much un-explained. It may have something to do with nobodies and who their somebodies were, or perhaps the Organization was just keeping tabs on Kairi due to her overall potential significance to their plans. But mostly, I believe this instance is little more than thematic fluff, and probably doesn't hold any real meaning to it. Of course, in a world run by Nomura, I've been burned by saying those words before.

Like him or hate him, you can't deny that his unnatural channel growth and gigantic fan-base make him a viable commercial interest.

It's best to understand that most fanfiction won't start off flawless. One of the most important parts of being an author is the willingness to cast aside doubts and fears and just write what you feel is best. Look back at what you make, and learn from your mistakes. Accept and encourage constructive criticism, but don't let anything shake your resolve. In the end, that's really the best thing we can do.

The best part about that picture is that at this point it could apply to either the article itself or just the conversation that it's brewing.

I was seriously expecting that line of trucks joke again.

It suddenly gets much more depressing when you realize that both of them are her.

Ah, subversive humor. Keep up the good work, Jim.

Lord of the Keyrings... We meet again.

Yeah, pretty sure there's someone out there who would be happy to ship that.

Anime is just sort if it's own art style. It started off as a product of Japanese culture, and pretty much just evolved from there. I don't know what influenced the first manga artists, but the genre has developed a pretty universal feel. I think nowadays people just expect anime characters to look the way they do, if that makes any sense?