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flve-hargreeves · 5 years ago

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( chris wood, 28, he/him ) class is in session for ANSEM WARBECK. their resume says they’re a WITCH and they’ve been teaching MENTAL MAGIC at the academy for THREE YEARS. the psychological report says they are LETHARGIC and CONTEMPTUOUS, but they’re also IRONWILLED and COMPASSIONATE. we wish them good luck in the new school year.

— * | ansem warbeck is the oldest child of ragnor and celena warbeck. he has a twin brother named arson and while they are identical, they couldn’t be more different. both ragnor and celena are influential members of the magical community and always prided themselves on having a stellar reputation. stellar isn’t quite so stellar though; they are morally gray. they never get into dark magic themselves, but their family has profited heavily from it over the years. ( think … war profiteers, i guess. they never get their hands dirty but they have plenty of blood money ). arson is the dutiful son, the good son, and ansem’s always been the disappointment who couldn’t live up to their expectations. ( the michael bluth )

ansem was never good at doing what he was told and rebelled against the behaviours his parents tried to ingrain in him. he never listened, always liked to do his own thing, and never bought into the whole ‘pureblood supremacy’ thing that they tried to drill into his head. so what if they came from an old witch family? la creme de la crop? magic was magic. he figured if you could do it, you were just as good as anyone else. ( his family disagreed. ) he started at arcanas when he was eleven, like his descendants before him, and was a member of house aquis.

personality wise, ansem is sharp, sarcastic, and doesn’t have a high tolerance for people. the list of people he dislikes is longer than those he likes. he likes to have a good laugh ( sometimes at the expense of others ) and isn’t one to take on responsibility. ironic, given he’s now teaching at the school he used to go to. for someone as intelligent as he is, he does the least amount of work possible and does well but never really exceeds his own expectations. he’s incredibly lazy and can usually be found snacking or napping around the school.

shortly after graduation he worked as a for hire curse breaker. if there was a hex you couldn’t undo, or a curse on your family name, he was the guy you called to fix it. he was good too. it was only after a curse backfired and nearly killed him that he got scared and backed out of it. the fear was greater than the love he had. arcanas was safe, a reminder of good days (and far far away from his family) so he was happy to ya yeet out of the real world. less than a year after graduation, he was enrolled at a magical college and eventually became a mental magic teacher.

another point of irony, given how much he claims to hate people, is the story of how a twenty/twenty one year old mess accidentally adopted an eleven year old. it was an assignment from one of the teachers or housemasters, a mentorship program between tenth and first years. he was assigned jade brantley and at first ? oh boy did he hate her. or rather, the responsibility he felt towards her. it became pretty evident the more he got to know her that they were put together for a reason. her family had sent her to arcanas without so much as a second look and couldn’t have cared less if they ever saw her again. she stayed behind at the school for christmas, as did he to avoid tense family dinners with the warbecks, and that was when their mentorship started to become more like family.

by the end of the year, he looked at her like — his kid, if he was being honest. it was kind of terrifying, wanting to protect another person from the realities of their life, but he knew it was the right decision to make. it helped that his partner agreed; they’d come to care about jade in those months too, and they both knew it was the right call. he contacted her parents, assumed temporary guardianship, and she moved in with them that summer after they graduated. ( the individual that set all of this up, the cheeky bastard, sent them a potted plant as a housewarming gift. a plant that would have needed to have been potted SIX MONTHS EARLIER. he’d be mad about getting played if he wasn’t so happy. )

they formally adopted jade a few years later. they were already family in everything but blood and name — it was simply a formality. the three of them — four, if you counted jessica the cat ( famously known for stepping on faces ) — had been more of a family than any of his blood relatives had ever been. he’s never regretted his choices.

that being said, things weren’t always happy. he and his partner fought a lot, sometimes over nothing and couldn’t remember why they ever loved each other in the first place. but this isn't a story about vindictive exes, it's about two people that do love each other, probably always will, but just didn't love being together anymore. they're excellent co-parents to their adopted daughter and they're working their way back to being best friends even though it's a little awkward. they split up roughly three years ago, shortly after ansem started teaching at arcanas.

he was a bit of a mess that first year, i won’t lie. he probably drank too much, smoked like a chimney, and was trying to remember how to be a person instead of 1/2 of a couple. he’d been with his partner almost his entire life, it was a process — discovering himself again. he eventually started seeing jude montague ( who, ironically, he’d always had a schoolboy crush on when he was a student ) who also taught at the school. one thing led to another and they’ve recently taken things to the next level: they got married. ansem’s still a little terrified this one is going to go belly up too, that he’s going to mess things up, but they’re still in the newlywed phase so he’s not quite as pessimistic on their outlook. it also helps that his family hates jude: 1. he’s much older, even without the whole phoenix thing, 2. he’s not a pureblood witch who comes from a good family name, and 3. he’s a man. yeah, celena warbeck was not happy and threatened to cut him off. she didn’t, of course, but his father hasn’t spoken a single word to him ever since they got married. it’s a game now, trying to see if he can say or do something to make him break. so far, he hasn’t won.

when he’s not staying at arcanas, watching over his water demons, he’s at his house nearby. now that he’s married jude, however, the clan ( bc ansem doesn’t go anywhere without jade, jessica, and by extension kit ) will be moving into his definitely-haunted house nearby. it’s an old victorian, fits jude’s goth boy aesthetic perfectly, and tbh as long as it has decent wifi and an espresso machine? he’ll be fine.

he’s been teaching mental magic at arcanas academy for three years, so connections can be assumed with other staff members and students !! he’s also been the housemaster for aquis, who he refers to as his water demons, so that’s opportunities for connections too! ( there’s also a 99% chance he calls all of his students by pokemon names. sorry not sorry. ) he’s your typical panic first, think logically later, type person, so if he heard about the orb being stolen he’d fear for their inevitable demise. y’know, chaotic and assuming the worst case scenario from the get go.

so that’s basically him in essence. see some quick stats below for more tidbits.

— * | BASICS !

NAME: — ansem ragnorius warbeck.

NICKNAME(S): — ansem.

PRONOUNS: —he/him.

AGE/DOB: — twenty seven / july 25th. ( he’s almost 28, so don’t @ me )

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: — pansexual.

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: — panromantic.

ETHNICITY: — caucasian.

NATIONALITY: — british.

HOMETOWN: — manchester, uk.

EDUCATION: — he previously attended arcanas, aquis house. four years @ a magical college near aurora / arcanas school.

— * | PERSONALITY !

STAR SIGN: — leo.

PERSONALITY TYPE: — ESTP.

ALIGNMENT: — chaotic neutral.

PHOBIA(S): — enclosed spaces, clowns, snakes.

VICE(S): — cynicism, impatience, vindictiveness, spitefulness.

VIRTUE(S): — accountability, candor, realism, honesty, loyalty.

— * | RELATIONS !

PARENT(S): — ragnor and celena warbeck.

SIBLING(S): — arson warbeck ( twin brother. )

SIGNIFICANT OTHER(S): — married.

— * | PHYSICAL !

FACECLAIM: — chris wood.

HEIGHT: — 6'0.

WEIGHT: — 71kg.

EYE COLOR: — brown.

HAIR COLOR: — brown.

GLASSES/CONTACTS: — n/a.

TATTOOS: — n/a.

PIERCINGS: — n/a.

SCARS: — jagged scar across his collarbone.

— * | MEDICAL !

ALLERGIES: — shellfish.

SMOKING/ALCOHOL/DRUGS: — former smoker. he hasn’t had a cigarette in approx. 112 days. he drinks more than he should. no drug use.

DIAGNOSES: — n/a.

BLOOD TYPE: — universal donor.

***

AESTHETICS:

NEATLY TRIMMED BEARD, LAZY SMIRKS, SARCASTIC QUIPS. THE MICHAEL BLUTH. REAL LIFE NATHAN DRAKE. BLEEDS COFFEE NOT BLOOD. UNHEALTHY OBSESSION WITH TEEN MAGAZINE QUIZZES.

CONNECTIONS

students with an aptitude for mental magic that he provides additional / advanced work for to challenge them. (2/2) dominic masters & rome hawks.

students who need extra help in one or more of the aspects of his curriculum. this would include after hours help, extra assignments, or one on one attention if they were struggling with concepts (1/4): ella bloom.

students that give him a hard time in class for one reason or another. could be people who sleep in class, talk back, distract others, etc. (1/??): morgan stife.

the unholy trinity: fellow teachers who like to get together and be chaotic, shittalk their students, and forget they’re not seventeen anymore bc they’re fucking idiots who like to troll (2/2): maximus & reserved

fellow teachers who like to get together and drink wine after stressful days, or just when they feel like it tbh. (1/????) maxwell gray.

a rival/enemy from when he was @ arcanas who now also works at arcanas. he can’t remember why they don’t like each other but he’s dedicated to the feud. it’s petty, he knows, but he sucks at admitting he’s wrong. (0/1)

ex-wife. see wanted connections. (0/1)

childhood friend. fellow witches who would have hung around people who were haughty and thought they were better than everyone else. ansem’s parents thought they were hot shit so maybe their parents felt the same. they both rebelled against what their parents wanted for them and it bonded them. (0/1)

partner in crime. (28 years old) this person was very different from ansem. different species, a little more serious, the kind of person you wouldn’t expect to be friends with him. they’re probably the only reason ansem even passed his exams, forced to study, and he forced this friend to actually have fun and live a little. they’re still close but maybe fell out of touch over the years. this person would be new to arcanas as a staff member, or teacher, but would be an alumnus preferably from house aquis but could be any.

others to be added when it isn’t 2am and my brains fried.

#arcanas:intro

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zdbztumble · 5 years ago

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“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Part VII

Little things can have a big impact, and a Twilight Town emptied of any signs of life makes for a very effective and foreboding beginning to the final legs of KH II. The continuation of the mystery surrounding Riku - or, more specifically, what King Mickey knows about Riku and why he won’t reveal it - is continued in a satisfying manner as well. That makes for another good point of comparison with later entries in the series; something like the return of Repliku in KH III, for example. That was thrown into the series more than a decade after that character’s supposed death, is only referenced when absolutely demanded by the plot, ends abruptly, and doesn’t have any logical - or narratively satisfying - continuity with what became of Repliku in R/R. By contrast, Riku and Mickey’s history in KH II was begun in the game immediately preceding this one and, while very much in the background, is referred to in big and small ways throughout the play time.

(Revisiting Twilight Town also has a great gag, with Sora and his friends incredulous at the deductions made by Hayner and his friends. Just because they happen to be right doesn’t mean they make sense.)

Once we start in on the road to The World That Never Was, however...my feelings start to get mixed.

I’ve learned over the course of this playthrough that Axel was originally meant to die at Roxas’s hands during the prologue of the game. As much as I don’t like Axel - and let me reiterate that I really don’t like Axel - I can’t regret the decision to keep around past that point, for reasons I’ll get into shortly. And wrapping Axel’s story up by way of a noble sacrifice, if a bit cliche, isn’t a terrible idea. But it is a more rushed and arbitrary sequence than I remember, with Axel’s appearance - and his decision to kill himself - just happening, without a strong motive. While it pains me to say this, more cutscenes with Axel - particularly concerning Kairi’s escape from him - would have done this moment a favor. Despite all that, I think this is more successful than not as an ending for Axel...one that should have been permanent.

(And did no one on staff remember the line “he was the only one I liked” when they decided to start working toward an Axel/Saix bromance?)

The return of Roxas leaves me with similarly mixed feelings. I like how cold and predatory Roxas’s attitude is - it’s a strong contrast with Sora, and indeed with Roxas as he appears in the prologue. I’ll once again save more detailed thoughts about Roxas for another day, so let’s just say for now I think that attitude speaks to why Roxas being subsumed into Sora is appropriate. But there is a big problem with this sequence: it’s only a cutscene. That this wasn’t a playable battle right out of the gate, given how pivotal a moment it is, is ridiculous, and if Final Mix did nothing else right, it fixed this huge mistake.

(And if you have Oathkeeper equipped at the time - as I always do, in any game that offers it, from the time I receive it - that cutscene is a little strange to watch.)

Stepping into the castle unloads a lot of story, for how (relatively) quickly it goes by, so it’s inevitable that there will be highlights and low points. Namine and Kairi finally meeting, and teaming up to escape, manages to be both. That the moment happens at all is wonderful, and both girls being prepared to fight Saix, unarmed if they have to, is a good touch. But these scenes take the old adage of “leave them wanting more” to an extreme, because we’re given only the barest of bones for what Kairi and Namine’s interaction could have been. Add in the fact that Namine’s origins, and the closest thing to an explanation for why she starts to fade from existence, are relegated to Ansem’s reports, and it’s very hard not to feel that she was cheated in the writing. She and Kairi were certainly cheated by the animators; their run cycle looks ridiculous. On the other hand, Kairi pulling back Riku’s hood is touching, and makes for a good reveal of an identity that most players would have figured out by this point, but is no less satisfying for that.

Every scene with Ansem the Wise in this game just reminds me all over again how incredible Sir Christopher Lee was, and how ridiculous they were to recast while he was still alive. The reveal for Ansem (another identity that should have been obvious by now) is well-handled, and he makes for an unlikely but effective partner for Mickey Mouse to bounce off of. But too much of Ansem’s story - his key turning points as a character - is left for the reports, and for his monologues. And the backstory given in that scene, and those reports, seems to be at odds with both the beginning of KH II and the events of R/R. Ansem speaks of Riku as though the two of them were working together, with knowledge of the other’s identity, for a long time, and yet the dialogue in their scenes in the prologue suggests that DiZ, at least, isn’t sure exactly who his cloaked ally is. And Riku leaving King Mickey because “Xehanort’s Heartless was still inside his heart, troubling him” seems to negate the growth Riku had in R/R. Just having Riku and Mickey get separated involuntarily would’ve been fine, I think.

I didn’t remember KH II vanilla engaging in any sequel baiting outside of the secret ending, but there is at least one line of dialogue that does so: “you don’t look like half the hero the others were.” Compared to later entries in the series, it’s a minor and innocuous tease, and if this were the end of the series, one could always justify it by assuming Xigbar was referring to the unnamed and distant Keyblade wielders that Triton alluded to in KH I. The scenes surrounding the boss battle with Xigbar are largely solid, with a fantastic reintroduction for Maleficent, great material for Kairi, and a pretty fun fight in its own right. Sora and Kairi finally reuniting is a very sweet moment - not just in the scene itself, where they embrace, but in the little details following. Kairi’s dialogue box remarking on how Sora kept her charm comes to mind (and made me doubly happy that I stick with Oathkeepr.) Kairi being the one to bring Sora and Riku back together is a wonderful idea too, though I’m one of those people who finds Sora’s reaction a little forced. I wouldn’t say it’s any more overdone than, say, the fake-out with Goofy in Hollow Bastion, but it is a bit much.

Where this section of TWTNW starts to slip up a bit is in its determination to keep the player from ever having Sora, Riku, and Kairi together in a party. How and why various characters don’t fight alongside Sora in this game is often arbitrary, and I think it’s probably impossible to avoid a few forced choices in a game this long, but it really is absurd to never put that trio together for a battle. If you check in with Kairi whenever there’s a chance to pull up dialogue boxes, you’ll get lines that all say more or less the same thing: she wants to be involved in the action from now on and be at Sora’s side in danger. This is why she’s a character that I get upset for, rather than at, because the writers take the pains to establish her as someone with the desire and the will to be an active participant in the adventure (and, apparently, the ability - she gets the hang of that Keyblade pretty quickly), and then force these circumstances that deny her the opportunity.

Having said that, the two boss battles leading up to Xemnas are...what they are. I can’t say there’s anything wrong with them, but they aren’t my favorites. To the extent that I have memories of Luxord from the first time I played this game, I’m pretty sure I disliked him, just for how hard I found it to get the timing right on his games. Saix is a fair challenge, but a little tedious IMO. His fight also leads into one of the most ridiculous moments for Sora in the game - his not remembering that he became a Heartless. Y’know, that pivotal moment in the first game, the choice he made himself for the sake of others that he was then rescued from by Kairi, and discussed with her after the fact as solemnly as two young teenagers could. Anybody could forget that.

But those fights, and the Organization’s graveyard, do bring me back to why I’m glad Axel wasn’t killed off early. Because this is the point in the game where I realized, back in the day, that Organization XIII is kind of pathetic. And I don’t mean that as a point against them as villains, or against the game. What I mean is - if you ignore the bullshit pulled by DDD and just take KH II on its own terms, the Organizers are ultimately little more than glorified Dusks, devoid of real emotions or conscience, aware of everything they’ve lost along with their hearts but careless towards the suffering they cause in an effort to reclaim those hearts that is, in the end, futile. The members’ own self-serving and predatory natures damages the Organization almost as much as the efforts of the heroes, and by the time Sora appears to clean up the mess, the Organization is already on its last legs. Axel’s attempts to get Roxas back by baiting Sora with Kairi - a ridiculous and ill-thought plan - is the whole Organization writ small, and offers a good preview for their own fate. And it’s another reason why I never wanted or needed more information about any of the Organizers as individuals than what we got. Going just off of KH II (and CoM), there wasn’t much left to any of them, and that seemed part of the point.

That Organization XIII is such a hollow, empty, and doomed shell gives the villains some pathos - a more earned degree of pathos than DDD and KH III would attempt to provide them - but it also means that the heavy-handedness of Xemnas’s dialogue isn’t necessary. A fair amount of what he was saying is self-evident. I also find it bothersome that no one calls him out on exactly what the Organization’s plan was, and that the person who gets the closest is Riku - not Sora, the character who had a much less wordy but far more impactful verbal exchange with Ansem SoD in the last game that expressed the contrast between knowledge and wisdom beautifully. That can’t be said for KH II; as I said, that bit of dialogue before the first Xemnas fight, and Xemnas’s conversation with Ansem are over-written. But they aren’t terrible either.

The events leading up to that first fight with Xemnas have many great moments. The image of Nobodies dancing in a shower of hearts is genuinely creepy. Ansem’s farewell to King Mickey is touching, and offers yet another effective character sacrifice that should have been permanent. And the final scene for Maleficent and Pete is fantastic. But Riku seems to be treated by the game - certainly by Ansem the Wise - as the group leader once he gets his body back, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. He was a crucial figure “behind the scenes,” as it were, in reviving Sora and sounding alarm bells. But Sora is the one who’s at the point of action, rescuing worlds from Heartless and Nobodies, and taking out the majority of Organization members. He’s the one who’s been used by the Organization to do their dirty work, the one who fought his way to the castle to save the others and, not unimportantly, the one we play as throughout the entire game. He’s also arguably the person most owed an explanation for what happened over the past year. I can’t necessarily fault KH II for that - it isn’t as though they have time to sit down and regale him with details about the events of CoM. It’s more a failing of later games that he never gets appraised. But that he, and everyone else, just seem to fall in line, and that Riku’s the one who knows what to do (not that it isn’t obvious)...I just don’t know.

I left off right before stepping into the final door, so this playthrough’s not over yet. But next time, we won’t be looking at the finale of KH II, or finally getting into my assessment of Roxas. There’s a Final Mix out there for this game I’ve never gotten to play, and it’s about time I took a look at everything they added...

#z's crits #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts 2 #critique #commentary

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