No, not that Oblivion... or that one... or that one...
An in-progress multi-part Kingdom Hearts Alternate Universe Fic by Gabriel Seraph.
The story takes the members of Organization XIII and puts them into the real world, in a fictional Northern California suburb (implied to be in the Bay Area.) The story focuses on Tim Nemo (Demyx in all but name), whose father Ansem is trying to activate something called the "In-Between" in a secret underground lab.
Tropes and pop-culture references abound in this story, making it considerably more fun to read than most fanfics. The story is to be told in thirteen nine-chapter "episodes," of which those that have been published are listed below:
- "The New Kid"
- "Both Sides of the Story"
- "Everybody Hates Windmills"
- "Frozen Pride"
- "Shake, Rattle, and Roll Over the Edge"
- ''J. J. Abrams Was Right
- "Full Moon Fever"
- "Analog Water For Digital Fire" (in progress)
This fanfic contains examples of the following tropes:
- Aerith and Bob: The author keeps some names from the original game, while changing others (largely to avoid Who Names Their Kid "Dude"? - see below.) Here we have Linda, Alexis, Enzo, Axel, Tim, Lucien, Marley, Lara, and Rocky. There we have Ansem, Braig, Vexen, Saix, and Xion. Such a mix.
- Alien Sea / Alien Sky: At the start of Episode 6, Tim realizes something's hinky when the sky is suddenly red, and there's no school across the street - just impossibly beautiful blue springs.
- Alliterative Name: Ashley Aspen.
- Artistic License – Geography: Appears to be set close by San Francisco. However, many cities and towns are very fictional. The story mostly takes place in suburban "Blancoville," and NemoConTech is located in "Santa Marina," a fictionalized San Jose. The town of Sand City is real, though - it's just outside of Monterey.
- Bilingual Bonus: Several in different languages. For example, Tim's new school, Ojo de Cielo High, meaning "Eye of Heaven" in Spanish. Episode 3 reveals the source of this name. Episode 6 reveals just how well said source deserved its name.
- Bottle Episode: A written-word equivalent forms part of Episode 4, where Tim and his friends are stuck in a restaurant over the lunch hour due to a power outage and bad weather.
- Compressed Hair: Tim gets this when he is pulling things out of the trunk in Episode 1, from pushing his head against the trunk lid. As soon as he emerges, it's back to its usual unmanageableness.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Ansem Nemo, a technological giant to rival Bill Gates.
- Deadpan Snarker: Many, many, many. Tim, Ashley, and Tara are among them.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Forms the backbone of Episode 3, where students and teachers are rude and abusive to the Green Club for daring to build a mini-windmill display on campus. The school superintendent even name-drops this trope when he criticizes the principal's poor handling of the situation.
- Expy: The In-Between, based on its description, seems like one of the Hellmouth. Hmm...
- Flashback: Episode 2 is almost entirely composed of these for Braig, dating back as far as 1977.
- Gender Flip: Xaldin becomes Linda. Marluxia ("Marley") and Vexen get this treatment as well.
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: Ashley, Tara, and Bobby invite Tim to join theirs, which they call the Lethal Tomatoes. They even explain the origin of this name in episode 8.
- Green Aesop: Zig-zagged in Episode 3. The Green Club is able to reveal that the builders of Ojo de Cielo High deliberately dried up the original springs so they could build on the site, and it's suggested that principal Matthew Cyrus is part of a conspiracy to cover it up. The real message, however, is that one should stand up for their constitutional rights, rather than a straight-up example of this trope.
- Green Thumb: Marley really cares about her roses.
- Hypocritical Humor: Mr. Necker, Tara's English teacher, featured in Episode 3. He and a number of students have formed a Glee fan club, seemingly to promote tolerance, and yet he has no problem being insulting and abusive to those he doesn't like.
- It Runs On Nonsenseoleum: Episode 6, to an extent. The author even lampshades it, claiming that writer's block made him desperate to finish the story, and suggests merely overlooking it as if it were part of a completely different universe than the regular story.
- Just Following Orders: Suggested to be the reason why most of Ansem's "inner circle" (consisting at least of Braig, Linda, Vexen, Alexis and Enzo) go along with his sinister plans.
- Making a Splash: Like his game counterpart Demyx, Tim can make clones of himself with water.
- Meaningful Name: Most characters have one, usually referring to some attribute of their power/abilities (and more often than not a reference to the original game.)
- Ansem Nemo: His last name means "nobody."
- Braig Bidos: See Numerological Motif below.
- Linda Lancer
- Vexen Icenbice
- Alexis Terra
- Enzo Lessico: Italian for "lexicon."
- Saix Claymore
- Marley Flowers
- Lara Savage
- Meta Guy: Tim makes a few passes at this, at one point being called out on it by Ashley."Okay, Abed. You wanna geek out anymore? Am I gonna have to take back that kiss?"
- Mistaken for Gay: Marley and Alexis, largely because the former can pass for male at a distance.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: Braig, as revealed in Episode 2. For this reason he's forced to live in Ansem's hidden lab at all times.
- Musical Trigger: Tim figures out that if he plays the opening notes of "Madness" by Muse, he can change his guitar into any stringed instrument.
- Mythology Gag
- Ansem's ethereal blades are referred to by name in Episode 4, which is also named after Vexen's shield.
- At one point, Axel says, "Got it memorized?"
- Numerological Motif: Braig gets one with the number two. His last name is a combination of the Greek prefix and Spanish word for two, he's bi, he has one side of his face scarred, and he's second-in-command to Ansem, as company president.
- Oh Crap, There Are Fanvids Of Us!: Towards the end of episode 6, Ashley introduces Tim and his brothers to Demyx Time. Needless to say, the similarities between themselves and the cosplayed KH characters really
Squick them out. - Precision F-Strike: The note left by the person who sent Ansem a letter full of suspicious powder in Episode 2. Turned out it wasn't anthrax after all, but harmless flour.
- Pstandard Psychic Pstance: Mockingly invoked by Tim in episode 8. The narrative even mentions this very wiki in the same paragraph.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Axel likes to mock Tim's supposed girly interests, especially the fact that he's a Buffy fan.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: In Episode 5, it's revealed that Ansem had to kill off one of his "inner circle" (a factotum named Ray) at one point for betraying him.
- Shock and Awe: Lara Savage.
- Shout-Out: Many, especially in the worlds of music, Film and TV. Not to mention some to the original games.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: When the Nemos adopt their twin sons, as shown in Episode 2, Ansem questions the logic behind the birth mother's request that one of the boys be named "Demyx." So he decides to call the boy "Timothy" instead.
- You Keep Using That Word: In Episode 3, Mr. Necker attempts to justify his insults to Tara by saying it's a Comedy Central-style roast. Tim and others are quick to inform him that it's not a roast if it's not meant in good humor.
