Light Aura (64)

art by Mandi Cottontail (mandicottontail) on deviantArt.
  


I must confess I am slightly saddened by the lack of reviews.  However, I am sure that the lack is probably do to all of you being busy (something with which I am very well acquianted with.)  Anyway, so I'm going to give my notes on the chapter and then reply to the two reviews and then all future reviews can be replied to in a future blog post! (I will still reply if you review after I post, I promise!!!)

All right, so I really only have one note on thic chapter, actually.  It's about how Namine levelled.  Based on my last post, I believe that brings her up to Level 9, giving her the ability to Scan.  (Based on KH1 standards, which is the ability list that I have.)

Namine levelling is also why her energy was restored.  Like how you come up to full health and magic when you level up in Kingdom Hearts.  You do that, right? I'm not imagining things? Correct me if I'm wrong.  I could be crazy.

Is it kind of convenient that she levelled a chapter after her and Riku were talking about it? Yes.  Does it really matter? I don't think so.  

Anywho, that's my only note.  I'm going to update the Combos page with the Light Aura information.  Go figure, Light Aura is more like a Limit than a Combo.  Riku and Namine seem to have the propensity for Limits when they are at the brink of exhaustion than for Combos that are a flaunt of their power.  Go figure.

I'm just making up comments as I go along on this.  So, rar and I came up with this backstory about Namine.  (Kind of independently of each other, now that I think about it.) Basically, Larxene used to shoot lightning at Namine as well as the Repliku, to bother Repliku.  Or to prove something to Namine.  Did Larxene really need a reason? No.  Namine then basically built up a hatred of lightning so strong that she refuses to learn Thunder magic.  

KKBeckett, in those notes, I think I've actually answered all of your questions and comments.  Other than the fact that you can sure as heck TRY and shoot Larxene, but you can't kill her yet, I need her.  (Sadly.)

My dear Guest, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and I made you laugh! I like putting little conventions in there like Heartless dropping money for laughter's sake.  

Anywho, that's all the responses.  Just a little update on stuff.  I HAVE actually finished all of Betwixt and Between. Four more chapters and an epilogue.  Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting chapters.  I finished writing last night.  Rar's read through everything and content-wise, stuff is great.  I am going to read things through again and whatnot before posting, and I don't want to put a whole bunch of chapters up at once, so I will be spacing them out.  I'll still blog and stuff.  I'm going to (hopefully) be managing another blog for the novel that I am literally picking up in two days for a rewrite.  I'll give a link to that blog in a future blog post on here if you wish to follow that blog for the next couple of months.  (I would appreciate it! I have come to accept a lot of you as more than just readers, but as friends, almost! :) )

Okay, so... enough of me rambling, have a nice day!!

Angry Darkness (63)

darkness "nebula" made by me on this super-cool website: http://29a.ch/sandbox/2011/neonflames/#

I tried to make it look all angry and mechanized... *shrug*

Anyway...


Ohmygoshcompletelynewbloginterfaceyay!

Now that THAT spazz is over with...

Um, yeah, new blog.  Finishing up this fic to work on my novel... fun times... fun times...

So, about that chapter!

I was talking with rar randomly about what levels each of the characters would be like. (It all started with deciding if I was going to integrate abilities like “scan” in.)  Regardless, I joked that Sora and Riku would be at like 300 something.  Then I decided if Sora was at 300 something, Riku’s probably closer to 400 something  maybe even pushing 500.  Roxas is probably at like 150 ish.  Xion’s gotta be at like 80, close to 90.  Kairi’s probably only at like... 12 or 13 (just far enough to have the Scan ability, actually, based on the fact that she picked the Shield).  And Namine is at 8 (Just under Scan, based on the fact that if she’d HAD a Dive, she would have picked the staff.)  Yeah.  I’m weird.  

Hrm, Axel would be at like... hmm, this has got me thinking.  Is he more powerful than Riku? (That’s what this comes down to, doesn’t it?) Well, I wanna say, given how long he’s been around and how long he’s been fighting, he’s probably at like, level 500 something.  Maybe even 600.  *shrug* Whatever the heck level he is, he doesn’t always choose to show it.  Why would he?

Aqua is probably close to 400 herself.  She just lost all that time when she was wandering around the Realm of Darkness.  Terra’s... okay, I’ve decided I don’t want to try and figure out if Xehanort had an influence.  So Terra’s level is unknown.  Ven’s probably close to 200.  He just lost ALL of that time while he was asleep.

I’m not going to even bother with the FF charrie’s levels.  Too much effort.


Heheh... all of my notes were in regards to that... well... you know... *shrug*


Review Responses:

Peach, you wondered why the room could Cure Riku when Cure's couldn't.  To my understanding, Save Points in KH heal you as well as get rid of status effects (if you get any lasting ones, can't really remember, I've been playing too much Crisis Core where that DOESN'T happen... stupid Genesis.... ANYWAY!).  In my canon, then, Save Points, or rather, Healing Circles, heal status effects.  Riku had some leftover poison from the... oh... what did I call them... Poisonous Poolers! but when he stepped into the Healing Circle, that was cleared.  The potion may or may not have worked by that logic, he may have needed an Elixir or an Esuna.  However, my original theory was what Namine had mentioned, that the Cures couldn't get through the Darkness all the way (not a new problem) in a way that a potion would.  

K.O.D. Lazarus, sadly, I am not (regularly) an artist.  You can find a link to my dA in my profile.  However, I haven't posted new art on there in a while... sorry.... However, I'm glad you're enjoying!!

Guest, I'm rather surprised you read the whole thing twice, it's rather long! (though, some people would say it's a short read) more power to you!! I'm glad you enjoyed it that much to read it again! I shall consider a shattering Limit for Namine.  However, there's another Limit coming up with her and Riku so I may not create anything new for her for a while.  

KKBeckett, yes.  Cliffie.  Sorry.  I'll have another chapter up soon.  (Saturday? Sunday?)

THIS!

http://ipqi.deviantart.com/art/KH3D-Countdown-3-288883976

Just, this, just... EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS.

Please read the comic and enjoy! Tis rather amusing. 

Have a nice day everyone!

Namine Squared

I think it's time I do a post on the Namine's.

Everything here is just a conglomeration of everything that you guys already know or can know.  It's to help even out the confusion and answer some questions--maybe even for me and rar.

For starters, there's different levels of things that everyone knows.

There's the things that you guys all know.  It's been posted in a chapter, made canon, written out in a blog, whatever.  You know it.

Then there's stuff that our beta's know that the rest of the readers don't.  Cookie may fall into this category a little because he asks questions via PM and I know *I* answer ones that aren't too horribly spoilery, or I confirm theories. 

Then there are things that rar and I have written into a scene somewhere in the future (or, I suppose in the past), the scenes just haven't been posted yet.  Things inside these scenes may change, depending on what happens in the stuff we're posting currently.  The farther out it is, the more that's likely to change within it.  

Then there is stuff that rar and I just know.  It's not been written anywhere, we've just discussed it in a plot-throwing-around session.  Or it's come up and we've sat on down and figured it out.  (Blue’s Clues reference, btw).  These facts that we know may or may not actually make it into the story itself, but we know them to be true.

Then there are the things that rar and I honestly, actually don't know.  Things like Namine's meltdowns.  Rar and I legitimately don't have an answer as to what is causing them.  (I use this as an example because it's current, relevant, and this post is about Namines...) Anyway, we have our theories and speculations as to what is causing the meltdowns, but nothing is official.  And then there are things about my Namine that I find out as she tells me.  It goes something like this:

I'm writing something, and all of a sudden, Namine's doing something that she's never done before.

I ask her: "Namine, since when can you do that?"

And she replies: "Oh yeah, by the way, I can do that."

It's a ton of fun.

So, some basic facts and whatnot about our Namines.

Both Namines can see the future.  Or, certain future events.  However, this happens for different reasons for each girl.  Rar's Namine can see the future because of the paradox in her memories: she has memories of things that haven't happened yet.  Therefore, when she sees stuff that hasn't happened yet, it's because of those memories.  Will she continue to see/draw the future when all of those memories come to pass? Maybe, maybe not.  She might, considering my Namine can see future events without memories of them and rar's Namine has data from my Namine.  

My Namine can see future events because she can see past memories.  Or, it's related to that at least.  That's her current theory as to why she can see what she sees.  She takes the memories that she has access to (it used to be people just related to Sora's heart, now it's anyone if she tries hard enough.  Except Shad, he's a bit harder... but he's special.) She takes those memories and she uses them to project potential futures.  The closer the futures are, the more accurate her projected potential futures are.  She can also draw things simultaneously with them happening.  She just... does that.  

If she draws a picture of the future, it is about 93% accurate.  Some things may change here and there.  If there is blood in the picture, that is definitely going to happen.

Each Namine processes the images from the future different.  Rar's Namine generally has a meltdown because she doesn't actually know how or simply cannot process the future images.  So, rather, she doesn't process them at all.  This might have something to do with the locks that Edd put on her brain.  She may probably get to a point where she learns to control them and process them properly.  (Or she'll just get to a point where she doesn't get the future memories anymore, that's up to rar.)  (Sorry, this is still a tad confusing.  especially since rar's Namine's seeing of future memories and her meltdowns are somewhat intertwined....) However, this is assuming that the memories are what is causing the meltdowns.  But if that's what's causing them or not, rar's Namine doesn't do well in processing the future memories.  Thanks Edd.

My Namine processes the future images merely by just drawing them.  She doesn't think too much about them because any potential time difference is going to give her a headache.  She just files them away as puzzle pieces that she can't quite place yet and then she puts them in whenever she sees that an event has happened.  She's rather calm and compartmentalized about all of this, mostly because it's just been something that she has always been able to do.  She was the Nobody who could see memories, like Roxas was the Nobody who could wield a Keyblade.

My Namine can also sort of "create" a future via the images that she draws.  But that's only if she's messing with memories inside of hearts as she does so.  It's not something that she likes to do.

Fun fact, my Namine can experience a meltdown if she happens to be paying attention to rar's Namine's memories at the time of a meltdown.  If her telepathic link to Kairi happens to be strong at that moment, Kairi will experience a shadow of the meltdown as well.

Could my Namine fix rar's Namine's meltdowns? Potentially yes.  Backing up a bit, one of the main reasons why they (as in everyone in rar's universe who cares about stopping Namine's meltdowns) haven't *tried* all that hard to fix them is because they lack complete access to the Program.  They can theorize all they want as to what is causing the meltdowns, but they can't do anything to fix them until they KNOW what's causing them, and they can't do wither thing until they have complete access to the Program.

Yes, my Namine being around could potentially circumvent this, but she can't do everything single-handedly.  She'd need a fully functional Program.  Which, at the current moment, would require rar's Namine to go to my universe, which even with them meeting in that AU scene in ASAS, that wouldn't happen simply because Riku wouldn't allow it.  (Because, to be honest, he's f***ing paranoid about what would become of Namine.  He's too afraid that she'd change, she wouldn't be his Namine anymore.  He's afraid of this because every time he went into a Memory Pod, he just got rewritten.  So give him a break.  Especially because he doesn't actually admit this to anyone.)

Plus, in the canon story, the two Namine's haven't met yet.  

Things are going to happen with rar's Namine before she meets my Namine.  My Namine is not the solution to the meltdown problem.  It does make an interesting theory, however.  You're welcome to write all the fanfiction of our fanfiction you want to on it.

That's all I have to say on this subject at the moment.  And, knowing Namine, don't trust any of it to be true always.  She has a habit of retconning things herself.   

Aqua and Terra

The couple that's not entirely a couple yet. 

I mean, Axel and Kuin are bad enough.  But like... you can see that they're going to get together.

Aqua and Terra... I don't even know.  I mean, I figure that they're EVENTUALLY going to get together... it's certainly more likey than Aqua and Ven.  Definitely more likely.  Because Aqua and Ven isn't going to happen. 

So... like, why am I even posting about this if they're not official?

I don't know... maybe because I want your feedback?

Because I'm trying to see if maybe by posting this is helping things...

It's not.

Le sigh.

Though, upon porting this over, I’ve had a little bit more develop about the two of them.  When they were just sitting there, watching the sunrise, I got the feeling that one day, the two of them will actually make a rather cute couple.  Not blatantly cute like Namiku or Sokai, but a quiet cute, like…. Idk. Like them. 

Moving on.

Axel and Kuin

Okay, so since Kuin exists only inside of my head and there is no fan art of her and Axel because I haven't drawn it, there won't be any pictures in this post.  But I can't leave this couple unmentioned. 

Now I have to do this without spoilers.  Axel and Kuin's "relationship" is developing all out-of-order in my head.  It's developed differently inside of my head than it has on paper.  And it's developed more on paper than I have actually posted.  Yay timey-whimey stuff!

Hmm... now, what to talk about exactly.  Axel and Kuin are the couple that cares about each other... but doesn't want to admit that they care about each other.  That's a good start.  They're not even a true couple yet, really.  (Which is good, honestly, because they've just met each other...)

However, despite having just met each other, Axel and Kuin are also good fighters together.  Remember the giant Heartless in Enchanted Dominon? Or the time in Twilight Town? (granted, that ended up with Axel injured… but it was a preexisting injury so it hardly counts.) 

They don't have any combos (yet).  A lot of this is because they've only fought alongside each other a few times.  And some of it is because I don't have a complete concept on the extent of Kuin's powers. 

When it comes to light and darkness... Kuin is probably as close to "balanced" as she can be.  She has to be.  It's her job description. 

Axel... well, he's certainly dabbled in darkness (heheh... such a fun term) in the past.  He's certainly done dealing with it though.  (As in, working alongside it.)  His sense of self-preservation has kicked in in that regard.  He won't do anything that's super-uber-obviously detrimental to his heart. 

Hmm... do I have anything else to say...

I don't think so... not at the moment...

Donald and Daisy

art by pageemerick on dA.

 Okay, I probably don't have as much spam about Donald and Daisy as I do about Mickey and Minnie.  It's not like Donald and Daisy are any less cute, there's just less stuff about them. 

However, there's this one statue in the pin trading building where Daisy's buying all of these pins and Donald's forced to carry all of them.  I think that sums up quite a bit right there.

Anywho, Donald and Daisy in the khverse (and therefore, my canon universe) are a couple like they are in Disney.  Squeenix and Disney haven't really given any indication the exact status of Donald and Daisy's relationship, but I'll believe it's somewhere in the dating/courting stage.  I'm pretty sure Goofy said "special friend" at some point in KH2. 

*takes a moment to laugh at how annoyed Daisy can get when Donald is away too long*

But, I mean, obviously she still loves him.

art by titanicfreak23 on dA

Hmm... I don't think I'm going to try and spam too much about them.  They've got a quiet, strong relationship.  You guys don't hear much about it because that's not something that I’m really focusing on.  (Though, I mean, it will come up at times.... but that's about it.)

There's no combos or anything to mention... mostly because Daisy doesn't fight.  I mean, she could probably defend herself if she had to, but she'd much rather run for cover.  Donald, at least, knows how to fight and how to fight alongside others.  He'll protect Daisy in the event that he's around her when there's trouble, there's no doubt about that. 

Huh, I really think that's all I have to say...

Wow, this post is kinda really short. 

art by vanillacoke-disney on dA.

Mickey and Minnie

Art by andy-pants on dA

Mickey and Minnie.... oh where to start.  That picture up there is vintage designs for the two of them.  They've come a long way from their roots.  Look at them now! So prominent in society.  Not just in the bounds of Kingdom Hearts... but permeating the globe wherever Disney (and Disney affiliates, and people who can get minimal rights... etc) is/are. 

Sorry... I just feel it's appropriate to mention Mickey and Minnie in my couple's posts because they are a couple in my fic.  AND THEY ARE SO FREAKING ADORABLE.

Like... in the show "Dream Along with Mickey" which plays in the afternoons in the Magic Kingdom, there's this part where all these princesses (Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora) are all out dancing with their princes as they talk about wishes.  Mickey asks Minnie what her wish is and she mentions that she wants to dance with them, but she can't, because she's not a princess...

To which he replies: "Aw, but you've always been a princess in my eyes, Minnie."

CAN YOU GET ANY CUTER THAN THAT?

If there is one thing that being at Disney has done for me, it has given me a new appreciation for probably THE MOST canon couple EVER. 

So, I'm having a post about them.  It's only appropriate. 

art by NikiVandermosten on dA.

In my universe/fic/KHcanon/whatever we're calling it at the moment.... Mickey's obviously a King and Minnie's the Queen.  I don't think Mickey's always been a king... he may not have always been royalty even.  (I dunno, Mickey's been more things than Barbie it seems.)  However, he's too... what's the word... humble to have always been royalty in my opinion.  Or something like that... Idk.

In addition to being King, though, he's also a Keyblade Master.  And, before Sora and Riku were Masters, he was one of the only ones out and about.  He's had a lot of work on his plate the last several years.  And now he's playing catch-up in his Kingdom because Queen Minnie can't do everything. 

Bless her heart though, she did a dang good job.  She ruled with peace and kindness while he was away, and nothing was forgotten about even in his absence.

Both Mickey and Minnie are heavily on the side of the light.  Most of Mickey's attacks involve Light Bursts of some sort.  He also has this habit of showing up out of nowhere JUST when you need him.  I mean, how many times has he saved Riku's butt? More than I can count.  He did the same with Ven and Aqua, and Sora.  Mickey's just amazing like that.  He's just in and out, saving people, making sure the darkness doesn't get too strong.

That doesn't mean he doesn't have his faults, he's been mistaken about things before.  He used to think that any darkness was bad.  He's learned otherwise.  Still though, he's amazing.

One of my favorite parts about Minnie is that she doesn't let herself be helpless.  She can actually fight! They're all light-based attacks from what I can tell, with Pearl, or is it Faith? One of the two.  Mickey can do Pearl, so she probably has Faith.  (I was legitimately excited when I got to that part in KH2 and she could FIGHT!)  And she's strong-willed.  She also has the patience of a saint--what with Mickey being gone as much as he is. 

Okay... I'm not sure if there's anything else I actually want to say about them.  I'll let you guys comment and stuff.  I'm too busy squeeing about Mickey and Minnie and not actually analyzing anything...

art by titanicfreak23 on dA

On Keyblades

Sora's got Oathkeeper--the physical representation of his bond to Kairi.  (And they haven't even shared a Paopu yet...) Oathkeeper's form may change a little if I feel like editing how that would look like as they grow older and closer and the bond between them strengthens. 

Riku's got Way to Dawn--the representation of a heart that once fell into darkness, but redeemed itself.  His Keyblade probably won't change until he gets over his dark past.  It's not like he still dwells on it regularly, but it's still there in the back of his mind haunting him. 

Roxas has got Oblivion--representing missing memories.  Yes, Roxas has all of his memories back now.  If someone else gets a change in Keyblade, it will probably be Roxas, because there will come a point in time where Roxas no longer is connected to all of those lost memories.

Kairi has Destiny's Embrace.  This represents her taking on the Destiny set out for her.  If she gets a Keyblade change, it will probably be around the time she takes her Mark.  I don't know, I'm working on ideas for that.

Xion wields the Kingdom Key because, at first, I just wanted someone to wield the Kingdom Key.  However, now I believe we are moving past that.  So why isn't Xion wielding any of the blades seen in Days instead? Well, those are more of representations of Roxas, not Xion.  She's not a copy of him anymore.  She's her own person.  Currently, the Kingdom Key represents the blank slate that Xion was given when she was rebuilt.  As her heart--now free of the entanglements and complications she had as an unstable replica--grows into whatever it will become, her Keyblade will change into something stronger.

SIDETRACK! If you want to see some really cool Keyblade designs, check out CBJ3 on deviantArt.  Some of the weapons that they design are AWESOME. 

Okay, back on track.... Ven's going to get a new Keyblade as well, about the time he goes for his Mark.  Same with Terra.  (When he redoes his Mark.)

Aqua will probably get a new Keyblade as well, while I'm at it. 

Funny story about Aqua and Terra though... they have a spare Keyblade--Master Eraqus' Master Keeper between them.  I'm not entirely sure the semantics of that just yet.  But, they have it between the two of them.  Aqua rightfully inherited it, but Terra has just a bit of Master Eraqus himself inside of him.  So... yeah... happy fun confidingness.  Thank you Master Eraqus. 

Oh, and on the subject of Keyblades, I believe Mickey's the only Wielder/Master I haven't talked about.  He still has Star Seeker, though he can switch to the Kingdom Key-D whenever he wants because he has both Keychains. He's also the King and can do whatever he wants.  His standard Keyblade is Star Seeker though and I'm not messing with that. 

Okay, enough about Keyblades now...

Cloud and Tifa

art by n0-heaven on deviantart.

Oh, the couple that I don't know what to do with.

See, Cloud refuses to acknowledge Tifa because he's too busy dealing with his darkness.  Which, I get and all... I mean... was Riku thinking about anyone when he was dealing with his? Nope.

But, I mean... Cloud and Tifa's not even officially canon in FF7.  It's ambiguous.  And it's supposed to be that way.

However, I'm not shipping Clerith.  I'm shipping CloTi.  Cloud just has to get passed everything.  And Tifa will wait for him.

However, Tifa is his light...

art by Risachantag on dA.  (Good artist btw)

I thought that picture was appropriate.

Anyway, even though they're not actually a couple... they're still really good friends.  And they're still really powerful fighters.  I mean, when you look past the whole dealing with darkness thing, Cloud is ridiculously powerful.  Omnislash, anyone? He's a good fighter, a good leader when he has to be, he knows not to play around.

Basically, if I were placing him in an army... I'd want him to be a general.  (Not that the army ever works like that... but still...)

And Tifa is so horribly stubborn.  She's a good fighter.  (I mean, she takes on enemies with her FISTS and wins.)  She's also good at finding people/keeping up with people.  (Cloud.)  She's good at keeping everyone together and keeping a positive attitude.  

As a team, the two of them are very good fighters.  They watch each other’s backs almost instinctively.  They know the others weaknesses and how to adjust/compensate for that.  Tifa knows when to interfere with Sephiroth, and when not to.  Cloud would prefer that Tifa stays out of all the battles, because he doesn't want her to get hurt--but at the same time, he's secretly grateful for her help.  They grew up together... that helps too.

When it comes to light/darkness... yes, Cloud's dark enough to have a shadow of his own.  No, he hasn't been able to deal with it as fast as Cloud in rar's universe.  Cloud in rar's universe had extra incentive to deal with his darkness, actually.  He got really angry and took it out on his shadow.  But, not my story to tell.  MY Cloud's still dealing with Sephy.  It's an ongoing thing.  However, for every bit of darkness that Cloud has, Tifa balances it with light.

No, she's not Aerith... she's not a Princess of Heart.  But she's bright.  I can't explain why, she just is.  See the picture above.

Regardless of what happens, Tifa will continue to follow Cloud wherever he goes--keeping him out of trouble and making sure he doesn't take on too much.  (He's not Zack with an ego... but he's like Mr. Incredible when he thinks that he has to take out a giant robot (Sephy) all on his own to protect those he loves and cares about.)

So yeah... there's my couple that's not really a couple.

art by dsabotender on dA.

Comparisons Between Couples

Well, something was nagging me in the back of my mind as I was putting together the Zack and Aerith post, so I figured I'd go ahead and do this now while I'm thinking about it.

You see 

and

have a lot in common.  

Cosplays are by Konoe-Lifestream and VandorWolf/twinfools respectively.  

Both have a history.  Sora and Kairi grew up together.  Aerith and Zack met when they were teenagers, but have since grown into a very happy-go-lucky couple like Sora and Kairi are.  And Sora and Kairi have only recently become a couple because Sora took his time getting it through his head that there are these things called GIRLS and... (i won't continue...)

Kairi's going to get more powerful magically.   And can't you just see Kairi as a healer? I mean... it's staring me right in the face.  I don't know about the rest of you.  

And Sora and Zack both have this habit of charging into things and Kairi and Aerith just sigh and follow and Cure them when things get ugly.

The couples have a lot in common.

Similarly,

and

have a lot in common.

Cosplays are by Eyes-0n-Me and KIPPER-love/QueenRachael respectively.  And if I thought finding cute pictures of Namine and Riku were hard... finding cute cosplays is harder.  

Anywho.  These two have so much alike in their fighting styles.  They're histories have a bit in common as well, I suppose.  Neither couple grew up together.  They were more or less thrown together under a set of circumstances and ended up falling for each other somewhere in the process.  Rinoa's homeland was threatened and she needed mercenaries and she found Leon.  Riku and Namine were both responsible for bringing Sora back.  

Leon and Riku are both the type of fighter... not to really charge into things... but to assess the situation, go in, and cream everything else.  Is there really anything else to say in that regard?

Rinoa and Namine don't really get INTO the battle.  They stay off to the side.  I mean, yes, Rinoa will get into a battle if she has to, she has her blaster-edge (and if I haven't said it before, I'll say it again, I wouldn't put it past her to steal one of Leon's old gunblades and use that as well).  Namine has been known to use pencils as weapons when she gets in close.  I'm probably going to get her a knife in the future.  Or Riku will get her a knife... But, when Rinoa and Namine aren't in the middle of things, they're off to the side, casting magic or shattering memories and looking out for everyone else.  (Mainly Leon and Riku...)

Again, there's quite the amount of similarities.

By that logic, you would assume that...

was like

right?

Cosplays by Adellexe/Aiiki and MiciaGlo on deviantArt, respectively.

Well, I suppose.  Sort of.  It would help if Cloud and Tifa were actually a couple.  Because, they're not.  Not yet, anyway.  And I have no idea when that's going to happen, because Cloud's too busy dealing with his darkness to understand anything about relationships.  But Tifa's waiting for him.  Aside from that, I mean, there are still similarities.  Both couples grew up together.  Cloud grew up with Tifa.  Roxas and Xion... well, they kinda grew up together.  Even though they were "born" at the ripe old age of 14 or so.  They were both certainly friends first.  So, there are some similarities.

Xion and Tifa are both horribly stubborn.  They want what's best for others first, before thinking about what's best for themselves.  Tifa would follow (and has followed) Cloud to the edges of the universe and Xion would do the exact same thing for Roxas.  They are both 'in-your-face' fighters.  They don't like taking 'no' for an answer.  They also won't take crap from anyone.  And they'll both beat you up if they don't particularly like the looks of you.

Cloud and Roxas... well, they both have spiky blonde hair.  They can both be moody.  Though... it's hard to call Roxas moody, really.  He's gotten considerably better now that he has a heart.  Though, maybe Cloud will be better once he's dealt with his Sephiroth problem.  He wasn't always a moody kid.  Both boys are certainly strong fighters with powerful swords.  Both certainly care about their friends and will go to great lengths to protect them.  

So the similarities are more than you'd originally think.

And, well, that's all I really have to say.  

Zack and Aerith

Art by Nami--Chan on deviantArt.

You search for art of this couple on deviantart, and it is all so FREAKING ADORABLE.  Not going to lie.  

Also, go check out some of the cosplays done by Konoe-Lifestream on dA.  Awesome stuff.

Anywho, I rather like getting the opportunity to have Aerith and Zack as a couple.  They're adorable.  This is probably what would have happened to them if they both hadn't died when they did.  They would have continued to flirt and grow closer and maybe eventually, they'd tie the knot.  It might even be on their minds now, considering their in their mid-to-late twenties as far as my fic goes.

Regardless if that's on their minds or not, it's for sure that Aerith is the reason Zack's in Hollow Bastion at all.  He's a mercenary--he's spent his entire career going where the work is.  He's GLAD that Hollow Bastion is in the mess it's in, because that means he has a job AND gets to be with Aerith.  He's hoping that the Restoration takes a while.  And, when Hollow Bastion is restored, he's hoping he can either find more work there, or that Aerith will just come with him to where work is.  (Not that he really WANTS to put Aerith in harms' way, but Aerith's probably already made it clear to him that she can fight and take care of herself (and six other people while she's at it.))

Aerith and Zack have a history.  I'm not entirely sure what all that history entails, but I know that they have one.  They met each other years and years ago and they've settled into a life that sometimes revolves around each other, and sometimes revolves around sending letters to each other.  Currently, they're together and they'll take that.  Plus, something's changing, because Zack's not leaving without Aerith this time--if he leaves at all.  Because even though Cloud mentioned that whole darkness thing that he needs help with, Zack's staying for Aerith.

And boy, is he a help in Hollow Bastion.

Zack could probably handle the rounds of Hollow Bastion all by himself and do just fine... until the event where he stumbled across one to many or one really huge Heartless and his ego took over and he got himself hurt.  Admit it, it would happen.  But that's where Aerith comes in.  Because, somehow, Aerith can keep herself out of trouble in battle, fight off loads of Heartless, and STILL have the presence of mind to look after everyone else in the party.  Or just Zack, because Zack's a handful.

But she loves him.

art by CaeruleaLacus on deviantArt

 They don't have any epic combos (though, I may still come up with one).  They fight well both side-by-side and separately from each other. But they're still a powerful combination of fighters.  

Zack's biggest weakness is his ego.  He takes on too much or he starts showing off and doesn't have the buff to back it up.  Aerith... well... Aerith doesn't have a weakness.  Not that I've seen.  She respects everyone unfailingly and she will stand by her friends almost to a fault.  But those aren't weaknesses.  She's... beyond that, somehow.  I mean, the worst that could EVER happen is that her magic gets low or that she is up against something too powerful and she doesn't have enough help.  But those are extenuating circumstances.  

Aerith brings out the best in everyone--even on the battlefield.  And she sure does surprise people when she shows them that she can hold her own.  

Now that I think about it, I don't think they're stronger than Squinoa.  That's not saying they're not strong, but Squall and Rinoa have not only known each other for years, but they've been together for years.  Aerith and Zack have lived apart from each other as much as they've lived away from each other.  Yes, their relationship is still strong (stronger maybe), but when it comes to fighting enemies, they're good, but they're not exceptional.  Sorry, guys.

At least neither of them are in danger of falling into darkness.  I mean, Aerith probably could have been a Princess of Heart if she was born a year or so differently.  Zack--well, he had a small little problem with the darkness back when he was a kid in Olympus Coliseum, but that was because his want for power go to his head and Hades tricked him into something he didn't actually ask for.  He's grown up since then and is pretty balanced.  I would say.  Besides, that happened BEFORE he met Aerith.

And, I think that's all I have to say on probably what is my most adorable couple.  (Namiku, don't even start... yes, you're adorable... but you're not Zack and Aerith.)

art by MidorikoXP on deviantArt.

Squinoa

Found the photomanip on tumblr, I don't know who did it though.  Leon from Kingdom Hearts and Rinoa from Dead Fantasy.

For the heck of it, you should search Dead Fantasy on YouTube.  Rinoa is epic.  Just sayin'.  

Anyway, by the time All the Pieces and Betwixt and Between roll around, the events of FF8 are long past.  Squall (Leon, but I'm calling him Squall in this post) and Rinoa are VERY MUCH a couple.  The reason why she's in Hollow Bastion at all, really, is because he's there.  Yes, there's enemies to kill.  But there's enemies to kill all over the place.  But she's been separated from him since sometime before KH1 because the way my canon ended up working out, she was on a pilgrimage to hone in on her Sorceress powers in attempts to make them better, as well as keeping herself from becoming consumed by them.  Naturally though, she can't control that part, which is where Squall comes in because he's her knight.  *insert FF8 lore here*

But, basically, they're at a point in their relationship where they're not leaving each other any time soon.  They should just get married.

Or something like that.

Hmm... I should have found a wedding picture for the heck of it.  Oh well...

Though, when you search "Squall and Rinoa" half of the results are cosplays by Eyes-0n-Me.  Granted, they are EXCELLENT cosplayers, so if you like looking at good cosplays, check them out.

Okay, time to talk about their strengths and weaknesses.  

Separately, they are both pretty strong fighters.  Together, even more so.   

But, let's talk about separately first.  

Rinoa's strengths: oh, being a pretty amazing Sorceress.  She doesn't have to replenish her magic, she can just use however much she wants at any given time without much need of rest.  Plus, she has her blaster edge for physical damage and I wouldn't put it past her to know how to wield Squall's gunblade by now.  (I'm probably going to have her do so at some point, so don't be surprised.)  

Rinoa's weaknesses: her power getting the better of her and she turns into a Sorceress ala Adel or Ultimecia.  It's her greatest fear.

Squall's strengths: pretty awesome physical fighter.  He knows a lot about a lot of things (though he can occasionally be wrong about lore).  

His weaknesses: Oh, being head over heels in love for Rinoa.

Though, he can keep his head in battle for the most part.  Until she's in trouble that is.

Their combo? It's basically just a combination of her chain-casting really big spells like meteor or meltdown and him Lionhearting stuff.  Big massive damage.  Got the idea for it when I was fighting the Ultima Weapon, she was chain-casting stuff and then got killed, I went for Squall's Limit Break and got Lionheart.  Yup.  

It occurs to me that I should have found a more battle-y picture of the two of them.  Oh well.

Art by yukikominazuki on deviantArt.

Oh well, I shall just post an adorable picture instead.

In my canon, Rinoa has wings all the time.  It's a result of her becoming a fully realized Sorceress.  She can fly though.  And she could probably carry people if she had to.  But only one at a time and probably only smaller people.  Except, she'd carry Squall despite how heavy he may or may not be because she loves him.

I'm working on getting my own drawing of her done... but life has happened lol.  

Back on track... Now that I think about it, if I were to pick a strongest couple from my fics, I would probably pick Squall and Rinoa: simply because they've been together for so long and have grown accustomed to how the other behaves and fights and crap like that.  They've learned to live with each other, realized they can't live without each other, and a whole ton of philisophical things like that.  Either that, or it's Zack and Aerith.  I'll reconsider this when I post the ZackxAerith post.  EDIT:  So… not actually going to try and pick a strongest couple.  I think we’ve already established that…

The KH couples have a long way to go.  Squall and Rinoa have been together for YEARS.  

I certainly wouldn't want to be going up against them.  

On a different note.  Neither of them is in danger of falling into darkness.  Sure, Squall's moody, but that's just 'cause he's moody, not 'cause he has problems with darkness like Cloud does.  He's pretty balanced, I'd say.  Rinoa's not going to fall into the darkness anytime soon either.  Yes, there's the risk that her power might consume her--but that doesn't automatically mean darkness brewing.  Not in her case anyway.  She's more of an angelic sorceress than a demonic one.  Note her wings.  No, she's not Princess of Heart light--but she's not toeing the line of darkness either.

Hmm, I think that's all I have to say.  Shweet.

Art by Tsubaki_chan on deviantArt.

Rokushi

art by semokan on deviantArt

I have always been a Rokushi shipper.  Ever since Days.  (And since I played Days before KH2, I didn't understand the concept of Rokunami until I played through and was like... oh, okay, I get why they ship it, I just won't ship it myself because I think Roxas and Xion have a deeper connection than Roxas and Namine.)  That is my opinion, you are welcome to disagree, but you aren't going to get me to change bandwagons.  Especially since I'm on my sequel and am not going to start shipping Rokunami anytime soon.  Or ever.  I like my pairings the way they are.  And they are happy with themselves too.  (This is not to say that I don’t appreciate or understand fics that ship characters differently, but in my fics, this is how I ship.)

art by Destiny-XIII on dA.

Roxas and Xion are both Keyblade Wielders in training to become Keyblade Masters.  That is their goal throughout Betwixt and Between.  They work well together and train each other when there isn't a Master around to train them.  Which happens, it does.  Especially since Roxas and Xion like going and doing little missions on their own because that's what they're used to from their days in the Organization.  As soon as Axel stops going off and doing his own thing all the time, he'll probably join them and the three of them will be a pretty epic trio of epicness.

Now, Axel, stop butting into Roxas and Xion's post.  You said so yourself that you don't want to be a third wheel to their fluffiness.  So, kindly leave now.

Thank you.

Moving on.

Let's see, I feel the need to give Rokushi's history... but you all pretty much know that.  If anyone hasn't played Days, I will be happy to sum it up for you, so just let me know in a comment.  Post-Days Xion didn't exist, and after the first 'week' of KH2, Roxas didn't exist either outside of Sora's heart.  The journey taken in All the Pieces was in part to restore both Roxas and Xion.  Roxas was separated from Sora and then Xion was recreated from the memories of her (and her actual memories) that Roxas absorbed upon her death.  Then, after that all happened, Roxas and Xion were, well, for lack of better terminology, completely happy to be with each other again.  

Then there was that little scare with Xehanort slicing off Xion's arm and it shattering into data.  THAT pissed Roxas off.

Which, I suppose is a weakness of the two of them as a fighting couple.  (Fighting baddies, not each other.  Roxas and Xion won't do anything else but playful bickering and teasing.  Like, I don't see them fighting anytime soon... or ever.)  Back to my original point, a weakness of them is Roxas' temper.  Which, he has pretty much always had.  Oh, how did rar put it...  It was ages ago, but it's fitting now... Um... Sora's never usually angry--until he's confused, then he gets angry as a way of dealing with that confusion.  Well, as for Roxas, he spent A LOT of his time in the Organization confused because someone (Saix) was intent on leaving him out of the loop on a lot of things.  So, taking a trait from Sora, Roxas was angry when he was confused.  And he was confused a lot.  He was confused in the beginning of KH2 too.  

Granted, he was NOT confused when Xion's arm got chopped off.  He had a very clear idea of what had just happened.  However, Roxas doesn't just get angry when he is confused.  He can get angry for other reasons.  Say, at the guy you really hate chopping off your best-friend-not-yet-girlfriend's arm right after you basically just brought her back from the dead.

And then Xigbar only went and rubbed salt in the wound.  However, Roxas is glad that he didn't kill Xigbar.  

Moving on.  

That really is their biggest weakness.  Xion has a temper, but she has a better harness on it.  She's not in any danger of becoming corrupted data, or being rewritten to kill anyone.  (Been done before, not going there again.)  Well, the being programmed to kill people.  Corrupted data I haven't touched... but I don't want to.  Not in Betwixt and Between anyway, too much else going on.  Maybe if I'm still writing two books from now.  

Roxas and Xion also know how to keep their heads cool in battle.  They have moved past the point of going gaga over each other and therefore aren't at risk of getting killed because of something coupleish.  Think... Wash and Zoe from Firefly.  Oh wait, that's really vague.  Um... I’d say the Doctor and River… but Rokushi is not like DoctorxRiver in so many ways.  Maybe RoryxAmy? That still might be just as vague.  Oh well, moving on.  Well, anyway, they can keep their heads cool in battle, regardless of how much Axel will tease them about it.  (He's never going to let Roxas live down that Lurk Lizard incident.)

Neither of them have problems with darkness taking over their hearts either.  Neither of them are weak fighters.  They're not the strongest--not yet anyway, they strive.  But they're both pretty balanced in those regards. 

Their biggest strength is probably the fact that they are very aware of the other's fighting style and can orient themselves around the other.  They're pretty evenly matched Keyblade Wielders so it isn't one person carrying all the weight of battle.  They don't have drastically different fighting styles that clash.  They are, again, pretty evenly balanced.

Okay, I thought of a bigger strength.  The fact that they can both use light-attacks well to their advantage.  Light attacks come easy to them both.  Event Horizon is one of their combos.  They both become bathed in light and they dash around the enemies killing them easily.  (Or at least, they killed Berserkers easily.)  They have another combo that I haven't written yet called Call of Light, which, I haven't worked out all the finer details yet, but I know it involves summoning plumes/pillars of light to the sky to obliterate enemies where they stand.  

And I have just come to the realization that I don't know everything about them yet.  I haven't written for them long enough.  So, there's room to grow and learn.  I don't think they'll surprise me anytime soon.  I'm excited.  

So, I shall leave you with all of that, and a picture that I won as a prize for a contest.  I requested Roxas and Xion fighting enemies, and this was the result, which I am happy with:

art by demyx100.