#ienzos inbox

[ohhicas]

hi! it's been a while since i popped in your inbox. i just want to remind you that your art and ocs are fantastic, and i love your drawing style. i would die to see my ocs in your style. and your design sense! impeccable. all of your characters are so easily recognizable and unique. and i will never get tired of your ienzo/aeleus art.

First off, thankyou thank you ! I try really hard to try to make my OCs unique without being like, too over the top. It's a weird balance to want to blend into the world but not be just a background NPC so they could be recognizable, if they ever showed up anywhere. it's really, really comforting to know that's coming across

second: (doubling with another ask I got)

thank you for enjoying my Ienzo & Aeleus art! While I may not be drawing them as much as before, it's more a burnout than anything-- I love them dearly and hope I can find the drive to draw them as much as before again <3 here's hoping new KH games give me a single crumb to reignite.

[voidgearr]

you asked us to tell you who qualifies to be an official disney princess so it's Ienzo time

Req 1: central role - ....that's an automatic failure oops! you could argue he's important in Chain of Memories but he shows up for like 20 minutes total </3 but this is for fun so let's keep going anyway

Req 2: human/humanoid - yeah

Req 3: not a star of a sequel - ...yeah

Req 4: royal by birth, royal by marriage, or heroic deed - how about ROYAL BY ADOPTION. he's never called a prince or anything but Ansem's the ruler of the land, so A CHECK IN MY BOOK

Req 5: film (game) was an overwhelming success/underwhelming failure - from Chain of Memories on wikipedia, "Though not as successful as the other Kingdom Hearts games, it received positive reviews and sold well", so.... yes!

Req 6: massive appeal and recognition - okay listen he already failed the Central Role test and he'll never beat Axel BUT one of the "questions" the interviewer asked in the kh2 ultimania interview was "Looks like Zexion has a lot of fans." and none of the other members of the organization got that mention so it's a yes to me

Bonus Req 7: animal friend - CHIP AND DALE. YES THEY ARE SENTIENT YES THEY ARE TECHNICALLY OLDER THAN HIM BUT THEY ARE FRIENDS AND ALSO ANIMALS

6/7. i guess. end scene

This is the stuff i want to see in my inbox ty anon ily (/p)

also i did get like. three hours of sleep and im debating going back for more

[aliceslantern]

fellow paizano!!!!! handshakes u!!!!!!

OHHHH thats why u made ienzo italian in ur recent fic (besides the fact that it makes a ton of sense of course)

Tfw you check your inbox for the first time in god knows how long

Yes i am italian! Ienzo's name bears a striking resistance to the real italian name Enzo, so it's only a step to make the connection. I just think it's neat

[yruslex]

If i had a keyblade i'd call it "phantom mirage" thats cool right?

Drew this one for @ienzos-inbox , its not my ask blog but Sei and i collaborate sometimes ♡

[ienzos-inbox]

can we trust that your scientific research is of utmost accuracy when your hair clearly impairs your vision ... (isas-inbox ❤)

...I hate it. @isas-inbox

[verumheart-a]

{oh shit here we go again but this time it’s ice shield mom !!!}

[axels-inbox]

so besides isa, roxas, xion and twilight trio, who are the people that you most like?

Kairi and I got plenty of time to bond back in the Secret Garden. Im still shocked Ven remembered me after all this time but we still hang out sometimes! And whenever Isa and i visit Radiant Garden we drop in to see Ienzo, I was worried he'd hate me for what i did to him but we talked things out and he gave Isa and I gummiphones to keep in touch!

[heartstune]

@verumheart​ said: “What’s the point in fun if it’s not forbidden?” {Demyx @ Ienzo}

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ienzo gives a long, drawn-out sigh. When Demyx had asked if he could visit Ienzo in the lab, he knew what he was getting himself into. “Demyx...”

He should’ve known that sneaking him in and not watching him like a hawk around Even’s expensive lab equipment was a miscalculation on his part.

Ienzo finishes cleaning up the chemicals off the floor, throwing away the gloves he was using before striding over to a closet to grab the broom and dust pan. “I understand that getting to poke around in Ansem’s laboratory while he and Even are out is fun, but you have to be more careful. How am I going to explain all this broken equipment and wasted chemicals to Even?”

He moves around Demyx as he sweeps up the broken glass of the test tubes on the ground, giving another defeated sigh. Next time, he would certainly be finding another location for them to spend time together.

[a1rdraws]

The uncropped version of some zemyx I drew for @ienzos-inbox (which I need to get back to posting on...... Curse my inability to focus)

[praestigii-archive]

♥ this post to have ienzo/zexion leave a note for your muse (via your inbox) / whether the note is signed or not may vary.

[cruelfeline]

It has occurred to me, as I've read posts both defending and condemning villain redemption arcs, posts talking about atonement and forgiveness, posts assigning blame to a fucking nine year old, that l have a real issue with the concept of "deserves".

I'm going to frame this in terms of KH, because it's my current fixation, but it applies to every fandom I've been in, to every asshole I've loved and will love.

The concept of someone, in this case antagonists, deserving forgiveness, or deserving punishment, is something that I personally find difficult to get behind. Why? Because it's goddamned arbitrary.

Take Saix, now Isa. There is a sizable portion of the KH fandom that is displeased with him joining the Seasalt Family at the end of KH3. He tormented Roxas and Xion. He caused Axel great pain. He was a cruel asshole. Why should he get a happy ending? He doesn't deserve a happy ending. He doesn't deserve Roxas' and Xion's forgiveness, after what he did to them.

And right here on the other side is the other portion of the fandom (myself included) that is entirely pleased with Isa joining his bestie and their new adopted kids.

Who's right?

Both of us. And neither of us.

Whether a character deserves something or not is an entirely subjective matter. There is no objective way to measure the amount of reward or punishment someone should receive for an action.

I can look at a dehydrated dog, get a weight, bloodwork, do some math, and figure out the daily fluid need within a reasonable margin of error, because there are real, natural laws involved in such matters. I can't tally up Saix's transgressions, pop them into a formula, and crank out the exact amount, nature, and severity of penance he needs to do in order to achieve some sort of justice balance.

There are no natural laws, no objective measurements that can tell anyone, you or me, what Saix deserves. All there is, is how we feel about his actions, and how we feel about what he needs to do in order to give us our own personal peace with him. Or with Axel. Or Vexen. Or Ienzo. Or that fucking bastard Ansem the Wise. Saix deserves our sympathy, our forgiveness, because we decide that he does. Conversely, he doesn't deserve it because we decline to offer it. Either way, the result isn't due to some natural, objective law; it's due to our own subjective judgments and opinions. And that's okay, but...

...this is also where I start to get annoyed, because people worm their way out of the woodwork and onto my dash, or into my inbox, bleating about how my feelings, my decision to give or withhold forgiveness, is wrong. And it's just... not something that you can truly assert.

For another example, let me present: Axel. Organization assassin. Babysitter of Roxas and Xion. Murderer. Mentor. Clever secret keeper. Protector. Liar. Emotionally stunted. Manipulator. Gaslighted for a decade. Cunning bastard. Used as a tool. Incredibly poor decision-maker. Lost.

I give him my sympathy. I give him my compassion. I give him my forgiveness. He deserves those things, because they are mine, mine alone to give, and I have decided that he deserves them.

Someone can come along here and tell me that he doesn't deserve those things, and that'd be their right, but it would change nothing. No one can take away my ownership of my forgiveness. No one can tell me whom to offer it to.

At the same time, I could not tell that someone that Axel deserves their forgiveness, because I can't offer their forgiveness; only they can do that, and Axel may not deserve their forgiveness.

So does Axel truly deserve forgiveness or not? Does Saix truly deserve forgiveness or not?

Both. It just depends on who is giving it.

Canonically, that forgiveness belongs to Xion and Roxas, and canonically, they have given it. Thus, it's deserved, even if your own forgiveness is not deserved. You might disagree with the writers, but that's neither here nor there; it does not change what the writers, and by extension the characters, have decided.

You might disagree with me, but that doesn't give you ownership of my forgiveness. And I might disagree with you, but that doesn't give me ownership of your forgiveness.

And it doesn't give either of us the ability to say whether or not a character objectively deserves love, sympathy, forgiveness, or redemption, because that concept does not objectively exist.

In the end, it doesn't really bother me when people decide a character doesn't deserve their love or forgiveness. That's their choice, guided by innate feelings that are very personal. What does bother me is when they treat said choice as an overarching fact, when they try to assert that a character objectively deserves or doesn't deserve something. When they try to tell me, or anyone else, whether a character deserves my love or forgiveness.

And so when someone talks about a character deserving something, whether it be positive or negative, I get a bit cagey. It's a term I see so often used when judging characters, when trying to give a sense of objective assessment of their actions, and I just can't see it that way. I can't see any way to divorce the concept of deserving from people's entirely subjective opinions and emotions.

[ohhicas]

hi! i absolutely LOVE the way you draw Ienzo & Aeleus, it makes me so happy!! :D if this were early 2000s i'd defs have printed out a whole bunch and stuck em on my wall hahaha :)))

gently screams

‘loudly screams in thanks

i kept pressing my face to this comment because it’s SO GOOD i didn’t want it to leave my inbox kshdfneh 

the highesthonor

[afoolelopedindarkness]

"Ansem..." Kairi managed to find him, and let out a soft breath. "I missed you." She started the confession of that. "I wanted to tell you... the reason I didn't want to talk to the Mayor, and I didn't want you to meet him... It's not all because of the world order. It's because the Mayor won't care, and it won't make any difference if I did speak to him, or you spoke to him either. It's pointless, and I don't want you to be upset with him either."

Anonymous or not - fill my inbox with asks or confessions

Hearing that name, DiZ frowns as he stares at the small pond before him. It has, been some time, since he saw Kairi, since he saw Ienzo, any of the people back home, or even those he was familiar with, and yet...as hard as he might...

To have Kairi and Iezno, the others looking for him? It would have, lasted for some...well. he wasn’t so sure about that, to be honest... As Kairi and the others came to this world, to lock heads with the monsters and creatures of this world, to help heal them as a stranger, only for it to...All his work to hide...was so easily crumbled...he just...wanted the pain he has caused...to end...

And yet, to hear one of the people he cared for the most, if not the most, say those words, his eye widens... Even now, after the monster she saw, the real monster...she still, still missed him?

The man stays silent as she continues to speak, making DiZ frown, but then, as if by magic, his dark skin turns a bit pale at the mention of the true reason, the truth, as too why she was hiding the Mayor from him.

Fists ball up, and soon the man in red looks over, but he freezes, as if Kairi knew what was in his heart, as dark and weak as it was, as small and hidden... Even for the worse, Kairi still had enough love in her heart, to not have such venomous emotions he himself was filled with. Ever so slowly, his hands slowly relax as he looks down. 

She did it...of the Mayor, and what he wouldn’t hesitate to do...Of course... “K-Kairi...” He whispers before looking away and back at the pool of water. As people as the deep jungles were, he felt, he felt so cold, and surrounded with thoughts... “You...really are something else...” DiZ sighs.

[chikoriita]

The Search for Sora Ch.1

Read on AO3.org

Kairi came to the island everyday without fail now. It wasn’t like there was anything else to do. Nothing was the same anymore. After everything she had been through, her parents did not pressure her to open up. Kairi didn’t even know where to begin with them. The day she returned, she was inconsolable. All she could remember were tears and frenzy. Her tears, Riku’s tears, and frantic s that she didn’t have the answers to. How could she? The second to last memory she had was pain; a sharp pain in her back and a dull pain in her heart. The last memory was gazing into his blue eyes, his thumb caressing her hand. How was she to know that he would disappear the next instant? She took in a deep breath. If she had known- No. She couldn’t go back to that thinking.

Every morning before dawn, she took her little row boat to the Kid Island. From dawn until dusk, Kairi waited on the beach for any sign. This wasn’t the first time she’d been apart from him, but previously, she didn’t remember him. Was that a blessing or a curse? Last time he returned to her, he came down from the sky right there. She couldn’t risk missing Sora when he returned. This beach was where they spent their childhood. With Riku, they planned their journey to see new worlds on the raft.. If he showed up anywhere, it would be here.

“Want some company?” She looked to her left to find Riku standing beside her.

Kairi patted the sand next to her. “Always.” He hadn’t been on world for a week, and she missed him. These days he was either settling the newly recovered like Roxas, Naminé and Xion or meeting with Master Yen Sid. If not for Riku, she would have been broken beyond hope. He and Sora were the first friends she had, the first people she remembered meeting in her new life.

He took the seat beside her. They sat in heavy silence for a few minutes, but Riku was here for a reason. “I’m worried about him too.”

She looked upward and closed her eyes. “I’m not.”

“You’re not?”

Kairi shook her head. “Sora’s been through so much. How can we undermine that by worrying about him?” She laughed harshly. “Anyway, who am I to judge?”

“It is not your-”

She cut him off. “Save it. I know. Still, I just hope… wish that he isn’t alone.”

Riku put his arm around her shoulders. “That was his reasoning too. He didn’t want you to be alone. Not for one more second, he said.”

Her eyes welled up once more. At least once a day, the tears came back, but she refused to shed anymore. “I wouldn’t have minded!” She cried and dropped her face into her hands. “Not if he was safe.”

He pulled her into a hug. “I failed you both.” The words came out harshly against her hair. “I wanted the strength to protect what truly mattered. What good is that power if I couldn’t protect you? Or him?” A tear drop fell onto her face.

“Do. Not. Say. That.” She held him tightly against her. “We can’t change the past.”

“I should have stayed with you during the battle instead of letting you go off with another novice.” He pulled away from the hug. “Not anymore. I’m not losing sight of what’s important any longer.”

She smiled softly. “Wait till that lazy bum comes back. He doesn’t know how much we miss him.” Riku laughed deeply.

They returned to the silence of before with only the quiet crash of the waves to accompany them. The Destiny Islands were a paradise; other than the night of darkness, Kairi couldn’t remember a cloudy day. It was the flowering season on the island. Even that was ruined by the Keyblade. The same flowers that grew on the island made up her keychain, and she refused to summon her Keyblade anymore.

Kairi shook the thought of her Keyblade away and stared into the horizon. Wait. Who was rowing toward them? No one came out to the island anymore.

“Who is that?” Riku asked, trying to make out the figure. Kairi squinted and saw the tell-tale hairstyle. The guilt settled on her stomach once more but a whole new reason this time.

Selphie rowed faster and faster as if someone was chasing her.

“What is she doing here?”

Riku chuckled. “I don’t know. She looks excited though.” Kairi elbowed him in the stomach. He hadn’t been here for the last year and half. An excited Selphie was more than anyone, even a Keyblade Master, could handle.

They stood up as she tied her boat to the dock. She jumped out with a familiar device in hand. Riku raised his brow. “You gave her your Gummiphone?” He whispered standing up. Kairi followed suit, brushing the sand off her skirt.

“I didn’t need it anymore,” she muttered back.

“You. Guys. This thingamajiggy you have. It’s amazing. There’s a device that takes your picture instantly. I can search for anything. Can you believe how much info-”

“Selph, stop.” Kairi held out her hand, accidentally summoning her Keyblade. Her friend paused mid word and hand mid gesture.

Riku smacked her shoulder. “Good job, Kai. You need to control when you summon it.”

“I don’t want to summon it anyway.”

He didn’t hear her, or he chose to ignore her. Good. She didn’t want to argue with him about that today anyway. They waited a few more seconds for the stop to wear off.

“I didn’t realize your magic was so strong,” Riku commented.

Kairi winced. “It wasn’t before,” she admitted. Maybe if it had been…

“-rmation on it!” Selphie continued where she left off.

Kairi couldn’t stay annoyed at her. Selphie was hyperactive, and most of the time, it was a welcome distraction.

“Good to see you haven’t changed, Selphie.” Riku ruffled her hair.

Selphie grinned in return. “You’re so sweet.”

“Did you come rushing over here to show me my phone?” Kairi asked. She didn’t mind Selphie using the phone. Since she renounced her position as a Guardian, she didn’t need it or the Keyblade anymore. Selphie was free to use it.

“No. I came here to show you the message on the phone.” She stuck the device into Kairi’s face. Personal space was no barrier for Selphie Tilmitt.

Kairi unlocked the phone and went to her inbox. There was a message from Olette. Olette?

Chip and Dale gave up on maintaining any sort of world order after this last debacle. With King Mickey’s blessing and a stern warning from Master Yen Sid, they opened up the GummiWeb to everyone. Mr. McDuck was their first customer, buying up the entire stock of Gummiphones made by the chipmunks. He was not entirely lucrative, however. Scrooge McDuck may be greedy and frugal, but he appreciated the Guardians and their allies from the bottom of his heart. Every ally received a free Gummiphone with no strings attached. Last she heard, the Twilight Town gang went nuts with the news.

She swiped the message open and nearly wept once more. It was a picture of all of their friends in Twilight Town. Lea and Isa. Roxas, Naminé, and Xion. Hayner, Pence and Olette. All of them posed around a crown symbol embedded in the brick behind them.

Kairi paused and thought, Lucky emblems aren’t crowns. Crowns were for-

“What’s the text say?”

Text? She completely missed the message accompanying the picture.

“We found new emblems all over Twilight Town while on a lucky emblem hunt for Mr. McDuck. These are different. They’re not hidden at all. It’s like someone is trying to send a message. Call me when you can,” she read aloud and gasped. “Riku. Do you think- No it has to be a joke.” She pulled back to throw the phone into the ocean. Riku plucked it out of her hand.

“Call first, toss later.” He dialed Olette’s number. Kairi took the phone back from him when the call was accepted. There was a scuffle on the other end of the call.

“Kairi!” A pang hit her heart at the sight. Xion looked straight back at her with a wide smile on her face. She seemed to be in the Usual Spot, the little alleyway the Twilight Town kids made their hangout. The setting sun streamed through the open rafters above her and bathed her in light. Kairi had to admit; light suited her.

“Hi Xion.” Out of all those connected to his heart, Xion was her favorite (she claimed Naminé as her own). Roxas was brave and Ventus kind, but Xion understood Kairi’s pain. After all, she originated from Sora’s memories of Kairi; that alone made her special.

“We miss you and Riku- Roxas, give that back!” The camera pivoted once again to show Roxas.

“Correction. She misses Riku. You are beyond him in every way,” Roxas says to the camera. Riku grunts from behind her.

“Give him a break Roxas,” Another voice says off-camera. Was that Naminé? He points the camera toward her. “Hello!” She waves daintily. The small modicum of class Kairi had before her adventure started all went to Naminé.

Roxas turned the camera back to himself. “Kairi is still my favorite. The original,” he whispers loudly to the phone. “Ow!” he laughs.

“Stop kissing up and give Olette the phone.” Kairi heard Axel say as the camera shifted one more time to the owner.

“We all miss you. But there’s more important things to talk about. Look at this!” She rotated the camera, which now faced a brick wall.

“No way,” Riku whispered. Selphie leaned in closer to see what was on the screen. Kairi didn’t believe it either. There was a bright yellow crown shining on the wall.

Olette continued speaking. “These aren’t any secret. Someone wants us to find them. This one arrived just before your call.”

“It arrived?” Kairi asked. She couldn’t take her eyes off the pulsing crown. It called to her.

The other girl nodded. “These symbols, they show up out of the blue and disappear around a day later. We thought it was a joke, but then we found one yesterday.”

“It’s not just here.” Xion added. “Lea suggested asking Ienzo; there have been two sightings in Radiant Garden.”

Kairi turned to look at Riku. “It can’t be a coincidence, can it? He wears that necklace all the time,” her voice broke at the last word. Selphie put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I hope you don’t mind,” the camera shifted once more to reveal Pence, “but the GummiWeb is full of kids from Twilight Town posting pictures of these symbols. They showed up around the same time… well, you know. So we started a way of tracking where these symbols are.”

“How can you do that?” All this technology was new to the three of them. Even though Riku spent the better part of the year with Ansem the Wise, do not ask him to decipher anything with a computer.

“We posted on the GummiGram that any future crown symbols should be tagged #SearchForSora. Maybe the way they show up means something.” Olette said. “We’ll keep you updated. Bye!” The call ended with a chorus of goodbyes from the Usual Spot. It was a balm to her bruised soul to know that the battle was not in vain. Seeing former Nobodies living their lives gave Kairi hope. It was the little hopes that kept her spirit alive.

“Anything is better than nothing,” Kairi whispered, closing her eyes. Once again, her friends were doing more to help Sora than she was. All she could do is wait on the beach for him to come back.

“Maybe…waiting isn’t good enough.” She remembered a younger, braver Kairi saying once on a beach. What happened to that courage? How could she let Xehanort take that spunk away from her?

“These crowns mean something. I’m going to figure it out,” she said with her right fist clenched around Destiny’s Embrace once more.

“Not without me.” This time, she raised her brow at Riku. He summoned his Keyblade as well. Selphie took a few steps away from them. A wise choice.

“Don’t you have better things to do than babysit, Master Riku?”

He put his Keyblade away and took a step toward her. She did not retreat. Riku narrowed his eyes, and she met his measure for measure. She would not back down this time. He sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Please. Don’t do this without me.”

“Riku, don’t you understand? You’re the one who will end up saving him. It’s always you.” She spoke the truth. If Kairi was part of Sora’s light in the darkness, then Riku was the other half. His inspiration. “You focus on finding him.”

“No. Not without you. Sora said his journey began the day he lost you, but he forgot to mention that I lost you too. I can’t lose either of you anymore. So if you are planning to do this, then I will be with you every step of the way.” His voice cracked.

Kairi’s face crumpled. She promised herself that today she wouldn’t cry, but just like every other day since her return, she failed. Kairi wrapped her arms around her best friend and wept. “Well, then let’s go find our lazy bum.”

Next

Shout out to @elitesora​ and @anheiressofasoldier​ who wanted to read this.

[yruslex]

Axel convincing Sora, Xigbars real name is "Braigory" is the funniest shit omg

Thank you @ienzos-inbox for coming up with the idea for this comic, you really are a genius haha

[ienzos-inbox]

If you have a keyblade, how would it look like and what would it be called? :)

I can't be completely sure since it's doubtful I'll ever wield one but I think this is what it would look like if it ever manifested! I call it "phantom mirage" Axel told me it sounded cool ^^

(Art done by @axels-inbox for me! They saw this ask and said they really wanted to draw it, haha. Sorry I've been slow, I'll get back to posting more soon! Life has just been busy)