This dream again. You've been having it a lot lately... You are floating in some kind of... liquid, it feels like, and an abyss is in all directions except below. You know, from having had this dream before, that as you gaze into the abyss, it is only a matter of time before the darkness comes out of the abyss and tries to destroy you.
There is still time. The Door is still shut. Can you get it?
These are the starting lines of Kingdom Hearts: Visions of Destiny, or simply KHVD, a quest started on the Viridian Dreams forums by JamestheFox in 2011. The players control Sora (and occasionally others) on his adventures.
The quest can be found at the Viridian Dreams forum; the first thread is here
, the second and current thread is here. It can also be played from Sufficient Velocity, here.
KHVD contains examples of:
- Alien Noninterference Clause: The World Order.
- Break the Cutie: Poor, poor Kairi. And Sora. And Pinkie Pie... You know what? If it's cute, it's suffered some breaking.
- Combat Clairvoyance: Sora can see the future, and may apply his powers this way. If he's lucky and doesn't get a False Vision
- Combat Pragmatist: Sora, who as early as his first fight resorts to throwing sand in his opponent's eyes, and over time has only added to his list of pragmatic at best and dishonorable at worst strategies.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Sora notably has one, and Kairi's past has been upgraded. In addition, all residents of Traverse Town are said to have one.
- Darker and Edgier: While it hasn't even reached the half-way point of the first game, Visions of Destiny is already this in spades.
- Despair Event Horizon: To Kairi, repeatedly, ultimately causing her to repress her memories.
- Dr. Haruno fell off the edge, after an encounter with her old friend's Heartless.
- Dreaming of Things to Come and Dreaming of Times Gone By: Sora's Visions sometimes occur in his sleep.
- Five-Man Band: As opposed to the Power Trios of Kingdom Hearts tradition:
- The Leader: Riku, from the POV of most characters, though as the player character Sora makes many of the decisions.
- The Lancer: Sora, who is not above fighting dirty and pragmatically, but is often brighter than the moody Riku.
- The Big Guy: Goofy who, through immense Defense and HP, continuously laughs off the worst attacks that come to the party.
- The Smart Guy: Donald Duck, master of many fields of magic, and knower of things.
- The Chick: Kairi, who manages finances and has been coming into her own as a magic-user.
- For Want Of A Nail: Due to various choices made by the players, Sora, Riku, and Kairi, are still together as they travel the worlds.
- Future Badass: Both Riku and Kairi have appeared in multiple different flavors.
- Futureshadowing: Sora's powers in general allow him to know things that will happen, though not exactly how they will happen. And then there's the time travelers...
- Galactic Superpower: The Galactic Federation.
- Gilded Cage: Serah Farron is mostly kept either at home or at arm's length from a trustworthy associate by her sister Light, with all her needs provided for by Light's many jobs. The effort to keep her happy is due to her being a Magical Girl without Witches to fight.
- Harmful to Minors: Xehanort, perhaps moreso than in canon, based on his actions in regards to Kairi.
- Help Yourself in the Future: Kairi from the future appears during Sora's time in The Reaper's Game, and it is revealed that she has been helping Sora's party through their early adventures from the Realm of Sleep.
- Killer Rabbit: Celsius the Seagull is explicitly based on the Trope Namer.
- Knight, Knave, and Squire: Riku, Sora, and Kairi form each respective pillar.
- Massive Multiplayer Crossover: Kingdom Hearts is already pretty massive. KHVD takes this to the next level, adding several franchises to the crossover.
- Never the Selves Shall Meet: It is established that characters meeting their future selves in the Realm of Sleep is bad news... at least for Sora, who can see the continuous shifting of the future made worse by said encounters.
- Power Gives You Wings: Kairi pulled this, once.
- Running Gag: Kairi and Coffee (you don't let Kairi get her hands on coffee. No, you don't. Not even then. Trust us on this one). Sora and Left (taking the left option is perfectly valid. Always).
- Seers: One notable divergence from the original series is that Sora is a seer. He occasionally sees glimpses of the future, allowing the players to steer towards or away from what Sora sees. The Visions themselves may or may not be true, sometimes in the form of Prophetic Fallacy, sometimes the Visions simply give false information.
- Secret Testof Character: Ansem, Seeker of Darkness' conversation with Sora in the Secret Place caused Sora's heart to shift further to the light, based on Sora's answers to his questions.
- Strapped to an Operating Table: Kairi, and the Heart Extraction Machine.
- Tempting Fate: The players, constantly.
- The Chosen One: Riku, unlike in canon, receives the Keyblade Terra passed to him undisputed, and for a time he is the only Keybearer around. Many characters view him as the "hero" and leader of the party.
- The Masquerade: The "World Order" is held more importantly in KHVD than in canon - it's a law, held to by a multi-world Federation.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Sora, to Riku, multiple times. The effects never last.
