#and 'friends are people who eat ice cream together' was a roxas line that they gave to axel

[dreamsy990]

LITERALLY i will yell about this forever. god just give us re:days or whatever the fuck theyd call it. its not too late i swear

roxas' journal in days is so fucking good read it if you havent. also read it if you only watched the cutscene movie because on page in it has more emotion than that entire thing

[phoenix-downer]

What do you think about the translation, or adaptation, in general of KH from Japanese to English? As someone who is a Spanish speaker, I realize that even in my language the story is more different when I hear the dialogues in both languages @_@

Now I'm really curious about what the KH Spanish translation is like! What are the similarities and differences that you've noticed? My guess is that the Spanish translation is done based on the English translation, but I'd be interested to hear more about it!

As for the English translation (and keep in mind that I have not played the entire series all the way through in Japanese), I'd say that overall it captures the spirit of the Japanese version as far as I can tell? I mean there are differences in the KH original stuff, like Sora's catchphrase "connecting hearts is my power" becoming "my friends are my power," but I really like both versions of the catchphrase. The Japanese version keeps the focus on hearts as is fitting for a series about hearts, but friendship is such an integral part of the series and the English version captures that really well.

I also really love how Sora's line in Blank Points was translated. The Japanese version is something along the lines of:

"There are still people out there who are suffering, and they’re waiting for me. I have to get them back, they’re all connected to me."

Which again ties things back beautifully to Sora's Japanese catchphrase. The English version takes full advantage of the cultural and religious history of English with an "I am who I am" reference making its way into the dialogue, which shows a deep understanding of the target culture of the translation and gives it a lot of power:

"It’s just…they really need me. I have to go. I am who I am…because of them."

The versions are "different" but they're both well-done, and that's what a good translation should do.

Of course, are also a few ??? translations. Roxas's heartbreaking, "Let's eat ice cream together again/The three of us will eat ice cream together again" line in Days shows his grief and denial and attempt to reassure Xion as she's dying that she and Axel and Roxas will meet again. Unfortunately, in English this line became "Who else will I have ice cream with?" which just didn't land the same for me or for a lot of people. I remember watching the scene in Japanese for the first time and being like what the heck, this is so much better and Roxas sounds truly grieved instead of kinda whiny, why was it translated like that? Something like "The three of us will get ice cream together again, okay?" would've been a lot better. There's no way the translator(s) didn't know that though, so maybe they had to keep the English translation short and "Who else will I have ice cream with" was the only thing that would work with the cutscene timing that would approach the meaning of the original version.

And then Roxas's "Why did he pick you" line inserts some unknown "he" in the English version, whereas the Japanese version was more like, "Why were you chosen," with the implication being he was chosen by the Keyblade as indicated by at least one Japanese source (even though it's not directly spelled out in the dialogue). So that's another line I think could've been translated better.

But overall the English translation seems pretty solid. I mean there are a few jokes that don't translate (Seifer's ore beanie, which would be roughly equivalent to him wearing a beanie that says "tough guy" on it in English lol), but that's just the nature of translation, and there are so many good lines in the English translation as well.

Also, the KH translators have always done a stellar job on the Disney dialogue. It's clear they carefully reference the original dialogue from the Disney movies, and when there is dialogue original to the KH games, they make sure it stays true to the character's voices. Disney is also involved with checking the translations.

And in these instances, where the dialogue was originally written in English for the Disney movie, the KH Japanese version references what I assume is the Japanese translation of the movie, and the KH English version references the original English version, I usually prefer the English version (and granted I'm biased because I grew up with the English language versions of these movies, so there's the nostalgia factor plus the original script factor).

Barbossa in KH2, for example, says, "The curse..." in Japanese but "I feel...cold," in English, which just hits different, you know? Like it's the first thing he's felt since he was cursed, and he feels cold because he's dying. The English version just packs a punch for me that the Japanese version doesn't. And good on the English KH translators for making sure the original, iconic Barbossa line was used for KH even though a more literal translation ("The curse...") would've been more faithful to the KH Japanese version. In fact, Nomura mentioned in an interview that this is on purpose:

"We have spent a lot of time making the preparations, so the original text has been translated as directly as possible, while in the case of the different Disney worlds we asked the translators to keep the original dialogues of the films."

There's just a lot of art and nuance to the translation process, especially because KH features movies that were originally written in English but the main KH story was originally written in Japanese, so it's like there's a meeting in the middle between the two languages almost, which is a good metaphor for the series as a whole, honestly.

Also, Tai Yasue, the co-director of the series, is a fluent English speaker (he's Japanese but lived in Canada for a long time before moving back to Japan) and checks over the translations:

"The translation of Kingdom Hearts III is done internally, and we follow a multi-layered process; co-director Tai Yasue, who speaks English, checks the text, and Disney later checks it again."

So I think that helps a lot with fidelity and generally getting the heart of the meaning across even if the wording changes from the Japanese version to the English version.

Of course, this is just my view on the matter, and it would be worth asking other people who are familiar with both the Japanese version and the English version of the KH games what they think too. I remember reading a post or comment by someone who speaks both Japanese and English who said overall they thought the meaning was very similar in both languages but that there were certain character nuances that came across differently (I really wish I could find the post again, but I read it years ago and didn't save it, unfortunately). So I think it would be worth asking other people for their thoughts.

Thanks for the ask!

[superdorkcat]

“Why’m I in the Organization? Well, I mean, there’s lots of reasons, but-oh right! I wanted friends, right? Oh, no. Wow, actually no, that sounded way uncool but... now I’m thinking back on it and I’m just like, yeah, I guess it kinda was like that, huh.”

While I already liked Demyx because he was the fun comic relief guy, this line from his character file actually made me interested in him as a character. One of the main themes of KH’s story is the power of friendship, so it makes sense that a desire for friends would be a motivating force.

However, this line may seem a little weird to anyone who’s played 358/2 Days as, instead of trying to befriend Roxas when they get assigned on a mission to Olympus Coliseum together, Demyx ditches Roxas under the pretense of splitting up the work. He proceeds to do this again for every mission him and Roxas go on together for the rest of the game.

If Demyx wants friends, why would he repeatedly screw over one of the nicest people in the entire Organization, someone who would probably hang out with him if asked? It’s because his new heart was in its infancy, assuming he had managed to start to regrow one at all.

Connections are the main things that make up a heart in KH. Axel regrew his heart after befriending Roxas and Xion while the only emotions Saix felt were related to his friendships with Axel and Subject X. On the other hand, the closest things Demyx has to friends are his sitar and a working acquaintanceship with the rest of the Organization. As such, while he might have managed to begin to nurture a new heart, Demyx’s lack of any meaningful relationships means that it couldn’t fully develop.

People without hearts are inherently selfish- they’re incapable of taking other people into account. Demyx knows what he likes: music, naps, and not working. Unlike a more low-effort commitment like eating ice cream after work, helping Roxas complete their missions would conflict with this, so Demyx ditches him. But this just keeps Demyx from making a friend and he’s just as lonely as he was before.

The limited development of Demyx’s heart has him stuck in a vicious cycle where he wants friends but his inability to put others before himself keeps him from actually being able to make any meaningful connections. Hopefully, Demyx will be able to overcome this and fully regrow his heart. If he can’t, he’ll likely end up completely alone.

[mushroom-winners-proof]

ik people clown on roxas’s whole “who’ll i eat ice cream with” line a lot And I Am One Of those People because it is funny out of context, but it also hurts because like. i feel like we forget that most of the KH cast are just kids, especially roxas who isn’t even a year old at this point. like we know they’re kids, but there’s a difference between passively knowing it and being reminded of it directly

him wanting to just eat ice cream with his friends is such a childish want and it is part of why we laugh at it: your best friend, in a sense, is dying. you don’t know if you’ll see them again- or even remember them, and you’re worried about eating ice cream together. but it’s also a great reminder that these are kids. it’s such a childish and almost inappropriate want because roxas is a child; it’s hard enough processing death or losing someone as an adult, never mind a kid. they shouldn’t have to go through this traumatizing shit, they should just be able to have some ice cream together without having to worry about anything

[twilight-town-zombies]

For the ship thing. Sorikai or Akuroku. Dealers' choice on the faves.

Here’s akuroku (better late than never? 😅) 

1. How do much do I ship it?: Never heard of it/ Notp / Dislike / used to ship / maybe / ship it / aww / otp / IS IT CANON YET?

2. What non sexual activities do they like to do together?

Axel and Roxas are both daring and adventurous, and I love the idea of them traveling to new cities and worlds together. They befriend the locals, explore both major tourist destinations and obscure holes-in-the-wall, dare each other to try new activities, taste all the local delicacies and end every day together climbing as high in the city as they can, watching the sunset, and eating something sweet. I also think Axel and Roxas would really enjoy music. They would seek out performances and festivals, and figure out a way to get music from different worlds on their Gummi phones to share with friends and listen to at home. Roxas would be thrilled to have the chance to help Axel train with his keyblade, and of course, Axel would still have combat pointers for Roxas. With Axel’s fire power it would be cool if they learned to forge their own weapons, keyblades included. 

3. Who does chores around the house?

The Organization has military-like cleaning standards, so both of them are pretty tidy. Bigger tasks, they would put off until they reach catastrophic proportions and then have to tackle them together. For example, the sink has been leaking for weeks, Roxas has been mentioning it every now and then, and Axel has been saying, “yeah, yeah, we’ll get to it” but they don’t get to it until the bathroom floods, and then they are both soaking wet, wrenches in hand, switching off between trying to fit under the sink and make sense of the directions. 

4. Who’s the better cook?

Axel’s kind of a natural in the kitchen because he has such a good sense of temperature, but his taste is not for everyone, since he especially enjoys foods that are spicy, crispy, salty or ice cold. He tends to do more cooking than Roxas. Roxas is initially comically terrible in the kitchen, but he’s a quick study and gets pretty good practicing with Axel, Xion, and Sora. He especially likes making breakfast and desserts. 

 5. Who’s the funniest drunk?

Roxas. With his strong dose of good sense out the window, there is very little Roxas won’t do including dancing on the table and public karaoke. Axel is right there with him, but would generally participate in most of the activities sober, as well. Roxas is also an “I LOVE YOU, MAN” kind of drunk toward anyone and everyone, and has been known to hug even the likes of Riku. 

When Axel drinks too muc,h he spends the vast majority of his time hitting on Roxas and/or trying to get him home to their bed, (to be fair, he is usually successful), and the rest of the time being even more acerbic and catty than usual. 

6. Do they have kids?

I think considering both of their pasts, they would want to wait a while, but later on down the line they would be interested in taking in a kid or two that needed them. They would be sweet, if unconventional dads, and their kid would be a sweetheart but kind of a pistol.

7. Do they have any traditions?

One - Regularly revisiting a certain clocktower to eat ice cream or meet up with friends or have important conversations or just to get away from the stressors in their lives for a while. Two - Dreaming of the beach. They do actually go every so often, but they are -always- talking about making plans to go to the beach when they have a day off or wishing they were on the beach. 

8. What do they fight about?

I think both of them are insecure being part of Team Light. They don’t completely feel like they’re “good guys” after their pasts working for the Organization. Axel thinks Roxas has nothing to feel guilty about because he’s the one who’s always had the most conscience, and Roxas doesn’t think people are hard enough on him when he spent so long doing what the Org asked without question. Axel doesn’t think he’s good enough for Roxas, and Roxas has to regularly reassure him that yes he does want to be with him even though he’s done terrible things, and that he understands why Axel did them and that Axel has changed and believes he can be better. He loves Axel and sees all his best qualities and gets frustrated when Axel doubts that. Roxas also gets upset if Axel tries to keep anything from him, even when Axel is just trying to protect him, so Axel tries to be as open and honest as possible, though it doesn’t always come naturally. 

9. What would they do if they found their pairing tag on tumblr? (If they have one)

I think their initial reaction would be wild laughter. They would spend a ridiculous amount of time looking through it, debating its accuracy, and making plans for future activities based on ideas in the tag. Roxas would be a little embarrassed at first but get over it. Axel would be fascinated at first, but then a little impatient to get back to what they could be doing in reality. 

10. Who cried at the end of Marley and me?

(I’ve never seen Marley & Me, I’m just going to assume a very cute dog dies)

Roxas. Axel had to hold him, rub his back, and reassure him it was just a movie and real dogs don’t die, that would be cruel and horrible. Axel didn’t cry. Obviously. He just had something in his eye.

11. Who always wins at Mario kart?

It’s a pretty even competition if all parties are playing fair. Sometimes they cheat and distract each other with kisses and touches, and Axel tends to be the more distractible of the two, which Axel still considers a win-win situation for them both. 

12. One thing I like about this ship?

They have an actual relationship that I got to watch grow and evolve throughout the game. Axel was the only Org member remotely nice to Roxas when he didn’t have anything or anybody, and Roxas helped Axel from totally losing himself by reminding him what it was like to see the world through fresh eyes and to care about another person. They have fun banter, they spend time together, confide in each other, they miss each other when they’re gone, and they have a strong undying loyalty toward each other. I also love the clock tower moments in general, escaping the harshness of their reality to steal time together watching the sunset while romantic music played and comforting and confiding in each other. 

13. One thing I don’t like about the ship?

Retcon aging = Fandom Drama™ Like, please let me ship this ship I’ve been shipping since I was a kid in peace. 

14. The song I would say fits them?

So many, but recently: Hell and Back (Maren Morris) & Daylight (Taylor Swift)

15. Another headcanon about the pairing? (Free space)

I headcanon that after training with Roxas, (or trying to protect him) Axel would also be able to dual wield keyblades like he does his chakram. 

[blackasteriia]

A List of Reasons Why I Hate the ‘Sea Salt Family’

AKA It’s Sunday Tuesday and I’m back at it again at Krispie-Kremes

(Abuse tw; violence tw; salt tw; suicide tw)

I have mentioned, in passing, my problems with the prevalence of the Sea Salt Family in fandom and my problems with it. I’ve never written a comprehensive post on it before. It’s Sunday though, I have the salt, so let’s do it. 

The Sea Salt Family is roughly presented, but not explicitly laid-out, in canon. At the end of KH3, Xion, Roxas, Lea, and Isa are shown sharing ice cream on the clock tower together. Since the introduction of Xion and Roxas’ character, ‘sharing ice cream’ has been a declarative statement of friendship and camaraderie. It was the origin of their friendship. Thus, the inclusion of Isa is a signal of his admittance into the reformed friend group. The intention of this scene was to show the reconciliation and unification of these characters. To cement this, it seems that Nomura has bundled Roxas, Xion, Lea, Isa, and the Twilight Trio, into a shared plot. They are mentioned in Re:Mind, by Riku, as searching for Sora through Roxas and Xion’s memories.  

Common fandom interpretation takes this one step farther. The assumption is that Lea and Isa have adopted Xion and Roxas. This puts Lea and Isa in a parental role over the kids. Often times, this is done in a shipping context for Lea and Isa. Sometimes Lea and Isa have a good relationship, with two lovingly adopted children. Other times Xion and Roxas become contention points for the main ship-- Isa’s punishment for being a jerk is taking care of the kids. 

Fandom does take into account that the canon scene itself in KH3 is flawed. Lets overview Lea and Isa’s relationship, with both of the kids. 

Roxas spent the majority of 358/2 Days oblivious to the machinations going on around him. However, he identified a rift between Axel and Xion that developed in the midpoint of the year. He recognized that Axel had done something to estrange her and by the end of the game, blamed him for it. He was also angry at him for attacking Xion the first time. When Xion ran away for the second time, Roxas confronted Axel and forced the truth. Axel had been lying about Xion --sometimes intentionally to assuage Roxas’ concerns-- and then attempted to justify his actions to Roxas.The revelations of Axel’s lies --and outright manipulation, diverting Roxas from finding the truth-- causes Roxas to leave the Organization. Axel later attacks Roxas (twice) when Xemnas orders him to do so. At this point, Axel makes no attempt to find an alternate solution. Axel is enraged at Roxas for leaving and even forgetting him (which is a weird thing for an adult man to feel about a child, I might add). He is mocking of Roxas’ confusion in the data Twilight Town. Axel then attacks Roxas with the implicit intention to kill Roxas. Thus, we see that Axel’s relationship to Roxas is manipulative and built on lies, instead of trust. Axel also shows little regard for Roxas’ autonomy (”You’re coming with me, conscious or not.”). Roxas knows that Axel will lie to him. Roxas knows that Axel will assault him. If Roxas enters the post-KH3 relationship with no reservations then he is an oblivious moron. 

When it comes to Xion I do not give Axel the benefit of the doubt. Axel is introduced to Xion, by Roxas. At the beginning of their friendship he does not see her face. He becomes aware that she is a replica but decides to give her a fair shake, due to his experience with Repliku. Eventually, he does see her face. They seem to get along for the first part of the game. However, when Xion goes to Castle Oblivion to learn the truth about herself-- Axel moves to block her. He gaslights her (’there’s nothing to see here’) and grabs her to stop her (a violation of her physical autonomy btw). She goes on into the castle and Axel does not mention the incident to Roxas (a lack of transparency and honesty in relationships). Xion is missing for almost a month. She returns, speaks with Roxas (who also grabs her and violates her physical autonomy smh), and is then attacked by Axel. Axel kidnaps Xion and returns her to the Organization against her will. Xion did not want to return to the Organization. Roxas requests that she return with him and she moves away from him. Before Axel attacked her she was going to leave. (Later, Nomura attempts to feebly justify Axel’s behavior by saying Xion is glad he did this. We’ll call that Xion attempting to assuage Roxas’ worries). Xion later goes to Axel for advice about what to do. Axel implies that she’s ‘stealing more than her share’ from Roxas. We are, as a reminder, talking about Xion killing herself here. Later, Axel lets her leave, and then still follows Xemnas’ order to attack her and kidnap her again. I do not believe there is any love loss between Axel and Xion. He betrayed her, gaslit her, attacked and assaulted her, kidnapped her (twice), and showed a cruel disregard for her autonomy. There is no reason for her to trust, or even like him. Their ‘friendship’ ended around day 255 in Castle Oblivion, and any attempt for Nomura to convince you otherwise is deliberate attempt to write over the real trauma that Axel caused her. 

Saïx and Roxas have few interactions. However, I read Roxas and Xion as child soldiers. They are slaves, they are working for no payment. Saïx is the man in charge of them. He hands out the missions. We are shown that Saïx primary concern is their efficiency in collecting hearts. Roxas and Saïx interactions include Saïx telling him what his mission is, and how to prepare. Saïx, however, outright pits Roxas and Xion against each other. Even at one point, attempting to have them murder each other. (If you read the manga, and want to consider it for analysis, Saïx even attacks Roxas). Their relationship is cold, hostile, and interlaced with the knowledge of Saïx obvious emotional abuse of Xion. No reason for Roxas to trust, or even like, Saïx. 

Take everything above about Saïx and double it for Xion. The profesional and cold demeanor of Saïx is stripped away to reveal an openly hostile, cruel personality. Saïx insults and degrades Xion (”You were a mistake we never should have made”.) Xion refers to him with fear and wariness, often fearing his retribution for failures. He misgenders her and disregards her personhood. He does this out of a self-stated jealousy. He sees Axel growing close to the kids and then lashes out at the easy targets. Saïx outright abuses Xion, and the threat of harm is as effective as the actual action of doing harm. Saïx wanted Xion dead, and as best as I can tell, she knew it. I have no reason to believe that his opinion of her would change from 358 to KH3. It does not make sense that Saïx after KH2 would attempt to ‘save’ Xion. He doesn’t remember her and he wouldn’t remember her all the way until the Keyblade Graveyard. Vexen’s notes would not include Xion’s personality or any of her relationships, she was, at best, two weeks old when he left for Castle Oblivion. Saïx is not shown interacting with Xion in any manner in KH3. In fact, the ‘Xion’ introduced in the Keyblade Graveyard is not Xion. Xion is in Sora’s heart. So, not only is their relationship confusing in KH3, it’s also not meaningful. Vexen mentioned Saïx wished to ‘atone’ but we never hear Saïx true intentions from the horse’s mouth. Or, if he just did it to make nice with Lea. He still refers to the kids as ‘Lea’s friends.’There is no established development between Xion and Saïx proper. Xion would have no reason to believe that Isa no longer wants to kill her, and Isa would have no reason to no longer want to kill Xion. 

Despite all of this, Nomura wants us to believe that all of these characters are reconciled. The text offers little to believe that this is the case. There is not a single scene where any of Isa and Lea’s past behavior is addressed, or an apology made. Nomura’s reading of his own text fails to recognize the abuse and trauma that he wrote Xion and Roxas’ experiencing. He has a fundamental lack of understanding of the consequences and psychology of his own characters. Furthermore, he believes that the friendship they built in the Organization stands on its own. Even though Axel: gaslit, assaulted, kidnapped, and manipulated both. For example, Nomura reads his threat to Xion (”No matter what, I’ll always bring you back.” = ”I will always return your to your abusers, regardless of your wishes, even if I have to assault you to do so.”) as a promise and declaration of friendship. Why else would Xion tell Roxas that Axel kidnapping her is a good thing? Nomura believes that the Organization -- even though we’re talking about the group of people who abused, enslaved, and murdered them-- is good for Xion and Roxas. Why else would the ‘symbol of their friendship’ be the Recusant Symbol in Re: Mind? Thus, their friendship with Axel is good for them. Why else is it romanticized in KH3? Therefore, there is no reason to confront or discuss previous acts of abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, or assault. 

The story of 358/2 Days is not a story of two children shaking free of the shackles of their abusers and oppressors as they grow into their own, independent, unique personalities. It is a story of two children who are abused and manipulated by the adults in their lives. Who are then murdered and discarded as soon as they hold no use for the plot. Xion’s entire character is written with the intention to motivate Roxas to leave the Organization. That is why 358/2 Days was created as a game. That is why her character was introduced. The systematic stripping of her autonomy and personhood is present in the text itself, and the meta-text. She is fridged, and then that death is milked for man pain of Roxas and Axel. Nomura’s own sexism created and destroyed her character. So, much to the point that when fan consensus demanded she be brought back: he gave her no lines and no personality. He couldn’t even muster the spine to give her an original moveset for her Re:Mind data fight-- she’s just a copy of Roxas. That’s all she is to him and that is all she will ever be to him. 

And the fandom seems, for the most part, to be in concurrence with Nomura. We have asked Xion and Roxas to be in a healthy relationship with the two adults who have overtly abused them. The problem is not the writing of the Sea Salt Family. That trope, on its own, is fine. The true problem is the fandom’s failure to address the abuse in the Kingdom Hearts story. 

 Saïx actions, as poignant as they may or may not be in the rescue of Xion and Roxas, do not absolve him. Saïx used his position of authority and power over them to cause them tangible harm. Emotional abuse hurts as much as physical abuse and the effects are long lasting. Especially, when we know that Xion and Roxas were completely subject to Saïx. As far as Xion was aware, if she disobeyed or failed him-- her life was forfeit. What Saïx did in KH3 was take the first step of reconciliation. He fixed his most obvious mistake which included being complicit in the murder of children. Good for him. Now, he has to make tangible changes in his behavior. He must make apologies that shows he understands what and how he was wrong. This apology should be voluntary and not forced by Lea, or whittled out of him by the kids. He must take responsibility for his actions and preform further restitution. He can’t shove blame on the kids, he can’t say ‘Xemnas made me do it.’ No, Saïx caused them harm, and he has to be responsible. Anything less is in an incomplete, false apology that does not match the severity of his actions. And even if he executes a perfect apology, guess what?

 Xion and Roxas do not have to feel grateful to Saïx. They do not have to forgive him. They do not owe him anything. He was their abuser. If they do not feel ready to forgive, they don’t have to. Furthermore, forgiveness and healing is a process. One and done will not realistically fix the level of trauma that these children have experienced. I have seen the expressed attitude that of course Xion and Roxas would forgive Isa. They’re good kids! To which I ask, would bad kids not forgive their abuser? Xion and Roxas would still be good kids, even if they don’t forgive the man who abused them. That’s not how this works. They are the victims here, they have been done harm, and they deserve the space to heal. If they do not want Isa in that space, then that is their right. Maybe, Roxas and Xion decide to forgive Isa, maybe it takes time, maybe they never do. It depends on how they work through their pain and trauma. Of course, repeat all this with Lea. Because as much as the fandom likes to give him a free pass for his ‘good intentions.’ Those ‘good intentions’ still hurt Roxas and Xion. You could say his actions are justified given his circumstances. That does not change their impact. Xion and Roxas know --based on Axel’s own behavior-- that he will throw them under the bus if it’s convenient. They have not met Lea. They do not know him. They have no reason to trust him. It is Lea who must do the work to fix that. Not Xion, not Roxas, it is Lea who has to prove himself trustworthy again. 

It’s alright to draw Xion, Roxas, Isa, and Lea having ice cream together, or living a happy life. However, it is also necessary to address the problems. How does Xion feel living with Isa, who misgendered and emotionally abused her? Does Roxas feel at all threatened by Lea, knowing that he once attacked him? How did Lea and Isa work to address their mistakes, and reconcile with the kids? How are they addressing the real trauma that Xion and Roxas have experienced, especially the stuff at their own hands? Most depictions of ‘The Sea Salt Family’ skip past all the hard work and jump to the fun part. We’re shown Lea ‘forgiving’ Isa, when it is not Lea’s place to do so. We’re shown Lea bringing Isa, Roxas, and Xion, into his home, with little regard for how this may affect the kids. I feel as though in most depictions, Xion and Roxas are accessories to Isa and Lea’s romantic relationship. Another point of conflict or a source of fluff. This ignores the autonomy of Xion and Roxas, it ignores their struggles and character. Worse yet, it echoes Nomura’s own erasure of their trauma. Don’t write Lea and Isa adopting Xion and Roxas if you’re not prepared to talk about everything that comes with it. 

Also consider that Xion and Roxas are extremely vulnerable. They have between them, total, two whole years of experience. They have never gone to school. They have never had friends outside of the Organization. (The Data Twilight Trio are not their actual ‘friends’ and Nomura makes no sense, I’ll die on that hill). I cannot state how easy it would be for Lea or Isa to continue a pattern of abuse with them. You say, Lea and Isa would never do that! To which I say, they have done that, and we have little canon proof that they wouldn’t do that. 

Are you catching my problem here? 

Do you see why having Roxas and Xion get a happily ever after with their two abusers is not a good idea? Because Nomura did not write a true redemption arc for either Isa or Lea, we do not see any fundamental changes in their character. Axel has been showing willing to commit cold blooded murder. Can you show me how he is now prepared to take care of two extremely vulnerable, traumatized, and abused children? Maybe, in your own writing you don’t think Lea is prepared to take care fo the kids. Okay, that’s fine, there’s some nuance-- but do you still write him taking care of them? Why do you think that is the best situation for Xion and Roxas? Because they have nowhere else to go. How is that acceptable? Knowing that the two children who have been abused have so few resources available to them that they have no choice but to stay with their abusers? Maybe, as a fandom, we need to stop caring so much about Isa and Lea’s feelings, and start caring about their victims. 

I don’t want my reader to leave this essay and think, ‘I can’t write Sea Salt Family.’

You can write Sea Salt Family, but you have to order some nuance. 

Think about the best Redemption Arc in living memory: Zuko. Zuko was shown kidnapping and attacking Katara in Season 1. Yet, I am perfectly fine with Zutara as a ship, why? 

1. Katara is shown capable of standing-up to Zuko, defending herself, and challenging him. In Siege of the North Part 1, she is shown equal to, if not superior to, him in skill and power. Katara can kick Zuko’s ass and he knows it. By the end of Season 1, there is no longer a power imbalance between them. Abuse requires a power imbalance and Katara and Zuko are shown standing on equal footing.

2. Zuko and Katara then have a change in their relationship. Zuko has his change of heart in Ba Sing Se. In the crystal catacombs he shows empathy to Katara that she responds to. He even takes this point to issue his first apology. However, he betrays this budding trust by following Azula in attacking Aang. 

3. Zuko reconciles with Katara and builds a friendship with her. This includes Zuko apologizing for his past actions. But also doing what he can to fix his mistakes. He works to understand and listen to her anger and pain. He helps her find the man who killed her mother, on her request. He allows her to take the space and time she needed to address her trauma. Not just what he did to her, but what the fire nation did to her. He shows a clear change of behavior and remorse for his past actions. Katara and Zuko, by the end of the series are friends who trust each other. I can believe it because of the intentional work and time the show put into the relationship. 

Now look at the above. You tell me where Isa and Lea did all that in canon?  Think about point 1, Katara and Zuko are pretty much the same age, as two years of difference between adolescents is not a significant age gap. Xion and Roxas, are literal toddlers, and Lea and Isa are in their late-twenties. There is a natural power imbalance between these characters caused by age and experience. Which means it’s even more on Lea and Isa to take responsibility. Furthermore, what about point 1 or 2? Xion barely has any lines in KH 3. We do not hear her story, we do not hear her experience, and we do not hear her accepting the apology Lea did not make. Canon is flawed in its execution of the Sea Salt Family. Fandom has a real chance to step-in where Nomura failed and succeeded. Yet, over a year since KH3′s release, I have seen few attempts to do so. 

Abuse in relationships can be addressed. Abusers can take responsibility, apologize, and make amends for their actions. I do believe that Xion and Roxas can forgive Lea and Isa, if and only if, Lea and Isa earn that forgiveness. I believe that in theory the Sea Salt Family could be a wonderful example of found family, forgiveness, love, and healing in media. However, in practice, most examples of it fall short. The challenge there-in, is to write and portray the nuance, complexity, and triumph of a real relationship. Not a superfluous, weak, or shallow one, that looks pretty and is heartwarming, but instead a deep story, that is deserving of the characters it attempts to represents. 

[nadziejastar]

That moment, a ball rolled up and bumped into Roxas’ foot.

“Scuse me!” A boy came running up.

“Hayner, not again!”

Behind him, a girl came running, and then following her, a slightly chubby boy.

Roxas picked up the ball at his feet, and threw the ball back to the boy and his friends. The three dipped their heads in a bow, and ran away again with the ball.

“—They’d be around the same age as me, wouldn’t they,” Roxas muttered.

“Huh?” Axel asked, and Roxas wondered if he hadn’t caught it.

“Nothing.” Roxas shook his head slightly and started walking. Roxas turned to watch the pigeons in front take flight.

Thank you for another interesting video. The Youtuber said that RAX just eating ice cream didn’t really make them feel that close. He said it could have worked if being in the organization seemed REALLY that bad and ice cream was the only thing they had in life to give them pleasure. I actually did get the impression that ice cream was all they had. But I think the little short story “Roxas: Somewhere in Time” did a better job showing just how bored and unhappy Roxas was with the monotony of his organization life. That’s how I think they originally intended the Axel/Roxas friendship to be before they came up with the idea of Xion.

“I wonder whether it’d be fun to fly like that.”

“—It’d be fun, I guess,” Axel replied, taking a bite of his ice cream.

“I wonder how long it’ll be okay to do this.”

Axel stared at Roxas. Maybe Roxas is feeling the build up of doing the same kind of missions day after day. Every day, Roxas was given the same mission, to subdue heartless. But it couldn’t be helped, Axel thought. Roxas was special. To the Organisation, and to Axel. Just like how the Organisation can’t let Roxas know anything, I don’t think I’ll let him know anything myself.

This is betraying Roxas, isn’t it?

“We might not always be able to be together,” murmured Axel, without realising.

“Huh?” This time, it was Roxas who looked at Axel.

“What’s with you, don’t make such a scary face.”

Axel turned his face away from Roxas, and bit his ice cream. Roxas didn’t know of Axel’s unrest. And, Axel didn’t know of Roxas’ unrest.

This story takes place the day after Axel comes back from Castle Oblivion. Roxas sees Hayner, Pence, and Olette playing ball and then wonders just how long he can keep doing what he’s doing. He’d rather play with them–kids his own age. Axel knew that. He knew Roxas was unhappy. He was lying to Roxas so he wouldn’t leave. He knew if Roxas had the choice, he would leave him. Their friendship was not strong enough for Roxas to stick around just for him. Axel ALSO knew that their arrangement was living on borrowed time. He and Roxas simply weren’t gonna be together forever and there would come a time when they’d go their separate ways. They friendship wasn’t super cuddly or cutesy, nor was it particularly intimate. But it was interesting.

I actually should not exist. I was just a doll. I chose to disappear because I did not want to become what Xemnas had planned for me. Therefore, I had no regrets. I remember disappearing in front of the clock tower while Roxas held me. Roxas also went to sleep afterwards, leaving Axel alone. The person who probably suffered the most was Axel. Because he’s the one who forgot the most. Being forgotten and forgetting, they’re both painful. I am a bit uncertain whether I should actually exist or not. Sometimes, even if for a fleeting moment, I feel that I truly should not be here.

To address his point about Xion: I was honestly fine with the fact that Xion felt like a living plot device and that she felt like just another version of Kairi. I don’t think she was supposed to feel distinct from Kairi. That defeats the point. He also said that she needed more inner conflict about helping Sora wake up because it made her death scene less effective. I disagree with all this.

I think Xion wasn’t supposed to feel completely “human”. Because she’s wasn’t. She was the embodiment of Sora’s memories of Kairi. She’s not really supposed to exist. Even in her Character File story, she doesn’t sound convinced she should really exist. When she disappeared, it was supposed to feel right and natural, like she went back to where she truly belonged. After beating the game, you weren’t supposed to come away with the idea that she was supposed to return and live happily ever after with Roxas and Axel. And that’s how I felt. I was 100% okay with her disappearing at the end and never coming back. Her death scene was beautiful, IMO. When she came back in KH3, it felt tacky and cheapened her whole character.

I completely agree that it is very disappointing that we never got to see the other members’ backstories. KHUX is NOT the right place to explore Marluxia’s past IMO. But I don’t think Days was the right place, either. Many of the members died too quickly (though more could have been done with Demyx and Luxord). I think BBSV2 was meant to be that game he wanted 358/2 Days to be. I’m sure that the Days timeline would be covered in BBSV2. But 358/2 Days was supposed to be about Roxas’s “blank period” in the organization. So, I am okay with it focusing on mostly RAX and, to a lesser extent, Axel/Saix. The rest of the organization’s past required a separate game to do them justice.

“Let’s eat some ice cream. We are best friends. You are right. Ha-ha-ha.”

I loved the part where he did the robot voice making fun of the dialogue in the game. There’s a lot of truth to how forced it was.

“The biggest problem with the friendship between Roxas, Axel, and Xion is how stilted it feels. More often than not, the game just TELLS us what the characters are feeling, instead of letting it be revealed through their actions. We’re continually TOLD how great the trio’s friendship is, yet the only evidence of that is them smiling while eating ice cream.”

This is a quote from the video. I can understand why he feels like this. And to an extent, I agree. But I only agree because I think most of the fandom fundamentally missed what Nomura was trying to do with the sea-salt trio and KH3 didn’t even bother to follow through with the original idea. 

“Well, Roxas—why do the three of us eat ice cream together every day in that place?”

“….Huh?” I don’t really get what he’s trying to say.

“I have no use in doing that either, do I? If you think about it, it’s troublesome, right? Do you want me to tell you?”

Roxas looked at Axel, and waited for his answer.

“It’s because we are best friends.”

At least for Axel, the game DIDN’T tell you what he was really feeling. You DID have to look at his actions and read between the lines. That’s what I loved so much about the story. 

In KH2, Axel and Roxas were so-called “best friends”. And this is the reason the story of 358/2 Days pushes the idea of “best friends” in such a forced and artificial way. Even in Days, Axel first called them best friends, not spontaneously, but in response to being incredibly hurt by Saix and also from remembering some specific incident from his past.

He wasn’t really supposed to be “best friends” with Roxas and Xion, though (cute as they are). I mean, he’s a GROWN ASS MAN, for crying out loud. Naturally, it’s embarrassing for an adult to be best friends with two kids.

Pathik: The fourth chakra is located in the heart. It deals with love and is blocked by grief. Lay all your grief out in front of you. You have indeed felt a great loss. But love is a form of energy, and it swirls all around us. The Air Nomads’ love for you has not left this world. It is still inside of your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love.

I’m sure a lot of KH fans have seen ATLA. The way Axel/Roxas/Xion was handled really reminded me of how Aang/Katara was handled. I think the audience misunderstood the Aang/Katara relationship and saw it more cutesy and simplistically than it was intended to be. Aang did genuinely love her, just as Axel genuinely loved Roxas and Xion. But at the same time, he was completely obsessed with her, just as Axel was obsessed with Roxas in KH2. Aang was just a kid. In his mind, Katara was his “forever girl” and they were gonna be together forever and ever. He was quite pushy about it at times, just as Axel is quite pushy about how Roxas is his “best friend” in KH2.

Aang: On stage, when you said I was just like a … brother to you, and you didn’t have feelings for me.

Katara: I didn’t say that. An actor said that.

Aang: But it’s true, isn’t it? We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we’re not.

Katara: Aang, I don’t know.

Aang was infatuated with her from the moment he laid eyes on her. On top of that, he met her just after he ran away from home to avoid his entire life changing and losing everything he knew and everyone he loved. And he wakes up in her arms to find out that all his people were completely wiped out because of that decision. He was all alone in the world and deeply traumatized. And he clung to Katara to avoid facing that loss. Axel also lost everything, including the one person he couldn’t bear to lose. Roxas and Xion were the first people he got close to after his life changed. And he starts realizing how much Saix changed and he can’t cope with the enormity of that loss. He hides all of those feelings, and later becomes obsessed with Roxas to avoid facing them. Very similar idea.

Aang loves Katara but not in the way he should, as it was based on replacing the absence of the Air Nomads, and Guru Pathik believes he never learned what it meant to “let go” of her.

Aang and Katara are not on the same wavelength as there are many times where Katara attempts to shelter him from the harsh realities of life - which creates a chasm between them. Katara discovers she can communicate so much more easily with Zuko, and he with her.

Aang finds out that some of his people were alive all along and just hiding; living their lives for the past hundred years without him. His love for Katara grew from the love of the Air Nomads, so what if his people came back? Would he realize that his love for her was not as genuine as he once thought?

--ATLA cancelled Book 4 plot

Katara never seemed to reciprocate Aang’s romantic feelings. Though only a few years older than him, she was VERY mature for her age. She felt more like his mom than his girlfriend, just like how Axel seemed more like R&X’s dad than their best friend. There was a chasm between them. Katara couldn’t communicate with Aang on her level or confide in him about her own pain, just like how Axel could never communicate with R&X on his level or confide in them about his pain. They were too immature. Aang relied on Katara and took her for granted, and Roxas took Axel for granted. When Aang lost Appa he took all his anger out on Katara, just like how Roxas took all his anger over losing Xion out on Axel. 

Aang and Katara had a very wonderful and realistic dynamic, which I liked a lot. It just…wasn’t believable as romantic. And Axel/Xion/Roxas had a very interesting dynamic I liked a lot. But they were just not believable as best friends. They weren’t on the same wavelength and Axel sheltered Roxas from the harsh realities of life, creating a chasm between them. Aang needed to find out his people were still alive in order to cope with his pain and “let go” of Katara. Axel needed to find out that the Isa he remembered was still alive in order to cope with his grief and let go of Roxas.

“He seemed a tiny bit startled as he scanned the room, and his eyes fell on a particular drawing. “This is…me? And that guy Axel…?”

It was Naminé’s drawing of Roxas and Axel, standing side by side.

“You’re best friends,” she said. Right. Those two had been friends—well, Axel believed they still were. Roxas was his only friend and his best. And Axel was the same for Roxas—probably.

I like this passage from the novel. It’s the very first time Axel and Roxas being best friends is mentioned in KH2. Roxas is Axel’s best and only friend. And Naminé figures that Roxas feels the same way… well, probably. What made Axel such an interesting character was that his feelings toward Roxas were one-sided, just like Aang’s feelings for Katara were one-sided. Seeing Roxas again was the only thing that gave his life any meaning. The thing is, Roxas didn’t feel the same way. He cared about Axel, yes. But Roxas would have been VERY uncomfortable and creeped out by Axel’s obsession with him. This is a big problem that NEVER gets addressed or resolved. 

On the sofa opposite him, Naminé spoke up instead. “Sora and Riku are 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.

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

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

Like Aang, Axel suffered a great loss; the loss of someone he couldn’t bear to lose. And he never dealt with it. Why does Axel feel the need to assert over and over that Roxas is his only friend and his best friend? Because he was using Roxas as a replacement for Isa–his actual best friend. Axel was desperate to fill the void of that intimacy with another best friend.

“Finally awake, huh?” 

Roxas looked up. “Axel…” 

His only good friend—his best friend—Axel had arrived with two sea-salt ice cream pops.

Roxas is pretty casual saying goodbye in KH2FM. He’s just like like “take care, okay?” He’s smiling and not visibly emotional or anything like he was with Xion. Axel, on the other hand, is reduced to tears. He is most definitely NOT okay.  IMO, the problem was not that 358/2 Days didn’t do a good enough job making Axel/Xion/Roxas feel like best friends. The problem is that KH3 still went with the notion that they ever really were best friends to begin with.

[beanmaster-pika]

@xan-xus Lae I owe you my life ty for enabling me

OKAY SO Subject X doesn’t disappear, but Lea and Isa still go with the ‘become Apprentices’ plan bc they’re Dumb Teens. Fast forward and Xehanort has everyone in the lab (including the LITERAL BABY I’m so sorry they did that to you Ienzo) all “hm yeah we should totally experiment on our own hearts nothing could possibly go wrong!” and Lea and Isa are like “wh. what the fuck. are we in a cult is this what a cult looks like”

Spoiler: it is

Now, one scene I have envisioned very vividly is a change in Saix getting his scar. I’ve read posts that suggest he got it before he became a Nobody and that’s why it didn’t disappear like Axel’s tattoos did (OR MAYBE THOSE WERENT TATTOOS. MAYBE THEY WERE CLOWN MAKEUP), so I figure it happened right before he lost heart. Why? I dunno! Maybe Xehanort realized that he had a lot of darkness in his potential to get unhealthily jealous and went “hoo hee that’s prime real estate!” and decided to set the groundwork in advance! But because I am a sucker for characters bodily shielding their loved ones, X fuckin jumps in the way of the second slash so she and Saix end up having Inverted Matching Scars. I’m contemplating having it being over her eye and giving her an eyepatch and her being really salty about matching with Xigbar bc who’d want to.

Xehanort just rolls with it because if those three hold each other dear then that’s just more material to work with in the future, kinda like when one gathers a bunch of art supplies one has vague ideas for but never ends up using, so Nort Prep™️ doesn’t happen and he turns them all into Nobodies.

Also Lea’s unconscious for all of this because of my hc that the Radiant Garden squad’s numbers go in ascending order based on who got killed first. Ya boi’s just chillin in the back, his heart floating over his body.

Anyway they’re all Nobodies now, right? No feelings, nothing. They just want their hearts back so they can become Somebodies again. Since X is right there with them, they don’t need to worry about getting Saix up the ranks to find her. They just need to carry out their missions competently enough that they don’t get turned into Dusks. A lot changes when you take the search for X out of the equation—Saix loses his hungry ambition, Axel slows down. They don’t have to fight to get ahead; they just need to stay afloat. They lose that desperate edge that ultimately knifed them apart, and it’s only the scramble for kingdom hearts that drives them now. Much of the stress and pressure they dealt with in canon is gone. So what now?

It’s these two plus X. They don’t have emotions, but they do have their memories. X’s freedom was all they had hoped for, and ironically now that she’s got it none of them have the literal heart to be happy about it, and you can bet I’m lifting that line straight into my fic probably. They know that they were friends, though they can’t feel it now, and they know that they cared deeply for each other, so logically they stick together. They even have ice cream time on the clock tower.

Here’s the fun part: regrowing their hearts. With an actual circle of friends—though it’s small—their hearts actually start to regrow healthier, like how Axel’s did once he started hanging out with Roxas and Xion. Sure, Xemnas tries to interfere because “excuse me what are you nincompoops doing that’s my future vessel” but do you think they give a fuck?? No way!! I also buy into the “X=Skuld” theory, and one of her biggest personality traits is wanting to keep her friends together, and I don’t think amnesia’s gonna change that (at least I’m pretty sure she has amnesia. Ven, Marluxia, and Larxene sure do >:0). Xemnas wants to snatch away one of her friends for Evil Business?? Try it, bitch, she’ll cUT YOU. Xemnas has appearances to keep up so he doesn’t out and out start a fight with the Teenage Girl™️ but he’s lowkey pissed but whatever.

So with that fucked up end to their teenage years they grow into adulthood, not normal but far less shitty than what could have been. Saix still becomes Mission Man because he’s got to have some administrative skill if he got the job in canon, but despite how closely he has to work with Xemnas the Norting is unsuccessful—he’s got Axel and X stabilizing him. It’s a three-way positive feedback loop with people who don’t have anything else to do or worry about, and it keeps him safe and their new hearts keep slogging on with that regrowth, unacknowledged but doing their damn best.

Now let’s talk about Days. Saix still assigns Axel to train Roxas during his first week, and Roxas still has to train Xion for memory or Keyblade reasons I think?? But things go a little differently for them this time.

Axel doesn’t do assassination in this AU—no need for it—so it’s Xigbar sent off to Castle Oblivion instead to deal with the traitors. Saix doesn’t really care since he doesn’t have a personal stake in the situation. Axel never meets Sora, but he does hang out with Roxas more, so Roxas ends up growing to be a bit more of a little shit than he is in canon. The formative weeks are very important for a new Nobody with no memories, after all. Axel doesn’t have that desperation for a real friend that pushed him to befriend Roxas in canon, but he does have a more developed partial heart and it won’t allow him to just toss this poor kid to the wolves. He brings him up to the clock tower for ice cream time and Saix is like “why is he here this is our thing” and Axel has to go “be nice he was born yesterday” Roxas is just spacing out and figuring out how eating works. Axel adopts Roxas almost immediately, X does so in good faith, and Saix eventually comes around because the other two already did it. Then there’s the whole Xion situation, and all three of them are like Axel was in canon—a bit confused, but they got the spirit. Roxas likes her, so they do too.

OH YEAH ANOTHER IMPORTANT PLOT POINT IS THAT SAIX DOESNT REFER TO A CHILD AS “IT” :)

They don’t have to sneak around as much when Xion has Keyblade problems—the perks of having an actual friend in power—and from here all I really have planned is a whole lot of the radiant trio doing their best to look after these disaster children while stubbornly denying that they themselves have hearts and emotions pushing them to do so in the first place and it’s really wholesome and also maybe theres a pinch of Axel and Saix’s redeveloping hearts leading to redeveloping but unacknowledged feelings for each other and X and the kids try to wingman them (with a side of X being a little salty because the only woman her age in the organization is dead now and also was too mean to date in the first place) because I’m biased and still high on kh3 leaisa rights.

Eventually they decide “fuck it we may not have hearts but we’re doing fine, why don’t we just uhhhhhh fuck off to some far away world with the kids so they can have an actual childhood” but before they can everything goes to shit with the whole Sora situation and now he has THREE desperate Nobodies after him trying to get their son back, and they all disagree on which method will bring results and have a huge falling out and X has to watch helplessly as one of her best friends goes rogue and the other ends up being Norted and it’s painful. 🙃 But everything gets resolved a la KH3 and that’s the AU.

[imagine-organization-xiii]

Organization Members On Their Preferred Vacation

Suggested by: No One

Xemnas

His idea of a great vacation is anywhere that the other organization members aren’t.  He just wants to be left alone, and if that means he has to rent a hotel room in the middle of nowhere and cut himself off from all communication, then so be it.

Usually stays behind when the rest of the group goes on vacation. He’s able to relax, get some work done, and avoid the general stupidity of the other organization members

Xigbar

Doesn’t really like vacations unless they’re road trips. Organization and planning stress him out, so he much prefers to just get in the car and drive. You can end up a lot of different places by just riding in the car and getting purposely lost.

Likes to find little hole in the wall restaurants and random places that are off the beaten path. One time he found this bar/restaurant that had literally the world’s best bacon-wrapped burgers and spicy fried pickles and he only found out about it by chatting with one of the locals at a nearby gas station.

Xaldin

Not really a vacation person and prefers simple, solo vacations than big group vacations.  Likes how he can make his own schedule, do what he wants, wake up when he wants, and doesn’t have to answer to anyone else.

Randomly found a little town that was having a rodeo the weekend he happened to arrive.  Loved it so much that he tries to go back every year and sometimes brings some of the other members along with him.

Vexen

Burns so easily.  This boy goes out in the sun for like twenty minutes and he turns as red as a lobster.  If they go somewhere sunny, like the beach, he’ll slather himself in sunscreen and bury down on a blanket under a beach umbrella with a book and a Mai Tai and call it a day.

Likes museums and exhibits. Natural history, art, war museums, museums about oddities, ancient libraries and buildings? They’re so interesting to him. He’d much prefer doing something like that then going to the beach or spending a lot of money going to someplace with a big shopping district.

Lexaeus

That mom that’s always taking pictures of her kids on vacation.  Doesn’t care where they go to have fun, as long as everyone else is having a good time.  Not organized in his day to day life, but BOY he has every event planned down to the minute.  Has a schedule of where everyone is supposed to be at certain times.

Likes camping and getting back to the basics.  I’m talking in a tent and a sleeping bag, cooking food over a fire in some tin foil, sleeping under the stars and roasting marshmallows on sticks for s’mores.  Usually manages to rope Xaldin into going with him, but not often.

Zexion

Like Vexen, Zexion likes Museums and historical places.  Likes visiting big libraries and haunted places.  Fancies himself as a bit of a ghost hunter, just because he likes the atmosphere of haunted hospitals, mansions, prisons, etc.

Doesn’t care if he’s alone or with friends.  Likes being around people, but there are also times when he just wants to relax by himself in peace and quiet.  Likes long car rides to the destination because he can read in the backseat and still listen to everyone talk about what they’re going to do or what they’re most excited about.

Saix

Likes beach vacations, but not just to go to the beach.  He’s a Hawaii or Bora Bora type of guy, because he likes actually doing things besides sitting on the beach.  Surfing, snorkeling, parasailing, swimming with dolphins, beachside bonfires, etc.  They’re all a personal favorite.

If he’s not really feeling up to doing much, he’ll be up for a log cabin in a snowy place, sitting in front of the fire place with his feet up and a good book.  Hot cocoa with lots of mini marshmallows is a must for times like these.

Axel

EXTREME VACATIONS OR BUST

Axel likes to go all out in his vacations.  Most likely the one who ends up getting injured on vacation from being too careless with whatever it is he happens to be doing.

Likes rock climbing, dirt biking, hiking, bungee jumping, etc.  Anything exciting that burns a lot of excess energy is A+++ for Axel.

Being with friends is a must, even if his friends aren’t daredevils like he is.  Whenever he goes out with Saix, Roxas, Xion, etc., they all make plans to do at least one activity each with Axel just so he doesn’t feel alone and just so they all don’t die of heart attacks by Axel’s “Too Much Gene.”

Demyx

Oddly, another road trip fan, but likes to see those weird monuments that you only happen to find randomly and only the locals of the area seem to know about.  The world’s largest fire hydrant, the world’s largest paintball, the world’s biggest collection of teacups? He’s totally into it.

Has a framed photo in his room of himself dabbing in front of the Biggest Ball of Twine in Darwin, Minnesota.

Luxord

Likes National monuments and peaceful places. Instead of beaches or road trips or even cabins in the woods, Luxord likes big, fancy hotel rooms in far off cities like Paris or Madrid.  Enjoys visiting places like the Ladurée Restaurant and Tea Room to eat macarons.

He and Xemnas once made plans together to escape the rest of the gang, and they came up with an idea to go stay a vineyard for a weekend for a wine tasting.  They met up together for breakfast in the morning and then went their separate ways during the day.  It was one of the greatest vacations that Luxord had ever experienced.

Marluxia

Likes going on cruises, particularly to places like the Caribbean.  Enjoys just being able to sit outside and sunbathe with Larxene, but he has to make sure he puts a lot of sunscreen on because he burns easily.

Liked Busch Gardens, but was disappointed when he found out it was not 100% plants everywhere.

Can go on a nature walk any day of the week.  Will be excited to go to big gardens and fancy gardens and take - steal - samples from other plants to add to his own garden.

Larxene

A beach girl, all the way. Tans perfectly and no one understands how she does it. She’ll strap herself into a bathing suit, pick a quiet spot far away from the others, and lay down in the sun and fall asleep with a piña colada next to her. Hours later, she’ll wake up with a perfectly even tan.

Must go on vacation near to a spot that has a spa. Will spend a whole day getting massages, having a mani-pedi, etc.

Roxas

Doesn’t care where they end up going, just loves the concept of going on vacation.  More into the journey there than the actual destination.

Seriously loves amusement parks like Disney World or Six Flags.  Will be the type of person that will wake everyone up exactly at six AM to be the first in line for when the parks open and will keep everyone out until an hour after the parks close.

On a sugar rush from exciting foods - churros and funnel cakes and ice cream and giant turkey legs, etc.  His logic is ‘I don’t know when i’ll ever come back to this place so I might as well enjoy it while I can.’

Xion

Excited to even be on vacation!!! Likes to go someplace quiet and cold. She went to the beach with the rest of the gang once and it wasn’t her style because she didn’t like the sand or the heat. She much prefers going up to a nice snowy place and sitting in a cabin where she can stare up at the stars through the trees.

[angelspigeon]

New Akusai fanfic!!!

It got inspired by sophkat7 on twitter!!

I got a bit carried away and HERE WE ARE!!

If you want an easier access, you can also check the fic on my AO3 just here => |  °| <=

A legend said there was a World, lost among many and many and many other Worlds, where special fruits grew on trees. If you shared one of them with someone, your fate will be linked forever with them.

“Come on, Axel, pleaaaaaase!!! Everybody will go there!!! Pence, Hayner and Olette will go there!! Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase!!”

Isa could hear those pleas as he was putting down the huge pot of soup on the table.

A few instants after, Lea appeared in the dinner room thought Isa didn’t have called for his family to come. His look slid along the deep plates perfectly lined with spoon around and the little bowl with homemade croutons smelling garlic lying in there.

“Uuuuuuh… there is a party in Destiny Islands,” he said, looking annoyed.

“Is there?” Isa replied with a smirk.

“Yeah. Uh… Everybody will go there.” He rubbed his hair. “Pence, Hayner, Olette, Aqua, Terra, Donald, Goofy, Mickey… Ventus, Naminé, Kairi, Riku.”

Isa stared him, still wearing a smile on his lips.

“And so, I thought we could go there. Staying at night?”

“They have school tomorrow,” Isa replied.

“I know buuuuut, if we leave early enough? Or maybe using a cordorfdakness,” he mumbled.

Isa leaned toward him.

“Excuse me?” he said. “I didn’t understand what you tried to hide me.”

Lea sighed and sat next to him.

“I know you’d say no.” He watched everything on the table. “Can you be the mean parents and tell them we can’t go?”

“I never say ‘no’,” Isa pointed out.

Lea looked up at him, surprised.

“You didn’t?”

“I didn’t,” Isa replied. “For once, why not.”

“You’re amazing! I love you!”

Lea jumped on his feet and kissed his favorite blue guy.

   After the party on the beach, Himiko and Toya, Sora’s parents, alongside with Shiraki, Riku’s dad, and Madam Minami Mira, the Mayor, invited everybody for a big meal. It has been cheerful with such an amount of food, you couldn’t even imagine people having that much. And yet, because Kairi, Riku and Sora’s close friends hadn’t been invited for the said party. It was barely possible to imagine more fishes turned into soft filet or balls in sweet sausage, neither such amount of salad or just potatoes in varied form. Really, Lea never saw that.

Almost never saw that.

Because, once, he saw such a quantity served at Isa’s table. The difference was that, here, they were more than thirty and at Isa’s they were only three…

The hosts were undoing the table, giggling and joking as the kids were in Kairi’s room. They were in the Mayor’s house because it was the bigger one. And Naminé lived here with Kairi. Because she liked that. Because she wanted to see Riku and be with the memories she thought be hers…

Wished be hers.

Lea approached Isa who helped with the tidying. He had nothing else to do and if he could help someone, he’d gladly do it.

“Do you think we can go grab ice cream?” Lea asked to him, pressing a kiss on his cheek.

“We will take the coffee,” Himiko said, next to them.

If Lea had tried to be discrete, she had heard it and was friendly smiling.

And so, the former Assassin was surprised. It was addressed to him, right? His doubts were so big, he showed himself tilting a little his head on the side.

“Yes. You prefer a tea?” she wondered.

“I… uh…”

“It’s the first time Lea is invited to a dinner,” Isa informed politely as he was taking the last plate on the table.

“Y… Yeah.”

“Oh! Don’t worry!” she smiled. “We will take a coffee, or a tea, and chat a little. Between adult. And then, the dessert if the kids feel it. If not, I think you can go read them a story or… whatever you’re doing there.”

She smiled even more and Lea was even more lost. They will not play with the teenagers while eating ice cream?

He started to understand why Mickey left with Goofy and Donald! He didn’t want to be trapped in formality.

Aqua and Terra would take the coffee with them but… still.

“Do you want a hot cocoa?” Isa wondered.

“No, no… I… I will take the same as Isa. Please?”

“I’ll take some tea, please,” Isa smiled politely. “And the sugar pot, please.”

“Of course. There are a few flavors, I’ll show them to you, don’t worry!”

Lea felt so bad as she was walking away to prepare the coffee and tea. All of this was so weird… so weird. Coffee and tea in place of dessert? In place of playing with the others?! It was mean!

And he felt so incredibly stupid.

“Coffee and Tea? And what do we do now?”

“Don’t worry, Lea,” Isa said as he brought the dirty dishes to the kitchen. “We will just talk around the drink.”

“Talk of… what?”

“Things.”

“I’m not sure I can hold the conversation,” Lea said, walking next to him. “Do you want me to take that?”

Isa gave him the plates though they were almost at the big sink filled with soapy water.

“Thank you.” Isa kissed softly his cheek. “You’re perfect, Lea. They will love your chatting no matter what.”

“You say that because you love me,” he replied.

“It’s a little correct. But you own my Heart because you’re absolutely wonderful.”

He smiled tenderly to him and went back to help the others with the tidying.

  Pressing himself on the side, Lea smiled a bit to Himiko who slid hot water in his cup. Immediately, the little bag of red fruits freed steams there and they swirled around. He waited just one minute while the others were talking about the educations of the children. Who was learning what, what about the notes? How many comrades they had, etc.

Lea sipped his tea. And took the sugar pot to slid one full spoon. And more. Two. Three. Four… he noticed the look of his lover, which was on him, and he smirked slightly to him. Isa bent and took a few little cakes in the big set that had been installed in the center of the table. And put it in Lea’s plate. The former assassin pushed the plate between them. Isa smiled a little more, watching him with tender love in his eyes.

  “Uuuuuugh!”

Lea let his back crash in the sand.

“Are you okay?” Isa asked, bending over him.

“Yeah, yeah, just… ugh, so tired. I’m not done for that. I’m not a dad…” he sighed.

Inside, the teenagers were still in the rooms, playing, joking and preparing themselves for the night incoming. Most of the parents had left for their own house and Lea and Isa hesitated if they had to do it. With a Corridor of Darkness, it was easy to pass from one World to the other…

“You’re learning, Lea.”

“You’re learning too, and yet!”

“I’m just skilled for the decorum. Don’t worry. Roxas and Xion always plot against me because I’m too strict.”

“Yeah, but you’re perfect anyway.” Lea rubbed his face. “I’m sorry, I suck…”

“You’re not.”

Isa sat next to him, his fingers passed in the red hairs and he bent to press a myriad of kisses on his cheeks.

Lea laughed softly and grabbed him by the waist and made him roll on the sand. As he did, Isa slid his hands on his cheeks, his thumbs caressing them.

“I’m really gifted to have ya, y’know?” Lea muttered against his lips.

“It’s the same for me,” he replied.

“I love ya,” Lea whispered in the hole of his ear.

Just before kissing the lobe. And then his throat, his hairs tickling him and making him laugh and whisper his name.

He loved him. He loved him so much and had not enough words to tell him to him. Whatever how often he’d kiss him, bring him to do stuff outside, would lay in his arms and mutter his name, again and again…

“I want to be with you forever…” he muttered.

He caressed his lips with a tender thumb.

“I’m yours,” Isa said under his breath.

“I’m yours too,” Lea replied, kissing tenderly his scar on the forehead. “A Legend says this World has strange fruits. A fruit bonding with someone if you share it with them. Forever.”

Isa nodded slightly. Roxas and Xion talked about that all the time because it was deeply anchored in their memories.

Sora’s memories.

Riku had talked about it today, too.

Kairi, once…

“I’ll grab one for you! And we will share it!” Lea was ready to rise up but he stayed on place. “If you’re okay?”

Isa smiled and kissed him tenderly, softly, with a strong passion.

“Of course,” he said. “I want to have my life intertwined with yours. Forever.”

Not that it wasn’t already done. Their lives were made to be together. They were meant to walk alongside the same path.

Forever.

And nothing could tear them apart…

Lea took his hands to kiss them and got up, helping him to do the same. He stepped aside but held Isa’s hand as he was searching for a Paopu fruit, walking by his side, enjoying the warm weather even if the night was slowly cast its veil upon the day.

As he was searching the precious fruit, he kept glancing to Isa with a smile.

Even if he didn’t find the Paopu, he’d be happy to be next to him. He loved every moment with him. He was the only one whose silence didn’t bother him.

There was nothing wrong when he was by his side.

Nothing.

They kept walking, walking and walking.

As they did, Lea caressed his fingers, leaning in here and there to kiss him. And Isa happily kissed him back when he could.

Lea kept glancing around and, suddenly…

“Here!”

Isa looked as his boyfriend showed a big star-shaped fruit. It was hanging in a curbed tree, hanging above the sea.

“Lea, maybe ano…”

“I’ll get this one! I’ll show you my love!”

Isa let go on his hand to slide them along his cheeks, pressing a kiss on his nose.

“I know you love me.”

“But I want to impress you!”

“And you impress me all the time,” he said. He kissed his cheek tenderly. “But go on, if you want to.”

“Look at me!”

The redhead smiled and walked to the tiny island with the tree above the water. He blew a kiss to Isa who acted like he could actually catch it. He pressed it against his chest, while trying to prevent his longs blue hairs to paste against his skin.

He watched as Lea climbed on the trunk and started to walk toward the big fruit. He was doing carefully. It wasn’t time to worry his lover!

So he moved with tiny pace and even sat next to the fruit. He bent and grabbed the edge of the fruit.

“Lea, take c…”

“What?!”

The man lost his balance and his whole body dashed toward the waves. He rose his hand as high as he could in his fall. As he plunged down the sea, his hand kept above the surface, saving the fruit.

“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!” he let out.

“Lea! Come back!” Isa called.

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Lea started to swim, just with one hand, and came to the beach. He ran to his lover and grabbed him by the waist, making him swirl in the airs.

“Lea!” Isa let out, thought he couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m just so happy!! I’ve got it! We’ll be together forever!” he said happily.

“Of course, we will,” he said, hugging him back, kissing his cheeks with tenderness. “I’m your forever, Lea. I’m just yours.”

Lea kissed his arms tenderly. He caressed Isa’s throat and then went on his knee, still holding the fruit.

“Isa… Do you want to share the rest of your life with me?”

“Lea… You’re…” He smiled tenderly. “Of course.”

Isa knelt next to him and kissed his lips tenderly. And smiled even more when Lea held out the fruit to him. They knew nothing about the Legend and maybe it really was just a Legend… so they could bit together in the fruit. So they could bond to each other. Until their last breath.

Breath they hoped lose together…

 Nothing seemed to have changed.

Lea and Isa were bonded forever but nothing seemed to have changed. What could have changed? They loved each other so much, they always knew they were meant for a live at two…

As Lea woke up, just because he needed to go in the bathroom before coming back for a longer nap, he noticed something on his hand. In the dim light coming through the windows, he could see it, next to the thumb, just a bit under it. It was a Paopu fruit. But a bite had been removed from it. He frowned. From where it came?

He rubbed it, trying to erase it, but he couldn’t. The drawing seemed to be deep in his skin. Like a tattoo.

“Mi amor?” he said, leaning over Isa.

“Hmm… I’ll get up…. Don’t… worry,” he said, rubbing his forehead before holding out his hand.

Lea gave him his and leaned over him, wanting to press kisses on his face.

“It’s not th…”

He stopped in the mid of the word because he saw their hands intertwined, saw the Paopu formed by their hands.

He moved them to him.

“I think the magic works and you can’t push me aside,” he whispered.

Isa who glanced at the clock and noticed the hour, had his eyes just coming back to him. To their hands intertwined. And he saw the tattoos mixed together… A smile appeared on his lips and he pressed his lips over it, mostly on Lea’s hand.

“I never meant to push you aside. Now go back to sleep or you’ll be obnoxious all day long,” he said, winking at him.

“Isaaaaaaa…”

“Do the big spoon, please. Forever?”

“Is this a forever meaning forever the big spoon or forever with you? Because I like when you’re doing the big spoon too!”

“Forever with you.”

Isa kissed once again the Paopu linked on their hands. Lea hugged him tenderly and kissed his throat, saying again and again how much he loved him…

[nobodies-png]

Org XIII first date HCs (repost)

Listen i’m so sad because I wanted the 69th post in this blog to be a good meme but iNSTEAD ALL I GOT WAS TUMBLR EATING MY POSTS - so here’s me reposting that one post  cause it doesn’t ? show up p r o p e r l y on mobile  

it’s all under the read m o r e cause I don’t wanna flood all of your f e e d s

Xemnas :

He’d choose to go somewhere simple, but also meaningful and with little to none distractions. Probably whichever part of the castle has the best view to Kingdom Hearts - guarded by Dusks so no one would interrupt.

It’s a first date, so Xemnas would like to focus on getting to know you and figuring out if this whole dating thing is a waste of his time or not. Not gonna lie, it WILL be awkward cause the guy is just so intense. In the end, you won’t even know if the date went well or not, but hey he asked you for a second date so ? That’s neat -

Xigbar :

Completely unpredictable. Your guess is just as good as mine here. Xigbar’s choice depends on how he’s feeling that day, but you should expect a little action no matter where he takes you.

This fucker would definitely get you in trouble - if that was intentional or not it’s up for debate - but don’t worry ! He’ll save you and then probably ask for a smooch as a reward. Or just continue teasing and pranking you. If you prove that you can keep up with him and his snarky attitude, then he’ll definitely ask you on a second date.

Xaldin :

Okay l i s t e n. Don’t expect him to choose a good spot or an interesting activity for this date. You already managed to somehow score a date with him, so you’d probably be in charge of everything else cause Xaldin is a sour bih. As long as you don’t pick a really crowded place, you two should be fine.

Despite his super distant attude and permanent scowl on his face, he actually behaves like a gentleman - like he opens doors for you, etc etc. It’s just an habit of his from when he had a heart. If you’re lucky and he’s in a good mood, he might actually talk about himself - the two of you would just talk for hours about d e e p and s m a r t topics.

Vexen :

H A H. This dude is too old for cutesy dates - you should feel lucky that he even lets you hang around his laboratory, which is exactly where your first date will take place. Sooo exciting, right ?

You’ll spend most of the time trying to look for a place to sit down without him screaming something along the lines of “gET OUT OF THERE YOU’RE IN MY WAY-”. But if you’re patient enough, he’ll gladly teach you all the things he’s working on and explain them in detail ! If you convince him to take a break, then you two could bond over how annoying everyone can be while drinking that s w e e t h o t t e a.

Lexaeus :

He’s one of the very few members who would actually t r y to make this date as pleasant as possible, discussing what you’d like to do, what to avoid and of course, b o u n d a r i e s. The guy might be lack a heart but he still has common decency. You two would end up going to Beast’s massive garden, picking flowers.

Lexaeus would be lowkey nervous - mostly cause people tend to misinterpret his quiet nature for disdain and he doesn’t want to give a bad first impression. He’d try to speak more instead of just nodding silently and will gladly hold your hand the whole time, if that’s okay with you ofc.

Zexion :

Zexion hasn’t really had the chance to explore and experiment in this whole concept of dating, so he’d do some research to figure out how to achieve the best outcome. In the end, he’d just simply rely on you and ask what you’d like to do.

Because of his control over illusions, he could easily create whatever scenery or recreate any word you’d like to visit without even leaving the castle. Don’t tell anyone but he likes to show off. If you’re the literary type, he’d love to invite you to his library and recommend you a s h i t ton of good books or just discuss them.

Saix :

Another killjoy. His first date with you include standing in the Grey Room for hours while he assigns every member their missions and makes sure they all do their jobs properly. If you insist on a more “private” date, he’d just show up unnanounced in your room and just sit there on a chair or something. There’s your privacy, what else do you want ?

Everything would be really tense until like, the 25th date or so, when he finally l o o s e n s up. So no cute first date moments other than you trying to think of absolutely a n y t h i n g that could catch his attention. But even with his busy schedule Saix does make time for these dates, as awkward as they can be.

Axel :

Contrary to popular belief, Axel wouldn’t take you to the Clock Tower on the first date. That’s a special place reserved for his close friends and you, if you ever go past the first base. But he definitely would just walk around Twilight Town and treat you to ice cream. You can never go wrong with that strategy.

Out of everyone, he’d flirt the most and also pull those Iconic Date Moves, like yawning just to slide his arm around your shoulder and whatnot. “Y/N, can you hold this for me?” “Axel this is your hand -”. You’d get to hear a lot about Roxas and Xion too.

Demyx :

Oh, Demyx doesn’t mind or really care about where you two go, as long as there’s some water around (so he can impress you with his powers) and absolutely zero heartless (so he doesn’t actually have to use his powers for fighting). I can totally see him just bringing you along one of his missions and then hiding with you at the Coliseum, just chatting under the shade.

He’d probably remember to grab some flowers for you at the last second - they’re a bit…d e a d and uhhhhh in horrible shape, but it’s the thought that counts, right ?  If you’re into music, Demyx would love to try and play your favorite songs or anything you request, cause not many people actually enjoy hearing his sitar.

Luxord :

Since Luxord only has two moods (adrenaline junkie and british gentleman), this date can go in two completely different ways. But don’t panic, he’s very polite and will let you decide. If you feel like having a more adventurous date, he’ll take you to either Port Royale or Neverland to steal a pirate’s ship.

If you want a more tame and safe date, then it’s Neverland (the safe part of it at least) or Wonderland. The date would go really well, he’d even teach you some card tricks if you’re interest. And in return you can just answer all of his questions about yourself, cause the dude is just naturally curious. It would take him a long time to talk more about himself though.

Marluxia :

You can expect Marluxia to go all out and be hella extra for this.  He’d leave little notes for you and a rose petal trail so you can find him and start the date. You two would go to the Red Queen’s gardens in Wonderland (because Beast’s garden is a little too fuckin dark for Marluxia’s taste, cough)

He’d also flirt and try to make you s w o o n with his smooth lines, but he’d be more subtle and gentle than Axel. Definitely gives you a shit ton of flowers so you can “have something to remember him by.” If you ever find more roses upon waking up then that’s just Marluxia asking you out on another date.

Larxene :

Larxene would, first of all, warn you to make this first date worthwhile or else there’ll be consequences. But no matter what you have planned, she’ll end up dragging to wherever she feels like going at the moment, complaining about how “she has to do everything herself.” Lovely.

If she’s feeling active and energetic, you bet she’ll drag you over to the Coliseum to blow off some steam killing heartless and fighting. You get extra Larxene points if you show her that you can fight alongside her - but it’s fine if you decide to just chill and cheer for her too.

Roxas :

Roxas is clueless when it comes to romance, so he’d stress over where you two should go. He’d be reluctant to take you to other worlds because he really doesn’t want to have more b e e f with Saix or risk you getting hurt, but he’s pretty easy to convince so don’t worry about that too much.

No matter what you two end up doing, he’ll take you to the Clock Tower to eat ice cream because that’s just a tradition at this point. He might even get cheeky and try to imitate Axel’s “Bet You Don’t Know Why The Sunset’s Red H U H ™” only to fail miserably. Will definitely ask if he can hold your hand.

Xion :

Same as Roxas, except that she has her shit together. Xion would take you to her favorite spot : that little beach on Destiny Islands to pick up seashells, build sandcastles or just have fun splashing each other in the water, then you two would see the sunset !

I can see her stuttering and just s t r u g g l i n g to start a conversation with you. Like Roxas, she might even explain you why the sunset is r e d - But give these two a break, Axel is literally the only person they can look up to. Xion would also tell you about the Papou fruits and then b l u s h cause “she totally didn’t mean that you two should share one so early, please don’t hate her.”

[oathkeeperoxas]

1, 7, 8, 9, 13, 16, 18 Roxas, 27, 32, 35, 50, 68, 69, 95, 99

1. What does Kingdom Hearts mean to you?

Found family found family found family found family-

7. Who is your favorite character?

Already answered!

8. Who is your least favorite character?

Xehanort... I know that there has to be an antagonist, but also there doesn’t need to be an antagonist bc I just want to see them all exploring disney worlds together and building their friendships and having adventures, and also he isn’t even a good antagonist, and also he’s stinky

9. Who is the biggest asshole in Organization XIII?

XIGBAR... he’s an asshole on purpose and in sneaky ways, and plays the long con, that makes him more of an asshole than say, Larxene, who is bitchy but doesn’t hold grudges probably

13. Biggest accomplishment in the game?

Platinum’d DDD! It took a while, but those funky little dreameaters got me through it

16. What kind of music does Roxas listen to?

REAL moody things probably, no lyrics, or lyrics in a different language than he understands. He emo-ly stands in the rain listening to weird substep while crouched on the building of a rood, probably. 

18. Be honest, who is your NOTP and why?

Adult/minor ships obvs, but also I can’t stand Terra/ Aqua... sorry Aqua is a lesbian and Terra is aro, I really can’t see them being romantically involved at all. They’re good friends! That’s it. 

27. When did you cry?

I honestly always tear up at the end of KH2 when Sora and Riku read Kairi’s note and find themselves back on Destiny Islands... that version of Sanctuary has my heart in a vice

32. Why are Sora's shoes so big?

Already answered!

35. Ever meet any of the voice actors?

Nope. Though if I ever saw Utada Hikaru or Yoko Shimomura (not even meet, just see them with my own eyes) I’d probably like, pass out or something ridiculous. 

50. What annoys you most?

Already answered!

68. Favorite line from the game?

Thinking of you, wherever you are. We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend. Now I will step forwards to realise this wish. And who knows – starting a new journey may not be so hard. Or maybe it’s already begun. There are many worlds, but they share the same sky. One sky – one destiny.

69. Who do you blame most when you die?

DONALD

no jks, normally whatever killed me lmao

95. Why is "who else will I have ice cream with" such an important line?

Because Xion is such an important character... this line really shows how Roxas feels - how alone he is, how devastated he is by killing his only real remaining friend. I know a lot of people slam Roxas for saying ‘who else will I have ice cream with’ as someone is dying in his arms, but he’s just a baby! Not even one year old, doesn’t have any memories or any knowledge of how to deal with his emotions - so for me this line really is the crux of 358/2 Days, and it really encapsulates Roxas’s character in that game. As Xion lies dying in his arms, he asks her who else he can eat ice cream with - what he’s come to think of as the one activity he has to express his personhood - because she’s his last remaining friend, and he really doesn’t have anyone else. This is why Days is a tragedy!

99. Favorite track on the OST?

Already answered!

[scoobysnack1107]

Second Date: Memories

Thank you to @axlorg89 for the RokuNami prompts! My writing might be a little rusty, but I hope you enjoy! I don’t usually write non-AU pieces (because of how convoluted the plot of KH is), but I figured I’d give it a shot. You can consider this post KH3. 

                              “I’m starting to feel like you hate me.”

Naminé looks up from her canvas, expertly outlined with elegant strokes of gold and azure and rolls her eyes at the sullen boy sitting on the chair next to her. His own canvas is almost entirely blank, save for the misshapen oval (a face?) sketched with rough strokes of black crayon. 

The lines are hardly better than a child’s scribbles. Filled with his frustration but determination to persevere until something was created. Every line just screams Roxas. Her Roxas. 

Naminé can’t help herself. She loves it. 

“You said I could pick what we did this time,” Naminé gently reminds him. She tries her best to hide a budding laugh behind her hand, but the blond beside her sees through her right away. Like always. 

He growls at her, lower lip slipping into a childish pout. “But you know I can’t draw! And besides, aren’t dates supposed to be like...going to the movies or eating out at some fancy restaurant? Not that I have a ton of munny...” Roxas mumbles the last part under his breath with an embarrassed blush. Sea salt ice cream...so beautiful, yet so expensive.

Naminé sighs but scoots her chair closer. She grabs his hand, fitting her small fingers over his large ones. Her hands are steady but her cheeks burn and her heart - the one she isn’t supposed to have - begins to beat faster. 

“You just need to practice,” Naminé says and starts to ease his hand across the page. She tries not to think of how warm his hands are or how his breath is now tickling the nape of her neck. The girl just keeps drawing.

Roxas is mesmerized as she frames his deformed head with ribbons of corn silk ; the blue dots, the eyes, become gradient pools of soft blues. Those harsh, ugly lines are still there. Are still his. But her hands - which he notes are quite tiny in comparison to his own large, calloused ones - bring beauty to each mistake with ease. 

‘This girl,’ he thinks with growing awe, ‘she’s amazing...and mine.’                                       

To think that anyone would have wanted to hurt her, to ‘dispose’ of her...

Roxas’s hands begin to tighten, forgetting the colored crayon in his hand. It begins to crack.

“Roxas?”

The concern in her voice breaks the former Organization member out of his dark reverie. His grip on the crayon relaxes. “Sorry. Just...thinking.”

“About the past?” Naminé asks with a sad but knowing smile.

Roxas uses his free hand to scratch the back of his head. “Yeah. I mean, we’re together again, and we have our own lives outside of Sora and Kairi but...”

Naminé sighs. “Sometimes it still bothers you. What we had to go through to get here, the people who hurt us, the people we hurt...that pain...” Naminé pauses and visibly grimaces, “might not ever go away, but Roxas--”

“I know. I wouldn’t change anything either,” Roxas finishes and his eyes soften as he brushes a loose lock of her hair behind her ear. “I would never...risk losing you. Not again.”

Naminé pulls her hand from his to rub away the gathering tears at the corners of her eyes. Her voice comes out small, broken, and uncertain. “You really mean that? Y-You’re not lying?”

Roxas shakes his head; a tender smile growing as he brings their foreheads together. “You and I. We always tell each other the truth, right?”

Naminé mirrors a watery smile, nodding. “Always.”

Her tears fall onto his lips. Entices him to close the distance. 

A heartbeat passes between them. 

“I love you,” he breathes so quietly that he’s surprised when she whispers it back just as softly. As if she too is afraid of what those words can do. What they mean coming from someone who isn’t supposed to exist and barely understands the nuances of having a ‘heart.’ Of using that heart to ‘love someone.’

Their hearts beat again to fill the silence before he mends her pain with his lips.  

“You never did tell me why you took down all those pictures,” Roxas comments quietly, watching as the small artist eyes the surrounding blank walls for a place to plaster their portraits.

 The haze of twilight is settling upon the skies now, and the blond skater struggles to silence his stomach’s endless complaint for sea salt ice cream. Despite his best efforts, a loud and agonized groan escapes from his impatient organ.

Naminé giggles, almost dropping the roll of tape in her hands. “Sea salt ice cream time already?”

“Naminé~~,” Roxas whines and presses his head against the back of the chair.

Another laugh escapes the girl. “Alright, I won’t tease you today. Just give me a minute to tape these up.”  

“If you can even reach,” Roxas adds with a snort. 

Naminé answers with a defiant huff, but a few fruitless moments on her tip-toes produces the defeated sigh the skater is waiting for. “Roxas...”

“Coming,” Roxas calls back in a sing-song-voice and lifts himself out of the chair to hang the pictures. 

“Be quiet you,” Naminé pouts cutely and hands him the two pictures. “I want them side-by-side.”

 Roxas chuckles. “What? So everyone can see how bad I suck compared to you?”

“No!” Naminé says quickly, “I-I just want us to be together. That’s all.”

“But they’re just pictures, right?”

“Roxas, they’re memories. Our memories. Of us together.” Naminé clasps her hands together and holds them against her chest. Her gaze moves to her sandal-clad feet, voice wavering into a distant mumble. As if she’s speaking to herself. “When I first lived here, these walls were filled with memories, but they weren’t mine. They belonged to Sora. I might put a few of them back up, but what I really want is for these walls to tell our story. I want them to hold our adventures. Our memories.”

Naminé doesn’t look up when she finishes, and Roxas can tell that’s she’s uncertain again. The way she’s now clutching the hem of her dress, her body coiled tight in an attempt to keep from falling apart. 

Roxas tilts her chin up gently. Their eyes meet. Glassy cerulean and understanding azure. “Which is why you wanted us to draw together this time.”

“I-I wanted the first thing to go back on these walls to be something we created,” Naminé says before adding with a blush on the apples of her cheeks, “Together.”

“Well, I’d say we’re off to a great start,” Roxas grins. He moves to tape the two pictures up the near the window. The curtain is still drawn so twilight can pour into the room as it melts into stars. Both pictures catch hints of the hazy orange and pinks hues. 

Naminé touches the temporary paint on the pages and smiles. “Yeah, I think so too.”

“But,” Roxas adds sheepishly, “I’d prefer if you’d do the drawing from now on.” 

“Okay, but then what you like to do for our next date?” Naminé asks.

Roxas shrugs and shoves his hands into the pockets of his cargo pants. “I don’t know. Anything really.”

Naminé grins mischievously at his response and leans forward, tilting her head cutely at Roxas. Roxas instinctively straightens. He remains quiet but eyes the blonde wearily. 

“Well~” Naminé says teasingly, “I was thinking we could go to a karaoke bar. Axel and Xion said you sing.”

Roxas pales. “I’m going to kill them.”

“Why? Don’t you want to sing for me?” Naminé prods with a pout. 

‘Too adorable for her own good,’ Roxas thinks. 

Roxas sighs and touches her face. “I’ll serenade you for as long as you want. Promise.”

“Me and my beautiful soul?” 

She’s trying not to burst into a fit of giggles; Roxas decides he’s going to have to have a very long talk with his two best friends but entwines his fingers with Naminé’s and replies with a softness reserved solely for her. “You and your beautiful soul. But, let’s get going now, alright? I really need some sea salt ice cream.”

“It is that time of the day,” Naminé agrees.

Roxas laughs, swinging his free arm around her waist. “You really do get me.”

“I’m glad.”

[gamesception]

This character had no right to make me feel emotions.

Xion’s very existence is just another unnecessary batshit convolution in a series that already had too many of those even before ancient wars, time travel, and paradox clone body snatchers.  Worse than that, she’s the second Kairi spinoff character in a series that *too this day* hasn’t bothered to give meaningful screen time or characterization to even the original Kairi.

Redundant really isn’t an unfair word to use for Xion, not when the series already had Naminé, who was already a tragic alternate Kairi who exists to make the player sad when she sacrifices herself to save the main characters even as they forget about her due to arbitrary plot bullshit.  It’s not hard to imagine a different version of Days where Xion never existed and Naminé repeats the narrative role she already filled in Chain of Memories.  Such a game certainly would have made the few scenes shared between Roxas and Naminé in KHII feel a lot more resonant and less arbitrary.

Stacking the deck against Xion even further was the feeling among some Roxas/Axel shippers at the time that she existed only to 'no homo' a ship that they had naturally latched onto after KHII.  Like Nomura said “Oh, no!  The fans are pairing not-Sora Roxas with his best friend Axel - who despite his supposed heartlessness cared so much for Roxas that he literally died for him - instead of not-Kairi Namine, a girl he only shared maybe 40 seconds of screen time with over two scenes that barely qualify as interactions!  Well in the next game I guess we better make up an entirely new not-Kairi to pair him up with.”

Shipping drama biasing me some against her aside, Xion’s game itself is also just kind of... not good.  Dull, repetitive, frustrating, just kind of a bad time.  Yes, it's boring in a way that serves a compelling narrative purpose, but still, boring is boring, and all the melodrama you could ask for in the last 1/4 of the playtime doesn’t change how monotonous and dreary 3/4 of the overall experience is, nor does it excuse the moment to moment game play being arguably the least engaging in the entire series, at least outside of browser & mobile games.

And the dialog in the game both from and around Xion is often narmtastic, even by the already famously low standards of Kingdom Hearts.  I mean, yeah, ok, if you think about it, Roxas crying out “who will I eat Ice cream with” is actually kinda deep and sad, highlighting how these people are so divorced from the human experience that they don’t even know how to articulate concepts of love and friendship beyond the most basic surface level experience of simply spending time together after work.  But that doesn’t stop the line from landing with the heavy splat of a bag of wet garbage in the middle if the game’s emotional climax.

BUT

But she did it.  Somehow she crept her way past all of my incredibly pregnable defenses to touch my overly soft heart, helped along in no small part by the way Roxas relates to her.  Another new Organization member who can’t remember her past life, just like him!  Another who starts off in a nearly catatonic state and had to be patiently taught how to function, just like him!  And now he gets to step into the older sibling role that Axel modeled for him, helping slowly draw out her personality, and it’s like at first every little smile or laugh is a meaningful victory in a game that offers so few.  You *want* to care about Xion, because what else is there in this game for you or Roxas to care about, especially with Axel increasingly absent and obviously hiding things from you?

And she makes it so easy to like her if you give her even the smallest chance.  I mean, “Roxas, that’s a stick” is one of the game’s enduring memes for a reason, and for once the reason is how successful that bit of dialog is, not how hilariously it fails.  Xion’s blend of insecurity but with an underlying current of determination, earnest sincerity mixed with deadpan humor, add up to more of a personality than the series had afforded to any of its female characters to that point.  More than Kairi’s been afforded even to this day.  It’s sadly ironic that the most fully realized girl in the kingdom hearts series is also the one who by canon is the least of a character - less than a nobody even, a clone of a copy of memory of a person, yet more alive and relatable than most full people in the series.

By the time Roxas and Xion are helping each other, relying on each other, even as the walls are slowly closing in around them, I’m fully invested - just in time for that tragic climax to land.  And it really is tragic, isn’t it?  Almost operatic.  The very height of over the top melodrama in a series saturated with exactly that already, yet somehow “Day 357″ is still a peak that the series hasn’t managed to equal since, one that not even “who will I eat ice cream with” can completely undercut.  Even the cut-scene-only-recap movie still gets me tearing up when Vector to the Heavens starts in.

And if part of her conception as a character actually was Nomura trying to stop fans from reading lgbtq subtext into his characters, and that isn’t just a joke born from shipper frustrations, then OH BOY did he fail with Xion.  Xion, the character whose appearance changes depending on how the people looking at her choose to see her?  Xion who was created without an inherent gender, from memories and power stolen from a male character, but who chose a female identity for herself?  Xion who repeatedly and passionately objects to Saix misgendering and dehumanizing her by calling her “it”?  Xion “If you look at me and see a different face, a boy’s face...”?  That Xion?

Look, I’m not personally positioned to speak with any authority on the subject of lgbtq interpretation of narratives, and I’m not at all convinced that such a reading would be intentional on the part of the game’s creators in this case - quite the contrary.  But I wouldn’t be the first person to point out that Xion’s narrative is not a cis narrative.  And yeah, accidental subtext falls dramatically short of deliberate and open representation.  But even just that subtext is rare enough to see in a mainstream video game, especially one aimed at a younger audience, as to make Xion all the more important a character.

And all that comes across beautifully in this artwork that can simultaneously be read as the the person Xion chose to be breaking through the layers of people she was created to replace and as the person Xion hoped to become getting lost in the memories of the people she sacrificed herself to save.

“i wasn’t who i am?” 

[cameoamalthea]

Friendly Reminder that Axel LOVED Xion!

Can I just take a second and talk about Axel’s relationship with Xion? Can I just gosh about how beautiful and heartbreaking their friendship is...Ok this is going to be long! 

So Axel seems to like going through the motions of being human. Although Xemnas has worked to keep his Organization Heartless and isolating them, gas lighting them into believing they can’t feel so there’s no point trying: Saix and Axel plan to rebel. Axel doesn’t want to loose himself, as Lea he introduced himself to everyone so he’d be remembered. Even as Axel, without a heart and completely buying Xemnas’s lie (I mean these were teens taken by a cult most likely), he still goes through the motions.

He invites Roxas to eat ice cream with him because that’s what he did with Isa (it’s possible he doesn’t he doesn’t even like sea salt ice cream that much, but he misses Isa, this was part of being human, and I think Saix gave up on going through the motions/was too busy focusing on the mission, getting close to Xemnas so they could rebel, and he was swallowed by the role). Roxas seems sad and lonely, and being non-verbal he needs a friend and what would Lea do? Reach out to random sad kids.

So he’ll go through the motions of friendship with Roxas. Roxas, who isn’t like Axel or anyone else. He carries Ventus’s Heart inside him and he’s connected to Sora who still has his own Heart. Roxas doesn’t have memories, but he starts to feel really fast. Axel goes through the motions of friendship and caring, and he feels for Axel and feels that friendship is good and extends it to Xion.

Replicas have Hearts and Emotions from creation, they’re meant to be a copy, and there’s no trauma from the lost of the Heart for Xemnas to work his ‘you’ll never feel, you can’t feel, unless you join my neat cult’ thing on. The Organization seem fine with Xion bonding with Roxas because if they work together she’ll feed on him and get stronger. Then they just have to trick them into fighting or wipe her later. 

So Xion can feel and she can care, and she loves Axel and Roxas. 

What’s remarkable is that Axel cares about Xion, despite discovering the truth about her.

He let’s her escape once rather than attacking her. 

Xion: Please, Axel. You have to take care of Roxas. 

Axel: But how are you...gonna...  Xion: Please! (He thinks for a moment and then nods toward the corridor) 

Xion: Thank you

Xion: Please, Axel. You have to take care of Roxas. 

He knows that the Organization won’t let her go and he’s expected attack her, but he lets her go and makes excuses. This is a big risk for Axel, because he was a traitor long before Axel and Roxas came into the picture and he can’t afford to draw suspicion on himself. The fact that everyone except him didn’t come back from Castle Oblivion and all we have is his words that they were the traitors is all ready something that could be questioned. This could destroy all the work he and Saix have done.

--Secret Report: Saïx-- Our plans never accounted for the possibility of both Xion and Roxas leaving. How did this come to pass? When did Roxas grow strong enough to outmuscle me? What were you really after, Lea? We joined the Organization at the same time, and formulated our plan. At this point, it's just an idle fantasy. Everything changed. You, and me

When Axel lets her he knows that being around Xion could destroy Roxas and he wants to protect Roxas too, but he doesn’t hedge his bets on Xion being destroyed so Roxas will live, even at Saix’s encouragement and knowing he can’t save them both.

--Secret Report: Axel-- I couldn't tell Xion she was wrong, and I can't bring myself to end her. But it's either that, or I have to erase Roxas. There's no future where the three of us can sit around and eat ice cream. I know Roxas will never understand. I don't want to acknowledge it myself

Axel can’t bring himself to kill her and looks far a way out. A way to keep them both safe, and not get himself destroyed by the Organization. All of this while still a Nobody, still regrowing a Heart, but not fully feeling because he’s still convinced that he can’t...

Day 276 - 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?

In KH3D we learn that being without Hearts will regrow Hearts almost at once. Xehanort wants to keep the Organization as empty Vessels. Ansem the Wise says that 

“The heart has always been quick to grow. Each exposure to light, to the natural world, to other people, shapes this most malleable part inside of us. 

It stands to the reason then that Xemnas kept his Organization without hearts, empty, by denying their hearts what they needed to regrow, like plants without sunshine or fire without kindling. He kept them in dark and alone, and encouraged them to actively deny their feelings. To love someone else is to shape their heart, to make it grow, but the Organization were taught to snuff out and deny these feelings.

This is doomed Isa to be taken over. He was with the Organization the longest (surviving the longest) and actively gave up on feelings because he gave up on Lea. Gave up on the possibility their friendship could still mean anything.

Axel never gave up on his friends, even knowing that ‘he couldn’t care’ and that Xion was a Replica, Xion was his friend. His Heart grew from that, and from loving Roxas too. His Heart wasn’t fully regrown, he still went after Roxas in Twilight Town. He wouldn’t put his life on the line for a friend, he was still denying the hints of feelings.

--Secret Report: Axel-- Roxas doesn't trust me after the whole Xion incident, but I can't tell him the truth yet. So I keep lying. It's no big deal when you're a Nobody. There's no guilt, no feeling at all. So why does it still sting, just a little, when I lie to him? All my dealings with Roxas give me this bizarre illusion of humanity.

 But after Axel lost Roxas forever, when he rejoined Sora, nothing else mattered to Axel. After feeling nothing for so long and being told that there is only nothing, having something, anything must have meant everything. Without Xion (who he’d forgotten) and Roxas Axel had nothing again, just the longing for them. It makes sense that Sora becomes Axel’s focus and getting Roxas (the friend he remembers) back. But them something changes in him. His Heart regrows fully and he starts to actually love. He gives his life to save Sora even though that can’t benefit him at all and he doesn’t think he should be able to care, but he does. 

Sora was able to become human again without destroying his Nobody, and maybe Lea was too, even before his Nobody form was destroyed he might have made that body a human body, just through the act of caring. And while the other all story of the power of friendship to redeem and to come above all else is moving, Xion’s relationship with Axel is special it’s own way.

Because Xion wasn’t even a nobody and Axel found that out. He could have easily turned against her completely, but he didn’t and it never mattered to him that she was Replica. When Roxas learns the truth he denies it at first and then questions is he’s a Replica too, if everything is a lie.

Roxas: Have you gone nuts? Xion's a person, not a puppet. Axel: She's smoke and mirrors, Roxas. And when I looked in the mirror... It wasn't you I saw. Roxas: I don't know what you're talking about, but Xion is Xion. You can't expect her to be me.

No matter what Xion is Roxas’s friend and he loves her, but it’s a shock and his first response is to deny it or maybe question if they’re the same. Axel knows Xion’s ‘not real’ and furthermore, Axel believes he shouldn’t care about anyone either way, but none of it matters. He loves Xion no matter what she is or who she is...she’s his best friend and he loves her, and that’s all that matters. 

[nadziejastar]

It's funny that Organization Rehash was somehow more treacherous than the first one when part of the idea behind Xehanort putting his heart into all of them was to get around that problem

I know! The way the Seekers of Darkness were handled pissed me off so much! Most of them were ruined. The whole point of Xemnas completing Kingdom Hearts was to put Xehanort’s heart and mind into all the original members so that they had no free will. They would literally become another Xehanort. Being a Nobody was not enough to Nort someone. KH3 got around this in the most lazy way possible by saying that they all just joined the True Organization by choice. How lucky for Xehanort, right? This is a relevant post I’ve done about this subject. I’m actually surprised I haven’t seen more people complaining about this egregious plot hole. I brought it up before on a different forum and some fans would just make the dumbest excuses, I swear. “Saïx only had a small piece of Xehanort’s heart in him!” (LOL.)

Ok, so what difference did it even make then? Why did it even matter that he, along with Xigbar, had yellow eyes and pointy ears all along? Weren’t they supposed to be different from the other members? Also, what’s the point of vessels being “raw material” for the X-Blade? Why was Xehanort conducting mind control experiments? Why go to such lengths to show Axel grieving about how much his best friend had changed, if Xehanort’s heart had literally no significant influence on him? God, even Xemnas was treated more respectfully than Saïx was because of this. I actually liked his dialogue at the end about how being human must take incredible strength. It was one of the most memorable lines in the game for me.

How did Xion ever become a Seeker of Darkness? Her switching sides was laughably easy. Roxas and Xion’s dialogue was just so atrocious. I was embarrassed while watching all the scenes with them. Also, if Saïx was supposed to be the one who brought back Roxas and Xion, why are we supposed to take pleasure in his boss fight again? It was treated like Roxas and Xion were getting revenge and it was supposed to be enjoyable to clobber him. Then Roxas and Xion felt pity for him afterwards. And Roxas even acknowledged that he knew Saïx helped to bring him back before their fight. How did he even know that? Well, because his dialogue was written so that the audience could know. Since all of this was shoehorned in at the last minute, Saïx’s redemption happened off-screen. So Roxas had to fill us in on why he was there. It was all so forced, just like the Subject X info dump. 

The game totally wanted to have its cake and eat it, too. They wanted Saïx to betray Xehanort so he could be Lea’s innocent ice cream-loving childhood friend in the epilogue (which was his intended role in the ending all along). But they still wanted to treat him like a villain for Roxas and Xion to clobber. The problem is that both of those things clash very badly. They’re not compatible with each other in the slightest. You can’t do both. His redemption didn’t feel convincing at all because of this. And his scene at the clock tower just made it seem like he had no excuse for his actions from the previous games. Why the hell is he all friendly NOW when he was previously trying to kill Axel? 

I did see a lot of complaints about how all the villains got “redeemed” at the end. They spent the whole game being evil, then they act all nice to Sora after they’re beaten? Why? Well, it was extremely obvious to me that they were supposed to be possessed.

Their actions would have made perfect sense if Xehanort had simply been controlling them the whole time. Then of course they’d be grateful to Sora for releasing them. A big pillar of darkness gets expelled from them after they’re defeated, then they act totally different. Gee, I wonder why? Larxene actually acted confused after she was beaten. She did NOT act like she was in control of herself prior to this.

Furthermore, once she became aware of herself, she was horrified. She looked like she felt violated. Like she had something done to her without her knowledge or consent. I don’t think for a second that Larxene signed up to be a Seeker of Darkness.

I also found it interesting that she spoke as if she weren’t already that geezer’s heart tank. Once Xehanort’s heart is implanted, it’s supposed to gradually take over the person’s heart. Maybe Sora just needed to defeat members like Larxene, Marluxia, and Luxord. They’d go back to normal afterwards because they were not Norted for that long. They had yellow eyes, but their ears weren’t even pointy.

I also think they became vessels by being turned into Nobodies again, so it made sense that they faded away after their battle. They’d be recompleted. But Terra and Isa were supposed to be different. They needed to have the power of waking used on them because their hearts were lost like a decade ago. And neither of them were Norted as Nobodies, either. Saïx shouldn’t have faded away after his battle.

Marluxia also did not act like he was aware of himself beforehand.

He also said his heart was remembering how to feel. I’m sure he was supposed to have a different backstory than what he has now to explain this.

He was all grateful to Sora after being defeated. This makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever unless he was being totally controlled.

Luxord and Sora were acting like old pals after their battle. Luxord never seemed like a bad guy, anyways. He gave Sora a wild card and then said he’d like to play a game with him. I think Marluxia, Larxene, and Luxord were done a tremendous disservice by making it so that they were self-aware for the whole game. But Isa by far came out the worst because of this. He was utterly decimated beyond repair. His whole character revolved around being possessed. That was THE most important thing about him. It was the ONLY thing that could excuse his actions and allow Lea and Isa to go back to being inseparable right after the final battle. Since he was possessed, they didn’t hold back making him as nasty as possible. Now it’s biting them in the ass.

Braig joined Xehanort to wield a Keyblade. And he actually doesn’t fade away after his defeat like the others. I don’t think that was a coincidence. It’s probably because he became Norted as a human. He wasn’t a Nobody during his boss battle. 

I’m also 100% sure it wasn’t a coincidence that he just happened to “pretend” to commit suicide after his defeat. That was no doubt the original end planned for Braig ever since Days and BBS. He was always haunted by the things he did. I think he was especially haunted by what he did to Isa, which was why he always had such a bone to pick with Saïx. If he was a Nobody, then his suicide wouldn’t have even mattered because he’d just be recompleted afterwards, anyways. Sora and Riku’s reaction only made sense if he was fully human when he fell off that ledge.

I will never ever forgive KH3 for its treatment of Isa (and Lea, since Isa was a HUGE part of his character). I’m still heartbroken and angry over it. Isa was treated like a plot device—he only mattered because he brought Lea’s REAL best friends Roxas and Xion back. He wasn’t treated like he mattered as an individual character. He didn’t get a real backstory that showed his pain, how he became Norted or his close relationship with Lea. All this did was make me hate Roxas and Xion in KH3, even though I really liked them in 358/2 Days. It was just so unfair that they got ALL the spotlight at Isa’s expense.

It was always, always implied that Axel had a VERY sad backstory. He was NEVER EVER comic relief. Not at all. He was the most serious character. His canon backstory was a joke for how poorly it explains his behavior in Days and KH2. He was actually an apprentice all along? And suddenly the only thing that mattered to him was two kids that the story went out if its way to show never even came CLOSE to understanding him? 

Not his REAL best friend who became an organization member alongside him and who would understand his suffering? It was heavily implied they were both lab rats. I couldn’t believe Lea even blamed Isa for getting Norted. And apparently all Saïx had to do was admit he was jealous and things are instantly patched up between them? God, it was such a slap in the face as a fan. I felt personally insulted by Isa’s “redemption”.

Now, it was obvious that they tried to limit the amount of physical contact Lea showed Saïx after his defeat. And they also tried to limit the amount of genuine emotion they were allowed to show at all times. This happened on the clock tower, too. Lea wasn’t allowed to cry for his friend. And even when Saïx admitted he was jealous, he HAD to follow it up with something snarky. He wasn’t allowed to bond with Lea in a genuine manner. I noticed all of this right away. It made me laugh to see how stilted their interactions were.

Apparently Saïx was putting on an “act” the whole time because he was afraid to show his true feelings, I guess? They’re just gonna write off all of his past deeds that way, instead of him being ya know…Norted? Wow. And to top it all off, they tried to make Lea and Isa’s whole relationship revolve around some stupid random girl, which pissed me off so freaking much. It definitely came across like KH3 was extremely paranoid that they might seem gay. So they did everything possible to make their relationship lack genuine emotion and intimacy, destroying it in the process. The handling of their subplot went against all the most important themes of the series. It was utterly pathetic.

And yet Lea was still holding Saïx in his arms. And it was still pretty intimate from a physical perspective. In fact, Lea shows more intimacy with Saïx in this one single scene than Axel had with Roxas in all of their moments put together. Guess that’s why they had to throw in all the other stuff. To “balance out” more tender moments like this. 

The way Lea smiled at him is how I always imagined he would look once he finally rescued Isa. They said “See you” (”Mata na” in Japanese) to each other in a pretty intense and personal way. Especially in the Japanese version. Saïx said it so softly he almost whispered it to Lea. This was obviously something pertaining to their original backstory. 

Roxas said “Mata na” to Axel when he was going back to Sora in KH2FM. This made Axel cry. “Mata na” had a LOOOOT more meaning to Axel than it did to Roxas. You see, Roxas was saying it in a casual way, like most would say it. See you later. It was as simple as that. But I think “Mata na” was Lea and Isa’s way of saying they’d see each other again in the next life. Just more evidence that Axel was really crying because he wanted to see Isa and was remembering their promise. Roxas really couldn’t fill the void of Isa. That was the impression I got from that scene.

People probably would have been very accepting of Lea having strong feelings for Isa. But I think Square/Disney were terrified people would be grossed out if Axel had those same feelings for Saïx. KH3 just sent very conflicting messages due to this identity crisis. Lea was holding his arms out like he could still feel him there after he faded away. It looked VERY similar to when Xion faded away in Roxas’s arms. This demonstrated that Lea had extremely powerful feelings for Isa. The thing is, this was never properly SHOWN in the story. There was all of this implied intimacy between them, but it wasn’t able to be explored in-depth after BBSV2 got axed. And so, KH3 wasn’t allowed to show them being too close because there wasn’t enough time to properly differentiate Isa from Saïx. 

And this ruined their relationship. We saw almost nothing to understand why Lea would feel so attached to Saïx or why Isa changed so much since they were kids. All we saw was Saïx being evil and a very short scene of them as kids in BBS trying to sneak into the castle. The audience has little reason to care about this relationship or empathize with Lea’s affections for Isa. They didn’t get enough development. There was no way that Saïx was written as Axel’s best friend if THIS was how the resolution was going to be handled. Their story was incomplete. The way it was handled in KH3 was a complete and utter joke.