#Riku Beast parallels is something that can be so personal to me

[imminent-danger-came]

RIGHT. AM I RIGHT.

[trashahime]

So this theory is crazy and I expect no one to believe me but I feel very confident about it. I'd even bet real money on it.

Some of this just occurred to me in a discussion in one of my posts but I've been thinking this for awhile.

Jaken's VA made a remark to Rin's VA about how he never knew she had it in her. A lot of people took this to mean Rin was the mom. This never made sense to me because the statement implied she did something out of character. My personal feelings about Sessrin aside, it was expected by a majority of the fanbase and would not be considered OOC.

But sweet kind Rin turning evil would be.

I'm serious. And I know some people will take this as me being a big bad anti who not only wants Kagura to be the mom but is turning Rin into the bad guy. But actually, Rin being the villian ups the probability of her being the mom for me. I think Yashahime has an underlying theme of defeating one's parents.

I posted my theory that Rin is a yukionna a while back. There's still not a lot of evidence but I have found more since then. To summarize:

Rin has the appearance of one. Google that shit, it's dead on.

I think she is trapped in ice and surrounded in melting snow, not just water. Sunrise has hinted at the idea of being trapped in ice by releasing two different photos of Takechiyo from the polar bear episode. And I have found they often use the website and twitter to post extra screenshots of something they want us to notice. Interestingly, Takechiyo is posed like a buddha. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone else noticed and thought it was relevant to this theory. I don't think so, but it probably is a clue to something unrelated.

In close ups of Rin you can see similar facets of a crystal-like structure, and I think it's ice.

I think Towa calling out Who is this onna? was also a clue. In speaking to a few Japanese fans, I learned some were also struck at use of "onna" and are researching the various youkai "onnas". Them being Japanese doesn't make them experts, of course, but they would be more familiar with the nuances of the language used.

There was a call out the "Yuki" part of her name in a clue everybody noticed. In Towa's english class on the white board, it says Yuki is going to Kyoto.

The polar bear demon has crystals embedded in forehead similar to the ones on the beast minion of another yukionna in Inuyasha. I think this was a callout to that episode.

There was a parallel made between Riku and Rin. Riku said he was forsaken by his master. Treekyo asked Sesshomaru if he would forsake Rin. I believe Riku is going to be portrayed as a Satan like character. So he can be considered a fallen angel. In this case, Rin is also a fallen angel. But I don't think Sesshomaru has forsaken her. I think she is in that ice structure to save her from herself and prevent her from harming others.

I think this is why Treekyo said it may be better for Rin to stay that way.

So how did Rin become a yukionna. She could have been the victim of one and was possessed. Or maybe they are treating it as something that can transfer like vampirism. A yukionna does have some vampire like qualities.

At the moment, I am inclined to think this was something she might have done to herself or was tricked into doing so she could get her "forever with Lord Sesshomaru".

The next episode has a sage that has turned into a demon. This is partly a Naraku parallel but there's a difference. I think this is the same sage that fixed the lake in the new episode. I think he will be presented as a good person who was corrupted by a demon. This will be a foreshadow of what has happened to Rin.

Ultimately, I think the girls will have a confrontation with Rin, and instead of defeating her, she will be freed of whatever has corrupted her.

Yashahime has been using the Wuxing 5 phases a lot to provide clues and associations. I think Rin will be associated with the water element which is connected to the color black. I think the girls will discover the existence of a black pearl and everyone will assume it's Inuyasha's. But it's not. It's Rin's and when she is uncorrupted, it will turn into the missing orange pearl. Kinda like how the corrupted shikon jewel is a dark purple instead of the purified pink. Rin would also be considered a hanyo, and a big deal was made over them having rainbow pearls.

Now, as many of you know, I think Yashahime is a illusion and nothing is "real". The battles are manufactured to copies of conflicts the OG crowd already faced. I think the story with Rin is the same but in "reality" it was Sesshomaru who sacrificed his sleep for Rin. And call me crazy but I think the entire point of the merch where the characters are sleeping was to make this connection. Sesshomaru and Setsuna are the only ones awake. I think they did similar things with other merch but that's for a different post.

Another crazy theory I recently posted was that Kagome was "playing" the role of Treekyo. I read a theory from a Sessrin fan that maybe Kagome used her spiritual powers to save Rin. And maybe they are right and Kagome had a big role in saving Rin in reality.

Anyway, that's it for now. I will update this post if more info confirming or detracting this theory comes to light.

Here's a follow up about the orange/black pearl and it's connection to Kohaku

[violethowler]

The Greater Your Shadow Becomes

A recurring pattern in the Kingdom Hearts series is how often it misleads and misdirects us. We are told that Nobodies do not have hearts only to learn several games later that this was a lie. Our knowledge of Xehanort’s backstory has changed from one game to the next. The series itself even acknowledges its dishonesty, with the Master of Masters telling Young Xehanort that “the truth is what you see with your eyes, not what you hear[1],” while explaining that anything he says about his motivation and identity should not be trusted. 

So despite Kingdom Hearts III, Back Cover, and Union X appearing to position the Master of Masters as the next main antagonist, I remain suspicious that the role the series seems to be setting him up for will ultimately be filled by another. A big part of this has to do with the patterns I have noticed among stories that follow the Heroine’s Journey. 

In a Heroine’s Journey where there is a direct antagonist whose actions must be overcome in order to resolve the story’s conflict, that antagonist has commonly been presented as a narrative foil to either the protagonist or their Animus. In storytelling, a Foil is one character who is contrasted with another in order to highlight the other’s traits[2]. Most stories will emphasize the protagonist’s noble qualities by contrasting them with a character with similar personality traits or a similar backstory but who lacks the qualities that make the protagonist heroic. More often than not, these literary foils function as Shadow figures to the protagonist, and in many cases embody the negative elements of the story’s main themes.

For example, Gaston is put on a pedestal by the people around him as a paragon of what their society considers desirable. He’s handsome, skilled, and charismatic. Yet he constantly disrespects Belle’s agency and intelligence, not caring whether she’s willing to marry him or not. This positions him as a foil to the Beast, who is rude, monstrous, and has to learn how to perform basic tasks like eating with silverware. Despite his gruff exterior, he respects Belle’s intelligence and agency, holding her to the terms of their deal while also growing to prioritize her happiness above his own desires. 

Something that the overarching antagonists of every Heroine’s Journey I know of all have in common is that the audience is made aware of their existence very early on in the story. Their motivations may change over the course of the story, and when we learn about their goals can vary, but we generally learn of their existence before the end of the first act. 

We meet Gaston in the opening musical number of Beauty and the Beast. 

Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog also makes his first appearance in the opening musical number of his film. 

President Snow gets at least a mention in the background in the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy even if Katniss doesn’t meet him face to face until the second one. 

High Priestess Haggar is introduced in the first (technically second) episode of Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1. 

Meanwhile, the Master of Masters was only introduced near the end of Act II in the overarching narrative of Kingdom Hearts. Likewise, his goals are still unclear, in contrast to other Heroine’s Journey antagonists whose objectives are given to the audience at some point during the second act. So unless he turns out to be a familiar face under the hood, I find it unlikely that the Master of Masters will be the main antagonist of the next act. He’ll certainly play an antagonistic role, and definitely a major one, but everything I know about story structure is telling me that the “Big Bad” of the next arc is ultimately going to be someone else. 

The repeated emphasis on prophecy, fate, and destiny in Act II of the series creates a strong undercurrent of defying fate being a major theme of the final arc of the Kingdom Hearts story. Sora’s ability to connect with others has enabled him to pull off feats that should be considered impossible up to the point of rewriting the fated defeat of the Guardians of Light at the Keyblade Graveyard in Kingdom Hearts III. So it stands to reason that the main antagonist of the final act will be a character who either tries to defy fate in a negative way, or a character who does things because fate dictates it be done. 

So the major antagonist of Act III will most likely be someone who expresses the themes of fate and whether to defy or accept it in a negative way. Someone who serves as a foil to Sora. And someone who was introduced to the audience during Act I - meaning the original game, Chain of Memories, or Kingdom Hearts II. Given the amount of focus he has received since his introduction and how important Kingdom Hearts III revealed him to be in the lore of the series, there’s really only one person who qualifies: 

[Image Description: Luxu stares at the camera after taking off his hood in front of the Foretellers, revealing the face of Xigbar. End Description.]

As someone noted after the release of KH3, there are many similarities between Luxu and Sora when you sit down and think about it[3]:

Back Cover portrays Luxu as a young teen curious about the world, just like Sora. 

Much like how wanting to be with his friends is shown to be one of Sora’s major motivations, Luxu’s Secret Reports in Kingdom Hearts III portray him as wanting nothing more than to be with the people he cares about[4].

Both of them take up these cosmically significant roles with no idea of what lies ahead for them - all the pain, separation, and loss. But they cannot stop or rest and go home until they finish their task because people are counting on them. 

Where the two diverge is in their circumstances and how they reacted:

While Sora stumbled onto the mantle of a Keyblade wielder by accident and chose the responsibilities that came with his mission on his own, Luxu was given his by the Master as part of a greater purpose, and he carried out that role at his mentor’s instruction. 

Both of them hide their pain and weariness under a playful façade. 

Sora has spent his journey in the company of his friends and has relied on their support. Luxu has always been alone, relying only on himself. 

Sora holds onto his connections with others even at significant cost to himself, while Luxu casts aside his bonds and puts his mission above all else.

In addition to his narrative connections to Sora, there is also his connection to Riku as well. 

The scene where he reveals his face to the audience for the first time in Kingdom Hearts II begins with Sora initially mistaking him for Riku. 

In Kingdom Hearts III, he’s paired with Dark Riku at the Skein of Severance, a combination that stands out in contrast to the obvious narrative meanings behind the choices of the other boss groupings in the Keyblade Graveyard. 

Series producer Shinji Hasmimoto has said that Sora and Riku are the core of the story[5], so it would make sense, then, if the primary antagonist of the final act is someone with already established narrative connections to both characters. 

Tetsuya Nomura had the end of the Dark Seeker Saga outlined since Kingdom Hearts II was finishing development[6]. This indicates that everything done with Xigbar across the entire series was planned with the Luxu reveal in mind. The fact that he chose to give Xigbar such a significant part and planned it that far in advance signals that our dear Number II has a major role in the overall narrative of the series. Between the implications of the reveal setting him up as a foil for Sora and the patterns exhibited by major antagonists of other Heroine’s Journeys, I’m confident that role will likely be that of the overall villain of Act III. 

There is always the possibility that I could be wrong and that the Master of Masters will be the primary antagonist of the story’s final act. His influence of others and his writing of the Book of Prophecies appear to set him up as the author of our characters’ fates, which satisfied the narrative pattern of the antagonist reflecting the negative side of one of the story’s themes. 

However, as I said, he was introduced much later in the narrative than is common for the overarching antagonist of a Heroine's Journey. I also have my doubts that it will be that obvious, as Kingdom Hearts has pulled that kind of bait and switch before. The first game initially sets up Maleficent as the main antagonist, only for Ansem to step out of the shadows and take the stage as the Big Bad for the remainder of the game after her defeat. Given how many parallels to the first game are found throughout Kingdom Hearts III, Xigbar being unmasked as Luxu and the information that came with it in the Secret Reports have the makings of an excellent parallel to that switch on a series-wide scale.

Sources:

[1] Kingdom Hearts III Re: Mind; Square Enix; 2020. 

[2] Foil (fiction) - Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foil_(fiction)

[3] Galaxy Brain Take: Luxu and Sora Parallels; February 12, 2019. https://strangefellows.tumblr.com/post/182774246545/galaxy-brain-kh3-take-luxu-and-sora-parallels

[4] Kingdom Hearts III; Square Enix; 2019. (Secret Report #13: Observations, Excerpt 3)

[5] “How Kingdom Hearts III Will Grow Up With Its Players.” September 24, 2013 https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/25/how-kingdom-hearts-iii-will-grow-up-with-its-players.

[6] “Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania interview with Tetsuya Nomura”; March 12, 2019 https://www.khinsider.com/news/Kingdom-Hearts-3-Ultimania-Main-Nomura-Interview-Translated-14763

[i-believe-in-soriku]

Soriku Shippers aren't hateful towards Sorai/Kairi.

For the vast majority of us, it's not the case. I won't talk for others but talk about my own opinion, but I clearly saw that other people think like me. So here we go.

I don't hate Kairi.

I don't really like her and I sometimes am angry against this character (or of the choices made for this character by the creators), I can't pretend, but I clearly not hate her. Actually, I think it's too bad she wasn't more implied in the plot, that she wasn't more developed, all that stuff. She's pretty sweet and all, but that's all I can tell about her.

My feeling towards Kairi is that I don't know her very much, so I'm unable to feel concerned about her. I don't believe in her as a character. I don't know if that's clear, but I mean she hasn't that credibility as a video game character that makes me love a video game character.

The fact that she constantly needs to be saved without trying that much to do something by herself annoys me. Re:Mind didn't even changed that that much. I saw a lot of people saying her role was far more important since Re:Mind and I just don't feel that way (wasn't that story about Sora that saves her again? Yes it was.) After all these years where she was a damsel that needed to be saved, waiting for the DLC of KH3 (not even the game itself) to see her properly act just make it awkward.

But maybe that's just me! I'm just not convinced by her, but I can still change my mind, let's wait the future of the series for that.

Anyways I hope she'll be developped, but please let Sora out of that, that girl deserves to have her own story.

About Sokai: this isn't a war.

I mean it's often homiphobic Sokai fans that argues and make a fuss about what we simply try to enjoy- be honest.

We can totally enjoy a ship, not linking another, but be perfectly fine with the fact that someone like the ship we don't. Actually, that's what we should do. This is not a declaration of war when we try to find evidences about the ship we like in game (and we manage to do so!).

You know, I'm a Soriku fan at 100%. Really, really. That doesn't mean that I hate Sokai. That doesn't mean that I expect Soriku to be canon.

My opinion about Sokai is completely peaceful. I don't like it and I find Soriku much more relevant. But I can admit one thing.

Sokai could have made sense if KH stopped at the first game.

It wouldn't have been a good romance, but not a bad one either- just a classical Disney one. There were some cute scenes, the lack of developement of the relationship was kinda justified, the need of being saved of Kairi too, and the fact that Kairi wasn't developed wasn't problematic yet. Besides, there were also good parallels in KH, for example, the Beauty and the Beast parallel (which in the later games are interestingly always used to describe Sora and Riku's relationship), with the Princess giving back the Prince his humanity (Kairi hugs Sora and he's not a Heartless anymore).

But... after KH, Kairi remains absent, and that makes their relationship awkward. That's all.

I mean... what is the point in describing her as Sora's light when everything he does to find her makes him being lost? That's literally what happens during Chain of Memories: he tries to remember of the person who'se most precious to his heart - implied Kairi- and while doing so, he looses all his memories. What kind of light is it, I wonder.

So yeah, after KH, for me, this relationship doesn't work anymore (and it has never worked for me, to be clear, that only was a possibily). That's one of the various reasons why I rather Soriku (but that absolutely doesn't mean that Soriku only works because of Kairi not being a very good character, it works by itself). And that's okay! Why does it sound problematic for some?

I don't know if that was interesting but yeah, I saw violent posts about people who ship Soriku and that makes me tired, so I wanted to talk about it I guess. I also wanted to show that I can say nice stuff about Sokai too even as a Soriku shipper x)

[nadziejastar]

The Meaning of Saïx’s Scar

A sigil is a symbol you create with the intention of changing your reality in accordance with your will. All sigils are encoded with a specific purpose, for example, to attract a romantic partner, to set strong boundaries, to be more financially prosperous – the possibilities are limitless. While sigils were used in the past to symbolize and conjure up spirits, these days, sigils are used in a personal way to symbolically represent and manifest our own desires.

The Recusant’s Sigil is based on Greek letter chi. In Kingdom Hearts lore, the meaning is “death” and “endings”. But it’s not just a letter. It’s a magic symbol.  

The Recusant’s Sigil (異端の印 Itan no shirushi, lit. “Mark of heresy”) is a symbol designed by Xehanort to represent the rejection of a Nobody from his original persona. It is incorporated into the new names of each of the original members of Organization XIII, and is derived from Xehanort’s sleeping memories of the χ-blade.

It was placed in each member’s name to represent the rejection of their original self. Since each member was to become a vessel for Xehanort’s heart and mind, the original persona needed to die.

Sigils are essentially like little seeds that are planted within the unconscious mind. Many things enter the depths of our minds, but not all of them are placed there intentionally or take root. The symbolic nature of the sigil also helps bypass the rational (skeptical) mind and enter the unconscious where possibilities are endless.

This might be why a simple symbol on Sora’s clothing had such a powerful effect on him. The “X��� was on the clothing of Terra, Aqua, and Ven and also Riku in KH1.  

What gives sigils their power is the energy and intention behind them – and that is what helps them to sprout and blossom into manifestation. They are activated by meditation.      

This is probably why Sora’s Nobody (who, according to Nomura, was born with Ventus’s heart) was made to stare at the Recusant’s Sigil when he was given his new identity as “Roxas,” an anagram of “Sora” with an “X”. It was to subconsciously program him to stay unaware. 

Roxas was a very worthy candidate for the New Organization XIII.

He was a good candidate due to his lack of self-awareness. But eventually he became too aware of himself and could no longer be used.

Buzz was afraid of losing his self-awareness and attacking his friends. And that’s exactly what happened.

At the Kid Corral, where Buzz was taken when he was possessed, Xehanort revealed that empty puppets can be given strong hearts. Apparently, the Toy Box was the world where he first learned to create vessels. 

Secret Report 4: Experiments of the Heart – Notes on Subject X, Excerpt 2

Subject's memories have not returned, and our conversations remain less than lucid. My pilot studies used a handful of subjects, but none possessed the fortitude to endure them. Ultimately, all suffered mental collapse. I knew it would be a heavy blow to lose a subject as unique as she. Upon discovering the tests I've been conducting, my master demanded that I cease my work immediately and destroy what research I have compiled. Worse still, he ordered the release of my remaining subjects. She is gone. Where is Subject X now?

This is also the world where the report on Subject X is located, and it’s also at the Kid Corral. Subject X had no memories and was not lucid. It took a week for them to speak their first words, like Roxas. That means they lacked self-awareness, like Roxas did at fist. This would make them a very worthy candidate for a vessel, like Roxas. 

Empty husks? Is he saying they’re going to break them with sorrow and put another heart into them…? Or did they already do it? 

“Translation—they were gonna turn all the members into Xehanort.”

“X” represents the clash of pure light vs. pure darkness. A vessel needs to be suitable to contain Xehanort’s heart of pure of darkness, so only the strongest hearts will suffice. 

The letter χ can be pronounced both "key" and "kye" (leading to some confusion) and symbolizes the perfect crossing of light and darkness. The χ-blade can be forged via a high-dimensional clash between those two poles. It is believed that the Recusant's Sigil also derives from χ.

Such a heart is rare and valuable. Even most of the original organization was unworthy. A vessel would need to be broken by sorrow, but its heart could not totally collapse. It’s only natural that Xehanort would want to use such a unique subject as his vessel.

“As your flesh bears the sigil, so your name shall be known as that of a recusant.”

And the name “X” fits this concept perfectly. The experiments involved the darkness of the heart. All the subjects’ hearts collapsed. Subject X was the only exception.

I could not even recall my name. I was simply called "X" there.

Isa probably was given his scar at the same time he was given his new name, which happened to him as a human. He was no longer Isa, or even Saïx, but “X”.

“I’ll put the sigil of the recusant into your name once more,” Xemnas said.

Sigil of the recusant…? What’s that?

In the Japanese version, Xemnas actually doesn’t say anything to Sora about his flesh bearing the sigil. He says he’ll put the sigil into his name once more. And that actually makes a lot more sense. I don’t know why he said it to Sora in the English version. Maybe it was an error and that was actually a line meant for BBSV2 and Isa? I’m not sure. But it does fit Isa a lot more than Sora. 

Sigils are activated by focusing on the desired outcome. But it’s important to use strong phrasing. Instead of saying “I want”, you say “I am". This ingrains it into your subconscious more readily.

Xemnas spoke like that to Roxas while he was in his trance-like state. He told him he felt nothing...   

...and that nothing was real. He left no ambiguity about it. It’s a form of programming he likely did to all the Nobodies he recruited, which is why they had such a strong belief that they felt nothing, despite evidence to the contrary.

Xemnas didn’t say that he wanted Roxas to be a new person.

He told him that he was a new person. He was no longer Sora or Ventus---he was Roxas. Roxas held many of Sora’s memories inside of him, as did Xion. When they combined, they would create a complete Sora Replica.

Besides meditation, there are other, darker, methods of sigil activation, like in the use of black magic. Sexual climax is mentioned in reference to ritual sex magic. Sex magic is most potent at the time of orgasm, since that its when the energies of the two (or more) parties resonate the most strongly. But that isn’t really something a series like Kingdom Hearts focuses on, obviously. Another type of method involves pain. 

If Roxas’s sigil was activated by meditation, I think Isa’s sigil was activated by pain. And receiving such a scar would be obviously be physically painful. It definitely was carved deeply into his face. These dark undertones are what made Saïx/Isa such an interesting character to me.

The scar is located directly over his “mind’s eye.” 

It’s a good place to put the sigil when you are trying to get the subject to lose self-awareness---to renounce its sense of self. In a way, receiving the scar may have been a way of programming him to stay mindless and empty. And it’s why he cannot see Xion.

Xemnas’s goal was to conquer the human heart and claim it as his own. And I think this is what he did to Subject X, which is why Isa was the first non-apprentice organization member, and one of the first vessels, along with Braig. Braig was special because he wanted to be a vessel. Isa was just Xehanort’s lab rat.

When Xemnas was telling Sora about the mind control experiments, he said he learned of the heart’s folly.

Which is similar to what he said on Day 95 during his speech. 

“That which we treasure has power over us, Roxas. His heart is captive to it. And that makes it his weakness.”

Day 95 takes place at the Beast’s Castle. Every time Roxas goes there, it’s to figure out the Beast’s motivation for fighting. Roxas simply wants to understand the heart, but Xaldin wants to figure out the Beast’s weakness. And after Roxas goes there, he always talks to Axel afterwards. The heart has power over you when you hold something dear.

I think the reason the Beast was chosen to parallel Axel was because of Lea and Isa’s past. The Beast is cursed, he is a character that has anger and rage which is analogous to Saïx’s berserk state, and the key to breaking the spell over him is love.

Xaldin thought the rose was the Beast’s weakness. But it wasn’t. It was wanting to protect the people in the castle, especially Belle.

I think Nomura is a smart guy and knew exactly what he was writing.

I don’t think it ever would have been made explicit or unambiguously canon in a series like Kingdom Hearts. But I do think that in the writer’s room at least, the understanding was that Isa and Lea had romantic feelings for each other. This was hinted at in a subtle manner. Isa’s love for Lea and his desire to protect him was his weakness, which got him turned into a vessel. This was supposed to be the surprising twist that would make Isa worthy to be in the epilogue. Not the fact that he was looking for a random girl or that he got Roxas a vessel. He deserved to be redeemed by his own merits.

In 358/2 Days, the Beast wanted to protect the people he cared about. He desired love more than anything.

This was used as his weakness to get him to fall to darkness. Xaldin told him that he’d never find love and this made him angry and full of rage.

He became full of darkness and lost control of himself, like Buzz did and he attacked his friends without realizing it.

Husks that had been made to throw away their hearts—in other words, they were going to plant another heart into those who couldn’t bear the pain…? Or, did they actually do that?

“They were going to turn all the Organization members into Xehanort.”

Lea was Isa’s weakness.

He was the key to causing Isa the most sorrow, sadness, and pain, which could then be turned into mindless rage. The Beast’s pain was feeling like a monster unworthy of love. For Isa, I think it was loneliness and the pain of losing Lea.

Although the Beast was under Xaldin’s dark influence, he was also acting on his own subconscious feelings. He was in a trance when he went on a rampage. But deep down, all he wanted was to protect his servants, which is why locked them in the dungeon. 

I think Lea got his tear marks as a Nobody. When the manga zoomed in on them, Axel was thinking about harming Kairi. Without a heart, he never had to worry about feeling inner conflict or doubt about what he needed to do to achieve his goals. That’s why I think his tears represent his willingness to give up his heart, so he could get his best friend back. They also represent his pain over everything he lost as a Nobody. His life, his heart, his freedom, and his best friend.

Since Isa still had his scar when he was recompleted, he must have gotten it as a human. The manga also does a close-up of Saïx’s scar, giving a hint to its true meaning. It happened right after the scene of Axel’s tear mark, actually.

Saïx was hunting Axel down and then became extremely enraged, saying that Axel’s desire for friendship was based on an illusion created by his memories. 

I think Saïx was subjected to the same little speech Roxas was after becoming a Nobody. He thought he never felt anything.

But like with Axel, he also became enraged at Roxas. 

He says something very similar to what he told Axel, too. Isa’s purpose as a human was protecting Lea. Saïx remembers this. If Isa received his scar while Xehanort was trying to inflict the most pain possible on him, it makes sense that Lea was involved. What would hurt Isa the most is losing the thing he treasures most---which is Lea. I think it's why Saïx felt such resentment towards Axel when he made new friends, and ESPECIALLY when he left the organization. It was Isa's love for Lea that caused him to lose everything. It's understandable that he'd hate Axel if he thought he turned his back on him after all that. He was extremely hurt, even if the feelings were technically not his own.

His scar is really prominent in these scenes, too.

Basically, I think that the X-shaped scar represents Isa's physical and emotional pain as Subject X, which was used to break him, capture his heart, and turn him into a vessel during the experiments on the darkness of the heart. They created darkness in Isa using his love for Lea against him. The "X" also represents the "death" of Isa.

[lightlorn]

Ship bias for your KH Muses! :D

i am a flawed human being. ll accepting.

Aqua:

Terraqua. This ship is part of the reason I kept crying so hard in KH3, now catch me admitting that on the internet. I love the way they are there for each other in spite of their stark differences, and that they have a lot of unexplored, threadable area in both their coming of age and post-KH3 timelines. Plus any ship I can draw a parallel between my fandom otp and another ship is a good ship.

Xemqua. Nomura was setting something up here and he dropped the ball and I will not take that lying down. You’re telling me they don’t even so much as look at each other during the DLC? Dishonorable, Nomura, truly despicable. There’s so much to work with there, what with the armor and the way you can read a lot of Xemnas’ closest allies in the Org being answers to Terra’s inner circle. If Nomura won’t give me their story, then I’ll write it with a partner.

Aqua/Larxene. There’s basically no other adult women in this series and I am a simple dyke seeking the wlw. I think it would make a fantastic opposites attract cliche with the added bonus of someone that won’t take Larxene’s attitude lying down while simultaneously being able to match her step for step. The Taming of the Nymph, coming soon to an AU near you.

Eraqus:

Xehaqus. This is my end all, be all OTP for the fandom. I have spent almost 100 dollars overall at cons commissioning art of these idiots. They are my phone background and lockscreen. I have an entire fic in my head of their apprentice days and frankly if Dark Road does not live up to the relationship development I have hyped up in my head I will go canon divergent. These fuckers are beautiful and heartbreaking and awful and wonderful and I love them. Bring me all the Xehaqus.

That’s it. I’m so disappointing. I have like one or two OC for him ships and I mean whatever happens in RP happens if relationships develop but oh my God. Xehaqus consumes me.

Invi:

Real talk my Invi is a lesbian and my take on the Foretellers is that she sees them all as her siblings underneath all of her posturing that it’s nothing personal, so I don’t even know what the fandom ships for her are. I’m not even sure who is available to ship with her. Throw whatever of age lady muses you have at her, mutuals, and let’s see where this goes.

Isa:

Isalea. Akusai is also good, but there’s something about their life together after the war ends when they are trying to rebuild and find everything they lost that speaks to my soul. I would never say that if I see an Axel/Lea it’s ‘on sight’ shipping because that’s shitty, but I will say I am that Saix/Isa that is always down to discuss your take on their dynamic and see what we can cobble together.

Xemsai. This will never be a healthy ship, I think, based on the fact my Saix is as likely to use his alleged loyalty and affection to try and get some form of control over his Superior, but there’s a lot that could be fleshed out here. Whatever heart he grows will always belong to his oldest friend, but he will do whatever it takes to see his ambitions fulfilled. He’s trying to use the creature that has used him for over a decade. God. The potential.

Xigsai. By the same card as above, I think if Saix clued into Xigbar being more than simply a bombastic menace, he could try and pull the same using sex and false loyalty to obfuscate his true means on Xigbar. The difference being that Xigbar is, at heart, far more deadly and aware than Xemnas is when it comes to the bigger picture. It’d be Saix putting himself in the mouth of the beast willingly, and not expecting how deeply those teeth can cut when they snap shut on him.

Roxas:

Full disclaimer: I am 25 years old and fleshing out the romantic drama of a teenage boy is not something that super interests me. That said, I do like the concept of Roxas and his brand new heart forming all kinds of bonds, and him eventually starting to register feelings beyond the platonic for certain people. So as far as character development goes, i can see him taking interest in the following:

Hayner. There’s something so coming of age adolescent aggression as a front for latent or closeted affection about them in the simulation, and in the real world they have endless potential. I think Roxas could definitely feel safe enough around Hayner to have something more develop feelings wise. Also Hayner has muscles and that makes Roxas 404 error sometimes regardless of shipping, just as a general Roxas thing.

Xion. It’s a cliche, to be sure, but depending on the Xion and their development, I can see Roxas starting to feel more at home in her presence after they’ve had time to heal and become their own people. This isn’t an on sight shipping thing, and in fact I am super selective about this even while shipping it, but there’s groundwork for a good dynamic and a sort of reunion between them as whole people who come to appreciate each other as more than their initial, shallow idea of friends.

Namine. Was not super hip on this as a kid, especially when I was less discriminating in my Xion tastes, but as an adult I can appreciate their bond. They have a lot of the same trauma in terms of being dehumanized and used by two separate factions in setting, and the two take a lot of risks for one another within the data Twilight Town. I think there’s something to be said for them both to have irrevocable individuality and come together and develop as more than friends over the years.

Riku. Is it trashy? Yes. Is Roxas still tied to Sora somehow? Yes. Would it be hilarious to see Roxas turn a would-be rivalry into accidental flirtation because he’s confused about his feelings? Yes. Riku just standing there suffering while Roxas demands they engage in a passionate battle of lips -- WITS. I don’t even know how serious I am in shipping this, but Riku being Roxas’ emotional training wheels amuses me.

Aaaaand you can’t really have biases for an OC because at that point anything with plot potential, chemistry, and aligning sexualities goes so instead I am just going to shout out Kokoro’s established ships + the muns for being so good to my little mary sue.

Xemkoro/Foxhole. I don’t know how me dipping my toe in the water of shipping with Lucky by saying ‘hey my OC and your Xem could have a cool dynamic’ became like... my entire shipping brand, but here we are. Their entire dynamic breaks me, the way Xemnas is clinging to a past that he wants so badly to have been a part of while Kokoro can’t afford to look back anymore, working too hard to meet future goals is... Everything. Especially in the fact she regards him as a person without hesitation or knowing how much that will come to mean to him. There’s so many layers to them, and they truly work to earn their happy ending, and that is everything to me. Here’s to successful risks and their payoff.

Aquoro.  Everything my gay little heart ever wanted: the dichotomy of childhood romantic friendship giving way to adolescent rivalry and a shell of what your relationship used to be that appears so often between girls. That they also represent the Responsible Daughter and Rebel Daughter in Kokoro’s secondary verse, furthering the gulf between them as Aqua continues to follow the Master’s teachings where Kokoro embraces her own ideas about what Eraqus preached is... Chef’s Kiss... And through it all, it’s still Aqua that Kokoro wants to find the most, the one for whom her heart breaks the hardest when she sees what became of her. I owe Lucky my life for giving me this phenomenal wlw content.

Koterra. Kleffy does spoil me. The difference between what Terra dreamed of as a boy and what their reality became, where she is instead his knight and protector while he calls the shots as part of reclaiming his identity is perfect. The way they grow from teenage misunderstandings and dick moves into adults that have a touch more kindness for one another is also good, because it’s all about the character development. Their bond is strong and their support for one another immeasurable. I am heterosexual for one (1) ship. All because Kleffy came up with it on the spot and then put in the effort to make it work, God bless em.

[jcmorrigan]

Do you prefer the original Organization XIII or the new Organization/The Seekers of Darkness (or at least those we know so far)?

~~~PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE LEAKED KHIII SPOILERS DO NOT INTERACT~~~

Not really a fair question, since we DON’T know the identities of all of the True Organization yet (Is Aqua a Nort? Is she a Darkling?), and we’ve had all of the original Organization known for SEVERAL games now, so I’m naturally inclined to lean toward the original Organization if only because I know ‘em all and what their deals were (for the most part…there may be a whole Strelitzia thing in the works that reframes everything). 

Also, the two rosters are incredibly similar, with only a few swaps out here and there. Those swaps are important, though, and I’m going to touch on that.

I will say the biggest thing the True Organization has going for it is that Ansem is part of it. Ansem is a fantastic and threatening baddie, and his presence, as well as that of the Master himself, elevates this group up from Xemnas’ band of mistakes. (Like, seriously, if you consider the grand Xehanort plan, the original XIII were kind of just a big screw-up that Xemnas got wrong the first time until Master Xehanort stepped in and went HOW COULD YOU GET THIS WRONG? YOU LITERALLY TOLD YOURSELF HOW TO DO IT. THAT’S IT. I’M TAKING YOUR PEOPLE, ADDING MY OWN, AND MAKING THIS LEGITIMATE.) But…that comes with its own set of baggage as well.

And I will say…there was once a time I thought I would never come around to liking Organization XIII as a band of characters again. I used to be knee-deep in the fandom just devoted to them, and I did…things. Horrible things. Things I won’t speak of in public. I renounced what I had done and swore “never again.” But as time passed, I was able to come at the Organization with a more mature perspective (I won’t say COMPLETELY mature; I’ll say MORE mature) and appreciate them through the lens of having some more fandom experience and more experience loving villains in general.

All that being said, I have to give it to the original Organization: Xemnas’ band of screw-ups. And here’s why:

-Xaldin. This is probably the most important factor. Now, I’m no huge screaming fan of Xaldin or anything. He’s not my favorite. But I do LIKE Xaldin a lot. And Xaldin is one of the most important Organization members when it comes to actual manipulation of the worlds. He and Luxord caused the most damage that wasn’t confined to Castle Oblivion, and with Xaldin, it’s poignant because he flat-out used manipulation and bargaining to string the Beast along. It’s IMPRESSIVE. And everything pointed to his character being nasty and rotten without anything redeeming to him. Everything in II depicted him as a ruthless manipulator, and though we were supposed to think he had no heart at the time, it still looked like he was having FUN. (But guess what! Thanks to the Nort heart, HE ACTUALLY WAS HAVING FUN!) Beyond that, 358/2 Days continued down this path, painting him as a terrible mentor who had no patience with Roxas (”NO BREAKS”) and spent his days stalking and scheming. That they should bring back almost everyone else for the True Org EXCEPT one of their meanest and toughest is a shame. 

-While I do like Ienzo and Aeleus better as heroes, the original lineup meant I did get to enjoy them alongside the others in the group. And unlike Xaldin, you could make arguments that both of them had more sympathy - Zexion may have played Riku like a fiddle in CoM, but he also had those seemingly throwaway lines about the Organization coming apart and how much of a shame it was. Lexaeus had almost nothing to go on, so I could buy literally any character development on him.

-As for the outright good people, the original lineup had the ever-important Axel, Roxas, and Xion. No, it wasn’t good for them to be trapped there, but it still meant I could enjoy their struggles and their friendships in the context of “Wait…we work for the BAD guys, don’t we?” and their relationships to said bad guys, who are their ROOMMATES. Xion is one of my favorite KH characters to this DAY. Yes, she may be returning as of that recent trailer, but that’s not confirmed, and furthermore, we don’t know if she’s there of her own free will or if this is some kind of brainwash. Leading to…

-When the original lineup had good people trapped in it, they were manipulated. Roxas and Xion thought they were with the right people because it was all they ever knew. These people raised them from their conception as beings that existed. Axel started out as rotten as the rest, then had his perspective flipped by Sora and Roxas’ influence and realized he no longer fit into the cutthroat crowd. The True Org has at least one good person (Terra) and maybe more (Aqua?), but in both those cases, they’re not there out of a poetic reason like that. They’re there because they’ve been straight-up brainwashed and had different hearts stuffed into them. There’s no free will involved, which doesn’t make for as interesting of a story to me. (…This is a theme with me, I’m realizing, because I’m now recalling the parallel to my frustration with the brainwashing in DanganRonpa…)

-In the original lineup, Marluxia and Larxene were definite traitors to the rest, which made them unique and gave them an interesting subplot. Now at least one of them (Larxene) has fallen in line to work for Xehanort and doesn’t seem like she’s about to turn traitor last minute.

-Braig is a double-edged sword. On one hand, one of the things that makes him GREAT is his endurance, from II to BBS to DDD and into III. We got to see him evolve from just another minion to…there’s a reason WHY he’s ranked II. He’s one of Xehanort’s oldest confidantes and maybe even has his own plans on the side. He wouldn’t be the great character he is now if we DIDN’T have his Nortified journey. However…all the same, when he does appear in DDD and his speech patterns are modified to reflect Xehanort’s because of the heart taking over, it kind of feels tragic. He’s less of a free spirit and you can hear it in the way he talks - maybe he still seems to be happy with himself on the surface, but there’s something off about the guy who used to talk like a surfer dude now becoming loquacious as they come. 

-And Ansem? Actually better when he WASN’T tied to ANY Organization. Ansem is a powerhouse who destroys worlds. His fascination with the Darkness is almost deviant from the rest of the Norts - they focus on forging the x-blade while Ansem wishes to link the worlds to Darkness. I actually just have such a hard time picturing him blending into any GROUP. Which I’m sure will be rectified when I see it in practice, but as cool as it is that he’s now part of the big bad group, that’s actually a point against.

III could change my mind entirely, but for now, I’m nostalgic for the old Organization. Though, to be fair, Vexen is in both rosters, and he’s the one who matters most to me, so I can’t complain too much.

[spinneryesteryear]

The KH people are now in naruto. Who does what?

I couldn’t decide whether to treat this as ‘crossover where the KH people end up in the Naruto-verse’ or as an AU along the lines of ‘where the KH people were born in the Naruto-verse’, so I’m gonna go with the second in order to make things simpler. Haha. ‘Simpler’. I must also remind myself not to drag my world-building headcanons into this...

Kairi - Easiest of all. She’s an Uzumaki! The red hair totally fits. Since she’s a Princess of Heart in KH, I’d translate her as an Uzumaki princess, as Mito and Kushina are commonly assumed to have been. She’d have Adamantine Sealing Chains made out of pure light/chakra. Plus, my understanding of the Uzumaki is that they have a great deal of Yang chakra, which is associated with light. *imagines Kairi with chakra chains and seals* Good stuff. Plus, maybe she could be a chakra sensor, like Karin? Chains, seals, sensing - those are some good abilities there. 

Riku - Lol, my first thought is that he would be a successful Uchiha, despite the totally wrong coloring. Bear out with me on this. In KH, he’s goaded into opening the door to darkness and destroying his world, and then into capturing the Princesses of Heart in a deluded quest to save Kairi - does this sound like an Uchiha tantrum or what? You could even argue that Kairi’s ‘loss of her heart’ could have qualified him for a Mangekyou if he had blamed himself. However, Riku actually takes responsibility for his actions and does his best to fix things; he at least never became an international terrorist, and his life change is sincere. In the end, he’d be more like... what the Uchiha should be, if they didn’t all go power-crazy. (*waits for an Uchiha stan to jump on me for saying this*) Anyway. I’d definitely associate Riku with some kind of Yin Release (because darkness!) - genjutsu/illusions? Combined with kenjutsu, it reminds me a little of Shisui’s skillset - another point in the ‘Uchiha Riku’ column. Then again, he doesn’t have to be an Uchiha to be great at genjutsu. Hmm... what if he is, like, actually Xehanort’s grandson in this AU? Depending on the timeline, he might be expected by his family to carry on Xehanort’s master plan. Or, if Xehanort’s shenanigans have become common knowledge and he has fled the village like Orochimaru, Riku might be suspected as a flight risk. Like Sasuke running away to Sound, Riku might initially run away to Xehanort/Akatsuki. Unlike Sasuke, Riku comes back. 

Sora - A kenjutsu user, like Riku, with ninjutsu of various elements under his belt and no real talent at genjutsu. Perhaps he also works hard on taijutsu for when he doesn’t have his sword? He’s not from any big ninja clan and doesn’t have a fancy bloodline; he’s dragged himself to where he is now by following the Rock Lee school of hard work. I’m imagining Sora, Riku, and Kairi on a genin team together; they’ve been friends since they met in the Academy and showed an aptitude for teamwork that practically guaranteed they’d be placed on the same team. If we want to follow the Team 7 format, Riku would be the Rookie of the Year, Kairi would be the Top Kunoichi, and Sora would be the Dead Last (I’m sorry, Sora). However, they’d work together and actually pull that team formation off. Sora would also have issues, much like Naruto, with the school of thought that ninja need to be emotionless dehumanized tools for their village’s purpose. Would he also have epic powers of converting his enemies to his side? Possibly. 

Donald Duck - Okay, if we’re leaving him as a duck, then presumably he’s a summons animal of some sort. A duck summons. With ninjutsu. Water Release, Ice Release? IDK, in KH he has a lot more different types of magic than are common for ninja and animals in the Naruto-verse. As a summons animal, he could be anywhere from the size of a normal duck to person-sized to larger than person-sized. He wouldn’t be a boss summon, though. He’d still get to wear his blue jacket and hat, though, and talk in his squeaky voice. With his aquatic nature and Water Release, it makes me think of Kiri or Uzushio. Perhaps the duck summoning contract was salvaged from Uzushio? Does that mean Kairi is a duck summoner? 

Goofy - Okay, he could be a nin-dog - like, an actual dog, and not the anthropomorphized dog he is in KH. Perhaps he could be Sora’s dog partner, like Kiba and Akamaru? We could have ninja!Sora riding a dog into battle! Inuzuka Sora is... actually a pretty cool idea? If we don’t go that route, Goofy could be some sort of dog summons (was it ever explained whether Kakashi’s dogs were normal dogs he just summoned or summons animals???) and could then have an excuse for being anthropomorphized, walking on two field, and wielding shields or other weapons. I like the idea of Inuzuka Sora and his faithful battle dog more, though.

Mickey - Do I want to keep him as an anthropomorphized mouse or do I make a human AU out of this? If I do a human AU, he could be the jounin sensei of Sora, Kairi, and Riku - an elite jounin, a kenjutsu and ninjutsu expert, an S-rank shinobi who’s considered a viable kage candidate if they could keep him in his office long enough to actually do his paperwork. He probably doesn’t even do his paperwork as it is, always running off on missions. He doesn’t really strike me as former ANBU material, although it remains a possibility. Maybe he could have mouse summons for communication (or giant mouse summons for combat?) if we want to keep the rodent theme going on here. Perhaps his wife, Minnie, is high up in their village’s government, actually running things. She could be the head of T&I or something. 

Yen Sid - Old ninja. Highly respected in his day, and still commands a reputation throughout the Elemental Nations. Possibly known as ‘the Professor’. Mickey’s jounin sensei. Genin teammate of Eraqus and Xehanort. He could be the kage of his village and complete the parallels with Sarutobi Hiruzen/Sandaime Hokage (Yen Sid may not have done much of anything so far and may have hidden information from the main characters, but his only pupil turned out successfully so he’s still ahead of Hiruzen). He strikes me as a sealing master and very knowledgeable about chakra and jutsu theory in general.

Eraqus - Old ninja, kenjutsu master, possibly with a side of ninjutsu. Genin teammate of Yen Side and Xehanort. Had a bit of a falling out with his genin teammates years ago, Yen Sid for his inaction and Xehanort for his creepiness, but they’ve mended some bridges by now. Aqua and Terra are a little too old to still be genin; possibly they are his chuunin apprentices in kenjutsu or something? Huge angst potential here with the idea that Eraqus was their jounin sensei and their third genin teammate died in a mission gone wrong or something. Aqua and Terra made genin and then chuunin nevertheless, but all three of them were affected by the loss and Eraqus became doubly determined not to lose any of his kids by ensuring as well as he can that they’re prepared for the shinobi lifestyle and that they won’t go down a similar path as Xehanort. Extra heartwrenchingly, Ventus comes along as a boy so similar to the genin student he lost and Xehanort possibly gives him to Eraqus to train/raise knowing that. Guilt trip, any one?

Terra - Okay, so I started off this laughing to myself at the thought of Terra in the Tsuchikage hat, but then I had a better idea. Terra’s darkness/evil power inside him that he struggles to keep at bay - this translates really well to him being a jinchuuriki. Terra being the container for an ‘evil’ tailed beast and shunned by society for it would explain some of his self-esteem issues and his desperate need for validation/approval from his teacher. It might also explain his need to get stronger; he has to, in order to control the tailed beast within him for the sake of his entire village, and so he won’t lose anyone else like his dead genin teammate. Eraqus’s light-is-good/darkness-is-evil mentality would play into things here with him preaching to Terra that he has to keep the tailed beast in check, suppress his emotions, and become a good dehumanized tool for the village. Xehanort, on the other hand, would tell Terra that it’s okay to be human, that the tailed beast’s power can be channeled, that the villagers should view him as a hero for his difficult duty - emotionally manipulating him by giving him the validation he craves in order to gain a jinchuuriki and the awesome power of a tailed beast under his control.

...Yikes. That is genuinely frightening. 

No, I do NOT need another fic on my plate no matter how much Xehanort gathering the neglected jinchuuriki and manipulating them into causing the apocalypse so he can revive the Juubi for his own agenda would make an interesting and horrifying fic...

Aqua - The only one out of the ‘kids’ to have it together. She’s probably already made jounin; she holds her own with kenjutsu and ninjutsu. She’s been tasked with watching Terra by Eraqus/the village leaders because they’re afraid that his tailed beast’s seal is weakening/he’s giving into the tailed beast/he’s going to go rogue and leave his village, etc. (When all he actually needs here is some support, dang it.) She’ll have to confront the ‘ninja are tools of their village’ mentality. I’d like to see her on a retrieval mission alongside Sora/Riku/Kairi to bring back Sasuke defecting to Sound Riku leaving for Maleficent/Xehanort or having to deal with a tailed beast rampage and tearfully having to decide whether to try to talk down a possessed Terra or to kill her best friend in order to save the village. Because I enjoy pain.

Ventus - OH MY GOSH Ventus is Tenzou/Yamato. Possibly stolen from his family at a young age? Check. Experimented on by a crazy madman in hopes of reviving a legendary power? Check. Experiment apparently fails and he’s abandoned/the only survivor of said experiments? Check. He ultimately proves able to use/create said legendary power? Check. Ventus, however, lucks out in that he’s taken in by Eraqus and doesn’t fall into the clutches of Danzou and become even more messed up. So, in this Naruto AU, Ventus has the mokuton (magical tree-growing ability). Thus, it would make incredible sense for him to be put with Terra, as the wood-controlling powers of the mokuton suppress tailed beast chakra. Ventus has thus been (unknowingly) trained to be the one to fight and possibly put down his big brother figure if he ever succumbs to the tailed beast within him. Or - what if Ventus knows this might one day be his duty and desperately hopes to avoid it? That might lend an extra flavor of panic to his insistence that Terra isn’t losing himself to the darkness/tailed beast - it can’t be true, because if it’s true Ventus has to fight him and possibly kill him. And Ventus can’t do that, not to one of the few people who’s treated him as a person, as something more than a (failed) science experiment or a fairy tale figure. Thus, in this AU, it wouldn’t be Eraqus threatening to kill Terra. It’d be Eraqus threatening Ventus in order to get Ventus to kill Terra and/or trying to kill Terra himself. D: 

Namine - Possibly another one of Orochimaru’s Xehanort’s science experiments who survived? She has the same cartoons-come-to-life jutsu as Sai. Xehanort and his crew may have used her for villainous purposes (to capture the tailed beasts/their containers?) but Sora acknowledged her as a person and she’s decided to join his fight in the ‘ninja are people not emotionless tools to be used to whatever horrible end by their village’ struggle. Possibly, she and Kairi team up (sealing via drawings + magical chains) to put an end to the tailed beast rampage and save Terra from Xehanort and his minions?

Vanitas - IDK can anyone think of any reason why he would NOT be an Uchiha whom Xehanort is manipulating for his own ends in this AU? If his association with Sora is kept, perhaps he was Sora’s adopted older brother whom Danzou Xehanort stole to become his minion like poor Aburame Torune.

Xehanort - Is basically Orochimaru. Without the snakes. He was the genin teammate of Yen Side and Eraqus and got away with a lot of stuff while they weren’t looking/were unwilling to look. He experimented on Ventus in order to revive the legendary mokuton ability. He may have exploited Namine for her unique drawings-come-to-life ability. He would totally have stolen Vanitas for his abilities and/or experimented on him to give him said abilities. He’s been creeping on Terra and emotionally manipulating or just capturing the other jinchuuriki for their tailed beasts. Unlike most Naruto villains, he has no motivations of wanting to change the world for peace, blah, blah, blah. He just wants to combine the tailed beast into the Juubi monstrosity and potentially cause the apocalypse just to see what will happen. Due to Yen Sid’s passivity and his guilt-tripping of Eraqus, he gets away with a lot of it. By the time Terra goes berserk and the village is at risk of destruction by the tailed beast he carries, Xehanort can sit back and watch Eraqus do his work for him in delivering said tailed beast right to him. 

Organization XIII - Are the Akatsuki, I guess? Xehanort has assembled a team of S-rank shinobi, either missing nin or ones he just stole (*cough Ienzo, Lea, Isa, Roxas, Xion cough*) and raised to work for him without questioning his goals. They even have a uniform! His goal of Norting them all can be carried over by Xehanort killing them and using their corpses in his version of the Six Paths of Pain - the Thirteen Paths of Xehanort, or something like that. Yikes. That is also terrifying. Eventually, all the ninja nations unite against him and he starts the zombie apocalypse to keep them busy while he grabs the last few jinchuuriki and begins the real apocalypse. 

IDK where I’m going with this anymore. The Sora = Inuzuka, Terra = jinchuuriki, and Ventus = mokuton bits are the real genius elements here. 

[nadziejastar]

Theory on Subject X and Saïx’s Berserk State

“Rejoice, Naminé. Soon you’ll meet the hero you’ve been longing for.”

Naminé’s shoulders tensed when he said her name. She didn’t look up when she spoke, her voice tiny and faint. “I’m…glad.”

I think the real meaning of “358/2 Days” was supposed to refer to the fact that Axel was reliving his past for the entire year. I’ve written before about how I think Isa originally awakened his berserk state not because he was filled with darkness, but because he wanted to protect Lea. And I want to go into more detail about that. I found it interesting that in the manga, right after Axel disappeared, Saïx felt like tormenting Kairi in her cell. He used a line similar to Marluxia about Naminé waiting for her hero. 

“A heart? I have a heart? No one wants your nonsense!” Saïx raised his sword over Naminé—but Riku was there with Soul Eater to intercept the blow.

“Hmph. I don’t have time for these games.” Darkness welled from a rift behind Saïx. “Run along and help your dear hero.”

During the battle for Destiny Islands, Saïx said that Riku couldn’t protect anything using darkness. Then he said to go help your “dear hero”, referring to Axel.

“Why would caring about something be a weakness?” Xion asked, baffled.

Roxas lowered his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t get it, either.”

I’m not the only one surrounded by things I can’t understand, Xion thought. Axel would explain it, though…

“I hope Axel comes back soon,” said Roxas.

She nodded. They would have so many things to ask him.

I think Isa was used as bait before. And that’s why it was mentioned that Axel would know what it meant to have something you care about be a weakness.

Roxas dallied anyway, peering through the doors again. The rose, the thing he treasures, is his weakness?

Nope, I don’t get it.

I wonder if Axel will know what it all means…?

It’s mentioned more than once, too. On Day 119, and Day 150.

“What are you going to do with us?” she demanded.

Saïx narrowed his eyes. “You are the fire that feeds Sora’s anger.”

That was all he said. And then he vanished again.

“I have to do something…,” Kairi murmured. “Sora’s in danger because of me…”

Saïx seemed to have very personal contempt for Kairi. And here’s a good example of why I just cannot accept that Saïx gets to play on the beach and eat ice cream with everyone in the epilogue, instead of Isa. He tortured Kairi, lol. They really weren’t trying to pull any punches with his characterization. Sora was not even there to witness it, so there really was no reason for him to do this other than to vent his feelings and take his anger out on her.

The Beast had a ferociously strong heart—its strength of will alone had taken him to Hollow Bastion to save one of the princesses, Belle.

“Looks strong,” Axel remarked from behind them.

“Yeah. He is,” Riku said, sinking into thought.

His heart is even stronger than his body. It’s exactly the kind of heart the organization wants…

“But someone that strong won’t just do whatever the organization says,” Naminé murmured.

“Well, this is their chance to show how persuasive they can be,” Axel said with a bitter smirk.

Even in KH2, they implied that Axel knew how “persuasive” the organization could be at getting people to do things they didn’t want to do.

Day 171: The No. i Project

Author: Saïx

Xion failed to complete its mission. If this continues, destroying it and using the next Replica as the Duplicate would undoubtedly yield a higher-grade copy. No. i was among the initial lot, which naturally raises questions about its capabilities. At present, it is nothing short of broken. I cannot fathom why Xemnas would want to keep it.

I think there was a similar situation where Isa was trying to protect Lea who wanted to rescue him. Lea was in danger because of Isa, so Isa was full of conviction, like Kairi. He went berserk, and used up every bit of his strength. I think that the Beast was meant to parallel Isa’s backstory as well as Lea’s. You can see even more clearly in the manga that the Beast went berserk trying to protect Belle. But he felt like he failed.

Saïx sounded vaguely disgusted. “What do you care for a broken, defective failure?”

Isa probably collapsed like Xion and the Beast did. I definitely think that the ordeal caused Isa to be in a state where he lost his sense of self, and he became zombie-like, similar to Roxas during his first week. And that’s when he was Norted. Saïx would have no memory of this happening. Xemnas and Xigbar do, which is why they are amused by his obliviousness.

Day 174: Just a Replica

Author: Saïx

Xion continues to sleep. All analysis on its function suggests no marked change. The copying appears to be working, but a Replica is a Replica. My latest report to Xemnas on this net me no clear answers. He simply stood, smiling. At times I find his thinking impenetrable.

A few days later, Xion was asleep but still functioning and copying. Saïx still thought she was broken and didn’t know why Xemnas wanted to keep her. And Xemnas gave Saïx a creepy smile. Day 174 is called “Action, Reaction”. That is another name for Newton’s third law. “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”. Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts a force back on the first object. The force exerted by the second object is equal in strength and in the opposite direction to the first force.

Roxas: Look, I'm just saying. All I saw in the hole they dug was a wooden chest full of junk.

Axel: And the Heartless were in the chest?

Roxas: I dunno. I think maybe something else is causing them to show up.

Axel: Like?

Roxas: Didn't something seem kind of off to you about the guy in red?

Axel: Off? Off how?

The mission on Day 174 was in Neverland. Roxas learned how to fly because he believed, and Hook was drawing the Heartless to himself due to his greed. The same concept is brought up when Axel came here with Roxas later, too. 

Saïx: So, you really do care for her. In that case...the answer is no.

Sora: You rotten...!

Saïx: Are you angry? Do you hate me? Then take that rage, and direct it at the Heartless.

It’s similar to the relationship between Roxas and Xion. And actually the experiments that Young Xehanort was conducting on Andy’s toys, too. He was “testing the strength of their bond”. I bet there was a similar situation between Lea and Isa’s hearts. In the manga, Axel knew that Hook was drawing the Heartless to him and convinced him to throw away the treasure (to save Peter Pan, surprisingly). And a comparison was made to Axel having something he was afraid to lose. I think the apprentices were using Isa to draw the darkness out of Lea or something. Instead of greed like Hook, it would be rage and hatred.

“Sora or Xion—it matters not. But we need one of them under our control. Bear that in mind.”

Saïx nodded, and a serene smile came to Xemnas’s face.

If that smile meant anything, it was beyond him.

Xemnas gave Saïx a creepy when he was asked about the memory devices. Saïx was wondering what Xemnas’s true agenda was for placing them.

“Sora has a pretty powerful effect on her,” said Xigbar, pensively stroking his chin.

“Both of them have connections to Sora, but we only need one of them under our thumb,” Xemnas replied. “Whether Xion takes from Roxas the rest of what he has to give…or whether he destroys her first and takes back what is his, there is no change to our plans. No matter how, Sora’s power will belong to us.”

“Understood.” Xemnas disappeared nearly before he heard his order acknowledged.

“Don’t let us down now, kiddo. Shouldn’t be too much trouble without a heart,” Xigbar told Saïx.

Same thing here. Xemnas asked if the devices were ready, he reminded Saïx that they only needed one of them, and Xigbar made a weird comment about Saïx being a kid without a heart. Xemnas and Xigbar seemed to take pleasure in reminding Saïx that they only needed one. Lea and Isa apparently had some kind of reciprocal effect on each other, like Roxas and Xion did.

A memory. My first memory. Saïx took me by the hand and brought me out of Castle Oblivion. “This is the last you’ll see of these walls… Xion.” Yes, I remember what he said to me. And I remember where I was. Castle Oblivion.

Day 224 is called “Anomaly”. Both Xion and Naminé are called anomalies. 

Subject's memories have not returned, and our conversations remain less than lucid.

Subject X was also a unique subject who didn’t collapse like all the others. On this day, Xion remembered that she was taken from Castle Oblivion by Saïx. 

Hayner: We can't be together forever... so we'd better make the time we do have something to remember.

Axel suggested going to the beach, which was a sign that he knew something bad was coming.

Secret Report 1: Recollections

Secret Report 1 is obtained after clearing Battlegate 1 at Olympus: Realm of the Gods / Courtyard.

Am I alive? I awoke in a cell, alone until the researchers came with their tests and their prodding to uncover my identity. I had no answer to offer them. Four friends, and a key…that is the sum total of my memory. I could not even recall my name. I was simply called “X” there. My only solace was the time I spent talking with the two boys who would visit from time to time. One day, a man came to take me from the prison. I could not see him for the darkness, save that he wore an eyepatch.

Subject X was taken somewhere by Braig/Xigbar, like Xion was by Saïx. This report is located at Olympus. Perhaps the Realm of the Gods was drawing an allusion to the Final World, which is where people exist between life and death. Isa was sent there after going berserk. 

Ansem's Report 2

The experiments caused the test subject's heart to collapse, including those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatment produced no signs of recovery. I confined those who had completely lost their hearts beneath the castle. Some time later, I went below and was greeted by the strangest sight. Creatures that seemed born of darkness...What are they? Are they truly sentient beings? Could they be the shadows of those who lost their hearts in my experiments?

Ordinarily the subject’s heart would collapse and they’d become a Heartless. But Lea believed in Isa so he was the only subject whose heart didn’t. It’s “action, reaction” at work. Lea’s heart had an effect on Isa’s heart, and vice versa. Isa was an anomaly and then became a highly valued specimen by Xehanort.

Demyx: Hey, even us Nobodies need our rest, right? Exhaustion kills!

Saïx: I’m sending you with Demyx today. Try to inspire in him a little of your work ethic.  

Demyx: Heartless duty again today? I keep telling them I’m not cut out for this stuff…

The recurring theme at Olympus Coliseum was that Demyx wasn’t cut out for fighting, and that nobody expected much from him. Day 224 was no different. The mission took place at Olympus Coliseum and Saïx wanted Demyx to go with Roxas to make increase his work ethic. Phil said this was the “big day” where Roxas could finally compete in the Games and Demyx slacked off.

Demyx: Right!? And what a shocker to find out Xigbar was the other finalist! What’s up with that… I can’t imagine he was here on a mission. You never can tell what that guy is thinking…

Roxas: Maybe he just wanted an excuse to fight me… To test me.

Demyx: No way, man! I wouldn’t read into it too deep. Besides, the mission’s over, right? All’s well that ends well, man!

Roxas: I…guess so, but…

The most noteworthy part of the mission was that Xigbar was the finalist; he wanted to test Roxas. I think Xigbar was also tasked with testing Isa after he recovered from the initial incident. 

Roxas: So people work you harder when they have expectations? The Organization expects me to do hard missions all the time. Aren't expectations the same thing as orders?

After he went berserk, they probably thought he had much more fighting potential than they originally thought, and pushed him harder. Isa was left in a bad state afterwards. Not long after, Ansem the Wise discovered what was going on. He took Isa, hid him away, and released the remaining subjects.

Secret Report 3: Experiments of the Heart – Notes on Subject X, Excerpt 1

Subject was found in the central square shortly after dawn. Female, approximately fifteen years old. After seven days’ observation, she spoke her first words, but could not provide a name. Subject exhibits signs of profound amnesia, and displays concern for which world this is. Her words suggest that she departed her home world with others, though she cannot recall the names of her erstwhile companions. All efforts to explore those memories have met with a rejection response.

After his initial experiments on me, Ansem the Wise ceased his research into the heart, his hand stayed by some fear I cannot fathom. Yet this new subject is like me: devoid of memories. She is the perfect sample upon which to continue my master's work. She, too, could benefit from it; by traversing the heart, we have a direct path into memory. I myself have begun to reclaim my lost past thanks to these very experiments.Who is she? Whence has she come? These are questions no scientist could ignore.

In the manga, Saïx was in a bad mood after learning that Xion and Demyx had been using his computer. He went into his berserk state and tested Demyx when he was slacking. Roxas was upset that he’d use force on a comrade, but Saïx said anyone who obstructed their goal was expendable, even organization members. Roxas didn’t quite understand what he meant, but it seemed like he was speaking from personal experience. This is the only time Saïx’s berserk state gets featured like this in the Days manga, so I tend to think that it was related to his backstory.

“Get up.”

“Just five more minutes…,” Axel mumbled.

“No. Get up—now.” The voice was distinctly annoyed.

Axel relented and opened his eyes. “What are you even doing in here?”

Saïx was standing next to his bed, as irritated as one might have guessed from his voice. Axel hadn’t been so rudely awakened since before turning into a Nobody.

“Xion ran away.”

In the manga, this whole scene with Saïx at Olympus Coliseum was on Day 255 while Axel was looking for Xion. It was immediately prior to Axel arriving on the clock tower and telling Roxas why the sunset was red. Then lying to him about Xion’s disappearance. The novel seemed to be drawing a connection to Axel’s past on Day 255. He mentioned that he hasn’t been rudely awakened like that since becoming a Nobody. And it just so happens that Subject X was discovered shortly after dawn. 

Every time he tried to wake up, all Axel could think was how badly he wanted to go back to sleep—although he was getting enough rest.

He just wished he could have a day to himself and do nothing but sleep. It was probably some remnant of his human memories.

I’m sure that Lea had sleeping issues ever since he was kidnapped and experimented on, but they probably got even worse when Isa went missing. Axel was thinking this after he took Roxas to Castle Oblivion.

Day 276: Behind the Truth

Author: Axel

Xion is gone. Roxas still doesn’t know anything, but Xion found out. That’s why I need to find her. We don’t have hearts, so we accept the facts we’re given as the truth. But something far more important lies behind that truth. Saïx would laugh at people with no hearts calling one another friends, but that doesn’t make it not so. As the Nobody of the hero of the Keyblade and the Replica of that Nobody, these two are special. Unique in every sense of the word. But that doesn’t change the fact that we’re friends. Nothing will. Got it memorized, Xion?

Day 276 was a pretty important day. This is when Axel reluctantly suggests that they go looking for Xion.

Secret Report 4: Experiments of the Heart – Notes on Subject X, Excerpt 2

My pilot studies used a handful of subjects, but none possessed the fortitude to endure them. Ultimately, all suffered mental collapse. I knew it would be a heavy blow to lose a subject as unique as she. Upon discovering the tests I’ve been conducting, my master demanded that I cease my work immediately and destroy what research I have compiled. Worse still, he ordered the release of my remaining subjects. She is gone. Where is Subject X now? Has “wise” Master Ansem hidden her away?

There really are uncanny similarities between Subject X’s story and the story of 358/2 Days. Xion was gone, Subject X was gone. Roxas and Xion are unique, and Subject X was unique. I think Axel also went to look for Subject X. Because Subject X was Isa.

[nadziejastar]

Well, first of all I loved his outfit. It’s similar enough to what he wore in BBS to make it feel like Isa, but still felt fresh. It looked like something a fashionable young person would wear. It’s based on a Roen-Gackt collaboration design. Nomura sure loves Gackt, lol. So Isa was considered important enough to get a lot of care put into his new outfit. This collaboration was probably done a long time in advance, like with FFVersus XIII. I’m sure Isa’s backstory was supposed to be WAY more fleshed out so that his character would make a MUCH stronger impression on the player by the end of KH3. So, the outfit was kinda wasted in a way. Isa’s whole character was just wasted potential, though.

In a room made of white marble, a large mirror reflected Demyx as he prepared to leave for the mission. He took particular care with his hairstyle, painstakingly manipulating the brown strands with a comb to make them stand straight up. Saïx observed him from behind with what appeared to be distaste. In stark contrast to Demyx, Saïx left his long blue hair unstyled. The X-shaped scar on his forehead was all the style he needed.

Having an outfit based on a J-pop star might tell us something about how Nomura originally viewed Isa’s personality. He actually seemed like a rather fashionable young man who took pride in his appearance. He even wore stud earrings. His style was different from other kids like Hayner, Pence, or Lea. Saïx didn’t have any interest in his appearance. But Isa certainly seemed like the type to style his hair and then some. For some reason, I picture him ironically spending even MORE time in front of the mirror than Demyx. Especially post-KH3. Isa was already shy. I think he would probably struggle with insecurity over having a scar covering most of his face. So, he would try even harder to compensate with nice clothes and accessories.

The KH3 ending outfit really doesn’t fit someone like Saïx, who had such a harsh and dreary personality. I can’t see Saïx choosing to wear anything like that outfit. Way too youthful and trendy. And definitely not the star and moon accessory, either. He’d throw up at the cute little moon on Isa’s BBS outfit. Isa obviously was supposed to have such a different personality than Saïx. I bet Isa is going to be SUCH an awkward character going forward, because they’ll feel obligated to keep his Saïx personality traits, which will clash so badly with the rest of his character. He’ll be this pseudo-villain/quasi-good guy that just will feel so out of place in a series like this. It breaks my heart.

A great number of Nobodies have lost human form, as have the Heartless. Yet the Nobody born of someone with a strong heart retains its shape, with but the faintest visible changes.

As far as the rest of his design goes, I thought it was pretty lazy. In my opinion, Isa’s character design needed much more of an update than what he got. Kairi looked more different after her haircut than Isa did in the ending. If anyone deserved to look different for KH3, it was him. But…he still looked almost exactly like Saïx to me. He has a bit more color to his hair and face, and his scar is faded. But that’s about it. Which I guess was intentional. Why bother changing his look? It seems like they gave up on whatever plan they originally had for Isa to be his own character who was totally distinct from Saïx. They’re gonna just pretend that he wasn’t Norted and treat him like he was the same as Axel. Which sucks. 

Axel and Riku get along very well somehow. Since Riku has become a figure of Ansem, I don’t speak much with him, but he laughs like a different person when he eats Ice cream with Axel. Axel says he “Laughs to face bad feelings”, but it seems that Riku isn’t a bad person. At that Axel said ‘don’t laugh when you’ve got a gross face’, but Riku didn’t seem all that annoyed.

Also, Axel really liked sea-salt ice cream. You’ve eaten sea salt ice cream ever since you moved to that house. I wonder how you don’t break your stomach! It felt like he ate them to an unthinkable extent. Axel ate so much ice cream that the freezer in the computer room emptied every day.

Now as a villain, Saïx had a very cool design. He was handsome and had long hair, but...he looked mean and scary. He was supposed to. He WAS mean and scary. He was Xemnas’ right-hand man, after all. And if he was Norted, this makes sense. He was envisioned as a sociopathic guy who has bouts of uncontrollable bloodlust when exposed to moonlight. I like Saïx’s design. He was pale and almost vampire-looking? Or maybe Addam’s family. He was created as a bad guy. The whole idea was that he was a scary, unapproachable dude. He was sinister and creepy. Yet ironically his original self was the polar opposite. It made for a pretty cool twist, IMO.

“…Aw, is it good?” Axel teased. “Seriously, you’re like a little kid. Even though you look like a mean old man.” Riku made no response, keeping his gaze fixed on the computer screen. The comment did rub him the wrong way. But mentally, Axel was definitely older than him by at least a little. Not that you could tell from looking.

They were clearly going for a VERY different vibe with Isa. When I first played BBS, I thought that the visual difference between Isa and Saïx was extremely noticable. Isa looked a lot softer, sweeter and more friendly. The idea behind Saïx's design was: harsh and scary. The idea of a cute bunny rabbit representing his personality was supposed to be absurd. Saïx would be utterly disgusted if he was seen as “cute”. But the idea behind Isa's design was: cute and innocent. And Isa was indeed a little cutie. And he was innocent, too.

Saïx: We'll ensure he receives the maximum punishment.

Axel: Okay, since you worked really hard today, you get a reward. 

Saïx’s Casual Gear is called “Dessert Time,” but the localization named it “Just Desserts", and I thought that was very clever. To get one’s just desserts means to receive the appropriate punishment for one's actions. But sea-salt ice cream is supposed to be a treat to reward someone who did a good job.

Saïx gave him a cruel grin. “You will lose everything!” And then the Claymore pierced Axel’s chest.

Saïx rarely smiles because he is cold and cruel. But he would smile when he’s giving Axel his just desserts.

“But sweet!” Lea added, and Isa smiled a bit. That was rare for him. Well, eating ice cream together, talking about silly stuff, laughing together—it was just what friends did.

Isa rarely smiles because he’s shy. But he would smile when he’s eating ice cream with Lea because he has a sweet tooth and loves dessert. It was such a cool idea. I loved it.

dichotomy

1. a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

2. the phase of the moon in which half its disk appears illuminated

Saïx’s Pandora Gear is called “Dichotomy” in the localization. Saïx had weapons called Lunatic, Berserker and Werewolf. The weapon representing his real personality is a bunny rabbit. The HUGE difference between Isa and Saïx was the whole point. My impression was that BBS wanted to emphasize as much as possible that Isa and Saïx were two very different people. And character design was one way they chose to do that. That dichotomy is what made Isa so interesting to me. If you want to make Isa his own character, you should go with a different character design, in my opinion.

“You’re in a pretty good mood,” Axel remarked. Riku glanced up.

“Seeing Sora just made you that happy, huh?”

“I don’t feel like telling you.” A little smile crossed Riku’s lips as he took another bite.

“Y’know, it’s creepy when you smile with that guy’s face,” Axel said dryly, following suit and nibbling on his own ice cream.

Silence fell over the room. He paused in his munching to stare hard at Riku, then finally asked, “What is Sora to you?”

The question caught Riku off guard. He groped for words. On the sofa opposite him, Naminé spoke up instead. “Sora and Riku are best friends.”

Like Terra, Isa was supposed to be cursed. Being Norted is no joke. That’s what a lot of the Beauty and the Beast parallels were about. Axel started teasing Riku for his ugly ass face the same time they were trying to figure out the organization’s next move. They were going to target those with strong hearts, and the Beast was one of those targets. 

Belle nodded and silently walked out of the room. The trio went after her. The Beast was left alone with no company but the moonlight.

“You’re really just going to give up on everything now?” Sora said all at once. But the Beast only stared up at the moon.

Isa was supposed to be just as cursed as Riku was in KH2. And Riku changing his appearance fit perfectly with Lea and Isa’s story. Axel said Riku was creepy when he smiled with that face, and unfortunately that’s kind of how “Isa” made me feel in the KH3 ending. Since they took away the possession angle, I didn’t really see him as Isa. He still felt like Saïx to me. And seeing Saïx play and smile like that was kinda unsettling. And weird.

Axel’s eyes crinkled as he remembered his own best friend—the only friend he’d ever had, in fact.

“If your best friend goes away, you’re sad, and if you get to be with them, you’re happy,” Naminé added. “Isn’t that how it is, Axel?”

“…That’s about the size of it.” Axel nodded and sat down on the remaining empty sofa, staring at the sea-salt ice cream he held.

“So you are capable of sincerity,” said Riku.

Axel only shrugged at the jab and finished his ice cream pop.

Probably for this very reason, I could tell that Nomura wanted to take a different direction with Isa’s character design after he decided to make him a good guy and Lea’s best friend. You can see what Nomura had in mind for an adult Isa based on his illustrations of Saïx for 358/2 Days and KH2FM+. He looks different than he did in his vanilla KH2 concept art. His features lean a lot more heavily toward Isa in BBS. I really wished KH3 went in this direction with his updated character design. He looks much more youthful here, like Axel does. Also, I loved the fact that his scar was gigantic. It went all the way from the top of his forehead to the bottom of his nose. In KH3, they stuck with the old Saïx design, so his scar was a lot smaller. I like the bigger scar because it really shows that he was treated like a human lab rat (of course that idea was scrapped, anyways). 

Beside the Beast, who had once been a handsome prince, stood a man in a black cloak. “It’s time you dealt with the girl. She’s scheming to take everything you have,” said Xaldin, his hood pulled low to hide his face. “Your castle, your treasures…and then your very life.” The Beast hung his head. His castle was a desolate place, ruled by a monster.

“Trust no one. Feed your anger. Only rage will keep you strong!”

“I’ve had enough of strength. There’s only one thing I want…” The Beast gazed, unmoving, at the glass bell jar around a single red rose.

What he wanted was—

“Hah,” Xaldin spat. “To love and be loved in return? Who could ever love a beast?” The Beast whirled again, his cape rippling. He glared and let out a roar of fury.

“Good. Let your anger rise!” With that, Xaldin vanished.

Axel didn’t really see his best friend when he looked at Saïx. He felt like Isa went away and Saïx took his place. His relationship with Saïx was based on his memories of the past. He self-medicated with ice cream to cope. It was heartbreaking. After the scene where Axel was sad about his best friend going away, the chapter about the Beast’s Castle begins, describing him as a formerly handsome prince. So on that basis, I wish there was more visual differentiation between Isa and Saïx. Most of the fandom is just going to see Isa as the same mean old Saïx since there was no attempt to differentiate Isa’s personality from Saïx’s personality and they look exactly the same, too. 

“I don’t trust you,” Saïx replied flatly, the enormous Claymore in his hand.

“Traitors like you deserve to lose everything,” Saïx said.

Saïx gave him a cruel grin. “You will lose everything!”

They originally wanted Isa to have a distinct personality and appearance from Saïx—a lot more than just a new outfit. Isa was supposed to be a beautiful love interest cursed into being a beast. In the novel you can tell that Xigbar and Xaldin were pressuring Saïx to eliminate Axel. He was reluctant to do so on his own. Xigbar doubted whether he was even looking for Axel. Just like with the Beast, they were manipulating him to think Axel had been plotting to take everything from him. Deep down Saïx probably felt similar to the Beast. Like nobody could ever love him in his condition. I think that’s why he was so furious. Axel grew a heart, and then left him. But the only reason Axel grew a heart was because he remembered his feelings for Isa. It was a really cool idea. It's just a shame it never came to fruition.

[nadziejastar]

I mean, it's nothing specific towards Skuld. That’s an overly reductive summary of my viewpoint. I didn’t even know that Subject X was Skuld when I first played KH3, since I barely knew anything about KHUX. I would feel this way towards any character if they were Subject X. But yes, I do hate canon Subject X because she was forcefully inserted where she didn't belong. She became the main purpose of Lea and Isa's relationship out of nowhere, and their OWN relationship didn’t get the focus it deserved and needed. So, this would be a good opportunity to show how absurd the resolution of Axel/Saïx really was and why I have a good reason to hate Subject X for her role in the story.

Nostalgia… And memory. We are the ones who lost their hearts—the ones who are no one. Nobodies. Not light nor darkness—we live in the twilight.

Axel stopped outside the crystal ball room and took a deep breath.

Why are we here? What are we doing? No—why am I here?

Now, Axel did want to help Roxas. But what Kairi said in her letter was a way more accurate description of his relationship with Saïx. Whether Lea/Isa or Axel/Saïx, they had a very...intense relationship, to say the least. Good or bad, there was a ton of powerful emotions between them. It was Axel’s most intense relationship, bar none. This intensity was a fundamental aspect of his character.

Roxas wilted again, and something in his expression weakened Axel’s resolve slightly.

I just did what I thought was the best thing at the time. For Roxas, for Xion, for the Organization—and for Isa. But most of all for me.

He turned away from Roxas and made himself walk away.

Lea/Axel had very strong attachment and affection for who he remembered Isa to be. He stayed in Organization XIII for him, even when he no longer recognized him as that person anymore. I got the impression that Lea was not just best friends, but in LOVE with Isa. That’s how powerful their emotional connection was presented to be.

It’s messed up, Axel thought. Why am I trying to put Saïx in charge of the Organization…?

“I thought I told you not to get too involved.” Saïx swung his chair, turning his back on Axel. Axel could feel nothing but a will of rejection from that back.

“Just look at it. I won’t say any more than that.”

For Saïx to say that, he probably doesn’t intend to tell me any more. Axel stared at Saïx’s back. The two of us have definitely changed since those times.

“…I wonder which of us it was that changed,” muttered Axel, and Saïx’s shoulders trembled for just a second. Without waiting for an answer, Axel left the room.

And I don’t think that’s an unfounded or baseless interpretation. The subplot at the Beast’s Castle in Days was always parallel to Axel’s motivation for completing Kingdom Hearts. On the day Kingdom Hearts became visible in the sky (Day 94), Roxas questioned why they were fighting. Why did they even need hearts? 

Really? Axel wondered to himself. Did that self in my memories really have a strong heart? Don’t really know. And then, Nobodies without hearts wish for only one thing. A heart. If I was asked if I wanted a heart, I guess I’d answer that I did. But do I really want a heart? Can a heart really fill this hollowness I’ve carried since I fell into existence as a Nobody?

Axel didn’t let Roxas know, but deep down he actually had similar doubts. He was ambivalent about getting his heart back, because he wasn’t convinced it would truly heal the emptiness he felt. 

No—he had definitely betrayed them. The one who killed everyone in that castle, who led Riku to Naminé—that was him. And yet it wasn’t a total betrayal. Doubts still swirled inside him.

Why am I here? What do I want? How can I become whole again?

Even now, he wasn’t sure.

What should I have done? What should I do?

The mission on Day 94 was at the Beast’s Castle and Roxas first questioned why the Beast was fighting the Heartless. And the whole time in that world, Roxas kept wondering what he was fighting so hard for. 

“Once Kingdom Hearts is complete, I bet you’ll be able to figure it out.” 

The magic words again, Axel thought. It’ll all make sense when Kingdom Hearts is complete. 

But was that true? No one had ever seen it happen before. So who knew? Still, all they could do was believe in it. Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts…

Roxas finally learned that the Beast was fighting out of love. And I got the sense that it was a hint. Axel was motivated to complete Kingdom Hearts for the same reason. He wasn’t even sure if it would work. He was skeptical. But he chose to believe in it.

“We don’t need them both. Just one. And pretending won’t change it. Think good and hard about it.”

I am thinking. I’m thinking so hard that I’m sick of it. I’m thinking so hard that I just want you to tell me the answer. He wanted to tell him so, but Saïx had already started walking towards the lobby.

It’s just like that back is rejecting me. And, I’m realizing that my memories of the past are too different from the thoughts I’m having now. 

Why the hell am I here? I don’t really know any more. What the hell do I want to do?

Axel was always questioning why he was still in the organization when he thought about how much Saïx had changed. And he always felt like Saïx’s back was rejecting him.

He’d been overthinking the do’s and don’ts so much that he lost sight of what he wanted. And he couldn’t gather the courage to follow Roxas. Was he afraid of rebelling against the Organization? No—it was just that he wanted things to stay the way they were, even more than Xion or Roxas did.

He had been using the Organization for his own ends from the start. The only thing that had changed in the meantime was who it was all for. Maybe Saïx would call that a betrayal. But his world had changed.

Axel wasn’t really in the organization to get his heart back. He wasn’t even in the organization because he was afraid of rebelling. He was doing it all for Saïx’s sake. And he got fed up with that at the end of Days.

Today I have to destroy Roxas. I cannot betray the organization.

From the little shelf at his bedside, Axel took a white envelope, and looked at it vaguely for a while. Putting it in his pocket, Axel got up off the bed and left the room.

But that decision didn’t last very long. He decided he couldn’t betray the organization, then went to see Saïx.

Maybe this is the last time I’ll see Saïx, too.

Thinking, Axel looked at the seated Saïx’s back.

“We’ve known each other for a pretty long time, haven’t we?”

Ignoring Axel’s words, Saïx continued typing on the keyboard.

“Say something. Have you even thought that maybe I can’t erase Roxas?” Axel said, in a playful tone, and Saïx finally looked up. “It’ll be all right. Cause I’m tough.” Axel puffed out his chest.

“How stupid,” said Saïx, and for a moment he smiled.

He tried to emotionally connect with him, thinking it was the last time he might see him. And Saïx still had his back turned to him. But no matter how many times Saïx rejected Axel and left him staring at his back, Axel still kept trying and trying and trying. Axel never would have even considered destroying Roxas if it wasn’t for his feelings for Isa.

Axel waited.

In the shadows of the spaces between, he waited for Sora… For Roxas.

“Traitor,” Saïx had called him. But his betrayal of Organization XIII wasn’t exactly a recent development, Axel thought with a bitter laugh.

He could hardly feel the pain anymore. And it wasn’t that the wound was healing—no, this was just the end coming closer.

Before he reached Sora and the other two, Nobodies appeared in his way.

“Really, Saïx…?”

Number 7 had probably sent them—but whether to finish him off or to keep that trio from coming any farther, Axel wasn’t sure.

Saïx broke Axel’s heart into a million pieces. 

He wanted to fight that way again. He wished they had talked more, about lots of things. About nothing. He wanted to talk to his friend again.

But why do I feel this way if Nobodies have no hearts?

His time was running out, thanks to Saïx. He could hardly move anymore.

Axel was physically and emotionally destroyed by that man. Yet in KH3D...he went back to him. Very quickly and happily, too. All I could say was wow. Just...wow.

Saïx: There's something I've meant to ask.

Xemnas: About Axel? The poor fool. How long will he keep chasing the illusion of friendship, when he himself lacks emotion? Trying so hard to retrieve what he has lost, when it may never have existed in the first place. He deserves nothing more than our pity.

And Saïx had psychotic rage towards Axel when he left. This rage was VERY personal. 

“Hilarious,” said Saïx.

He’s being sarcastic… Joking, in other words.

Saïx had made up his mind not to say such things in front of the other Organization members. It was something he could only be towards Axel, something special that could only have been born from the relationship Saïx and Axel had had as humans.

It was a result of the extreme closeness they shared as humans.

He felt sad somehow, like he missed someone. That voice, that attitude… Axel. His name is Axel. But who is he? Oh—I remember. The guy with the scar on his forehead said he was trying to find Axel. Sora’s mind raced.

Axel’s sadness had nothing to do with a mystery girl. Saïx’s rage had nothing to do with a mystery girl. He was not offended on anyone else’s behalf. It was for leaving him. KH3 tried to downplay this and water down the powerful emotions between Axel and Saïx. And all they did was make it seem ridiculous that they were even friends in the first place, let alone best friends. 

Axel’s eyes crinkled as he remembered his own best friend—the only friend he’d ever had, in fact.

“If your best friend goes away, you’re sad, and if you get to be with them, you’re happy,” Naminé added. “Isn’t that how it is, Axel?”

“…That’s about the size of it.” Axel nodded and sat down on the remaining empty sofa, staring at the sea-salt ice cream he held.

Their whole relationship is pointless if you don’t address all of this sadness, heartbreak, and abuse. KH3 just swept it all under the rug. It tried to deflect all of your attention away from Axel and Saïx’s relationship. It diverted your attention to Roxas and Xion being back, and also to Subject X. It was all so they wouldn’t have address the elephant in the room. They needed to fix Lea and Isa’s relationship with EACH OTHER. KH3 did not do that. 

“I don’t want to disappear, but I’m not upset or sad about it.”

But they really, really needed to.

Axel didn’t waste a second grabbing his chakrams. But his body was reluctant somehow. 

I don’t want to disappear… But still, it wouldn’t be so bad if I did. Not here.

I mean, come on. Saïx KILLED Axel with a vicious smile on his face. He wanted Axel to PAY for leaving him. He acted like one of those crazy, jealous, obsessive ex-lovers that stalk and kill the person for dumping them. I also got the impression that Isa was in love with Lea. Saïx was devastated when Axel left because his memories of the past were that powerful. 

He wanted…to find hope—the hope that Sora and Riku had.

Saïx gave him a cruel grin. “You will lose everything!”

And then the Claymore pierced Axel’s chest.

I don’t want to disappear. I can’t disappear now. I shouldn’t have to disappear at all. Why am I doing all this? Who is it for? For Roxas… For Riku, for Naminé… And for myself. There are still things I should do. Things I have to do.

They gave him a sense of purpose. He WAS jealous, but he wasn’t JUST jealous. He was a lot more conflicted than that. Saïx hated Isa’s memories and wanted them to disappear. I mean, it may have been a negative relationship, but it was still a very intense relationship. Toxic, but passionate. 

“Well, I think you can be inseparable, even if you’re apart. It’s like, if you feel really close to each other. Like best friends,” said Axel.

Yet this incredibly destructive, intense, personal relationship played a relatively minor role in KH3. Saïx showed up and acted very casual with Lea. And Lea's reaction was very mild toward the guy who sadistically murdered him not long ago. 

“As long as we remember one another, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?”

Roxas grinned. “Who are you, and what have you done with Axel?”

“Hey! I tried, okay?” All that effort to cheer them up, and they just turned it into a punch line. Chagrined, he looked away.

They just casually chat about some random girl. SHE is now is the main focus of their friendship. Their OWN relationship was incredibly milquetoast and watered down. It took a back seat. They didn’t act like best friends, or even former best friends. They didn’t act like they liked, cared about, or respected each other. They just tolerated each other for the sake of that girl. Basically, it seemed like they were just using each other because they shared a common goal. That’s the note this relationship ended on.

Axel kept talking. “There’s something special only born between two people who are even more than friends… that’s love.”

“More special than friends? Like…if they’re best friends? Inseparable?”

“Well, you can care about your friends, but that’s not exactly it…” Axel paused, groping for words that might make sense to Roxas.

I got the sense that Lea and Isa’s and/or Saïx and Axel’s relationship was probably considered a bit TOO intense for something between two men. So a female had to be inserted to downplay that. Wouldn’t want people to get the wrong impression. Only a female is the "correct" target for that level of intensity. It’s sexist. it’s homophobic. And it’s just all around small-minded. 

Maybe…the pain I felt then was the hurt of someone’s heart? I feel it even more clearly than the pain in my body. It’s hard to endure, but…something about it is almost comfortingly familiar, too. It’s a special hurt, born from the same thing as my lost memories. I want to run away from it. But I won’t.

And it’s such a waste in a series all about pain bringing you closer together and the power of the heart. Yeah, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that I hated it.