#i believe MoM to be the creator of the kh universe

[kitsoa]

The Master’s Figurative Language

A Breakdown of the Flashback in KHUX’s chapter “Cornerstones of Rebirth” 

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The Keyblade War began when MoM was a child. 

MoM describes the Keyblade Wars of Old as a battle between light and dark. A description that matches the stories of the war in the series proper. But when asked if the forces of light and darkness resemble keyblade and heartless clash from Luxu’s understanding-- MoM’s response is more vague. 

Luxu:“The light? Were there other keyblade wielders besides you, Master?” 

MoM: “Hmm, I guess, but it’s not out of the question for there to be others besides me.”

What a strange answer. ‘Others besides me?’ 

Wait up. MoM created the modern keyblade. He modeled it off of the X-blade. 

Does he mean ‘others who created a keyblade to battle the darkness?’

There being others to have created the keyblade seems both unlikely and entirely impossible to be unsure of. Therefore we are not talking about a standard definition war and most definitely we are not talking about a kh style conflict.

So I’m lead to believe that MoM is referring to the ‘Keyblade’ as a figurative tool. After all, the keyblade has never been a mere object... it’s an extension of the heart. It’s the strength of the heart and the forces wielding the blades are many in that they are worthy to ‘fight with all their hearts’ so to speak. Therefore: ‘other’s like him’, can mean others who ‘wielded their hearts’ against the darkness. 

The Heart turns into the figurative heart. Emotion, passion, the self. 

The Darkness by proxy becomes figurative. Evil, negativity, hatred, violence, destruction. 

I believe MoM is equating the actions and purpose of a keyblade wielder (that Luxu understands) to a more general defiance against evil in his conversation. “I guess” is his casual admission to this. Therefore, the term Keyblade War isn’t defined as a clash between countless keyblades but a catch-all term to describe the universal conflict of good and evil. 

Luxu: “And the darkness? Were there the same monsters as there are now?”

Luxu’s understanding of the ‘monsters of darkness’ are simply the heartless from the books illusions. The heartless are the assumed opponents in the fated Keyblade War so their presumed involvement in this older war is a valid question.

MoM: “Well, if you ask if the darkness they fought was comprised of monsters... maybe so. They looked the same as us, so it’s a bit different from now.”

MoM isn’t saying that the forces of darkness in the ‘old war’ were the heartless. He’s equating them to the heartless. MoM is referring to the darkness not as a tangible force we are familiar with but as a figurative entity. And he’s saying that they are essentially monsters. 

Figurative Monsters. Savage, amoral, heartless. 

And they looked human. Monsters that look human. Again MoM is describing a very... general truth about evil in the world. The evil of our fellow man. The evil that makes them equal to monsters. MoM sticks by his insult though.

MoM: “Nah, I’m not saying they were humans...”

So we have a very... realistic depiction of the battle between light and darkness. MoM’s Keyblade War is not a fantastical battle... at least... it doesn’t have to be fantastical. It’s simply the passionate defenders of good values against a general evil. 

MoM: “Well, ever since they appeared in that form The Keyblade War continued on.”

'Ever since the forces of darkness appeared human’ The Keyblade War continued on. The War is clearly as stand-in for a grander, more universal idea. Now we have to reason that MoM is describing a turning point to a personal philosophy as opposed to an actual event. The ongoing Keyblade War is representative of the human struggle proper. 

And if I could play doctor to baby MoM. I’d say he is referencing the start of his personal, none-stop, ‘Keyblade War’. Perhaps he experienced a betrayal. Darkness in human form that has since sparked the war of what is good and what is bad. 

“The darkness changes forms. That’s why it can hide inside humans. That’s why this Keyblade War has raged endlessly.”

What is evil will destroy everything. What is good will bring it back.

The cycle of death and rebirth.

Which brings us to MoM’s goal to stop this. These ‘wars’ that are actually just battles in the endless war within MoM himself. He describes to Luxu exactly what happens in X. The battle commences. The world is destroyed. The light survives in the heart of children. That’s the light that will revive the world. 

Now, he doesn’t reveal it here, but MoM actually orchestrates the parameters that bring about this battle. He pits his apprentices again a fake a traitor. He plants the seeds of tension and distrust. He assures their destruction. And assures their rebirth through the Dandelions.

“We can’t erase the world and it’s stories that are left in the hearts of children. As long as that is left in their hearts, the world can be reborn. And in the same way we can’t erase darkness. But we CAN take a temporary break.”

I’ve had a long theory explain the figurative use of the lore term Worlds and how that word is synonymous with stories. Here we see that figurative language used in direct force. It’s not the abstract light in the hearts of the children, but the living stories within them that make them immortal. 

But that same immortal story brings with it the same immortal end. And the cycle never ends. 

So MoM’s reference of a ‘temporary break’ is strange as it is not a solution to the endless war but an escape. Flash forward to Union Cross and the Union Leaders have come to the harrowing realization that they are trapped in this digital reality. They have not yet fulfilled the cycle and revived the world from the destruction of X. They are simply trapped, playing house. Taking a break from the war.

“I know I’m tired, I want to rest soon too. From being a bystander at least.”

This line gets me. Bystanders are defined as people who watch. The Master watches when he vanishes and it is assumed that the presence of the gazing eye makes him a bystander to the war. But the rest he references is ‘soon’-- an allusion to his fading? It seems backwards. Unless he is looking farther ahead than his most immediate actions at the time of the flashback. Unless he is looking at a point in time more relevant to us players. The time where the Master stops watching and jumps into actions. An allusion for whats to come. 

MoM wraps up the conversation with a very on the nose and cryptic run down of exactly the Dandelion’s journey.

“Yep, that’s why I told Ava to gather the best of the best. The starting point in X. Their training in Unchained. The real deal in Union Cross. They ought to become very important cornerstones to the rebirth of this world.”

The Dandelion’s start and originate from X. That’s the original run. But in Unchained, as they go through the same events of X they are training. What they are training for isn’t clear but seeing how the ‘real deal’ is the phase where the world breaks away from the original run, we can assume that MoM is preparing them to break the cycle. Unchained has the Dandelion’s guided along their fates and eased them all the way to the big break that was the war itself. Now that the war is avoided, they must resist the war from cropping up again or fail the grand experiment. 

MoM wants the cycle of Darkness and Light to end... or at least he wants to see if it can end. Clearly, the Dandelion’s have a wealth of elements stacked up against them in their temporary break from the cycle. The insistence on Unions. The secret Book of Prophecies. The erased memories and encouragement to turn their blades on the image of their fellows. We can’t say at all that MoM was intending on them being successful.Or maybe there were more phases to this plot than just that of x, Unchained and Ux--

Actually of course there are more phases to his plot. Kingdom Hearts happened.

The conversation finally ends with a little foreshadowing. 

Luxu: “They’ll  be able to return to this world after its rebirth using the world borders, right?”

Luxu brings up what we understand is going to happen in UX. The light from after the war has to return to the ruins according to MoM’s cycle. Their temporary break will have to end. And as Luxu describes they will ‘use the world borders’ to do so. The exact nature and importance of this distinction is one to be contemplated but ultimately the return is nigh. We understand that Scala ad Caelum is built upon the ruins of Daybreak Town. We know the Dandelion’s will escape the program and rebuild the war. And we know they will eventually build the empire that creates Xehanort who will start the cycle anew. 

“Hmmm, Well it’ll be difficult for ALL of them.”

MoM is cryptically referencing that not every Dandelion will return. Some will get left behind. Or perhaps they won’t make it to the correct time (a reference to the time displaced Dandelions). Luxu makes a reference that the Leaders were the ones hatching the escapes which suggests that only the leaders return to the real world... which doesn’t seem accurate to what actually transpires. Grant it. We must consider the following:

The temporary break from the cycle must end.

The Dandelion’s are fighting to defy the fate of the War. 

The War is inevitable. 

So in final, this scene is extremely enlightening toward the Master’s motives and goal and hints to what will ultimately occur in the KHUX storyline. It is important to consider the figurative angle that the Master is potentially going on about. Because as we are consistently reminded, KH is a series that plays on the fact that it’s language has lore implications as well as thematic implications. 

There is a greater message in a ll of this.

[kitsoa]

So, about your Theory ...

So, we talked on Reddit a while ago, Kitsoa, and I have some more thoughts about your theory. It’s more rambling and longer than what I previously intended – my apologies for this.

Kitsoa- Hello again! I’ll reply in brief through quotes though I’m not interested in doing a solid defense of my theory. Mostly it’s a lot of creative stretching using the crumbs of the narrative and I’m not feeling particularly impassioned to bring out the counter citations nor do I think it necessary.

Also: I have written and re-iterated upon this meta theory of mine multiple times so if I am not referencing the correct Original Post in question that’s probably because I never bothered to do a big manifesto and I will take the fall for that confusion.

It’s certainly very interesting but parts of it seem to not only be unsupported but outright contradicted by the games. For instance, take your surmise that Xehanort’s villainy is motivated by his knowledge of the KH world as fictional and his self-knowledge that he has to play the role of the villain to create a conflict and thus sustain the universe. His actual speech in Re:Mind after Dark Road’s world tour points to something else:

“All around the world people live seemingly peaceful lives. They believe themselves to be moral and virtuous, but it’s all an act. Darkness lurks in the pit of everyone’s heart. Their light is a total farce. Those who are weak, and who desire greater power, simply strip the strong of their power, and convince themselves they’ve earned it. That’s how people become tainted by darkness. They believe what they want them to believe, using hollow reasons as justification. They repeat this cycle, and their darkness grows. No, its better they be ruled by darkness. People carry delusions of having power, but it’s a lie. They are but sheep pretending to be wolves. Though I can admit, I can understand why.”

This edgy little diatribe isn’t about the nature of the universe or Xehanort’s own origin … it’s about his view of human (or talking animal, w/e) nature. It’s a similar theme to his final speech in KH3, and ends not with him concluding that he needs to play the role of a villain to create conflict ,,, but that to prevent the KH universe collapsing into chaos, he needs to become its absolute godlike ruler. Which is what sets up the conflict, yes, but his goal isn’t explicitly to create conflict to keep the universe going.

Re: Xehanorts motive aligning with a meta-awareness on his ‘role’ as a villain. This is a theme I was definitely playing with. Xehanort is clearly symbolic of the corrupting pursuit of knowledge and we have a god-like encounter spark stranger behavior yet. It’s a fascinating trope yes? Corrupted by the Truth. Saving the world by sacrificing the world. That was my angle. The World Tour from Re:mind had him summarizing his villainous disdain and I’ll agree that it gives him no direction towards a ‘role’. But I also take note of the fact that this enlightenment comes directly from the actions of the chessmaster MoM who could feasibly manipulate Xehanort towards a conflict-sparking war. If Xehanort isn’t directly and consciously responsible for fulfilling the metacontextual requirements for a ‘story’ then MoM is. And as I’ve stated it probably comes from a more experimental god-mode type motive.

And again, your argument that time doesn’t really exist in the Disney worlds until Sora arrives and this is related to them literally being stories that he’s diving into. I don’t know where you get this from, at all. We go into Disney worlds and experience plots unrelated to the films (KH1 Olympus, Halloween Town); we go into Disney worlds in medias res (too many to count); we go into Disney worlds before the movie’s events take place (BBS Deep Space, Neverland); we even go into Disney worlds in-between or after the movies’ events (KH3 Toy Box, San Fransokyo). Which rather gets in the way of a simplistic “Sora arrives in the Disney world, time starts flowing forward and the movie starts” look at things. You’d previously characterized this as “every world has its unique story�� which IMO would be a more reasonable way to look at things rather than the stronger “the worlds literally are the stories and nothing else”.

I’ll defend this a little. The entire concept of the Worlds as Stories demands only that we recognize a higher reality. A reader/audience/ creator relationship with the happenings. When I say ‘time doesn’t exist’ I’m saying it doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter is the time spent there by Sora (or his subsidiaries). Time is going to move between visits but not at a pace that runs independently of Sora (and co). And all of the events within those worlds are unique to the source material-- on the virtue of having Sora. But when I say the worlds are the stories, I mean it... metaphysically. The relationship between the greater kh multi-verse (and no greater) and these literal planet world island things is that of stories given form. Most all of my KH musings come from the very simple concept that formless metaphysical concepts like love, bonds, imagination, memories etc are literal, tangible things. Tangible. In this, Worlds are not so much another universe equal to other universes. They are a story, fictional and potentially subservient to a greater reality. It’s only from that understanding that I add the extra layer upon KH (and Quadratum by later extension) itself. 

The exact logic behind this reasoning is cyclic. KH is a fictional story to the literal higher reality (us) and seeing how there's a parallel within the narrative, I just applied that logic within the universe and used my understanding of the ‘literal metaphysics’ theme going on with other lore concepts.

Power of Waking ejecting Sora into “real reality”: This analysis is based on the idea that Sora is “waking himself up” out of dream states until he “wakes up” out of KH reality into “real reality”. But YMX tells him (and implicitly us, via the conventions of this kind of villainous exposition) that Sora is repeating the same error he made in 3D and sending himself into the abyss at the bottom of the Realm of Darkness, not doing the opposite thing and “waking himself up” out of KH reality.

I’ll just punt Power of Waking stuff. There is a lot of stuff with the power but I take most of the speculation from the name and the results. There’s a big interweave of darkness that can support or deny my thoughts within the next sentence and I’m electing now to wait and see. Sora abuses the power of waking-- ends up in another reality. Waking--> realities--> dreams--> sleep. Run with the word association. I like to think the ambiguity with sleep and the darkness of abyss has more to say about the nature of reality as a whole ergo: “everything is a dream” concepts that are hard to swallow. What is waking up, if you find yourself deeper in sleep? Nonesense stuff like that.

MoM as Creator of the KH universe/Quadratum as the “higher reality”: Not only is he presented as a clear villain figure; given that the rest of the Foretellers are based on the Seven Deadly Sins, MoM as their leader would clearly represent the sin of pride. We also have him saying in Back Cover that he “might” disappear from the KH world, suggesting that it was beyond his control; and Luxu’s report suggests that the KH3 Keyblade War was engineered to open a means for him to return to the KH universe, presumably via Sora going to where he is in Quadratum/”unreality”.

I believe strongly in this still. MoM can be a villainous figure and at the mercy of universal laws while still being the Creator and denizen of a higher plane. I try not to dig into scenarios too much but follow me here: Creator of the world, literally self-inserts himself into a world of his own creation. He’s a verified Mad Scientist who of course likes to experiment and test his creations and he does so directly, physically, to them. There, he put them on auto-pilot and is watching Characterization carry on. I am not claiming that he is breaking the rules of his own universe and traveling in and out with ease. Nor am I saying if he is exercising any sort of Creator-granted power over their will. He’s there, he’s interacting with them, and he’s watching them. I find it to be an intentional obstaining of power. Self imposed limitations OR an understood sacrifice for this meddling (think, giving up ‘divine’ form to live amongst his ‘mortal’ creations in divine parallel. he is at the will of his universe but not out of control.)

When he says he ‘might’ disappear not only is he being vague on purpose to terrorize his high-strung apprentices but he’s made no indication that it’s something against his intention. And the actions taken by Luxu in formulating his return mean nothing to his plan or his ability or his potential Creator status. I can’t stress how Long Game I perceive MoM’s actions to be. All in the effort to observe, toy, and curate the perfect... something. And since I am talking about the literal nature of stories, I mean the ‘perfect’ story.

Also, we may note that if it was truly a “higher reality”, Quadratum wouldn’t be noted as the fictional Verum Rex video game in KH3 – there’d be no explicit sign at all of its existence, as it would be the higher reality generating the lower one. Which suggests that what may actually be the case, if the series is going meta, is that KH-verse and Quadratum view each other as fictional – in which case MoM would be somebody falsely claiming or believing to be the Creator, which makes sense in relation to the sin he represents.

Not that I’m saying KH-verse isn’t generated by a higher reality/being; but I don’t feel that the higher reality is Quadratum or that the higher being is MoM. There was a fairly interesting post on Reddit comparing KH to Plato’s world of the forms; in which case Kingdom Hearts would be the higher reality from which both regular KH-verse and Quadratum are generated. Or “unreality” really is a “lower reality” than the regular KH-verse, which TBF seems a bit less likely than “’reg. KH-verse’ and ‘unreality’ view each other as mutually fictional but are actually ontologically equal”.

I think my theory posts predate most of the Quadratum reveal so the details of the reveal haven’t been accounted for in my words but I did call it when breaking down Remind’s Yozora scenario. That said yes, I think there is a higher reality and I feel like you mentioned it outright. I see KH and Quadratum as equal fictional realities, segregated but connected through creator. Some of my earlier meta posts before re:mind saw Quadratum as the “higher reality” (or like “host reality”) until the presence of an author between them became apparent enough. We can potentially consider MoM=the author as a separate subject in this respect as it’s not entirely dependant on that reveal. Ultimately, my point in this caveat of the theory is that the relationship between KH and Quadratum strikes an intentionally meta-referential parallel to the actual creator Nomura. That’s an angle that is very audacious and I have full understanding in the denial but it’s my supporting evidence to a higher power within the re:mind secret episode alone.  As for the ‘unreality’ I literally think that is just a way for them to say ‘fictional’ without saying the word, not necessarily an indication of ‘rank’ (for lack of a better word). I use a little reverse logic on the reveal in Melody of Memory when I claim they are ‘equal fictional realities’. No one thinks to assume that they themselves are also “fake” so it;s not a stretch to believe that the reverse assumption could be true. This putting KH and Quadratum on the same level and almost guaranteeing a connection through a mutual creator. 

Now, you also talk about the Whispers in FF7R, but in that they’re in-universe contextualised as “guardians of destiny”, essentially manifestations of the Will of the Planet. Which just goes to show what I talked about earlier – the meta-level of a story can’t exist without a surface-level narrative. We know that the Whispers out-of-universe represent fan anger at changes to the plotline; but they’re presented as something in-universe, which can be defeated by in-universe forces (another reason I doubt it as it seems to leave no room for our heroes’ victory in the confrontation with MoM that’s being teased as the next saga).

I bring up the Whispers to note a synonymous use of the words ‘destiny’ and ‘fate’ to ‘story and ‘narrative’ Not explicitly of course, that would break the 4th wall, but its a subtext that's easier seen in a ‘remake’ because of direct references and deviations being drawn. I think the same synonymous use can be applied when brought up in KH because of their common creative entity.

Finally: How do you see this “metapocalypse” of yours playing out as an actual KH game? We know the conventions well enough by now – a trip through Disney worlds fighting monsters and villains in flashy shonen-style combat, being stalked and looked over ominously from afar by a council of villains with mysterious schemes. Then an invasion of the villains’ lair by the heroes with a final serving of flashy, SFX-heavy boss battles, a number of dramatic plot twists and arc resolutions, and an ending with the villains’ schemes having been at least forestalled. Then we get the ending credits; with an epilogue, a superboss and a secret ending all hinting at more to come.

Well I’m glad you asked! Honestly, I’m basically writing a fanfiction about it. I’m writing the story in part to engage some of these theories/speculations into a serviceable game narrative. So I’ll be vague:

Thematically: This breaking the 4th wall has the power to thematically drive home concepts of free will, defining your personhood and defying expectations. Furthermore, you have questions like... what makes something real? What makes it matter and what’s important? With growing up and the sanctity of youth being a constant struggle as the series and the characters age, the reverence in imagination and growing connections to things that aren’t stereotypically ‘real’ is a strong concept. If I were to break down the big message simply: As long as it’s real in your heart it doesn’t matter.

Overall, the reveal doesn’t really have to impact the basic formula. You can have Disney World Hopping and Villainous characters scheming and manipulating a greater force. I personally think the world-hopping parallel can become more direct with the context of it being movies/stories adding a different understanding of the process of visiting those worlds and meeting those characters. The episodes can be more about fate and predestination and can speak directly to the importance of the connections to those worlds. And the dramatic stakes are the literal threads of reality and godhood! 

If I am to be more detailed and imaginative (without substantial evidence)  I might say... MoM’s experiments in manipulating his own created world(s) are aiming to shape Sora (or 2nd favorite son Yozora) into some kind of perfect conduit for the marraige of reality and fiction and the success or failure of that process might weaponize his ability to connect with other hearts... real and not, all to the greater ascention of one chessmaster. 

(That’s not even mentioning how I have a personal reason to dislike it as it reminds me of an old theory that the KH plot was actually SRK imagining it all up in their childhood games or to put a darker twist on that idea, Sora dreaming it all up in a coma or while dying. I hated reading those ideas when I was younger and still do.)

I’m gonna sympathize hard with this. I hate ‘it was all just a dream’ theories. They are cheap and they trivialize the journey. That is not what this theory is saying. There is a higher reality in this concept and that is used as a proxy for our relationship with the series. The imagery of dreams is only a small facet of the reality/unreality theme so there is no ‘waking up’ or ‘end of story, goodbye’ attitude. The commentary is broader and it can potentially speak on the power of dreams and reality. The ‘realness’ of fake things. I’m sort of calling out KH for what it is: an imaginative story that expands upon what it means to truly experience stories.  Anyway, I rambled more than I thought. I haven’t written anything about KH in months so this was a little caffine shot for me. I’m not gonna be too stuck in the details and nor do I care exactly. I’m a story teller first and I just so happened to have predicted some things not so much because of the hints being dropped but because I understand some of the thematic intent behind the lore and certain narrative beats. The rest is just me having fun and finding the best reading. Sometimes I’m right. 

[kitsoa]

Ok after reading your latest kh3 remind meta essay. Are you saying Sora's original lion person chainsaw weilder design is the one Yozora might be recalling? Because that'd be awesome if we got to see that Sora design in the game (also Zidane could be introduced around then as a FF companion). I'm definitely getting the impression Yozora knows a lot about whatever higher power is in the KH universe. Which makes sense since/if he's based off V!Noctis then Yozora should have deep connections to -

2 whatever diety of life/death/rebirth(?) that's most likely active in matters of universal laws. Which doesn't seem all that different from Sora's connection to Kingdom Hearts. How KH seems to choose and favor Sora over all other Keyblade weilders despite many weilders thinking others are more qualified. The big difference is is that Yozora is more aware of this reality questioning relationship then Sora is. But Sora is catching up. If KH1's first quote is anything to go by. Sora's always-

3 been confused and sensed something is wrong by his senseless reality. This alone binds the two characters together. Even characters who know the history of Keyblade wars and the Realm of Light being fractured don't sense how senseless their reality is. But deep down Sora and Yozora naturally question and feel unrest by existence itself. Something is wrong. Something isn't real. Does Yozora know his own current corrupted state even if he doesn't have the reasoning/ability to do anything-

5 about it yet? Does he see Sora as corrupted and needing to go back to his original design in order to fit the uncorrupted story? Whatever the case I think the bartending is important because it serves 2 purposes. 1) More insight/mystery of Yozora's personality and agenda. His idea of saving and connections to the FF crystal mythos that preserve and immortalized characters. 2) foreshadowing Sora's inevitable fate if he loses too much strength. Sora will be immortalized by Yozora. That is a -

6 fact I believe Yozora knows. He doesn't lose. I don't think he thinks he's really lost yet considering he just says 'my powers aren't needed YET'. How ominous. =I Maybe Yozora is in a war where all of reality is collapsing and they're fighting for their right to live on passed being CANCELLED to put it lightly. But Sora is special. He's from a different realm. But Yozora is heavily invested in saving him no matter what. Maybe Sora turning crystal will ensure he survives passed any end?

Oh, thank you anon for really considering that crazy meta essay I wrote.

Re:Sora’s “Original” appearance--> I didn’t want to say it outright because there is ultimately no substance to back up the claim but if we are to assume Yozora doesn’t always look like himself and we have a good suspicion that he is harkening to his V!Noctis-- then yeah-- The only other variation Sora has in the modern consciousness is Beta-Sora. I am alluding to that, which if true would be… admittedly kinda fanservice-awesome, but it would also complete the parallel the two types of endings draw between Sora and Yozora. It’s worth mentioning that… by definition one of these protagonists is wrong so the truth is that only one of them actually “got corrupted” and that is very much Yozora by meta-logic but the inverse created is meant to challenge what is real and fiction and expose the proverbial Creator from the woodworks. 

Re: How much Yozora knows→ Despite potentially not knowing of Nameless Star’s absences, I agree that Yozora has experienced a games-worth of content with the “I wandered here on accident and did some trials” line. He’s clearly encountered someone who has tasked him with Saving Sora and this fated meeting has MoM’s name written all over it. But I hesitate to think that Yozora is more cued in than Sora about the meta-reality. I think he has a different relationship to his dreams than Sora does and it makes his experience in the Final World and the meeting with Sora more grounded on his end. He understands them as ‘not real’. “I don’t look like this” “This isn’t the real world” etc. etc. Sora has more respect for the realm of dreams and thought because his world thrives on the happenings in between the physical world more so than probably Yozora’s does. That and Sora struggles with what is the real world on a regular basis due to his profession. He’s just too close to the action to have the clarity necessary to function. Yet in the end quote, Yozora’s just as confused about what is ‘real or not’ as Sora so it’s even.

As a result, I think Yozora is not aware of his corrupted existence. It’s his hostility to Sora of whom he wishes to ‘save’ that convinces me that he is unknowingly projecting his situation onto Sora (most likely due to some outside manipulation).

Re: Doomed End and Immortalization→ I don’t have the FF context with crystals to bounce off your point but it’s very thrilling to see this ‘crystal=preservation’ idea supported in some way because then his actions are a means to Save Sora. Your doomsday scenario is very enticing because of that.

In the essay, I talked about what it means to be alive and dead in the meta-perspective-- how sharing one's story is a form of immortalized preservation and how the story is never-ending unless something smothers it like executive meddling or the obscurity of time and negativity (a parallel for darkness and light? I once made a meta draft on this exact theme). That would work immensely well with Yozora’s motives but would require him to be more aware of his level of reality than I think the text supports. If we want to really dig in and continue to compare Yozora with V!Noctis and the FF15!Noctis-- knowing that this incarnation of Yozora represents the latter scenario… then that means he could be actively fighting against the ultimate DLC-cancelled fate of FF15. But I honestly think that strays too far from Nomura’s story. 

God! this is good stuff. Big thank you to you anon!!

[kitsoa]

KHuX- Three Prong Speculation

I am gonna like level so hard into speculation it’s not even gonna be funny. Because I have three interlocking theories on KHuX that I have speculated about before but never gone over the interconnected nature. A lot of this is re-summarizing the speculation posts but it runs on THREE MAIN IDEAS.

Kingdom Hearts is a self-aware story and MoM is the creator of that story. He is not seeing into the future more so as dictating it. 

Ava, understanding some level of malicious manipulation in her master kills Strelitzia and plants an impostor (to be determined who) to thwart the carefully laid plans of MoM.

Ventus, a victim of the system, grows an immensely suppressed darkness that manifests as a split personality that would later be christened Vanitas. This darkness is a Darkling hybrid that then serves to create discord in the Union Leaders and is the intended spark of the rebirth cycle. 

Okay that’s a lot. Let’s dive in.

This story all about traveling around Disney movies and connecting with characters isn’t all that deep. The face value of the plot kinda explains what I see as it’s underlying plot twist. That it seeks to discuss the merits of stories and characters in our lives. Making friends seems to be the premise but it’s not so much making friends as it is understanding and feeling the impact of fictional entities (all of Sora’s friends are characters we’ve met in other fictional contexts)-- but we are observing it through an inside lens: through fictional denizen Sora and his subsidiaries.

The rising conflict within this shadow premise of Kingdom Hearts then ends up being about the regard of fiction and the impact stories have. Their nature. What they are capable of doing and the reason we should or shouldn’t value their creation. 

Enter. The Master of Masters. 

The Author

The theory goes like this. The Book of Prophecies, depicting the story of the entire KH franchise is written by the Master of Masters. A true claim. The Master of Masters is able to do this through a stable time loop device he plants into the narrative known as the Gazing Eye. Everything that keyblade baring the eye witnesses is view by him temporally jam-packed into his understanding to allow him to write the book in his time. 

...A harder claim to verify. 

See we kinda have to take MoM’s word for it here. Sure eyeballs are used for witnessing things and the breadth of his abilities could very well enchant some eye to transmit that view back into the past but… knowing the limitations of the universe with time travel and how seemingly limited an arbitrary eye in a key view would give him… this plot doesn’t actually make any sense. He either is powerful enough not to need an elaborate proxy, or the proxy isn’t expansive enough to warrant the knowledge he knows. 

So let’s call MoM on his bluff. Let’s say he told a half-truth to Luxu. The Gazing Eye is his eye. But it’s simply a live-feed security camera. It’s his viewpoint of events of kingdom hearts outside of the written word.

Leaving us with the question: How did MoM write the Book of Prophecies?

The short answer: The world they live in is fictional and MoM is the actual author. The Book of Prophecies is a book of predictions but a roadmap, a plan. It is the story of the entire multi-verse. It doesn’t happen because MoM saw it happen. It happened because MoM willed it to happen. 

Alright cool. What’s he trying to do? 

Well, let’s do a quick personality analysis of MoM. Quirky and eccentric. He likes to have fun. He pokes fun at serious people and taunts them. He’s a planner, scheming together elaborate roles and procedures for his Foretellers. And he’s inquisitive. He creates the dream eaters and the keyblades. His study is full of notes and beakers and scientific paraphernalia suggesting that there’s a hunger for knowledge and understanding. 

And he dwells in a fictitious world of his creation?

I turn to the flashbacks from the Cornerstones of Rebirth to re-contextualize this scenario. He paints the Keyblade War as a continuous, endless, conflict that cycles-- but I’m convinced he’s speaking figuratively. What he describes in that scene is the premise of all conflict. What he does, is explain his origin story. A boy surrounded by monsters in human guise. Real evil. The real world. And when he realized that evil he ‘created’ the Keyblade War. He saw it and all conflict as this great battle between good and evil. He formed a lens of understanding through this story. The world of Kingdom Hearts was created to rationalize the existence of real evil. 

Of course, as he matures he grows more aware of this process but the disdain for that real evil still exists. He still wants to stop the cycle he’s perceived as evil’s destruction and good’s unrelenting return. He wants to do this… by emulating the process in his own story. He wants to see if it can be done. It’s his curiosity, and perhaps a sick sense of cynicism that it’s even possible. I get serious, jaded-by-humanity evil god vibes. 

So he creates this story and it’s doomed to fall to darkness. It’s fated to fall to darkness not because he saw its fate but because he said so. And he’s gonna rig the resurrection process perhaps to inspire enough gumption in his creations to fight the inevitable fate that he is putting them in, to see if it can be done at all. He wants to learn from them or have his point proven. 

The plan: make the war happen over and over and over again in this little world he created. Set it up so that all the players in-fight and turn to darkness and betray and lose their way and then make it so there are always designated survivors to repeat the process over again. Then sit back and watch. See if they can defy him. See if their actions can change their fate. 

The Pawn

Ava is his pawn. As I state in this speculation post, Ava goes through the motions following the Master’s orders to orchestrate his designated survivors-- the Dandelions. But it’s in her encounter with Luxu that he tells her ‘there is no traitor.’ He reveals that the conflict between the Foretellers is by the Master’s very design meant to sow the tensions of war and trigger the inevitable destruction they so want to avoid. Her denial causes her to strike and ring the bell, therefore becoming the fictitious traitor and making real the inciting lost page. The Master of Master’s point is proven. Ava, performs her role and brings about the destruction. 

But knowing that the Master has orchestrated the Dandelions, she foresees the cycles repeat. The tension sowed in the very structure of the separate unions, in the recreational battles, in the wiped memories. She sees that if there is nothing done, the union leaders will grow wary of each other, the presence of the Book of Prophecy will behave like the lost page, competition and resentment will form and darkness will grow in the hearts of the Dandelions resulting in the same fate. So Ava sets to change this.

She grants the Book of Prophecies to someone other than the Master’s intended recipient. But it doesn’t stop there. Changing the BoP recipient wouldn’t change the fact that the presence of the imbalance of knowledge would incite tension between unions.

No, she plants an impostor as well. And she does this by killing Strelitzia for the greater good. 

She then hides as Darkness and orchestrates their escape from the dataworld. 

Now we must ask. Is this enough to change the fate of this story? 

Short answer: No. 

Long answer: It doesn’t actually matter because it is human nature to destroy. The Darkness will always exist.

The Plot-device

Because I think there was always going to be a planted element of discourse in the leaders. Something intended to destroy the peace of the Dandelion’s world in a different way. And that-- is the Darklings. The creatures of Darkness behave in a 3rd party way when they are symptoms of the story’s context. Keykids falling to their dark jealousy and rage. The competition and fear of their situation. Darkness is inherent. And the darkness of a powerful chosen (keyblade wielders) is an even greater threat. It is the darkness of humanity that drove MoM to this experiment and ultimately the thing that will keep rearing its head should he not meddle. 

And that is why he chose Ventus as a Union Leader.

As I stated in this post, I think there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that Ven’s personality and the hardships of Daybreak Town’s system have caused him to suppress his Darkness and create what is essentially a split personality. Schrodinger's Darkling. I believe Ven was chosen by MoM to ensure the destruction of the Dandelion’s world. 

His capacity for darkness is foreshadowed and eventually spawns a later series antagonist. Ven is used to talk about that duality and the exclusive factors of both natures so it is fitting that he is capitalizes on that poetic message. Darkness is in every heart, even the kindest. The situation and context of the Daybreak town story created him so he is an unavoidable force. The Darklings serve as a plot device to serve in conflict with the key bearers and play the role of fodder in the Master’s grand experiment. 

Conclusion 

So Ava’s actions continue to make her a pawn to fate as her killing of Strelitzia drives a wedge in the Union Leaders. With his darkness suppressed to the point of bursting, the tension will send Ven over the edge and cause him to incite the Keyblade war with his Darkling split personality. This war will reflect the dark versus light fables of old that we hear the Keyblade War described as. Vanitas-- through Ven will toll the bell to start the war again. Fate will be unavoidable. In that struggle, Ava’s actions will have prompted Brain to seek out the next world. The cycle of rebirth will once again happen because of her plot. It was all orchestrated and the Master of Master’s experiment yields no new results. This god will from this have lost hope in the power of fiction to overcome the constant cycle. 

That is until Sora comes to meet him.