#but most of you all do. so that's why I said that xion honestly doesn't do that much

[themattress]

Lots to unpack here, some right and some wrong.

She started out as a damsel character, and was hated by very vocal group in the fanbase.

Which unfortunately was a major contributor to why she got the shaft. Instead of further developing her like his initial intention seemed to be, Nomura decided from the vocal fan reaction that it was more profitable to...well, not. Hence why every game after KH2 sidelined her, and when it was time for her to be spotlighted in KH3 she was derailed and fridged.

The issue with Kairi is that she's just a... nothing sandwich. Kairi is a sweet girl, she likes Sora, she likes to write and makes good luck charms. She's also secretly a princess and therefore has a pure heart and can do nothing wrong. She is a little bit sassy sometimes, but not too much, she cares about her friends and will jump into danger to protect them, but most of the times she is the one who needs to be protected. She's strong, but not too strong, she's sweet and easygoing, and she's boring as hell. In the games at least... She rules in the manga.

Everything you just said describes Kairi from KH2 onward (though sadly even then some of it got lost along the way...she's not sassy or jump-into-danger bold in KH3 anymore). Kairi was in fact an interesting character in the original KH1; the issue was that she was a realistic human character with a realistic human arc, and fans didn't want that. They wanted the animu tropey-ness. And, well, we got more of that for her afterward, but not the good kind.

It's sad to say, but her original characterization is just boring. She doesn't really want anything for herself and she doesn't really have a function in the story except to wait around for the boys to pay attention to her or get kidnapped and need to be rescued.

Again, in KH2. Her function in KH1's story was literally the lynchpin holding it together, not to mention the damsel role was deeper than "kidnapping", she had an interesting and important backstory, and she had her own wants and needs that didn't just amount to "I love Sora".

Fans are creating mods of the games to make Kairi playable

I played one for KH1, and can attest to it being really solid.

Before this they also got Alyson to voice Kairi in the re:Chain of Memories dub in 2008.

Technically, Alyson voiced Namine impersonating Kairi in Re:CoM.

That was the impressive part, how much her delivery matched Meaghan Jette Martin.

These titles were likely smaller budget

And yet shockingly 358/2 Days was able to get Christopher Lee back as DiZ!

Now don't get me wrong: Alyson is amazing and is, as far as I'm concerned, the definitive voice for Xion.

I agree on this. As much as I dislike her Kairi, her Xion is excellent.

The 358/2 days cutscene "movie" is.. not very good.

Same goes for the Re:Coded cutscene movie. They were both pointless.

You got to play as Aqua and it was wonderful and heartbreaking and cool as hell.

It was until Mickey showed up in the story. Then it went to absolute shite.

This is not to shit on Alyson at all, her Kairi is adorable / Alyson ended up doing a lighter, cuter version of Kairi in KH3. And I do enjoy how Kairi sounds in KH3. Like, it's fine, she sounds very adorable, and it's fine.

Is it? Honestly, I find her Kairi to sound obnoxious. She has two modes: monotonously bland yet "sweet", and high-pitched in a way that sounds almost whiny. Different tastes, I guess.

But idk man... it feels... weird. I can't help but feel as though they replaced her voice with a younger sounding one, taking away the strength and maturity of the voice that I loved so much. Effectively infantilizing her. And then of course they proceed to damsel her, fridge her, bring her back to life and put her on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

EXACTLY. KH3 Kairi feels weaker and less mature than KH1 Kairi was!

Of course, Sora's in the same boat there....

I just wish for a future where Kairi can become a main player in the story, and where she is allowed to grow and mature.

Not happening as long as Nomura's in charge.

Where she isn't used as a carrot to dangle in front of the male lead.

That at least was sensible for KH1's story. KH2 and especially KH3, otoh....

Where she can be a girl who is not just pretty and adorable and easy going and sweet, but a girl who is strong, silly, determined and is willing to fight like hell for the things she cares about.

So basically KH1!Kairi and (manga) KH2!Kairi? Because that description fits them.

IDK, maybe that's too much to ask from a Kingdom Hearts game though, haha.

"Haha"? Why did you turn into Mickey Mouse at the end there? O_O

But more important, IF this most basic plea against misogynistic writing turns out to be "too much to ask from a Kingdom Hearts game", then that honestly raises the question if a Kingdom Hearts game....is even worth your time at all. Personally, I would hope that it's not.

Here's a long post no one asked for, but I gotta get off my chest. Lots of infodumping about Kingdom Hearts and in particular the casting of it's voice talent, so strap in y'all. So something I find very interesting is the way Square/Disney has treated the character of Kairi throughout the years. She started out as a damsel character, and was hated by very vocal group in the fanbase. I myself didn't really care about Kairi any which way, I didn't find her particularly interesting and I could understand the hate for the character like... a little bit? But what's funny to me is how that perception has changed over the years. Maybe there is still a very vocal group of people hating on Kairi on some forum I'm not aware of but I feel like the general consensus on her these days is: That's our girl. We can recognize that she is a victim of bad writing and the damsel trope. She's become a bit of un underdog in my mind. Like, treat her better Square! Come on!

The issue with Kairi is that she's just a... nothing sandwich. Kairi is a sweet girl, she likes Sora, she likes to write and makes good luck charms. She's also secretly a princess and therefore has a pure heart and can do nothing wrong. She is a little bit sassy sometimes, but not too much, she cares about her friends and will jump into danger to protect them, but most of the times she is the one who needs to be protected. She's strong, but not too strong, she's sweet and easygoing, and she's boring as hell. In the games at least... She rules in the manga.

In the game she softly lowers a bottled letter to Sora in the ocean, while in the manga she tosses it in there with all her might.

In the game she sort of runs away when Axel tries to kidnap her but in the manga she THROWS HANDS at one of the nobodies who tries to capture her.

Also later in the story when she is kidnapped by Organization XIII, she actually manages to escape for a bit by wiggling through the bars of her prison cell, and then throws hands at Demyx, who is actually trying to help her out. (the manga takes some liberties with the story, it's great you should really read it if you get the chance)

Shiro Amano actually lets her put up a fight and let her actually try to escape by herself when she's captured. Watching this girl be strong and throw hands without hesitation is so so great. Shiro Amano said: Girls should be allowed to go feral once in a while, as a treat. Also I would be amiss if I didn't mention this moment with Olette:

(In the game, Olette awkwardly and weakly puts up a hand to protect Kairi when Axel shows up in Twilight Town to kidnap her, but is just ignored in the most disrespectful way.)

Anyways, back to Kairi. It's sad to say, but her original characterization is just boring. She doesn't really want anything for herself and she doesn't really have a function in the story except to wait around for the boys to pay attention to her or get kidnapped and need to be rescued. And while in recent years the writers are finally exploring her being a keyblade weilder and having her actively participate in the story, they still just can't resist damseling the poor girl, fridging her, and putting her on the sidelines while Sora and Riku take center stage. It's great to see how the fandom's perception of her has changed over the years, people are seeing how Square has been dropping the ball and are actively rooting for Kairi to get more stuff to do. Fans are creating mods of the games to make Kairi playable, are writing fanfiction exploring role reversals where Kairi is the hero and there are several notible fan comics comics that explore her character in a really interesting way.

Anyways, now to get to the actual thing I wanted to talk about: How she's casted in the English version of the games, and how the inconsistent approach to the casting feels... a little disrespectful. Having a consistent voice for a character is something I, and many others really appreciate. It shows a level of care from the creators to bring a consistent group of actors together to bring life to the world. Now, VA's being replaced in the Kingdom Hearts series is not uncommon. The series is known for casting well known actors, and actor availability and budget are problems for which recasting is the solution. For example: Billy Zane got recast as Ansem by Richard Epcar, Brittany Snow by Meaghan Martin as Namine. And then of course there are Christopher Lee, Wayne Allwine, Leonard Nimoy and Rutger Hauer, who had to be recast because they sadly passed away. (RIP, Kings)

Like, all of that makes sense. So here's the confusing situation with Kairi:

Xion and Kairi share a VA in the JP version. This is an intentional creative decision that ties into the lore of Kingdom Hearts. Risa Uchida has consistently voiced these characters in Japanese for years and does a fabulous job.

Sadly this was not the case in the English version. Hayden Panettiere originated the role of Kairi in English, but they got Alyson Stoner to voice Xion when the character debuted in 358/2 days in 2009, which was originally a DS title. Before this they also got Alyson to voice Kairi in the re:Chain of Memories dub in 2008.

These titles were likely smaller budget, which becomes pretty obvious when you look at the overall quality and presentation of the cutscenes. In Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 the dialogue was recorded in English and the japanese lipsynch animation were redone to match the English dialogue. This was not the case in 358/2 days. The dialogue was recorded to match the japanese lip flaps, and the animation was not altered at all to marry the two together. So availability and budget could have been an issue in getting Hayden Panettiere to record for these games. At the time I also considered the possibility that Hayden simply didn't want to do it anymore. It wouldn't have suprised me, because these things happen. Take Brittany Snow for example, after KH2 she got her big break in the Pitch Perfect films, and probably became too busy to come back as Namine. From 2006-2010 Hayden starred in the popular TV series Heroes, which could have impacted her availability and desire to do KH. And with the lower budget for these projects, and where Hayden was at in her carreer at the time, it could stand to reason that she was simply not interested. I should also mention that in this time period Kairi barely got anything to do. When she did show up it would be for a couple of lines of dialogue. As for Xion, 358/2 days on the DS had around 10 or so voiced cutscenes. So the amount of voice work needed for the character was notably smaller compared to one of the numbered games. So the amount of voice work needed, budget, and availability could all have been factors to why Alyson took over for Hayden during this time.

Now don't get me wrong: Alyson is amazing and is, as far as I'm concerned, the definitive voice for Xion. She originated the role and brought so much to the table. She has a wonderful voice, is a talented actress and we have no choice but to stan.

Before long it became apparent that Alyson replacing Hayden permanently was not on the table. In 2010 Hayden reprised her role as Kairi and took over the role of Xion in the secret ending of Birth By Sleep!

So at this point it seemed that the original creative intention for these characters would be honored. Kairi and Xion should have the same voice actress, for lore reasons, and that actress should be Hayden Panetiere, who originated the role.

And wouldn't you know it, in 2012 Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance comes out for the 3DS. It's another hand held title, but the budget is lit. There is lipsynch animation for voiced cutscenes, and the amount of voiced cutscenes is comparable to KH1, KH2 and BBS. Kairi has a few appearances, but has only one line of dialogue. Same goes for Xion, while she does get a line of dialogue near the end of the game. Hayden came in to record for Kairi and Xion and it really seemed like she would be taking over the roles from Alyson.

So obviously, at this point in time it's all but confirmed that Hayden wants to work on KH, and the creative team were making an effort to consistently bring her back as Kairi and Xion. That would be a tough deal for Alyson though, was she gonna get replaced permanently as Xion? Well wait a second and I'll tell you!

So in 2013 Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix was released. It was the first in a series of HD remasters of the Kingdom Hearts series, and the collection included KH1, KH re:Chain of Memories and around 3 hours of newly made cutscenes retelling the story of the DS game 358/2 days. Days originally featured mostly textbox cutscenes. These scenes were remade from scratch and would feature newly recorded voice acting in Japanese and English. Now I don't need to get into it but... The 358/2 days cutscene "movie" is.. not very good. It's boring to watch through, which I think is to blame entirely for the way they approached it. They remade all the cutscenes true to their original appearance, but forgot that there's no action gameplay to break up hours of dialogue scenes. The pacing is bad, the action is non existent, and what's worse is that it doesn't have adjusted lipsynch animation at all. This means the English voice acting was done to match the japanese lip flaps, resulting in awkward pauses and weird deliveries of lines.

The saving grace was that Alyson Stoner was reprising her role as Xion, recording new dialogue for the cutscenes. They also reused her previously recorded dialogue for the DS cutscenes as well. So... I guess Hayden isn't taking over Xion after all? Or perhaps it was easier to get Alyson to come back, so that they could reuse some of the original voice lines from the DS version? I can't imagine that THAT would've been the deciding factor though, because there weren't that many cutscenes from the DS version that would have to be redubbed should they get Hayden back on board. It's hard to say what the reason for this was.

But I was happy to hear Alyson as Xion in the "definitive" version of the 358/2 days story. She has a pleasant voice, and she portrays Xion beautifully in my opinion.

So then KH HD 2.5 Remix comes out in 2014 and features no new Kairi/Xion content. It does feature the Final Mix version of KH2, originally released exclusively in Japan in 2007. This version had new cutscenes, which were now finally dubbed in English for the HD remaster. What's more is they they also reanimated the lip animation to match the new English voice acting! An interesting thing to mention is that at this time, Meaghan Martin had completely taken over the role of Namine, fully replacing Brittany Snow. They luckily didn't choose to redub Brittany's original lines with Meaghan. But it does result in this funny moment where following Roxas' prologue Namine's voice is suddenly different for a single scene.

Anyways, flash forward to 2017, and the release of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Remix, which included a brand new title by the name of, and hold on to your wigs for this one....

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-

This was the first look at what a next gen Kingdom Hearts title would be like. You got to play as Aqua and it was wonderful and heartbreaking and cool as hell. At the end of this game a cutscene plays where after a decade Kairi finally gets to be involved in the plot again. She is summoned by Master Yen Sid to begin her training as a keyblade weilder. And she is voiced by.... Alyson Stoner??

A few years later KH3 came out, and Alyson Stoner voices both Kairi and Xion in it. She does a great job. But it's all so confusing.

It seemed so clear that the studio's intent was to get Hayden back as Kairi, and potentially Xion as well. And KH3 was the next big budget numbered title in the franchise. The casting for this game was insane, they got the full cast of Frozen to reprise their roles. Idina Mcfreaking Menzel showed up for Kingdom Hearts! What happened to getting Hayden back? I don't get it at all. This is not to shit on Alyson at all, her Kairi is adorable, and I honestly can't imagine anybody but Alyson Stoner playing Xion. Whenever Hayden picked up the role of Xion I was excited to hear her, but it never felt quite right.

But yeah, this whole situation unfolded in the weirdest of ways. For years it seemed they were absulutely set on getting Hayden to voice these characters. Was she not available to come in for KH3? Well, to answer that question:

Apparently, Hayden wasn't even ASKED to reprise Kairi.

This could of course be a situation of her representatives getting the offer from Square/Disney and choosing not to give it to her. Which happens in Hollywood, and sucks. But there's also a very real chance that Square/Disney didn't even bother reaching out and offering it to her.

Seeing how they decided to recast Hayner, Pence and Olette in KH3, even though their actors are still working as VA's and would have likely loved reprise the roles, I'm leaning to the possibility that they simply didn't bother to reach out to Hayden.

Hell, that's what she said herself.

All in all it's an interesting series of events. It's confusing, and a bit saddening as well. I can speculate why it all happened, but who can really be sure what their reason for replacing Hayden were. Perhaps they decided to do it because they found Alyson to be a better fit for the character? I may be reading into things but there's this interview Hayden did for the release of KH2 were she talks about the recording process and how the voice directors would keep telling her to "raise her voice an octave higher and make it sound more princess like." I gotta say the way she said that irks me..... I love the way Kairi's voice sounds in KH2! Hayden has a beautiful voice, it's a bit lower and more mature sounding than your average cutie girl voice. I would have loved to hear that quality in the character moving forward. Alyson ended up doing a lighter, cuter version of Kairi in KH3. And I do enjoy how Kairi sounds in KH3. Like, it's fine, she sounds very adorable, and it's fine.

But idk man... it feels... weird. I can't help but feel as though they replaced her voice with a younger sounding one, taking away the strength and maturity of the voice that I loved so much. Effectively infantelizing her. And then of course they proceed to damsel her, fridge her, bring her back to life and put her on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

I feel like it all ties together with how the writers see her. She's not really a main character after all, she's not a priority. After years of showing a dedication to keep her voice consistent, it was all just thrown out of the window in the end. It makes me feel like they just didn't care in the end, people would be more upset if Sora or Riku got recast, but they just assumed no one would really care about Kairi. I can't help but care though.

I just wish for a future where Kairi can become a main player in the story, and where she is allowed to grow and mature. Where she isn't used as a carrot to dangle in front of the male lead. Where she isn't kidnapped or killed off as motivation for someone else. Where she can be a girl who is not just pretty and adorable and easy going and sweet, but a girl who is strong, silly, determined and is willing to fight like hell for the things she cares about.

Where she is allowed to interact with the world around her, and discover what her place in it is. Where she can discover what she wants for herself, instead of constantly having to be something for someone else!

IDK, maybe that's too much to ask from a Kingdom Hearts game though, haha.

[oveliagirlhaditright]

I don’t get what people’s issue with Kairi is. 

I feel there’s just something about her that ruffles people’s feathers, for some reason. So that things that don’t bother them about other characters, bothers them about her.

Like, tbh, no one in this series is a good character besides Riku (though he’s boring now), Roxas, and sometimes Sora. Many people would say Axel, but his character arc is all over the place and a mess. Naminé used to be, but she’s not anymore. Because when she’s actually allowed to be there, she only exists to be sad or explain the plot. Oh, and Aqua. Almost forgot about her. But I still maintain that she wasn’t a good character until 0.2, and that KHIII treated her badly (like it did most people who aren’t Sora). And I’d say Xion is a good character--just in that we actually get to explore all of her emotions, unlike most characters--but she still doesn’t do much, and a lot of people would disagree with that.

But people think Kairi’s boring and has no personality, and yet they’re okay with the Organization members who are one personality trait. You also can’t hate Kairi for having “no stake in the story”--or even being a plot device--if you like any of the Organization XIII characters.

But at the same time, those people used to think Kairi was a bitch.

I think this is another reason people don’t like her, too, and are more okay with characters like Naminé. Because I think most fans are shy, introverts--who have perhaps been bullied--and Kairi, for some reason, reminds them of the mean girls they’ve met in real life, and subconsciously hold it against her. Or they can’t relate to her as much since she’s arguably popular and bright and energetic (or at least used to be).

People call her a damsel in distress... but Namine. And you know what? I’d say most the girls, sad to say, are a damsel in distress. Strelitzia pretty much just existed to be murdered... And why people like this girl more than Kairi--when she just existed to be murdered--and we know little about her beyond that, baffles me. Skuld had to have Ephemer join her party in order to get people to join--and to make sure she’d be okay... and what has this character really done? She didn’t fight in the war... was chosen to be a Dandelion Leader, but since then she mostly passively agrees with stuff or reacts to things going on. Riveting. Skuld broke up one fight, I feel that’s a bit it. Olette doesn’t really do anything... Larxene’s a villain (and so far, Elrena’s done nothing), Invi basically has done nothing, Nameless Star is a nothing as of now (as is Urd and Vor, basically). And Ava is arguably good for the little we’ve seen her, but only after Nomura gave her her agency back after robbing her of it in Back Cover. But this character--for as much as she talked about wanting to think for herself and be friends with those of the other Unions--still didn’t do much to defy the Master (so far). And like all the Foretellers, mostly had the Idiot Ball when it came to him. And while I’d never call Aqua a damsel in distress, she still had a few damsel moments in KHIII. Edit: And as for Xion, I’ve seen people say that she was a burden to Roxas and Axel as a friend, the times they had to help cover up that she didn’t have her Keyblade. Which I don’t agree with... But the point is, even with her people try to make the dumb argument that she’s a damsel and doesn’t do anything.

Though I hate saying any of this, because I hate putting the girl’s against each other, because they deserve much more. And there are guys who have been damsels too, of course, like your gods Sora and Riku.

And if you hate Kairi for being Sora’s love interest... Naminé was in CoM. And you all want Riku to be, so...

I think the real issue is, to be honest... if you really sat down and thought about it, most of these characters aren’t that well written. Or we don’t really know anything about who they are (outside of Keyblades, personality traits, and things they’ve done), because at least in KH I don’t think Nomura’s that much of a--or a very good--character writer, but everyone just takes it out on Kairi for some reason. Even when other characters have done the things they complain about, or she actually has done the things they want her to (even if it’s only a little bit, and we could stand for more. But still, there are other characters who have it even worse), and I don’t get it.

I think it’s also because she’s a teenage girl, who is now girly and likes pink--and is in love--and don’t you know, there’s nothing more evil in the world?!

Like, I’ll be the first to admit that there are writing issues with her character and I want them fixed. But I don’t think she’s the Absolute WorstTM, that so many others in the fandom seem too.

People also think Kairi’s all about Sora... but so is Riku at this point. Really, all the trios in this series are “about their friends”.

[kitkatopinions]

For the character bingo:

RWBY: Torchwick

Kingdom Hearts: Axel

Sonic the Hedgehog: Amy Rose

Tangled the Series: Eugene

These are all characters I adore, so this will be fun.

First off, Roman Torchwick! I'll elaborate on anything I feel like elaborating on below.

This is one of two characters in RWBY that I've put a lot of thought into them and why they do what they do. I've invented an entire past, relatives, father figures, ex-partners, a semblance, ways he coped with his trauma, what songs he loves the most... I did too much thinking about Roman Torchwick. XD

The funny thing is that one of the things I've projected onto the character of Roman is the tendency to project onto people. Once while I was writing Roman to get into a fight with Mercury, I had Roman project his own tendency to project onto Mercury while Emerald was calling him out for projecting.

Canon isn't real if I don't look at it is basically how I live my life. And in my head, Roman survived the Fall of Beacon, teamed up with Emerald and Mercury, found Neo, and all of them started on a lengthy and difficult road to redemption.

I love writing for bastards and Roman is a great one. I just said I liked to imagine him going down a lengthy and difficult road to redemption, but I can't write him to be a 'nice' person, because Roman is at his most fun if he's able to sling insults or make fun of people or have fits of rage.

Now for Axel, formerly known as Lea!

By 'I am so normal about them,' I of course mean I am not normal at all. I adore Axel and flip my lid every time I get to see him.

I've written fanfics specifically centered around most of the Organization members, so I have tons of headcanons about the whole of the Organization. But tbh, especially Axel.

I put in that if anything happened to him, I would cry, because after all Axel’s been through, isn't he entitled to some happiness with his children Roxas and Xion? I think so!

Now for my girl Amy Rose!

She really is a beast. You guys, Amy can fuck people up! This is especially clear in the IDW comics. And I haven't read lots of the other kinds of comics outside of IDW, but I do have this Sonic Select comic where Amy is getting in a fight with I think Eggman and Shadow and Knuckles are there and she's like "you know what, I don't even need to do it myself" and has Knuckles and Shadow beat stuff up for her. I love her so much.

Not to get too into some drama, but sometimes people tend to just disregard Amy completely. I know she was invented to be a Sonic obsessed 'would be girlfriend' who gets Damseled all the time, and that's obviously pretty sexist, but at this point, Amy (especially in the IDW comics) has had a lot of advancement and some people still tend to treat her like a useless airhead. Also some Princess Sally fans make fun of her and I think that's... Lame.

The ‘they are so silly’ is more about Amy in things like Sonic Adventure and Adventure 2 and even up to Sonic 2006. Because she was very silly, but I still absolutely loved her.

Now onto my boy Eugene Fitzherbert!

Honestly, he is such a goofball and I love that. He's also so good because he actually doesn't take himself super seriously all the time and can joke around and take and give some ribbing.

His first look in the series is pretty much just his look from the movie but with a black vest, but the season two look is great. Aaaand my favorite look is his purple look with the jacket! And the captain of the guard stuff looks so good too! Eugene just serves looks all the time.

Sometimes fandom people can be mean, but not the whole fandom. Lots of people like him, but there are some people who hate him because he gets in the way of their favorite character or ship, and that's fair (I've hated characters for that very reason,) but some of them then search for ways to justify that hate and it gets extreme and irrational.

But yeah, so those are my bingo answers, thanks for sending these!

[birds-multimuse-moved]

why dont u tell me abt kingdom hearts

OKAY SO

Can we talk about Roxas again please? I would like to talk about Roxas again. I know I've already done like plenty of screaming about him before but like seriously dude this shit is heavy as FUCK. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Roxas is nothing but pissed off and he has a right to be. I've played 358/2 Days so many fucking times bro you have no idea. The times in which he just.... doesn't get it, like cutscenes where he jumps to conclusions and gets ahead of himself or doesn't let Axel properly explain is like, it's annoying but you can understand it. It's like, you've been lied to the entire time you've been in the Organization, you've been disrespected and treated like a fucking baby even after you've proven yourself multiple times. For once you just want things to be clear, straight to the point, without bullshit. That's why you can understand at the end, why his talk with Axel is what pushed him to leave the Organization and go rogue. He just wanted to be told the truth for once and thought he could trust Axel to be the one to do it. But no, he just keeps shit from you, asking you to trust him, when at this point it's hard to trust anyone anymore when nobody will trust you. Hurts man, oh and can we also talk about how Roxas' second Keyblade came from Xion? Cuz it's like, it's only after Xion's gone that Roxas dual wield and both his keyblades look wildly different. Oathkeeper is definitely Roxas' but, Oblivion, c'mon just look at the name it is most obviously from Xion. Idk why he can still dual wield after she's back tho but, Kingdom Hearts man it does what it wants. Okay but anyway can we also talk about the Org Members? Or the second half atleast? Cuz when Roxas left he was certain that no one would miss him. And if you play 358/2 Days you'd agree with him. Everyone treated him like a joke almost, he was disrespected and lied to. He feels unwanted, hell they blatantly tried to replace him. Axel even told him they wanted him out of the picture. He's been done dirty so hard in the time he was in the Organization like fuck dude. Bit you have to just imagine the time he spent sitting in the back seat with Sora after Sora wakes up and having to realize they did miss him. MOST OF ALL DEMYX. I know I've ranted about Demyx already before but SHIT DUDE DEMYX. HE LIKE, HE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO TRIES TO REACH ROXAS RIGHT FROM THE START. HE WAS BEING LAID BACK, BEING HIS LAZY USUAL SELF, EVEN CALLING SORA ROXAS. LIKE THIS MAN WENT THROUGH THE STAGES OF GRIEF BRO LIKE. IN HOLLOW BASTION YOU HEAR IT, LIKE SERIOUSLY. WHEN HE SNAPS IS WHEN YOU CAN TELL HE GETS THE MEMO THAT ROXAS REALLY IS GONE. AND YOU CAN HEAR THE RESENTMENT HE HAS FOR SORA IN HIS VOICE. "Silence Traitor" THOSE TWO WORDS WERE HEAVY AS FUCK. You know how he said in KH3 that he could be serious if he wanted to? He absolutely could man he really fucking could he showed that in Hollow Bastion. Seriously that guy SNAPPED. And also Luxord, whomst Roxas also had an okay acquaintance ship with. You could tell he got the memo first, he knew Roxas was gone. But that grief didn't really show itself till the end. When he was destroyed by Sora. "How could you, Roxas". Like shit dude, honestly Kingdom Hearts 2 was a great fucking game. All this shit man ALL THIS SHIT. ALSO, CAN WE ALSO TALK ABOUT XEMNAS AND HOW DEEP THIS GUY GETS SOMETIMES? I LOVE HIS CUTSCENES, ESPECIALLY IN KH3 LIKE. THAT SHIT MAN. "What do you feel? Was it worth it?" "I feel...the emptiness where my companions once stood. I took them for granted And now I have...nothing." "My first surge of emotion in years, for as long as I can remember. And it's, loneliness." "Do you see? A heart is just pain." "Pain is being human, Xemnas." "Really? It must take... incredible strength." FUCK dude Xemnas is the best out of all the other KH Villians. The Organization is lit as fuck dude the Nobodies man this fucking GAME SERIES man.

[angelspigeon]

Moar angst? Maybe with a happy ending. Saix is dying in Lea's arms and he doesn't know whether or not he will come back. He tries to tell himself it's okay because Lea has found true friends that will make him happy, but Saix doesn't want to go because he also wants to be reunited.

Hi!!

YES ANGST!!!

Your angst was something I actually headcanon and needed to write for the vol 02 of my fanbook so THANK YOU!!! I finally got the occasion to write it down!!!

Maybe I got a bit carried away? I put in a lot of others relationship (and piece of a fanfic I couldn’t post but filled with headcanons) so I hope this will please you anyway!!

I won’t post it on AO3 because I think I will need to rework it a bit and just throw it in my fanbook later ya know so no AO3 door BUT those 3 205 words are all for you!!!

 When he died, it seemed to be the right thing…

Dying, be with Lea in Kingdom Hearts. Forever. Being by Lea’s side… It was the dream. The only thing he really wanted.

So why was he there? Why was he listening to Xemnas’ nonsense… again?

Why…

He hated every of his ideas. He hated the sound of his voice. He hated…

“Moony?!”

A hand moved in front of Isa’s eyes. No… Saïx. He hadn’t the luxury to be Isa. Isa was something lost, forgotten… He didn’t think he could only come back that child. He wasn’t sure he wanted. The name they called him had just really little importance when he was by Lea’s side…

The thing was that… he wasn’t in Lea’s side.

So Saïx looked up at Xigbar who had moved his hand in front of him.

“You’re with us?” he asked.

Was it being with them like sharing their view of what they will do, the conquest of the Worlds, or listening to them?

“I am,” he replied.

“Yeah… It didn’t seem so. But if you’re in! Come on! We need to find more friends! Or… how do you say when you use them, whatever if they are killed or not, in the end?”

“Object?”

“Yes! We need to find more living object!” Xigbar said. “Xemnas wants lot of them.”

“What will happen to us?”  he asked.

“You really want to know?”

He had something in his tone. Something telling that, exceptionally, he cared.

“Am I the kind of people who would waste his saliva?” Saïx wondered.

“You’re doing it, there. And every time you speak to me,” Xigbar smirked. “Though… Honestly?” he said with a grave and dull face. “Don’t expect to life old.”

“This doesn’t afraid you?”

Xigbar shook his head.

“No! Surely don’t! I’m a big boy and I will do great! But you…” Xigbar grabbed Saïx’s cheek, pressing them between his hands. “… I know you. Don’t die too fast, ‘kay?”

Saïx nodded.

But he didn’t know.

This battle was forcing them to walk on a path so different from Lea’s. And if he had to be against him?

He wasn’t made for that.

He had intertwined his life with him and could accept to be on a different path of him but he couldn’t accept to hurt him.

Even one second…

Though… giving up on his life to avoid hurting him… wouldn’t it hurt him even more? If Lea had forgotten him, that would be the worst for him because he wished to always live at least in his memories, but wouldn’t it be better?

For everybody.

  The sound of the pen against the paper was reverberating in the room.

As always, Saïx had to be there, helping Xemnas with the things he thought useless. Keeping order in his thoughts was his work. It was annoying. But it helped. He had managed to climb all the stairs to finally arrive there. He had the confidence of his Chief, one of the most important members of the new Organization, and he had access to every of his plan…

Of the whole Organization plans.

Like the last time, he had every way to destroy everything he wanted at default to success what he wished the most.

He couldn’t access this.

He was unable to do what he wanted.

His only wishes, at this exact moment… was to make sure Lea could be happy. If his life was about to end… Of course, it was about to end. Any Xehanort really thought they could win? When they have so many powerful people against them? And no one in their side…

And what he expected…

“We could use the Replicas…”

“The Replicas, Sir, are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Xemnas walked toward Saïx. “We don’t have the time to convince people to follow our lead but we can bring back people sharing our ideas. This would offer us an opportunity to win over the Light. Especially because, as for you, I can trust them.”

Saïx looked down on the papers he had. Every information needed stocked and stacked just right in front of his eyes. They had gathered a few members. Xigbar, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene… him, of course. This was showing a little obsession of the man. And, yes, Saïx could understand the need to turn back even more toward trustable people. Another past, because it was obvious Axel… Lea, wouldn’t come back and Roxas couldn’t come back. Yet… it wasn’t impossible.

But…

People were missing.

A lot of them.

They needed Replicas.

To fill what was missing and, as Saïx was passing through those who could complete the equation…

“My Lord… Do you remember that puppet we used to have with us? Xion.”

She wasn’t supposed to vanish from memories. It wouldn’t follow Vexen’s plans. He wanted his work to be remembered! Lot of those who saw her just didn’t care much about her and the others… Axel… Saïx begged for make it vanish from his memories. To protect him from everything. He had lost Roxas, he couldn’t lose more… suffer.

He knew he was doing mistakes but they have the way for that.

But now… Now, Axel, or Lea, couldn’t forget something. Not completely and he knew… He knew he would remember her one day. He knew he hadn’t forgotten her for real…

“You want us to use this puppet?”

Saïx nodded. “If we managed to have Vexen by our side, we could have Replicas and he would bring her back. She owns a Keyblade so she is fitting the role more than… me, for example,” he said.

“You own a part of me since so longtime, I think you perfectly fit the role. Anyway, if this idea seems interesting… Will Vexen accept to join us?”

“I can convince him, if you allow me to try, Sir,” Saïx offered.

“Very well.”

“Thank you,” his Second replied, bowing in front of him.

  Saïx couldn’t understand how Vexen had accepted to let go on his Humanity for the sake of the plans. He didn’t understand how he could abandon his Heart… But he did it. Only to fulfil their goals. His goal. Vexen wanted to have his revenge, to redeem himself… next to his son, Ienzo.

For that, he needed to step in the Devil’s Lair and give them a bit of what they wanted.

Only to fulfill his desire.

They all were ready to make sacrifice.

Saïx was ready for them to.

All of them…

“What will you do when the moment will arrive?”

Vexen didn’t look up when he heard the question behind him. For now, they were eleven. And they will be, certainly, thirteen when Xion will be made. But Saïx didn’t want her to share his fate. Maybe she could overgrow this. Maybe he could find someone else to replace her. Even if it has to be Sora? Unless Lea had affection for him?

He… he didn’t care about disappearing. He didn’t think Lea would really miss him. He didn’t think he still deserved Lea’s love but… Vexen?

“I’m the one who create the Replicas. I don’t think I risk anything,” Vexen said. “I will make sure they are enough so I don’t have to fight and die.”

“But what will you do for…”

Saïx showed his eyes.

Vexen smirked. “I can live with that. Maybe it will disappear when everything will be done, though. I’ll see.”

“I see…” Saïx whispered.

“When will you be done with…”

The door opened. Saïx immediately went quiet. But his eyes widened.

It wasn’t that surprising to see Xigbar, even if he had that smile.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

But what he had under his arm…

“Hi, Saïx!”

Just in front of his eyes, Demyx was waving his hand.

Vexen had nothing to do with this discussion. He had so many works left to finish with Xion. And the Replica for Roxas. He needed Xemnas for Xion but for Roxas, they only needed Sora. And so, this will bring more difficulties in all of this.

“We’re trying to have enough Replica for the Darkness’ plans. What Demyx is doing here?”

“I couldn’t stay dead and away from you!! I couldn’t believe it when I was alive! But couldn’t reach to you! I’m so sorry. I should have come back to you. But it was hard to know if I was welcome?”

“Of course, you were,” Saïx replied.

Why not? Except the creeping fear that he would be killed again by the Light… Creeping fear becoming worst again  when he noticed Demyx’s eyes…

Yellow.

“Enough Replicas, uh?” Xigbar asked as he walked toward the inanimate puppet.

“It’s going to be big,” Vexen replied. “Everything we can wish for and more!”

“I wish a lot of things!” Xigbar smirked. He moved his arm away from Demyx and approached the Replica, only to turn toward Saïx and press his cheeks between his hands. “I wish you make him smile.”

“I never said I can do Miracles,” Vexen replied.

Saïx frowned even more.

Demyx jogged to Saïx, hugging him.

It was just the shadow of a smile, but he managed to make the Second-in-Command smile anyway.

Very few where those who knew the affection Saïx had for Demyx. He always seemed to hate him, not care at all, and even despised his presence. But that didn’t mean it was what he truly thought. When you were someone as important as him, it was crucial not to show your true feelings.

Lea, Axel, seemed already to be an easy target. But Demyx… he always frightened that it would be an easier target…

At this exact moment, he preferred not to think about that. He preferred looking at that Replica and hope. Hope that it meant everything will be alright…

  In his bedroom, Saïx was laying on the mattress. He didn’t need to sleep but sometimes, he didn’t want to work…

He heard a sound at his door and turned his head, not welcoming anyone though. Either that person will leave, either it was someone who will enter anyway so… he preferred to be quiet, to let the thoughts swirl in his head and invaded him.

The door opened.

“Hey, Saïx, can I come?”

“Even if I say ‘no’, you will.”

“Right!”

The door closed and, just a few seconds after, he could feel a body against his. He moved his arm so he could lightly embrace the one who was snuggling against him as if he wasn’t a living threat…

“You don’t mind, right?”

Saïx moved his head toward Demyx. As if it was really the kind of things he would worry about… Demyx had a Heart filled with light and Saïx often wondered how he could have been with them. As much as for Roxas, probably.

Roxas…

Saïx wondered if they could success…

“Can I say something to you?” Demyx asked.

Saïx nodded slightly in the Darkness of the room.

“I was surprised when Xiggy mentioned you. I heard Lea joined the Light and… I thought he was the love of your live…”

“I don’t have the luxury to choose,” Saïx replied. “I’m only waiting for…”

He closed his eyes. There were two wolves within him. One still had hope and the other was less idiot and know the truth.

“You can wait for him with me,” Demyx smiled, trying to cheer him up.

“And if he doesn’t find me?”

“More time together!!” the boy burst with joy.

Saïx clamped his hand on his belly. Demyx bit his lower lip, seeing this, and hugging him tightly.

“Please, don’t think about this,” he said in the hollow of his ear. “You’re doing really fine.”

“Thank you…”

Those words Demyx had said to him wasn’t something Saïx was used to hear. At least not without being like a bone throw at a dog…

“Do you want something?” Demyx offered.

“No. It’s fine,” Saïx replied.

“Tell me if you need anything.”

Saïx wasn’t surprised the boy tried to do so much for him. He almost expected Demyx to propose him to play music for him… Thank God, he didn’t. Though Saïx could remember the time where his music was the only thing he could bore. And when he was so desperate because Demyx disappeared and there was no more music in The World That Never Was. Because their empty lives were even more empty. Because he felt so left alone…

Even Xigbar tried to cheer him up but everything had shattered, little by little when Axel left them. Left him.

And after that… he was just taking the longest road to his own Doom. This was supposed to be his salvation and now…

Somehow, he was happy to be there because he really liked Demyx even if he didn’t show it much. He really had been with him in the hard time when his whole existence had shattered, piece by piece. When he needed to grab on something and the Promise on Kingdom Hearts became less sure, when his hate was so strong… Without Demyx and Xigbar, he didn’t know what he would have become.

So… being there, being with Demyx once again finally… wasn’t it the most logical end?

  A few months before, for the sake of Axel, Saïx had hoped this puppet will never move anymore.

Now, for the sake of Lea, Saïx hoped this puppet will move…

Vexen had no fear for a random Replica and he swore that, as soon as Roxas will touch his Heart, he will be complete again. In a Replica, yes, but he would be there and his own being. As he always had been. He could live his life as he deserved it.

But for the puppet here…

Saïx walked like a wolf in a cage, waiting.

“Will you be able to do it for Naminé, too?” he wondered.

“Yes,” Vexen replied, fixing the last details to call back Xion.

He had very little information about her and her own being was so strange. It was more difficult.

“I will manage to have you pushed on the side but make sure it will be the same for Demyx. I will give you the opportunity to leave and do what you want. Don’t fail on me.”

“Silence, Saïx,” Vexen said.

Saïx folded his arms.

“You want to redeem yourself, I want it too. You will have what you want and so me too,” the scientist said to him.

“I don’t want to redeem myself,” Saïx replied.

It was only selfish.

In fact, Vexen could understand it too. They weren’t that different. But Xemnas wasn’t that different than them neither…

Saïx kept walking, glancing at the puppet.

He stopped.

Her fingers had moved.

He saw them move. Just at the right instant…

He approached the table with hope.

Vexen ignored him. Ignored her.

“Xion?” Saïx called.

The hand moved. A relieve bathed Saïx. Roxas and Xion will be there soon… Once this will be done…

“One last thing,” Vexen said.

“Yes?”

Saïx wasn’t looking toward him because Xion was sitting just in front of him.

“She will not be Xion as you remember her until her Heart could connect with Sora.”

Saïx turned his head toward him.

“So… I will bring her to the fight.”

He was annoyed because Lea couldn’t remember her and risked to hurt her. And if it happened, Lea wouldn’t forgive himself. But he will make sure this wouldn’t happen. He didn’t plan to let Lea be sad. Soon, he will be reunited with Roxas and Xion. And he will be happy…

What could he hope more than this?

  The day of the big battle arrived.

Too soon.

Saïx knew that Vexen had brought a Replica for Roxas. He knew that Demyx was in a safe place. He knew Xion will soon be her again… She will be alive.

Everything will be alright.

He just needed…

“Moony?”

Saïx turned his head toward Xigbar who walked toward him.

“What will you do?”

“What do you mean?”

He groaned when he felt Xigbar’s hands on his cheeks. The man was always forced to touch him like that?! It was annoying…

And yet… the gesture was tender.

He always was happy to receive that affection from him.

Wasn’t it the worst that him, who had grown up being alone and avoiding to be touched, he ended up being very close of people who needed to show their affection that way?

“I know for Demyx and I know for the two others… You will leave?”

“Why would I?”

“You will join Lea, right? I wish you my best wishes!”

Saïx shook his head, looking down.

“Why?” Xigbar asked.

“I belong to Xemnas. I’m stained by him and there is nothing for me. No one who could care…”

“I…”

“You will forget me, Xigbar.  I knew this was what will happen to me months ago… I suppose I have to thank you? For having let this time less painful? The day I lost my Heart was the last time I was allowed to have one… I accepted the fact. My Heart is…” Saïx’s fists were shaking. “The only Heart I need is Lea…” he whispered.

“Is that what you want? It’s over?”

Saïx nodded.

“You know you have a chance to come back if you die.”

“I don’t think it will happen.”

Xigbar pressed his hands over his cheeks and leaned to press his forehead against him.

“Then, I will hope for two…” he whispered.

  “See you, Isa…”

Hope…

They all talked about hope. Saïx never had this hope. He just had will. Will to pursue. Will to fix things… Will to make Lea happy…

From the beginning, it always had been what he wanted. The very beginning. The first day he saw him, at the window of his house. The day when his Heart met the only one…

Hope seemed so dull. So vain…

Why would he hope?

He didn’t believe there was a right place to die and yet… he was dying in the best place in the World… In the warm and soft embrace of the one he loved. The man who will be surrounded with those he loved, finally…

Lea would be happy.

Why having hope when his sole purpose in life was finally fulfilled.

Lea would be happy…

But… the green eyes were filled with tears. He hated see them like that… He regretted the old spell, the upside-down tears.

He didn’t want Lea to be sad.

He didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to be somewhere else than in Lea’s arms. It wasn’t fair… He wanted to be there to see him happy. He wanted to wake up every morning next to him and to kiss his face. He wanted to hear his voice.

He didn’t want to leave him alone.

Roxas and Xion could really fill the hole he will create in Lea’s Heart? He wanted to believe it because he was nothing and he wanted Lea happy but those eyes on him were saying something else.

And…

And he didn’t want to leave.

He wanted to come back. He wanted to hope…

He wanted to hope he will come back and see Lea’s smile every day…

“… See you, Lea…”

[oveliagirlhaditright]

I'm going to come out and say it, this DLC is Nomura's last chance to redeem Naminé. If she doesn't express any horror or guilt over her role in Repliku's demise, I will NEVER forgive her. That is literally the bare minimum, but if Nomura can't even manage that, I see no reason why I should care about her in future games.

I’m a former Naminé hater, who despised her from the moment GBA Chain of Memories hit the scene all the way up until Dream Drop Distance was coming out: mainly because of some of the stuff she did. Yes, she was forced by the Organization to meddle with Sora’s memories--and was held at gunpoint to do so--but she also wanted to do it (though it wasn’t until later that I realized that this is what actually makes her a good character). And while I liked to say back then that it was mainly her actions I hated her for (and to be fair, it mostly was), I also wasn’t big on her replacing Kairi in my eyes... and, to my shame, for being “a boyfriend stealer”. (And before someone comes at me, I know that KHII came out first. I played KHII first, as I’ve been with this series from the beginning and have played all of the games as they’ve come out. But Nomura then made Days chronologically before KHII, so to me back then it seemed like she stole Sora from Kairi and then stole Roxas from Xion. And I don’t feel this way now. Thank God: and I’m getting to how/why I don’t). But I then (thankfully) realized that most of it was misplaced misogyny on my part and victim blaming, which it was. 

So believe me when I say I’m not blinded by love for her. I’ve been down the rabbit hole of hating her far too long, so I get what that’s like.

But I honestly don’t think she did anything wrong here? At all? The Riku Replica situation in Chain of Memories was messed up, it was, but she was forced to do it by four to six adults (when she's just a child) who abused her. And after her conscience won over, she tried to do the best she could for him. She didn’t goad him into fighting Riku and getting destroyed. That was Axel. And then after that, she had no way of knowing that he was chilling out in the Realm of Darkness (I think that’s what KHIII said? It’s been a while...) continuing to suffer before he hitched a ride on Riku. She was even inside of Kairi during a lot of that, and didn’t really have a consciousness or body to be able to do anything even if she’d wanted to. She also was completely unaware that he sacrificed himself for her. And if she had been, I doubt she would have done anything but tell him not to do it. And as of the end of KHIII, we still have no idea if anyone’s told her anything about what happened there: and there’s a good chance they haven’t. And if they haven’t, that’s on them and Nomura. Not her. And Naminé for most of her existence has felt nothing but guilt for those that she hurt, and has never really allowed herself to be happy. She even very difficultly (and while she was getting ready to not exist anymore, for what she believed was “right” and the “greater good”, even though she of course wanted to live) put a message in Jiminy’s Journal so Sora could hopefully know of and undo a lot of pain for everyone. And, no: Riku Replica wasn’t in there. But it’s probably because she didn’t know he could be saved. And once again, I moreso blame Nomura on this one--for not knowing what he wanted to do with Repliku--than her... I actually disagree with you on this one a bit. I want Naminé finally moving on from the guilt some, and being allowed to be happy. She deserves it at this point. She’s put in her work to atone. And most of, if not all of, the Riku Replica stuff wasn’t her fault. And in Chain of Memories after the whole fall-out, she did her best to try and be there for him.