#i get a little miffed when people whether directly or indirectly downplay xehanort's ability to manipulate

[yoroshiu]

When looking back with hindsight, my head runs in circles thinking about Xehanort's manipulation of Eraqus and the Wayfinders, especially the former.

Xehanort actively knew that Eraqus:

was avoidant, has always been one to run away and not one to be open with his feelings when he's hurt or about the past for that matter

really looked up to him and still wanted to see and treat him with good grace

had a strong prejudice against darkness that was solidified due to the events of Dark Road

As a result, he banked on the likelihood that Eraqus wouldn't have told his students about the events of Dark Road or that Xehanort had attempted making use of Darkness and bringing back the Keyblade War at least twice before. He banked on the fact that he would have instilled those narrow-minded views onto his students, making them vulnerable to his plans.

And so Xehanort pulled strings, placed wedges, isolated, harmed, killed, possessed, and separated. It's incredibly heinous when you think of those scenes in BBS and place them next to Dark Road or even the chess scenes in KH3.

Seeing this, seeing how Eraqus actively looked up to him since he was older (even if barely), seeing Baldr call Eraqus Xehanort's light—it adds to the tragedy so much. From BBS alone, you could kind of glean the possibilities, but having an actual canon full picture destroys me. It's the fact that by BBS, Xehanort was seemingly more than okay with quite literally stabbing his only (known) remaining friend in the back with no hesitation.

I know I've made a post before about how wild Xehanort killing Eraqus was in the past but I just can't get over everything else that happened around it as well. It's not just him deciding to kill his friend but also manipulate him and his students, use them like tools for his plans. Took advantage of his friend's flaws, trauma, and issues and wringed it of all he could for his own benefit, destroying the lives of many.

I just can't express how wild Xehanort's manipulation was in general.

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Making Kingdom Hearts Stuff Until KH4 Comes Out (Day 91)