#phoenix-downer

There was only really dialogue at the beginning of the trailer, and they didn't have captions for the Japanese version, so I listened and transcribed it myself. Instead of breaking it down by each line, I'm just going to include it all together:

JP この世界の構造はとても複雑で　私たちが定義する光と闇を具現化したものを　存在しなかった

でも　それを定義するものが　この世界に来たことで　この世界にも　私たちの定義する闇が現れた

EN The structure of this world is incredibly complex. At first, there were no manifestations of what we know as light and darkness. But our arrival here brought these concepts with us—the darkness given physical form only after we defined it.

TR The construction/makeup/framework/organization/pattern/structure of this world is very complex/complicated/intricate. The embodiment/realization/materialization of light and darkness that we define didn’t exist. But, by that thing that defines it coming to this world, in this world too, the darkness that we define appeared/became visible/became embodied/materialized.

Notes: At first I thought Strelitzia was the character saying these lines, but then I saw people discussing it and wondering if it might actually be Ava. There is a character shown wearing a black coat while these lines are being spoken, and the silhouette very much looks like a girl or woman:

In all the other footage we've seen of Strelitzia, she has been wearing her normal outfit, so I agree this could be someone else. I went back to the first KH4 trailer where Strelitzia is confirmed to be speaking, and her voice does sound higher pitched and “cutesier” to me for lack of a better description than the person speaking here, and when I watched a little bit of Back Cover in Japanese, I did think Ava’s voice matched the the person speaking here a little better, but I’d have to listen multiple times to really make up my mind.

Anyway, continuing on.

The Japanese word translated as “structure” in the official English version, kōzō, can also be translated as “construction, makeup, framework, organization, pattern.” Screenshot is from the app imiwa?

I thought this was interesting because one of Sora’s new abilities, Build, is related to, well, building and constructing things. And I thought the wording for this sentence was really interesting in both languages as well, because to me it kinda sounds like Quadratum is artificially constructed by an outside force? I mean we don't go around talking about the “structure” of our world. So this perhaps ties into the Unreality concept, and it makes me wonder who or what created Quadratum if I'm right about this.

A word that repeats several times in this dialogue is tēgi, “definition,” and the speaker continually uses this word to emphasize that the people who came from the main Kingdom Hearts universe (I presume that's who she means, anyway) define the light and darkness and brought this darkness into being in Quadratum. In the official English version, this single word and its verb are translated as “what we know,” “these concepts,” and “defined.” I just always think back to that Shakespeare quote from Hamlet that showed up in the Versus 13 trailer, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” It sounds like thoughts are powerful enough to create things in Quadratum, at least from the outsiders coming from the main KH universe. It also reminds me of that island in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where your nightmares come true. Your mind makes it real and all that Matrix references yay.

I also wonder if both the denizens of Quadratum and the outsiders believe it's the outsiders’ responsibility to fix this if Quadratum was peaceful before, and I wonder who the first person from the main KH universe was who was sent to Quadratum. Probably the Master of Masters…

I see black feathers and instantly think Sephiroth?? Lol. But I think this is the Master of Masters.

Another important word in the dialogue is gugenka, or “embodiment, realization, materialization” according to imiwa? I also found a Japanese source that talked about the meaning and usage of the word, and they define it as “giving concrete, tangible form to ideas/concepts/thoughts or ideals.” So, darkness becoming concrete in Quadratum. Now, one of the kanji in gugenka, 現, also appears at the very end of the dialogue in the word awareta. Awareta is the past tense of awareru, which means “to appear, to come in sight, to become visible, to come out, to embody, to materialize.” So these words are conceptually linked in Japanese, and the official English version translates them as “manifestation” and “physical form.”

That about covers the linguistic nerdery lol. Time to cover some other details I noticed:

I'm pretty sure the person (presumably a girl) in this image is perched on top of the 104 building above the Scramble Crossing.

The Darksides look freakier than ever, I mean this would be horrifying to run across in real life lol.

Also, Sora’s combat in this first battle is giving me serious Spider-Man vibes:

He’s got a watch now!

This screenshot just looked really cool:

POV: You're a Heartless, and you're about to get your ass handed to you by a very angry 16 year-old who can move ridiculously fast:

Also, I lied, I have one last bit of linguistic nerdery: is that the writing system for Quadratum in that ad in the background? 👀

Continuing on. Sora: gets thrown through a window, manages to turn it into a handspring and land on his feet. Also, the Spider-Man vibes continue:

Strelitzia looks downright stunning, seriously she has never looked so gorgeous, and other people are speculating and I would agree that this is Sigurd, looking very out of place in the modern setting and also like a pompous ass lol:

I think this is a Dark Road character based on the buzz I've been seeing on Twitter, probably Vali, and then Luxord:

More footage of Donald and Goofy running into Hades lol:

And then Young Xehanort offering Sora a broken umbrella:

My friends and I were joking about how that conversation might've gone if Sora was in full sass mode:

Sora: I must be in hell after all, since you're here. That's the cheapest umbrella I’ve ever seen, and it's broken. Xehanort: It's the thought that counts, Sora. (heheh geddit because thoughts become real in Quadratum heh—I'll see myself out now)

Anyway, moving on. Sora’s flexibility in these screenshots is sending me. Also, a new Keyblade? Moana world confirmed? Lilo and Stitch world? Elemental?

Sora’s shoes are glowing yellow here, I'm guessing this is some kind of form change:

The guy screaming in the background is sending me. He's just like me fr. Also, once again, Sora runs towards the danger to protect other people, he's such a good person. A hero, if you will:

This part also gave me Spider-Man vibes. Also, I noticed they are still not letting Sora talk. He's using battle grunts etc., but we still haven't heard a single word of dialogue from him for this game. Interesting…

The English trailer is here.

It's almost embarrassing how clearly he’s still into her and obsessed with her, as dark and twisted as his expressions of those feelings may be. And I think Tyler’s humanity is leaking through here too, because flowers and a card almost feel like they started out as apology gifts for hurting her and landing her in the hospital in the first place. And from anyone else they might be, but of course everything gets so warped and twisted by his Hyde that the card has a death threat instead of an apology and the dead flowers really add to the ominousness of his words.

Of course, Wednesday immediately knows something is up. Only Tyler would know to do all these things—the dead roses, the black and white tissue paper, the death threats painstakingly handwritten in a card she can safely handle (why care at all about the allergies of someone you truly want dead?) He knows how much she cares about Enid, and he knows exactly how to get under her skin and get her attention—by threatening Enid. He’s her enemy, yes, but he knows her, and moments like this make it clear.

She asks the candy striper who gave her these “gifts,” and then there’s this reveal that not only did Tyler ask for these to be delivered to her, he's close by because he wanted to see her, too. It would've been way less risky if he hadn't stuck around to watch her reaction, but he did, and he even gives her a little wave:

One wonders just how long he's been skulking around the hospital waiting for her to wake up. The sheer amount of risks he took to be here, the lengths he went to to avoid detection when he only recently escaped Willow Hill and is wanted by the police—it really says everything about just how badly he wanted to see her. For this moment to happen, he had to sneak into the hospital somehow, steal and don the scrubs disguise, and avoid being recognized by anyone, even though this is clearly a busy hospital. He was also apparently around long enough to see Agnes visit at least once, because he knows she’s one of Wednesday’s friends in Episode 6.

He plays the role of full on psychotic villain when he knows he has her full attention. Just look at his smirk when he knows she's looking at him:

A chase/round of Hyde and woe seek ensues, but he manages to shake her. And this is where the pathos of the scene really hit me, and it’s all because of Tyler’s reaction once he’s alone:

A “regular” monster and clear-cut, unsympathetic villain would have smirked and gloated over getting away and successfully toying with his target. I think I even expected something along those lines, especially after his smirk earlier. Instead, Tyler practically has a breakdown and has to brace himself against the vending machine for support, and this moment hit me so hard. Props to Angela Robinson (the director of this episode), Erika Vásquez and Sienna Butterfield (the writers of this episode) and of course Hunter Doohan for his marvelous job of portraying Tyler’s emotions here, because it’s exactly thanks to moments like these that Tyler is such an interesting, nuanced character.

I’m sure part of his reaction is because he's sick and in pain and dying without a master, and this clearly shows that. He also just had to race through the hospital halls to avoid Wednesday and needs a moment to catch his breath. But I think he’s also experiencing a powerful wave of emotions—relief that Wednesday is okay and awake and alive, especially because he's the one who landed her in the hospital in the first place, regret that he had to run away from her when deep down he wants her to catch him, and anguish and disappointment over being separated from her again. Look at the way he squeezes his eyes shut, which is Tyler’s way of indicating the pain he’s feeling is unbearable, as he also squeezes his eyes shut like this when he asks Wednesday to kill him in Episode 8 and is bracing himself for her blow.

He also swallows here, like he’s choking back tears and is desperately trying to get ahold of himself. Beneath the monster and the villain is a very vulnerable young man who shows his real emotions when he thinks no one’s watching. It’s his humanity peeking through all over again, and I love that they included it because it adds so much to what came before and casts everything in a new light.

“Kairi!!” A familiar voice called. I looked behind me to see the familiar brown spiky hair boy running towards me. I shook my head as he approaches me out of breath. “Sorry…...I’m late.” He puffed as he sat on the paopu tree as well.

“Sora, we were meant to meet here two hours ago.” I frowned at him. What I needed to tell him was quite serious and Sora has been hard to catch as he is normally going from world to world. Time was of the essence.

“I know. I’m sorry.” He looked away from me. “I know you said it was urgent…. I just got caught up with some stuff.” He summoned his keyblade but it was different. It wasn’t the Kingdom Key but a smooth, cylindrical, grey shaft that tapers outward at both ends. It has a boxy guard, made up of two small, light grey boxes and copper rod. The base of the guard connects to the grip, and both sport several small indentations lining them. The grip itself is somewhat unique in that, while most Keyblade grips are cylindrical, the grip is squared. The teeth are in the shape of an "E". Sora pointed this keyblade forward, so I could look at it fully. “I did come to the islands early to make sure I wasn’t late. Then I found this on the beach.” The keyblade dissolved in his hand before looking at me. “Either way, I should have been here sooner.”

I looked at him with a heart-warming smile as he gave a sheepish grin while scratching the back of his head. His smile always made my heart skip slightly. “So long as you don’t go rushing off straight away. I guess I can forgive you.” I joked slightly. Only slightly as I know that if I didn’t tell him what I thought now. I won’t have the chance again.

“Don’t worry.” He softly spoke as he shuffled a little closer to me on the tree. “I’m not going anywhere.” I feel my face go slightly red from his words that I had the look away, tucking my hair behind my ear. “So, what did you want to talk about?” he asked cheerfully.

I looked back at him, seeing his concerned look and took this moment to take everything in. His slightly more controlled hair, the difference in his body from the last two years of fighting heartless was a sight, before returning right back to his eyes.

His eyes that looked tired, exhausted and slightly green. Not his usual blue. I need to tell him. “I wanted to talk about you, Sora.”

“Me?” He said with surprise, a confused look on his face.

I took this chance to jump off the tree and walk towards the edge of the little island before turning back to look at him. “Yes Sora. Have you been okay?” I said to him vaguely, maybe by starting vaguely he can start the talking himself.

Instead, he just looked at me with confusion as he tilted his head to the side. “I’m doing okay.” He answered before laying down on the paopu tree now that I had moved. “I am worried about Riku though. He said that he would contact us when he and Mickey got into the realm of darkness.” I watched Sora pull a communicator from his pocket that all of us received from Izeno in Radiant Garden. He looked at it intently, “But I haven’t heard anything yet.”

He wasn’t hiding everything there. I was having trouble with contacting Riku myself. I wanted to see that he was safe as well, but I wanted to ask him what happened doing their Mark of Mastery. I know that Riku would tell me the truth unlike Lea and the others, who would tell me everything but the reason why Sora had failed. Why did Sora fail? After everything he has done for the worlds, why was he not granted the mark. Either way, Riku isn’t here now so I will just have to find out from the source himself.

“I’m sure we will hear from him soon.” Then I added, “I mean he is a Master now.”

“That’s true.” He agreed. “And you’re right, Kairi.” He sat up and smiled at me. “Riku will be back before you know it.”

There it was again. I thought as I caught the glimpse of green in his eyes and his grin posed wide like he was having a photo taken. It was staged.

I didn’t think anything of it at first. When I had bumped into Sora in Radiant Garden during my training, I has asked him if he was okay and he assured me that he was fine. I trusted that Sora would tell me if anything was wrong, so I left it at that. But after we had gotten our communicators, we started talking more while I was doing training missions in other worlds.  I started noticing that he didn’t sound as chirpy as he normally is. He would avoid certain questions. He would mask his face to show that he was fine.

He wasn’t like that before the Mask of Mastery, so what happened to him.

“Are you okay, Kairi?” I snapped out of my thoughts to pull my attention back to him. He looked at me with concern. “For someone who wanted to talk urgently, you’ve been quiet the last couple of minutes.”

“Sorry. I was just in my thoughts.” I looked back at him, if I don’t ask soon. He will have to go. I took a deep breath and looked at him, my eyes locked on his. “Sora, why didn’t you pass the Mark of Mastery?”

I could sense his concentrated glaze on me as he jumped down from the tree and approached me. “I was meant to gain a power in the sleeping worlds and I didn’t gain it at the time.” He turned to face the sunset. “I have that power now. I’m a Master now. So, I overcame that challenge.”

I looked at his hands to see them clenched tightly. There was more to this. “If it was that simple Sora, the others would have told me the whole story.” I stepped toward to get closer, noticing that he was making sure I couldn’t see his face. “I’ve been told that something happened that Mickey, Lea and the others had to jump in the middle of your test. And I know that Riku had to wake you up.” I placed my hand on his shoulder, feeling him flinch from my touch. I would admit that seeing him react like that hurt a little. “I just want to know what happened.” I spoke with concern.

“I failed Kairi. That’s what happened.” He spoke coldly. His tone caught me off guard, but my worries were starting to be confirmed. He has been holding something in and he hasn’t been talking to anyone about it. From the sound of it, he defiantly hasn’t even talked to Riku about it.

“What—” When I went to look at face, he turned sharply away from me. He started to walk towards wooden bridge. “Sora! Where are you going?” I called out.

“I have to get back to saving Roxas.” Sora replied, still avoiding looking at me. “I have to save them all.” His body moved heavily as he was stomping off.

Is that what this is about? A part of me didn’t want to push him anymore but I knew that if I give up now, I wouldn’t be able to confront him again until I have Riku with me and I have this feeling we will be too late. “What are you so afraid off that you would push us aside?!” I stood my ground, if he wasn’t going to show me his face then I going to sherd no tears. I need to stay strong. “We’re all worried about you.” I watched him stay to a halt from my words. “I’m worried about you.”

We stood there for a while. The sound of the waves filling the space between us. I started to walk towards him when he spoke. “Am I still the same Kairi?”

“What do you mean?” I asked him. What did he mean by that?

I watched him sigh as he looked at his hands, still not turning to face me. “There are so many people connected to me by my heart. Roxas, Ventus…...” He shook slightly, the sound of his voice became more strained as he spoke. “I want to help everyone, but I don’t want to become someone I am not. I don’t want to carry all of this hurt.” He grabbed his chest in response with one hand and covered his eyes with the other. “Everyone is depending on me and I scared that I am not even me.”

Hearing the sobs coming from him just through my body into auto-pilot as I ran over to him, turned him around and hugged him tightly, guiding him to rest his head into my shoulder. I felt his arms wrap around myself tightly as he made muffled sounds into my jacket. I brushed my fingers through his hair and rocked him slightly, telling him that ‘I am here’ over and over to calm him down. A part of me was glad that he was letting this out, but it could have also been prevented. “Remember what you said to Riku when we found him? You said that he shouldn’t do everything on his own when he has friends like us. Well, I am saying the same thing to you. Let us carry some of that fear and hurt and we will face it together.”

He started to calm down before he spoke again. “I didn’t want to worry anyone.” I noticed that he was still hiding his face away. I tired to move to look at him, but he kept me in place within his arms. My concern only grew more.  “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Sora, you are worrying me now. Let me see your face.” I asked him. “Let me in.” We stood there in each other’s arms for a minute or two before he shifted to lift his head up from her shoulder. His lips formed a firm line and he kept his eyes shut. “Sora please.” He took my hands into his slightly rough ones. I could feel his hands shake within mine. I have never seen him this scared or upset before. It was starting to scare me.

Then he opened his eyes. Golden ones staring back at me.

“I was captured by Xehanort and the new Organization XIII during the Mark of Mastery.” His voice shook as he started to explain. “I watched everything without the ability to move my body. Xehanort wanted to make me his last member. Make me just another version of himself. And after everything that the others did, to prevent that from happening. I just couldn’t….” He looked away as tears began to form. “Riku and Axel…..Donald and Goofy….the King.” I held on to his hands tightly for reassurance, making him look back at me. “It was my fault that I got captured. They fought so hard to save me, especially Riku. I couldn’t tell them.” He closed his eyes and hung his head in guilt and shame.

While holding his hands, I took the time to process the information given. We had failed to save Sora from Xehanort after all. His heart is part of Sora’s now. He is the thirteen seeker. However, Xehanort hasn’t taken over his heart, Sora was in control. Why was that? I thought back to Sora’s first question, when he was asking if he was still him and what he said after. “Sora. When you said that you didn’t want to become someone you are not. Were you thinking that if you were to save both Roxas and Ventus from their faith, that Xehanort will take over?” It was only thing that might make sense. It was like they were being guards to Sora’s heart from any invaders. I could understand why he hadn’t talked to anyone about this. He didn’t want to make anyone feel that they failed to save them. In the end, I would properly be the only person he thought he could admit this too.

But even I feel I have failed him.

“I don’t know what to do, Kai.” His head hung low. He sounded so lost in my arms. “I can’t just leave Roxas and Ventus trapped within. Using them for my own needs. That would make me no better than Xehanort.” He let go of my hands, suddenly I am missing the warmth that he was giving. “But saving Roxas and Ventus is exactly what they want. They have been taunting me enough during my journey to other worlds.” I watched his guilt quickly turn into frustration as he closed his eyes and placed his hand in his hair. “Either way, I can choose to be a coward and abandon my friends or save my friends to only go to hurt them later.”

I shook my head at this. “Sora, we can find another way. We can always focus on removing Xehanort from your heart first then go back to getting Roxas and Ventus.”

He sighed as he opened his eyes to look back at me. “I don’t think it will be that easy.” He held on to his chest, where his heart rests. “Unlike Roxas and Ventus, his presence fights against my very being. Using whatever darkness I have within me to his advantage. It comes and goes at the moment but it mainly comes when I am feeling down or scared. With all this thinking of ‘Who I am’, I am starting to feel his presence at lot more. I can’t even sleep properly.”  

“We can still use the power you and Riku learnt to----” I jumped in.

“If we do it, Xehanort will properly take every last bit of my darkness with him.” He sighed. “I am not like you or Ven……my heart would break.”

“Then we will bring you back---”

“How?!” The sharpness in Sora’s voice caught me off guard. I didn’t want to admit that there wasn’t anything we could do. That I could do. I had brought him back before when he was a Heartless. I will figure out a way to bring him back. “I broke your promise. I am no longer myself.” He stepped back and placed his hand in one of his pockets, pulling out a familiar charm to both him and I. “I don’t deserve to keep a hold of this. It might be better if---”

I don’t know what came over me but seeing him with the charm in hand, seeing him so crushed and lost within himself that I needed to drive his darkness away. I just leaned forward, placed my hands on the side of his face and placed my lips on his for a quick but passionate kiss. My heart was racing from my boldness and my body was just running on adrenaline from all the emotions that running through me. I looked back at him to see his eyes widen with surprise, what the surprise for me was that his eyes turned from the eerie golden yellow back to his usual comforting blue ones. I was too filled with emotions to question my actions.

“YOU ARE SORA!” I said to him as clear as possible, my hands still on his shocked face. “You are the saviour of the worlds, a fantastic friend, a loving, caring person. Nothing and no one will change that. Xehanort will not take control of you. Your heart has already shown to be stronger than his. Believe me when I say that.” I started to breathe heavily, I took this time to close my eyes, letting go of Sora’s face as I calmed myself down. “Please keep hold of the charm. It’s the only thing that assures me that you will come back home.” With my emotions in check, I opened my eyes to look back at him. He seems to be processing everything I have said and done.

Suddenly feeling regret from my kiss, I step away from him. Something that he notices straight away. “Sora. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—” It was my turn to have my sentence cut off as my dear friend repeated the same action by grabbing my face and kissing me with just as much passionate, only lasting a little while longer. All sense of worry disappeared as I was filled with complete bliss. Feeling my heart sing as I take this moment in.

Sora pulled away from me and looked at me with the warmest smile. A smile that I haven’t seen in a while. “Thank you, Kairi.” He pulls me into a hug. “And I’m sorry. For all of this. I didn’t want anyone, especially you to find out this way.

“But Sora ---”

Sora’s communicator starts to ring. Time was up.

I sighed as Sora pulled away to find his ringing communicator in his pockets. Placing the charm back in his pocket while doing so. I took this time to notice that the sun had gone down during our heart to heart. It was hard to see when the night comes as there is not any light source. I looked up to the sky to see so many stars scattering across the sky. The night sky can be a thing of beauty. To think that all those stars are a world, just like ours.

“Kairi.” I turned to face Sora, it was a little tricky seeing him in the dark. “That was Riku.”

“Is he okay?” I stepped toward slightly, trying to find where Sora was. I felt Sora’s hand and grabbed it. At least I know where he is now.

“He’s fine. He said that Yen Sid needs us all back at the tower. He believes that he has an idea where Terra is.” I held on my hand tightly, feeling the warmth from it. “C’mon, we will give you a lift there.” We start walking across the bridge and jump down to head to the row boats.

Sora lets go of my hand to set up a light source on the rowboat. I watched him intensively as there was one thing that I was wondering about. “You are going to tell the others, right?” As much as I want to be, I will not be journeying with him all the time. There will also be times where we might not be able to communicate with each other as easily so having others near him that he can talk to if he is struggling against Xehanort will help in the run of the final battle ahead.

The lantern on the boat is switched on, allowing me to see Sora’s thoughtful but worried expression. “I will.” He stood away from the rowboats and looked at me, “If you can promise me one thing.”

“Anything.”

“If I lose the battle against Xehanort after I help Roxas, Ventus and the others……” He stepped towards me and placed both my hands within his. I looked at his eyes to see the slight green colour has returned to his eyes. “Don’t go easy on me.”

Again, the waves filled the silence between the two of us, I could feel the weight of this promise. What it meant if I was to agree and what I was agreeing to. Any other time, I would claim that there must be another way, that it doesn’t have to been like this. But we both know that we will be heading down this path no matter what. If it means that he will spread his worries to the others, so he doesn’t burst then that will decrease the chance of Xehanort taking Sora’s heart.

“I promise.”